Asia

October 31, 2022 @ 2:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

DBS, a top financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets and based in Singapore, has announced an initiative to create a programmable digital Singapore dollars (DSGD). The project has the defacto approval of the Singapore government which recently indicated its support… Read More

October 30, 2022 @ 12:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Stripe recently announced its general availability in Thailand, where its financial infrastructure platform will “help solve the complex payments issues facing Thai businesses.” Tee Chayakul, Thailand country director at Stripe, said: “Thailand’s digital economy is one of the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. However, moving… Read More

October 29, 2022 @ 2:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pi, a fraud risk management (FRM) platform founded by Paytm Labs designed to address high-volume applications for fintechs using machine learning (ML), has published a new report on “the impact of fraud on consumer confidence.” The research report, titled “Fraud vs. Friction: How the need… Read More

October 27, 2022 @ 9:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gate.io, which claims to be one of the world’s largest and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South Korean city of Busan. The agreement “entails the cooperation between Gate.io and the Busan Metropolitan City government to develop… Read More

October 27, 2022 @ 9:10 am By JD Alois  |  

-Retail Investors May Be Banned from Using Leverage in Crypto Trading -Banks Allowed to Issue Stablecoins The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed new initiatives aimed at mitigating risk to consumers in regard to crypto trading. At the same time, MAS has proposed new… Read More

October 25, 2022 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japan’s “only” international payment brand JCB Co., Ltd. has launched “JCBDC” (JCB Digital Currency) pilot project with identity technologies no. 1 IDEMIA and Fintech company Soft Space Sdn. Bhd. JCBDC pilot will “develop a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) payment solution and conduct a pilot… Read More

October 24, 2022 @ 10:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kenzz, the “mass” e-commerce solution bringing reliable online shopping to the mass market in Egypt and MENA, recently announced that it has completed a $3.5 million seed fund raise. The investment round was “led by Outliers Venture Capital – a venture capital fund backing early-stage… Read More

October 23, 2022 @ 11:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Leveraging the firm’s expertise in asset management and Bitcoin Mining, JKL Group is set to raise “a $50M mining infrastructure fund from family offices, HNWI, and institutional investors active in the digital assets space.” JKL Group is reportedly “the first APAC headquartered digital asset management… Read More

October 23, 2022 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cashfree Payments, which claims to be one of India’s leading payments and API banking solutions companies, announced the launch of Card Issuance Stack with their new solution ‘Issuance’ “to enable businesses such as fintechs and platforms to launch prepaid cards and wallets for their customers,… Read More

October 21, 2022 @ 11:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Global investment crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has partnered with India-based JITO Angel Network (JAN). According to multiple reports, the deal is for OurCrowd to provide access to investment opportunities for JITO’s members. OurCrowd is one of the largest digital VC platforms in the world that provides… Read More

October 20, 2022 @ 3:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UOB (SGX: U11) recently announced the launch of the UOB Sustainability Compass at the Gateway to ASEAN Conference. The Sustainability Compass is a tool that “provides a step-by-step guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to overcome their inertia and kickstart their sustainability journeys.” As… Read More

October 18, 2022 @ 7:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wio Bank PJSC, the region’s first platform bank, has announced a partnership with Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, which will “enable SMEs in the UAE to access the power of e-commerce faster and more easily and conveniently.” Through this partnership, Wio Business, the… Read More

October 18, 2022 @ 12:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ant Group announced that Alipay+ has expanded its enablement of seamless travel experiences to Japan, where over 1 million local merchants are now “connected to global cross-border digital payments and marketing capabilities to better serve consumers across the world.” Universal Studios Japan is the latest… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 9:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Agribusiness Rural Bank, Inc., which is reportedly one of the top ten rural banking institutions based in the Philippines, also referred to as Agribank, has launched a new mobile banking App for Android and iOS, developed and delivered by Geniusto International. This secure and configurable… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 9:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Regional Insurtech Igloo, in partnership with e-commerce giant Shopee, introduced Home Content Insurance in Vietnam, the “first” comprehensive protection solution “for indoor assets, against unexpected events such as natural disasters and fire in the platform.” The Home Content Insurance is “underwritten by Bao Viet Insurance,… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Merchant commerce omnichannel platform, Pine Labs announced that it has “entered the wearables segment in the consumer electronics category.” Shoppers in India can now “purchase wearable devices of select brands on a Buy Now Pay Later arrangement using Pine Labs’ PoS terminals.” Top brands offering… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 9:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that Ms. Gillian Tan will be appointed Chief Sustainability Officer “from 17 October 2022, in addition to her current role as Assistant Managing Director (Development & International).” MAS’ current Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr. Darian McBain, will “leave MAS… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 7:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai-based financial services platform Five FS has officially launched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia and also secured $3.5 million in seed funding. Five FS’ investment round was reportedly led by Romanian VC firm Zeyshare Ventures “at a $30 million valuation.” As… Read More

October 16, 2022 @ 3:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

ICICI Bank says it has launched four digital banking units, or DBUs. ICICI Bank is a leading private sector bank in India with a market cap of around $74 billion. According to the Bank, its launch of these DBUs aligns with the government’s plan to… Read More

October 15, 2022 @ 2:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain.com, a leading crypto wallet provider, digital asset trading platform, and block explorer service provider, recently revealed that it has “secured an in-principle approval for the Major Payment Institution License offering Digital Payment Token services from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).” With this preliminary… Read More