Tagged: asia

March 11, 2020 @ 8:17 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a couple of weeks after Securing more than $800 million from Japanese investors, Southeastern Asian ride-hailing services Grab has formed a new partnership with Germany-based global provider of digital payments and commerce solutions Wirecard. The companies revealed that through the partnership, they will see Wirecard… 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 1, 2020 @ 1:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international organization based in Washington, D.C., consisting of 189 different countries that aim to improve monetary cooperation worldwide, maintain financial stability, and facilitate global trade, acknowledged that Fintech has become a part of everyday life in Malaysia. The IMF… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 11:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Asia-based CoolBitX, a leading blockchain or distributed ledger tech (DLT) security firm, has acquired $16.75 million in capital through a Series B investment round from several large investors. CoolBitX’s funding round was led by Japan-based financial services company SBI Holdings. Monex Group, South Korean crypto-asset… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 11:11 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just days after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFJ) was reportedly set to invest more than $700 million in Grab, the Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant announced it secured more than $800 million from Japanese investors, which includes MUFJ and also  TIS Inc. As previously reported,… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 9:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Envestnet | Yodlee (NYSE: ENV), a data aggregation and analytics platform for digital financial services provider, announced on Tuesday it has acquired FinBit.io, a financial data aggregation and analytics platform provider for the India and Asia market. Founded in 2017,  FinBit.io describes itself as a data analytics… Read More

February 19, 2020 @ 11:32 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) is set to invest more than $700 million in Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab. According to Bloomberg, the MUFG intends to market a range of financial services from insurance to loans to Grab’s users. Founded in 2012, Grab… Read More

February 12, 2020 @ 10:01 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

EasyEuro, a France-based fintech startup, announced this week it secured $4 million through its latest investment round, which was led by Shanghai-based Ally Capital, with participation from seed investors SwiftPass, Geoswift, Huashan Capital and Unity Assets. The funds will be used to launch EasyEuro’s neobank… Read More

February 11, 2020 @ 8:42 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Pelican, a global provider of AI-powered payments and financial crime compliance solutions for banks and corporates, announced on Tuesday it has expanded its global sales reach by partnering with CMSoft Co., Ltd in South Korea. According to Pelican, the new strategic partnership will enable the company… Read More

February 4, 2020 @ 8:35 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab announced on Tuesday it is set to acquire Bento Invest Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based robot-advisory startup. Grab reported that with the acquisition, Bento will be rebranded to GrabInvest, which will be a new core business vertical under Grab’s financial services arm,… Read More

February 2, 2020 @ 6:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Japan (BoJ), the nation’s central bank, has been working on a virtual currency project for several years. The BoJ must be prepared to issue digital currencies if technical innovations in international settlement systems will increase consumer demand, the bank’s deputy governor noted… Read More

February 2, 2020 @ 4:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital payments and online lending are becoming increasingly popular in Asian countries. According to a new survey, a large number of Asia-based users are conducting internet-based transactions, instead of visiting physical bank locations. The recent survey of Fintech customers by Robocash Group revealed that nearly… Read More

February 2, 2020 @ 4:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

LVC Corporation, a subsidiary of LINE Corporation and manager of LINE’s digital currency and blockchain-focused ventures, recently confirmed its plans to begin trading its virtual currency in Japan by April 2020. LINE is the company behind Japanese social media network Line, which notably has more… Read More

January 28, 2020 @ 1:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Zipmex, a Singapore-based crypto-asset exchange focused on offering retail and institutional investors the ability to make secure investments in cryptocurrencies, has reportedly acquired an operational license in Thailand, awarded by the Asian country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Zipmex crypto trading platform currently offers… Read More

January 25, 2020 @ 11:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive has announced the introduction of their investment-focused accelerator program for startups and other small companies in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) regions. The Fintech Hive Scale Up program will provide partnership and investment opportunities for… Read More

January 21, 2020 @ 12:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-headquartered FTMarkets, a foreign exchange established in 2005, recently introduced its trading platform in Vietnam, allowing the residents of the Asian nation to download applications and perform foreign exchange transactions. FTMarkets provides investors MT4 and APP platforms for conducting trades and it doesn’t charge clients… Read More

January 15, 2020 @ 10:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Amazon Pay in India has received a capital injection of INR 13.5 billion (appr. $19.3 million) from its Singapore and Mauritius-headquartered parent entities, according to a filing with the registrar of companies (RoC). As noted in the financial documents available on business intelligence and information… Read More

January 14, 2020 @ 8:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

iSTOX, a regulated capital markets platform that provides digital security issuance and trading, announced on Tuesday it secured a $5 million investment from South Korea-based Hanwha Asset Management. This new investment comes just a couple of months after iSTOX received a $5 million investment from… Read More

January 12, 2020 @ 8:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Thailand is currently laying the groundwork for standalone or independently-functioning online banks as the Southeast Asian nation tries to catch up with other nearby markets that have been upgrading their banking infrastructure. Veerathai Santiprabhob, governor of the Bank of Thailand, noted during a recent interview:… Read More

January 12, 2020 @ 7:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Ceylon (BoC), a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka, is reportedly expanding its branch network to include Andigama and Weerapokuna with the added convenience of offering 24-hour online banking services to the people living in these areas. BoC’s Weerapokuna location is… Read More