Asia

April 15, 2020 @ 10:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A state-managed bank in China seems to have launched a mobile-based test app that supports the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) virtual currency initiative. A website link allows users to download a payments app that has been provided by the Agricultural Bank of China (according… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 10:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based PhonePe, a major digital payments platform, will be supporting delivery as an option through its app. The Bengaluru-headquartered Fintech firm will introduce a feature in the “Stores” section of its app, which will allow users to have groceries and other essentials delivered to their… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 5:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Algorand (ALGO), a leading proof of stake (PoS)-based blockchain platform, recently revealed that it’s developing a trusted, public, and permissionless infrastructure (with the help of its community members) for the borderless global economy. The Algorand team announced: “In support of our mission, we are launching… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 11:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Google Pay was reportedly the most downloaded Fintech app (globally) during the month of February 2020 with 15.6 million downloads. It was closely followed by Indian digital payments firm PhonePe’s app which was downloaded 6 million times. For Google Pay, this is notably more than… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 11:23 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced on Tuesday it has integrated with blockchain-based digital identification organization, MyID Alliance. Bithumb claims it is the first Korean virtual asset exchange to implement the distributed identification (DID) service performed by the organization. Bithumb Korea will notably participate as… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 10:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Zaggle, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning to provide innovative solutions to Indian businesses, reportedly had a turnover of around INR 1800 Crores (appr. $237 million) for the 2018-2019 financial year (FY). Zaggle is now expecting to generate INR 3500 Crores… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 1:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

India-based HDFC Bank, the nation’s largest private sector lender, recently issued a warning regarding a potential increase in fraudulent activities online, including phishing scams. Sameer Ratolikar, chief information security officer at HDFC Bank, said during a conference call that the cybercriminals and hackers could begin… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 11:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the nation’s central bank with over $3.2 trillion in reserves, recently held a discussion in the capital city of Beijing. The PBoC’s officials confirmed during the conference (held on April 3, 2020) that the reserve bank would continue to… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 10:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Seychelles-based Huobi Group, a blockchain and digital assets firm, is introducing an on-chain analytics tool, called Star Atlas, for monitoring and identifying illicit cryptocurrency transfers. The exchange’s Star Atlas tool allows users to track on-chain crypto-asset transactions in real-time. With the launch of this new… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 10:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Blockchain Research Institute, which is managed by China’s Center for Information and Industry Development (CCID), has published its (17th) latest Global Public Chain Technology Evaluation Index. The distributed ledger technology (DLT)-focused index ranks 37 of the most prominent or widely-used public blockchain networks. It… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 8:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS) has announced a new English taught Masters program. The Masters of Fintech will be taught in the Zhejiang Province – a leading center of Fintech innovation and home to Ant Financial (part of Alibaba) one of the largest Fintech companies… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 6:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian Fintech firm Navi Technologies, a company that aims to make financial services simple, affordable and more accessible, has secured INR 2.04 billion (appr. $26.75 million) in equity funding from Gaja Capital, a Mumbai-based private equity company. Navi aims to develop consumer-centric and technology-driven businesses… Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 12:19 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Dutch multinational banking and financial services group Rabobank announced on Monday it has collaborated with global agriculture supply chains Cargill and Agrocorp to completed a cross-continent commodity trade transaction of wheat from North America to Southeast Asia on a blockchain platform provided by Singapore-based dltledgers…. Read More

April 14, 2020 @ 8:27 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Apifiny, a digital asset marketplace that seeks to enable institutional trading across multiple regulated exchanges, announced on Tuesday it has been granted an exemption by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) from holding a license under that country’s Payment Services Act (PSA). Founded in 2019, Apifiny describes itself… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai-based Global Ventures, a venture capital firm established by Noor Sweid who was previously involved with the Dubai Future Foundation and Leap Ventures, has secured $50 million in capital. This, according to Basil Moftah, the firm’s managing partner, who shared the details of the investment… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 8:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar-based Commercial Bank revealed on April 12, 2020, that it’s launching two new products that offer digital payment and remittance solutions. Joseph Abraham, Group CEO at Commercial Bank, confirmed during a video press conference that the bank has introduced the “CB Household Worker PayCard,” which… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 12:32 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

DeCurret, a Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Friday it has issued ¥2.75 billion in a third-party allocation of shares. The platform, which was founded in 2018, stated that amidst a “growing major trend towards the spread of digital currency” it has become a “main bank… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 10:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ledger, a leading cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider, recently revealed that it’s now allowing its customers to make payments for products through Hong Kong-based Crypto.com’s online wallet app. As noted in an announcement published on April 9, 2020, Ledger will be accepting payments made using Bitcoin… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published an FAQ in regards to the new Payment Services Act. The Payment Services Act has gone through a consultation process with MAS responding in December 2019. The FAQ is meant to provide guidance on the licensing and… Read More

April 13, 2020 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Governments around the world are scrambling to backstop halted economies impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just weeks ago, the global economy was full speed ahead but today with lockdowns, social distancing and face mask requirements in place, businesses are closed and everyone is suffering…. Read More