Asia

August 25, 2021 @ 10:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain infrastructure provider InfStones reveals that it has finalized a $10 million Series A round that was led by Qiming Venture Partners, along with contributions from DHVC, HashKey Capital, Plug and Play, SNZ Holdings, and the family office of Xinjun Liang, the co-founder and former… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On Monday (August 23, 2021), the US Treasury Department and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) confirmed the finalization of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cybersecurity Cooperation. This announcement has been made during Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent trip to Singapore, where the… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 10:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC Qatar has introduced mobile payments and collections services for its personal and corporate clients, as part of its ongoing investment into digitizing banking services. These recent updates will aim to enable greater financial inclusion for the unbanked sector and  visitors in Qatar, which is… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 10:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Syfe, a Wealthtech licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has made four new senior hires, according to a note from the company. Founded in 2017 and publicly launching in July 2019, Syfe is licensed by the MAS under a Capital Markets Services (CMS)… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 10:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance Singapore has hired Richard Teng as CEO. Teng was previously CEO of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and has been active in the Fintech sector for years. Teng was formerly an executive at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and  a former Chief… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 3:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Visa (NYSE:V) has partnered with Ascenda, a loyalty solution for banks seeking a deeper customer relationship, to utilize the company’s Nexus platform across the Asia Pacific region. Ascenda says that the increase in e-commerce has generated new opportunities to engage users before, during and after… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Virtual banks in Indonesia must have minimum paid-up capital of IDR 10 trillion (appr. $694 million). But the capital deposit needed when submitting an application is only IDR 3 trillion. Indonesia’s OJK (Financial Services Authority), the nation’s financial regulator, has shared an update to its… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 11:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kiplepay, a wholly owned division of Green Packet, has teamed up with Visa (NYSE: V) in order to offer the Kiple Visa Prepaid Card. Through the partnership, which was first announced last year, Kiplepay and Visa have introduced the prepaid card which aims to support… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Arab Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, has launched its Fintech-focused corporate accelerator program, called “AB Accelerator,” in Egypt, after its successful launch in Jordan in 2018. The launch of this Fintech-related program in Egypt comes as part of… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 10:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan’s JS Bank and NayaPay have entered an agreement in order to support and enhance virtual payments in the country. Through their partnership, JS Bank and NayaPay will allow their clients to link their JS Bank account or JCash wallet to their NayaPay wallets for… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC Malaysia reveals that it has introduced the DuitNow Request feature for corporates so they can improve the collection of recurring payments from their clients. This secure, real-time payment solution will aim to do away with the requirement for companies to constantly follow up with… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 10:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Philippines-based Tonik, a virtual banking platform that was recently awarded an operational license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has introduced a physical debit cards for its customers. Tonik bank clients are now able to order physical debit cards via an easy-to-use app, and… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 5:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ojamu, which aims to bring AI-enhanced MarTech (marketing technology) to the blockchain by harnessing the power of DLT and NFTs, says it wants to help with “predicting” the “most effective” digital marketing strategy for major brands. Founded in 2019, Singapore-based Ojamu notes that they plan… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 10:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, recently confirmed  that it will no longer be accepting applications for new virtual banks including firms seeking to  convert their current status, starting from September 1, 2021. Virtual banking applications sent to the nation’s… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 9:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has introduced the 5th edition of its flagship project,  Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge. The challenge is reportedly a part of the upcoming Fintech Abu Dhabi festival – which is scheduled to take place in November 2021. The ADGM… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 9:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has introduced its plans (after an extensive study) to start testing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) during Q2 2022. The BOT had carried out a research study on the implications and feasibility of issuing a retail CBDC, as… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s Lifepal, a digital direct-to-consumer (D2C) insurance marketplace, reveals that it has acquired an oversubscribed $9 million through a Series A round, bringing the total capital secured by the firm to $12 million. As noted by its management, Lifepal is the largest insurance marketplace in… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysian Insurtech company VSure.life has reportedly acquired a RM12 million (appr. $2.83 million) investment from ACE market-listed Revenue Group via its wholly-owned subsidiary Revenue Harvest (as well as being approved by Bank Negara Malaysia’s or BNM, the nation’s central bank to take part in its… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Investment management company Investcorp and Singapore’s private capital exchange ADDX have teamed up to further expand the use of digital securities in the private markets. The first product that been introduced under the partnership is a diversified portfolio of US residential properties from the Sunbelt… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 4:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), a virtual currency exchange that’s licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank, revealed earlier this week that it had secured $12.5 million in capital. PDAX‘s investment round has reportedly been led by an unnamed… Read More