Asia

March 29, 2021 @ 10:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based #dltledgers, a blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform for conducting cross-border trade, trade finance, and handling supply chain digitization, has secured $7 million in capital through a Series A round. The firm’s investment round was led by Regis and Savoy Capital, Vittal, Walden… Read More

March 28, 2021 @ 8:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh (India) has revealed that the area has set a new record in the number of digital transactions performed. Lucknow, The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh reports that banks are now playing a key role in promoting digital… Read More

March 28, 2021 @ 8:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central bank, announced on Friday (March 26, 2021) that it has started working on a separate set of guidelines for virtual banks which will focus on “regional regulatory trends,” according to a report from local sources. As… Read More

March 28, 2021 @ 12:51 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Insurtech platform Shuidi closed its mutual insurance service On March 26th, Insurtech platform Shuidi announced that it would close its mutual insurance service at 18:00 on March 31st, 2021. Prior to this, members who were unfortunately diagnosed with a serious illness could continue to apply… Read More

March 27, 2021 @ 7:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital wallet provider Boost recently revealed that it’s now a part of the PayNet Real Time Retail Payment Platform (RPP). Boost confirmed that it will be adopting DuitNow QR (beginning on March 26, 2021). DuitNow QR is the national QR code standard used in Malaysia…. Read More

March 27, 2021 @ 6:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Aspirasi, an online micro-financing and micro-insurance platform operating under Axiata Digital, is providing a more convenient and all-digital financing option for online consumers via Aspirasi CashNow. Now available via digital commerce platform Lazada Malaysia, Aspirasi CashNow is currently open for applications to all Malaysia-based residents… Read More

March 27, 2021 @ 5:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Local sources in India have commented on why the government may want residents to disclose their digital currency holdings. Industry professionals in the country have pointed out that the Indian corporate affairs ministry could be looking for disclosures from firms in order to get a… Read More

March 27, 2021 @ 3:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  Quinlan & Associates have published a report, titled Branching Off: The Outlook for Hong Kong’s Virtual Banks. The report, which has been authored by company CEO and Managing Partner Benjamin Quinlan and Consultant Eashan Trehan, notes that it’s been a year now since the… Read More

March 26, 2021 @ 11:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital payments in India are being increasingly adopted by businesses and individual consumers. Online lending platforms are also becoming more popular in the country that’s home to around 1.5 billion residents. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced several initiatives that are aimed at… Read More

March 26, 2021 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar’s Islamic or Sharia-compliant Fintech sector is on track to record significant growth in the next 5 years, according to local sources. As digital transformations accelerate Islamic finance ecosystems worldwide, we are happy to share with you the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 produced by… Read More

March 26, 2021 @ 10:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

        Ping An Insurance Group announced earlier this week it has teamed up with Zhongshan Hospital for healthcare service enhancements, medical research innovation, and talent incubation across the healthcare, finance and technology fields to help deliver on the national Healthy China initiative…. Read More

March 25, 2021 @ 11:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset marketplace Coinbase has revealed that it’s planning to hire in India, a country that has been attempting to ban “private” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. However, the nation’s authorities recently clarified that they’re not going to shut off crypto activity completely, meaning digital currencies may… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Supported by an upcoming generation of talented tech professionals, the Fintech industry is evolving rapidly in Pakistan. Fintechs could begin to make major contributions to the Asian country’s nearly $400 billion GDP. Professionals leading the country’s finance ministry and its reserve bank (the State Bank… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 11:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Board Member, Managing Director and Head of Middle East at Alvarez & Marsal, notes that research performed by Checkout.com at the end of last year suggested that digital commerce and the digital payment sectors in the Middle East region were “set for… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s officials have addressed concerns that the digital yuan may be violating or infringing on user privacy. They’ve looked into questions related to “controllable anonymity” as well. STCN reports that on March 20, 2021, Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ZA Bank, which is one of Hong Kong’s eight digital banks, has confirmed that it has now acquired around 300,000 users. This milestone has been reached right before its first year anniversary. ZA Bank was notably the first to carry out a soft launch of… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 9:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Payments platform Airwallex has raised an additional $100 million in an extension of its Series D funding round that brings the total to $300 million. Airwallex was valued at $2.6 billion in the round. To date, Airwallex reports having raised almost $500 million in equity… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 1:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian digital payments giant Paytm recently confirmed that its pleased to share that Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has been given approval for its @Paytm UPI handle from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to “enable fast and seamless payment mandates for IPO… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 12:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Islamic or Sharia-compliant Fintech services are being increasingly adopted in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and internationally as well, according to a report from Arabian Business. As reported by the news outlet, the largest transaction volumes have come from Saudi Arabia, the UAE,… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 10:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asia-based all-digital banking challenger Tonik has officially launched the first neobank in the Philippines. Tonik is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank. Tonik’s deposits will reportedly be insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). The digital banking… Read More