Asia

April 10, 2021 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Huobi Group, a leading blockchain firm, recently announced that its “philanthropic” division Huobi Charity Limited (regulated by the Charity Commissioners of Gibraltar – registration no. 324) is committing $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and fiat currency to UNICEF. The funds will be used to “help… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 8:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech funding has really picked up in 2021. It’s estimated to have already reached $15 billion during the first quarter, according to CB Insights data. In Asia, Fintech-related investments are on track to exceed $2.6 billion, which is notably the continent’s highest quarterly total since… Read More

April 10, 2021 @ 7:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Qudian Inc. (NYSE: QD), an established technology platform that aims to improve the online consumer finance experience for Chinese consumers, recently revealed its “unaudited” financial results for the quarter and full year that ended on December 31, 2020. As noted in a release by the… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 8:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Western Union, a leading provider of cross-border, cross-currency money transfer services, is teaming up with Pakistan’s Faysal Bank in order to improve its real-time bank account transaction network. Receivers of global money transfers in Pakistan can take advantage of Western Union’s real-time account payout feature… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 7:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital security platform iSTOX has acquired a stake in the Mapletree MERIT Fund and turned them into digital securities that provide individual accredited investors partial access to the fund or Mapletree Europe Income Trust. Last month, iSTOX announced it had tokenized Astrea VI private equity… Read More

April 9, 2021 @ 9:59 am By JD Alois  |  

In a move to boost clients, ZA Bank has launched a personal loan with a fixed rate of 1.99% APR. Additionally, new users can get HKD 400 cash rewards upon successful application at the virtual bank. ZA Bank says the program is part of its… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 11:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Axiata Group and Telenor Asia revealed on Thursday (April 8, 2021) that they’ve revisted and confirmed their merger plans involving Celcom and Digi. At present, the deal is in advanced discussions. Malaysian telecoms company Axiata Group Bhd and Norway-based Telenor ASA will be focused on… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Finder, a Fintech firm established in Australia back in 2006, has reportedy acquired the GoBear brand as it focuses on its international expansion plans. Now live in many different countries and serving over 10 million consumers globally each month, Finder is one of the world’s… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The blockchain-based decentralized applications (dApp) industry has seen “tremendous” growth, according to a report from DappRadar. There’s been a 639% increase in active wallets across all blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT)-enabled platforms during Q1 2020. The report reveals that there were around 458,000 daily… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments giant Visa (NYSE:V) has announced that it has chosen five high-potential startups to participate in its very first Accelerator Program for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. During the next 4-6 months, the startups will be focused on developing various commercial initiatives such as new… Read More

April 8, 2021 @ 12:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based Cred, a fast-growing Fintech firm that lets clients pay off their credit card bills and gives them rewards in return, has managed to reach a $2.2 billion valuation after its $215 million Series D round that was led by Falcon Edge Capital. Coatue Management… Read More

April 7, 2021 @ 8:31 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Future FinTech Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FTFT), a blockchain-based e-commerce company and a service provider for financial technology. announced on Tuesday it closed the registered direct offering of 5,737,706 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $6.10 per share on April 6, 2021. The gross… Read More

April 7, 2021 @ 12:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-headquartered crypto-asset custody service provider Hex Trust reveals that it has secured $6 million in capital via a Series A round that was led by QBN Capital. As part of its latest investment round, Hex Trust also received contributions from Cell Rising, Radiant Tech… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam-based Fundiin, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service provider, has acquired an undisclosed amount of funds as part of its latest venture round that was reportedly led by 1982 Ventures and Zone Startups Ventures. The funds acquired from Fundiin‘s investment round will be used… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-headquartered neo-banking platform StashFin has finalized a Series B extension equity financing valued at $40 million from several international investors. New investors taking part in StashFin‘s investment round included Altara Ventures and Uncorrelated Ventures along with contributions from investors such as Integrated Capital, Kravis Investment… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 3:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  BizBank, an Asian fintech, has reportedly launched its corporate expense card in Singapore. Founded in 2020, BizBank revealed that it is building a ‘Bank-in-a-Box’ for SMBs.  “Using our end-to-end platform, small businesses can digitize operations and spend more time on their core activities — revenue… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have begun testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) or digital yuan for cross-border transfers, according to a report in SCMP. The report quotes Wang Xin, Head of Research at the PBoC,… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Stripe has reportedly launched its business operations in the Middle East with its recent entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Stripe is notably one of Silicon Valley’s most valuable Fintechs. The company chose Dubai, a major MENA region financial hub, for its… Read More

April 5, 2021 @ 11:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a provider of tools for Crypto AML, Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Cybersecurity, has revealed they’ve entered into a contract to create a ‘Virtual Asset AML’ solution for the Coin&Coin exchange that “complies with the amendment of the Special Money Act in South… Read More

April 5, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), has managed to acquire an operational license following the introduction of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) updated virtual banking guidelines. OFBank was reportedly provided a digital banking… Read More