Asia

December 24, 2019 @ 12:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) revealed its intent to issue digital bank licenses. Announced in June, applicants have until the end of this year (December 31) to apply. This means a license for digital-only banks. Existing traditional banks that offer digital… Read More

December 24, 2019 @ 11:50 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police in Tangshen, a city in China’s northeastern coastal province of Hebei, have seized three privately-installed high-power electricity transformers directing stolen electricity to 790 bitcoin mining machines running in an adjacent village. The machines have also been seized, CCTV reports. Police claim the electricity commandeered… Read More

December 24, 2019 @ 11:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SoftBank Group-backed Grab Financial Group will reportedly be applying for an online banking license in Singapore, as the company believes that financial businesses will be a key driver for its future growth and development. If Grab manages to acquire the license, then consumers and small… Read More

December 24, 2019 @ 10:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tencent, which operates the popular Chinese social media app WeChat, is reportedly planning to establish a digital currency research division in order to support the ongoing development and advancement of blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) initiatives. Chinese media outlet iFeng revealed on December 23… Read More

December 24, 2019 @ 8:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Quantiphi, a US and India-headquartered applied artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics services firm, has raised $20 million via a Series A round from Multiples Alternate Asset Management. Quantiphi offers applied AI and Big Data solutions to Fortune 500 companies across several major sectors… Read More

December 24, 2019 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mu Changchun, deputy director at the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC), recently stated that the digital yuan (under development) will be fundamentally different from Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency. The electronic yuan will also be different from stablecoins, which are digital assets pegged one-to-one with… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 5:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ZA Bank Ltd. is reportedly testing internet-only banking solutions in Hong Kong, which notably makes it the first organization to provide such services in the city as the Asian financial hub continues to promote the development of Fintech-related projects. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority began… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published a report entitled “Reshaping Banking with Artificial Intelligence.” The Report is part of a series of publications on applying AI technology, including Robo-advisors, to the banking industry. Hong Kong has emerged as a top Asian Fintech hub… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 10:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

FinVolution Group, a China-based fintech that connects underserved individual borrows with financial institutions, announced on Monday it received a license for Technology and Information-Based Financial Lending Institution (peer-to-peer lending license) from the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia.  As previously reported, FinVolution claims to be a pioneer… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Foreign residents in South Korea will have the option of using the all-digital Kakao Bank and K bank beginning next year, as the country’s financial regulators will let consumers use their alien registration cards to open accounts via the internet. South Korea’s financial regulator, the… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the securities regulator for the country, has commenced consultation on “E-money and digital payment tokens (DPTs).” Singapore is a well-recognized Fintech hub. Financial innovation in the country has been aided by the explicit support of policymakers including the leading… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 9:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Sweden-headquartered TrueCaller, a company that runs a caller-identification system, is further expanding its financial services business. The firm is piloting a new program to offer credit to small business owners based in India, which reportedly make up around 20 million of the total 140 million… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 8:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a little over a month after announcing its partnership with Xfers, a Singapore-based payment processing gateway, Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has announced it is now allowing its Singapore users to buy and sell crypto in SGD instantly with Xfers Wallet.  Crypto.com reported that through… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 7:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The majority of Filipinos still do not actively use online banking services with many locals preferring to visit traditional brick and mortar locations. However, an entire generation of new users in the country is now using digital banking platforms. Europe-based Global bank ING, a financial… Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 4:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chennai-headquartered digital bank Kaleidofin has secured Rs 36 Crore (appr. $5 million) in a Series A funding round, which was led by impact investment firm Oikocredit. Existing investors Flourish, Omidyar Network India, Blume Ventures and Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund also took part in Kaleidofin’s round…. Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 12:56 pm By Cali Haan  |  

For many reasons, China is regarded as one of the world’s make-or-break regions when it comes to the fate of “blockchain” technology and cryptocurrencies. Before Bitcoin trading was officially banned in China in late 2016, yuan-to-Bitcoin conversions (and vice versa) seemed to account for more… Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 12:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Saxo Bank A/S and Geely Sweden Holdings AB, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd., revealed on December 18 that they have agreed to take part in a technology project to offer financial and regulatory technology (Regtech) products to financial institutions including major… Read More

December 21, 2019 @ 10:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK based digital bank Revolut has introduced a new debit multi-currency card that comes with “compelling travel benefits and cashback” for millennials who might be traveling, Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore and Brunei confirmed. Revolut recently expanded into Asia with its sights set… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 2:24 pm 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 that Guosheng (Hong Kong) Investment Limited has agreed to a non-binding letter of intent to lock up the firm’s Class A ordinary shares,… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 11:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Payments platform giant PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced on Friday it has completed its acquisition of a 70% equity interest in Guofubao Information Technology Co., Ltd. (GoPay). The acquisition notably follows the approval of the transaction by the People’s Bank of China, which took place on September… Read More