Asia

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

October 5, 2024 @ 6:22 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Funding for the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) sector in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is projected to increase by 50 percent year-over-year in 2025, according to the latest report from GenAI Fund. The “ASEAN GenAI Startup Report 2024” attributes this anticipated growth to… Read More

October 5, 2024 @ 9:01 am By Michael Wong  |  

Southeast Asia’s technology startup sector experienced a significant downturn in funding during the first nine months of 2024, plunging 59% compared to the same period last year, a report released by Tracxn revealed. The report highlighted that Southeast Asian (SEA) tech startups secured a total… Read More

October 2, 2024 @ 7:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a development for the region’s digital commerce ecosystem, Bazzar Gate, an IT firm, has reportedly acquired $1 million in funding. This capital injection from the investment round is now expected to enabke the expansion of the firm’s e-commerce platform, Partners, which has gained traction… Read More

October 2, 2024 @ 7:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PhonePe announced its partnership with Jar to launch its new product offering ‘Daily Savings’ on its platform, enabling users to save money in 24K digital gold via “incremental daily contributions.” With Daily Savings, users are able to set aside as little as ₹10 per day,… Read More

October 2, 2024 @ 7:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest DFSA approval unlocks Ripple’s end-to-end payment services in the UAE, boosting Middle East operations. Ripple, the provider of digital asset infrastructure, has secured in-principle approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in order to expand its services from the Dubai International Financial… Read More

September 30, 2024 @ 3:58 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment solution operated by Ant International, has significantly expanded its presence in Nepal by partnering with Himalayan Bank, a major local bank. This collaboration introduces over ten new payment partners, enabling Alipay+ to be accepted at more than 25,000 merchants across… Read More

September 30, 2024 @ 8:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Building on the multimarket partnership to enable flexible payments adoption in the region, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and ZOOD, one of the digital lending platforms for e-commerce in the Middle East and Central Asia, has introduced a BNPL card – ZOOD Card – in Uzbekistan. The… Read More

September 29, 2024 @ 5:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Temenos (SIX: TEMN) announced that it has signed a Multi-Country Model Bank development agreement with Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), a global digital transformation company. Temenos Country Model Banks offer financial institutions a faster go-live experience with Temenos solutions, “while simultaneously reducing costs and risks through pre-configured… Read More

September 29, 2024 @ 1:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qist Bazaar, Pakistan’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech startup, announced that it has secured $3.2 million in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Indus Valley Capital, with “participation from Gobi Partners, a prominent Asia-focused venture capital firm with $1.6 billion… Read More

September 29, 2024 @ 12:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Amplify Growth Partnership has announced the launch of its growth debt fund. The $100 million fund aims to “provide debt capital to technology focused companies across the MENA region.” The Fund is also pleased to announce “that it has successfully closed its first transaction, deploying… Read More