Asia

October 15, 2024 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sarwa reportedly offers options trading to their customers, becoming one of the “first” fintech platforms in the Middle East to do so. Sarwa and Alpaca’s partnership has grown since 2021, and they are pleased to acknowledge Sarwa’s efforts and progress on achieving this first-to-market milestone…. Read More

October 15, 2024 @ 9:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com and BENEFIT, the company that’s focused on FinTech and electronic financial transactions services in Bahrain, have recently announced they will begin discussions on combining their expertise and help expand the digital assets and fintech ecosystem in Bahrain. The companies signed an MOU at the… Read More

October 15, 2024 @ 9:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Kaspersky’s Digital Footprint Intelligence (DFI) team has released a report that is shedding light on the most pervasive cyberthreats facing organizations in the Middle East. The Kaspersky cybersecurity team has recently delved “deep into the dark web” – exploring everything from cybercriminal forums to shadow… Read More

October 14, 2024 @ 8:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published the results of a consultation on changing the term “Virtual Bank” to “Digital Bank,” joining most of the rest of the world. Hong Kong has been a progressive jurisdiction when it comes to embracing the digital banking… Read More

October 13, 2024 @ 2:25 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Bahrain Fintech Bay (BFB), a financial technology hub, announced the establishment of the MENA Innovation Academy (MENA-IA) to enhance Fintech expertise and career readiness across the Middle East and North Africa region. The academy is launched in partnership with Reboot Coding Institute (Reboot01), an academic… Read More

October 13, 2024 @ 1:21 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Philippine digital banks aiming to tap the country’s large unbanked and underbanked population are facing significant risks associated with lending to these segments, Fitch Ratings reported. The Philippines, like several other Asia-Pacific markets, has lower credit and banking penetration compared to developed economies. Digital lenders… Read More

October 12, 2024 @ 6:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gemcorp Capital, a global asset management firm focused on emerging markets, has received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in order to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and has opened a business office in Abu Dhabi…. Read More

October 12, 2024 @ 6:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Digital wealth management platform Arta Finance has announced its global launch alongside a significant partnership with Abu Dhabi-based fintech firm Wio Invest. This collaboration represents a major step in Arta’s business-to-business expansion, as Wio Invest plans to integrate Arta’s wealth-as-a-service platform into its digital offerings… Read More

October 11, 2024 @ 10:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Airwallex announced that Airwallex Capital is now licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) in order to offer asset management services, paving the way for the upcoming launch of its Airwallex Yield in Hong Kong early next year. As explained in a… Read More

October 11, 2024 @ 6:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Matrixport, which claims to be one of the world’s “one-stop” crypto financial services platforms, officially launches its latest “Official Channel Verification” feature. Users are now reportedly able to visit the verification page anytime in order to verify their accounts via multiple channels. This is said… Read More

October 11, 2024 @ 4:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Checkout.com, a digital payments provider, announced a partnership with Octopus, Hong Kong’s “homegrown” global fintech, in order to enable online payment for customers of Hong Kong’s leading payment choice – becoming the global payment service provider (PSP) to add Octopus as a payment option at… Read More

October 10, 2024 @ 7:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IDA, a Hong Kong-based fiat-referenced stablecoin issuer, is integrating Chainlink’s services for tokenized assets. As mentioned in a blog post, those reportedly include Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) for verifying asset collateralization as well as the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) for the “secure” movement… Read More

October 10, 2024 @ 5:45 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) have expressed full support for the Banking Industry Integrity Charter introduced by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The two organizations jointly hosted the launch ceremony for the Integrity Charter, attended… Read More

October 10, 2024 @ 2:32 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Indonesian donation and crowdfunding platform Kitabisa has officially entered the country’s insurance sector by launching Kitabisa Insurance, a sharia-compliant subsidiary, marking a significant step in addressing Indonesia’s notably low insurance penetration rate, according to DealStreetAsia. The announcement follows the subsidiary’s introduction of its first product,… Read More

October 10, 2024 @ 10:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Elliptic, the enabler of sophisticated blockchain analytics and digital asset risk management, has announced the launch of its regional headquarters in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking a key milestone in its international expansion efforts. Elliptic is pleased to welcome Zahi Yaari as its new… Read More

October 10, 2024 @ 9:52 am By Michael Wong  |  

American artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI announced its expansion into Singapore, confirming plans to open a regional office later this year. This move underscores Singapore’s prominent role in technology and AI, as well as the increasing demand for advanced AI tools across the Asia Pacific… Read More

October 8, 2024 @ 9:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

JCB Co., Ltd., Japan’s international payments provider, announced that it enabled Google Pay for its clients. Android(TM) smartphone users are able to now easily use Google Pay in stores where JCB Contactless is accepted, by adding credit/debit cards issued by the JCB Group in Japan… Read More

October 7, 2024 @ 6:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The digital commerce payments ecosystem in Malaysia payments is set to reach $14.7 billion by 2028, according to projections from GlobalData. The Malaysian e-commerce market is now expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% between the current year 2024 and… Read More

October 6, 2024 @ 2:39 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) unveiled a comprehensive report, outlining enhanced strategies and recommendations to strengthen the nation’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. The report emphasizes a whole-of-society approach, urging collaboration between frontline stakeholders and the government to combat increasingly sophisticated money laundering (ML) tactics. The IMC’s… Read More

October 6, 2024 @ 2:32 pm By Michael Wong  |  

SBI Holdings Inc., a prominent Tokyo-based financial services conglomerate, has acquired a stake in UBX, a key player in digital transformation within the Philippines. This strategic investment aims to foster collaboration between the two firms to develop impactful digital solutions tailored to the specific needs… Read More