Asia

June 23, 2021 @ 9:01 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

India is witnessing a spurt in the growth of Fintech, aiming at improving the banking experience for millions of blue-collar workers who universal lenders often ignore. These fintech startups that like to call themselves neo-banks have suddenly become the most sought after by domestic and… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 11:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Rsquare Technologies, a Bahrain-based Regtech, has won the Central Bank of Bahrain’s SuperNova 2021 ‘Regtech Innovation Challenge’. The Bahrain SuperNova Challenge was launched by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) with the aim to further Bahrain’s Fintech industry’s development. Rsquare Technologies is a resident of one… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 8:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sotheby’s, the top global auction house, says it will accept cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin or Ether, as payment for an enormous diamond. The 101.38-carat pear-shaped D colour flawless diamond, said to be one of the largest of its kind to go to auction, will go under… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 7:44 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

In a major crackdown, the Iranian police have seized 7,000 crypto mining machines blamed for massive power outages in the country, as per its state media. The police  7,000 computer miners were seized in an abandoned factory in the west of the capital city of… Read More

June 21, 2021 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered (the Group) recently revealed that it will be appointing Roel Louwhoff who will be serving as the new Group Chief Digital, Technology & Innovation Officer. Louwhoff previously worked as Chief Operations and Transformation Officer at ING since 2014. According to an update from… Read More

June 21, 2021 @ 10:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Progcap, a company focused on corporate-led “last mile” retailer financing solutions for Indian markets, has acquired $25 million in equity capital as part of its Series B round that was led by Tiger Global along with participation from existing investor, Sequoia Capital India. Progcap says… Read More

June 21, 2021 @ 7:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at BitOoda, a global digital asset financial technology and services platform offering risk management solutions, recently noted that the Bitcoin market is continuing its consolidation pattern. As mentioned in an update from BitOoda, $30,000 has “proved to be a support level for now.”… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this week, Singapore-headquartered digital wealth management service provider Endowus confirmed that it had appointed Wei Mei Tan as its Chief Advisory Officer. In her role at Endowus, Wei Mei will be expected to lead strategic initiatives in order to accelerate the company’s ongoing growth… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Brankas, an Open Banking services provider, recently revealed that it has managed to exceed 10 million monthly API calls with more than 80 network partners. The Brankas platform currently operates in over six different countries and has teamed up with over 30 financial institutions… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 8:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Finantier, an open finance API platform, has secured an undisclosed 7-figure sum through a seed round that was led by Global Founders Capital and East Ventures. Finantier’s latest investment round was oversubscribed. The capital was raised at a post-money valuation of over 20 times… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 7:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore‘s United Overseas Bank (UOB), a multinational banking organization with branches mostly based in Southeast Asian countries, has reportedly used Marketnode’s digital asset issuance, depository and servicing platform to issue a new bond offering valued at SGD 600 million (appr. $446 million), with a final… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 5:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gururam-headquartered Insurtech firm RenewBuy has acquired $45 million in capital through a Series C round that was led by Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund that’s overseen by UK-based Apis Partners LLP, a fund manager that focuses on growth-stage Fintechs. Haitong Securities served… Read More

June 20, 2021 @ 4:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) recently revealed that they’ve introduced a cross-border QR payment linkage between the two countries. Under this linkage, both consumers and merchants residing in Malaysia and Thailand can make and receive instant, cross-border QR code payments…. Read More

June 19, 2021 @ 8:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ICICI Bank Ltd, a privately-owned Indian development finance institution with its registered office in Vadodara, Gujarat, and corporate office in Mumbai, Maharashtra, has launched “ICICI STACK for Corporates,” which is described as a complete set of digital banking services for corporates and their promoters, group… Read More

June 19, 2021 @ 3:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-based digital technology park Cyberport has revealed that the application stage for the initial phase of its Fintech Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Subsidy Scheme has now closed. The initiative reportedly received more than 80 applications. The scheme has been commissioned by the Financial Services and the… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) has confirmed the appointment of Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Group Country Manager, and SVP for its operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Dr. Jaffar will reportedly be joining the digital payments leader to manage and oversee its presence in six… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 7:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Amazon Payment Services, a payment processing service for the MENA region, has introduced the Amazon Fintech Lab in the DIFC Innovation Hub. The project is reportedly the latest in Amazon Payment Services’ efforts to provide support to the Fintech ecosystem in the MENA region. The… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 12:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) has partnered with R3 to build and test central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). CBDCs have emerged as a hot topic of governmental innovation – fueled in part by the rise of stablecoins utilized as digital references of fiat currency…. Read More

June 16, 2021 @ 11:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Small and micro businesses (SMBs) account for over 90% of global businesses, and more than half or around 50% of global employment, and contribute over 60% of the GDP of developing nations, the Visa (NYSE:V) team writes in a blog post. However, 2020 was quite… Read More

June 16, 2021 @ 10:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Igloo, previously doing business as “Axinan”, is said to be the first full-stack Insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. Currently, Igloo has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Igloo has distributed a note claiming 3X growth in GWP [gross written premiums] in… Read More