Asia

April 19, 2021 @ 9:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan is reportedly planning to carry out studies in order to potentially launch a State-backed virtual currency so that it can enhance its existing banking system, enable greater financial inclusion, and also ensure that illicit activtiies such as money laundering are not being carried out… Read More

April 19, 2021 @ 8:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Financial regulators in South Korea are reportedly discussing the launch of an updated regulatory framework for overseas remittances made by investors. These traders are allegedly trying to make huge profits by capitalizing on Bitcoin price gaps found on different cryptocurrency exchanges based in Korea and… Read More

April 19, 2021 @ 6:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Decentralized finance (DeFi) requires a more reliable credit scoring system, however, we need to be cautious, according to Ontology (ONT) Founder, Li Jun. Jun explains that credit scores have been “a cornerstone of risk evaluation in the global banking systems for decades.” He adds that… Read More

April 18, 2021 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s Ant Group is looking into potential ways for billionaire Jack Ma to make an exit as Beijing continues to increase its pressure and scrutiny of Fintech businesses in the country, according to a report from Reuters which cited sources familiar with the matter. According… Read More

April 18, 2021 @ 6:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

MENA region startups secured $170 million in capital during March 2021, which is reportedly a 6% increase month-over-month, across 43 different deals, according to local sources. This notably takes the total funds raised during Q1 2021 to $396 million across 125 different deals, which is… Read More

April 18, 2021 @ 5:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A senior Bank of Japan (BoJ) official has stated that China’s digital renminbi will not be able to pose a threat to the US dollar’s dominant position as the global reserve currency. As reported by Bloomberg, Kazushige Kamiyama, who heads the BoJ’s payment systems division… Read More

April 18, 2021 @ 12:58 pm By Xu Gao  |  

The People’s Bank of China and Six Other Departments Launch Fintech Projects for Rural Vitalization In order to better implement the strategy of rural vitalization, the People’s Bank of China and six other department (namely Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Industry and… Read More

April 17, 2021 @ 3:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysian Insurtech platform Fatberry has reportedly secured RM 2.5 million (appr. $600,000) through a pre-series A funding round. As noted by its management: “FatBerry is Malaysia’s most comprehensive online insurance portal. We allow you to compare and search for the best coverage plans quickly and… Read More

April 17, 2021 @ 12:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer has introduced its Digital Advisory Suite (DiAS) in Asian markets. The DIAS soluton aims to simplify the regulatory compliance process for relationship managers, allowing them to provide compliant advice to their customers. The suite serves as a “fully-integrated” solution…. Read More

April 16, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ujjivan SFB has teamed up with NIRA in India to offer personal loans. As reported by the Economic Times, Ujjivan SFB noted that the partnership with NIRA is a key part of their business approach of using API Banking solutions as part of strategic Fintech… Read More

April 16, 2021 @ 2:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

RedBlock and NFT Bazaar have announced a strategic partnership in an “embrace” of the fast-evolving NFT industry. As noted in a blog post by RedBlock: “We are very pleased to announce that RedBlock and NFT Bazaar have officially entered into a strategic partnership, leveraging our… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 10:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

B2B healthcare service provider Biddano is planning to streamline offline pharma distribution networks by bridging key supply chain gaps between distributors and chemists. The company leverages the latest technology to develop its platform and is currently looking to expand its network to 25 cities across… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Banking technology firm Zeta is reportedly getting closer to achieving Unicorn status (valued at $1 billion or more) as it continues to work with varous investors in order to close a new funding round, according to TechCrunch which cited sources familiar with the matter. SoftBank… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Saudi Arabia-based Cloud-enabled Point-Of-Sale (POS) startup Prexle has reportedly finalized its seed funding round which is valued at 2.5 million Saudi riyals (appr. $670,000). Company CEO and Co-founder, Abdullah Alajlan stated that they’re happy to close their latest investment round. He added that the funds… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 9:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Luno, a crypto-asset trading platform in Malaysia that has been cleared by the Securities Commission, has revealed that it’s now managing over RM 1 billion or $240 millon worth of digital assets. This milestone has been reached in less than 2 years since the company… Read More

April 14, 2021 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Robo-advisory services in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore are increasingly being used for managing finances and investments. Robo advisors were introduced around 2008, which was when the world was dealing with the global financial crisis. Over the years, digital transformation and the emergence of new… Read More

April 14, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments solution provider Fave has reportedly been acquired by Pine Labs, an Asian commerce platform. The acquistion deal is deal valued at more than RM 185 million (appr. $45 million). With this strategic acquisition, Indian consumers may now use the Fave app at some point… Read More

April 13, 2021 @ 11:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The reserve bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued a license to Al Maryah Community Bank in order to offer services in the Middle Eastern nation. Al Maryah is notably the very first all-digital bank to have been given approval to begin providing… Read More

April 13, 2021 @ 7:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom and India may be considered global leaders when it comes to adopting the latest financial technologies which aim to benefit both individuals and businesses, according to Alderman William Russell, the Lord Mayor of the City of London. Fintech is transforming the traditional… Read More

April 13, 2021 @ 1:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia’s PayNet, the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for that nation’s capital markets, has decided to work with FassPay, a subsidiary of Soft Space, which will be a third-party acquirer for MyDebit, the country’s local debit card scheme. This new appointment should allow… Read More