Asia

March 8, 2020 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In June 2020, Singapore’s regulatory authorities will be issuing operational licenses to three new wholesale neobanks in order to provide better services to underbanked small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) confirmed in mid-2019 that it would begin accepting applications for five new… Read More

March 8, 2020 @ 10:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mature global economies like Japan’s won’t need a virtual currency, according to the deputy governor at the Bank of Japan (BoJ). While attending the Bank for International Settlement’s Future of Payments Forum, deputy governor Masayoshi Amamiya said that a central bank digital currency, or CBDC,… Read More

March 7, 2020 @ 8:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pine Labs has teamed up with ZestMoney, a leading consumer lending Fintech firm based in India. Through the partnership, the companies will offer in-store digital equated monthly installment (EMI) options to “new-to-credit” customers via Pine Labs’ Plutus and Plutus Smart point of sale (PoS) devices. … Read More

March 7, 2020 @ 7:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the nation’s central bank, is getting ready to submit a review petition on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding cryptocurrency transactions. According to the Economic Times, which cited sources familiar with the matter, the RBI is concerned the Court’s… Read More

March 7, 2020 @ 4:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Philippines, an Asian country with a GDP of over $300 billion and a population of more than 100 million, is preparing to welcome its first all-digital bank, Tonik Financial, which was established in Singapore in 2018. Tonik has acquired a banking license from the… Read More

March 7, 2020 @ 2:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Leap Finance Inc., a Fintech-focused platform for Indian students who are planning to enroll in international higher education programs, has secured $5.5 million in capital via a round led by Sequoia Capital.  Bhupinder Singh, founder and CEO at Incred, Kunal Shah, founder and CEO at… Read More

March 7, 2020 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Washington-based Quona Capital, a leading venture capital company (with additional offices in Bengaluru), has secured $203 million in commitments. The Accion Quona Inclusion Fund had initially planned to acquire $150 million in capital. The fund will mainly be focusing on Fintech projects and financial organizations… Read More

March 6, 2020 @ 10:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kuwait-based company Path Solutions has introduced the Path Digital and Path Intelligence platforms to allow local banks to offer clients a seamless and intelligent digital banking experience.  The Fintech solution provider noted that the launch of the new platform will complement its new Intelligent Digital… Read More

March 6, 2020 @ 7:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s banking regulator, the Reserve Bank India (RBI), has issued an update regarding how it plans to regulate the country’s Fintech and regulatory technology, or Regtech, industry. The RBI is establishing three new divisions, which include one unit to regulate Fintech, another unit to oversee… Read More

March 5, 2020 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The South Korean National Assembly introduced an amendment on March 5, 2020 which will officially bring decentralized cryptocurrencies under the $1.5 trillion economy’s legal system.  The amendment, as drafted, makes changes to the established Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Information, in order… Read More

March 5, 2020 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has released an updated exposure draft, which covers the licensing guidelines for all-digital banks. The draft from the nation’s central bank proposes a simplified set of regulations for neobanks. Bank Negara officials noted that the simplifications intend to reduce regulatory pressure… Read More

March 5, 2020 @ 5:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Matrixport, a financial services firm owned by billionaire Jihan Wu, co-founder of giant crypto mining firm Bitmain, is reportedly planning to secure $40 million in capital at a post-investment valuation of $300 million. According to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter, Matrixport’s management… Read More

March 5, 2020 @ 8:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CoinDCX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, revealed on March 4, 2020 that it has become the first digital asset trading platform in the country to integrate bank account transfers.  This development has come right after the Supreme Court of India lifted the… Read More

March 4, 2020 @ 11:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mother Finance Co Ltd, the developer of the first digital lending app in Myanmar, and NearMe Digital Services, a local online services platform for retailers, have teamed up to offer credit to NearMe’s agent and partner network. Mother Finance is incorporated in the Republic of… Read More

March 4, 2020 @ 9:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s capital Beijing has revealed that the city’s tax department will introduce blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT)-powered invoicing. The new service was reportedly launched on  March 2, 2020. Officials in Beijing said they are planning to take advantage of DLT’s unique transparency, traceability and… Read More

March 4, 2020 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai International Finance Center (DIFC) and Mashreq Bank, the oldest privately-owned bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $2.2 billion in annual revenue, are trying to encourage  other banks in the Middle East to take part in a blockchain-enabled know-your-customer (KYC) data sharing… Read More

March 4, 2020 @ 8:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, Crowdfund Insider reported on the Supreme Court of India’s ruling on cryptocurrency that removed restrictions on virtual currency transactions imposed in April 2018 by the Reserve Bank of India. The ban impeded banks from providing services to entities dealing with cryptocurrencies. Of course,… Read More

March 4, 2020 @ 7:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India on March 4, 2020 officially removed the restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on regulated commercial entities, which prohibited local banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) from offering services to firms and individuals… Read More

March 3, 2020 @ 7:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SMEcorner, an online lender for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has acquired $30 million in funding through a Series B round, which reportedly includes a combination of debt and equity.  SMEcorner is based in Mumbai, India. SMEcorner’s investment round was led by Paragon Partners, which… Read More

March 3, 2020 @ 7:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Malta-based crypto asset exchange Binance recently revealed that its fiat on-ramp for the Turkish Lira has officially launched.  Binance has teamed up with Akbank, one of the largest banks in Turkey, in order to introduce the new fiat gateway. Binance’s users in Turkey now have… Read More