Asia

October 6, 2020 @ 6:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Joel Edgerton, COO at bitFlyer, a crypto-asset exchange that’s licensed to operate in Japan, the United States, and Europe, recently shared his views about the court case and charges brought against the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), a leading digital asset derivatives exchange. Edgerton also shared… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 11:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

AsiaMoney Magazine has selected Qatar’s Commercial Bank as the nation’s “Best Digital Bank” for 2020. Commercial Bank’s management noted: “Spearheading the digital innovation scene in the country, and more particularly in the financial and banking sector, Commercial Bank never ceases to launch state-of-the-art banking services… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 10:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s (NYSE:BABA) cloud services business may now be on track to generate profits as it continues to receive support from China’s evolving digital economy. Last year, Alibaba Cloud had been ranked as the third-largest infrastructure-as-a-service provider, which is right behind Amazon… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The role of Fintech platforms and services in supporting public services in Indonesia has become more prominent and relevant due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. Fintech service providers are now offering more digital payments options which allow Indonesians to pay for everyday expenses, instead of… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 10:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mo Ali Yusuf, the VP at Checkout.com for the MENA and Asia Pacific region, notes that for anyone who has been living in the UAE for over 4 years, it’s clear to see that the digital payments are increasingly being adopted, instead of using cash… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 9:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) revealed on October 5, 2020, that it has acquired the Avaloq Group AG, a major Swiss financial software firm. The Avaloq acquisition has been made so that NEC can use its digital finance software and industry knowledge as it makes plans… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 10:14 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced on Monday it teamed up with Bank of Thailand (BOT), the central bank, to launch a  blockchain-based platform for government savings bonds issuing a total of $1.6 billion within two weeks. According to IBM, the platform is using blockchain technology on the… Read More

October 4, 2020 @ 5:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Michael Gerber, CEO of 360F, a Fintech firm that offers automated financial advice, has been focused on expanding the company’s operations into the MENA region. Gerber previously worked as the Managing Partner and CEO of a globally active management consultancy company. His professional career began… Read More

October 4, 2020 @ 2:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fady Abdel-Nour, Head of Global M&A and Investments at PayU, a Fintech firm that provides payment technology to online merchants, has noted that regulators in Southeast Asia are working hard to ensure that digital payments are adopted by consumers. Abdel-Nour has pointed out that UPI,… Read More

October 4, 2020 @ 6:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech companies in India are now expecting to make a recovery within the next six months, after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to many people losing their jobs and businesses shutting down. Indian Fintech firms including payments, lending and neobanking… Read More

October 3, 2020 @ 7:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association (AFPI) has reportedly decided to establish a special task force to assist peer-to-peer (P2P) Fintech companies with the significant increase in bad loans – which may have resulted from the socioeconomic challenges created due to the Coronavirus crisis. Adrian Gunadi,… Read More

October 3, 2020 @ 7:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech Saudi, an initiative that’s supported by startup accelerator, Flat6Labs, has announced that it’s launching a 3-months-long innovation and entrepreneurship program. The program will aim to bring together Fintech Saudi’s extensive MENA region market reach and Flat6Labs’ resources, in order to provide up to 10… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore‘s United Overseas Bank (UOB), a multinational banking organization with branches mostly based in Southeast Asian countries, has reportedly become the world’s first lender to use a new Visa API that allows clients to add cards to third-party apps without having to carry or use… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has told bankrupt Fintech Wirecard (WDI.DE) to halt payment services in Singapore and to return all customer funds by October 14, 2020. MAS states that it has been monitoring Wirecard’s bankruptcy proceedings and the ability of the company to provide… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 8:19 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer announced on Tuesday the launch of cross-border trading on its platform. bitFlyer reported that its users in Europe will be able to have access to bitcoin markets in Japan, while still using a European-regulated platform. Launched in 2018, bitFlyer describes itself as… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 7:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Fintech firm Fasset, a provider of blockchain-based solutions for the financing of sustainable infrastructure, has reportedly been approved or authorized to test out its software which tokenizes hard assets. The project is part of Bahrain’s Fintech regulatory sandbox program. The permit was issued by… Read More

September 29, 2020 @ 9:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Philippines-based PayMongo, an online payments platform, has secured $12 million in capital through a Series A investment round led by payments processor Stripe PayMongo provides an online payments API for businesses in the Philippines. The Fintech firm has taken part in Y Combinator’s Accelerator program…. Read More

September 29, 2020 @ 8:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam based Timo Plus, a digital banking platform, is reportedly planning to “relaunch” its services as e-commerce activity in the country has really picked up (due to COVID). Timo Plus is Vietnam’s very first digital bank. The company’s management stated on September 28, 2020, that… Read More

September 29, 2020 @ 2:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

BukuWarung, a Fintech based in Indonesia, has received over 8-figure US dollars in funding, spread over three rounds in 2020, according to a note from the company following its graduation from Y-Combinator. Investors in this round include Partners of DST Global, GMO Venture Partners, Soma… Read More

September 28, 2020 @ 9:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firms in Qatar are focused on improving the customer experience by providing more accessible financial services. Fintech solutions providers are helping with enabling greater financial inclusion, lower operational costs, and offering better security for applications, according to Burak Zatiturk, the Financial Services Leader at… Read More