Asia

February 22, 2023 @ 9:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UAE-based Fintech firm InvestSky has launched a social investing platform with assistance from Alpaca. InvestSky is a social investing platform that “offers a new generation of investors the opportunity to embark on trading stocks in a more inclusive, intuitive, and informed way.” InvestSky was established… Read More

February 22, 2023 @ 9:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam’s Fintech start-up GIMO has announced the first close of its Series A funding with a US$5.1 million investment “led by TNB Aura.” Other investment firms joining the investment round “are returning investors including Integra Partners, Resolution Ventures, Blauwpark Partners, ThinkZone Ventures, and Y Combinator.”… Read More

February 22, 2023 @ 5:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This will “enable customers of participating financial institutions in Singapore and India [1] to send and receive funds between bank… Read More

February 22, 2023 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Crypto Incident Response Center (CIRC) of Uppsala Security, a South Korean blockchain virtual asset regulatory technology (RegTech) specialist, has recently released its 2022 CIRC Statistical Report. The report is “based on submissions received directly from victims of virtual asset crimes in South Korea, offering… Read More

February 22, 2023 @ 1:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, announced the launch of Hub71+ Digital Assets, a dedicated Web3 specialist ecosystem, “with more than $2 billion of capital committed to fund Web3 startups and blockchain technologies from the UAE’s capital.” Hub71+ is “a specialist ecosystem dedicated to advancing… Read More

February 21, 2023 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) launched a consultation on the proposed requirements “for operators of virtual asset trading platforms.” Under a new licensing regime to take effect on 1 June 2023, all centralized virtual asset trading platforms “carrying on business in Hong Kong or… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 10:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PhonePe, one of India’s largest Fintech platforms, announced it has raised another $100 million in primary capital from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. This new investment “follows the recent $350 million primary fundraise that closed… Read More

February 17, 2023 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS reported an 80% year-on-year growth in the number of Bitcoin (BTC) traded on the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) in 2022, and “a doubling in the number of BTC custodised with the bank’s digital asset custody solution.” The firm claims these business metrics “underscore the… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is continuing its crypto crackdown filing charges againstTerraform Labs PTE Ltd and founder Do Hyeong Kwon. The firm is based in Singapore but the Commission has not been shy about pursuing crypto scofflaws anywhere in the world. Kwon was… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 1:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of its efforts to enhance financial literacy among the younger generation in ASEAN, Maybank’s Cashville Kidz financial literacy program has reached out to 37,020 students and 945 educators in over 113 schools in 2022. In a year that was recovering from the pandemic,… Read More

February 14, 2023 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

XS.com, the multinational global Fintech and financial services provider, has announced that it will be the Global Partner of “the first ever Fintech and crypto exhibition of its kind held in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” The Fintech and Crypto Summit is “organized by Smart Vision… Read More

February 14, 2023 @ 9:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) Board of Directors, the CBUAE launched its Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program (FIT program)… Read More

February 14, 2023 @ 9:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a “first” for biometric payments in the UAE, Network International, the enabler of digital commerce in the MENA region, and Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in the UAE, announced that they have “implemented the Face Pay face verification platform for payments… Read More

February 14, 2023 @ 5:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wirex, a crypto payments platform, has signed a long-term strategic global partnership with payments company network, Visa. This includes “becoming a member of Visa in APAC and the UK that will allow Wirex to directly issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards themselves to over 40… Read More

February 13, 2023 @ 11:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and the Financial Affairs Office of Nanjing Municipal People’s Government (Nanjing FAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “to strengthen cooperation, and in particular support Nanjing-based companies that are interested in seeking a listing in Hong Kong.” Under… Read More

February 12, 2023 @ 10:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SMBC has announced the launch in March 2023 of “Olive,” an all-in-one card “that combines a Sumitomo Mitsui Banking account, credit, debit, and point payments.” SMBC, or Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, is a global financial services firm based in Japan. SMBC has been active in… Read More

February 12, 2023 @ 9:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a provider of security tools and services for Crypto AML/CTF, Transaction Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Transaction Tracking, announced that it has signed a Virtual Asset Customization (Consignment) contract with Korea Digital Asset (KODA). Through this contract, KODA’s virtual asset consignment system “will… Read More

February 12, 2023 @ 7:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tazapay, a fintech company specializing in cross-border payments, announced that it has raised $16.9 million in its Series A funding round. Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia led the investment round, “with EscapeVelocity (escp.vc), PayPal Alumni Fund, as well as renowned angel investor Gokul Rajaram joining as… Read More

February 12, 2023 @ 7:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reaffirmed the close ties between the two authorities “at the fourth BDCB-MAS Bilateral Roundtable, and discussed new areas of collaboration.” At the Roundtable, BDCB Managing Director, Rokiah Bakar and MAS Managing Director, Ravi… Read More

February 12, 2023 @ 6:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

MONIX Co., Ltd., a Bangkok-based AI-powered digital lending platform, announced that the company has secured US$20 million in the first close of its pre-IPO fundraising. The investment round was “led by the mothership SCBX and a new investor Lombard Asia, a Southeast Asia’s growth-focused private… Read More