Tagged: digital commerce

September 1, 2020 @ 11:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistani Fintech firm Safepay recently received an investment from Y Combinator and it’s now planning to become “the Stripe of Pakistan.” Karachi-headquartered Safepay has notably become the first Pakistani Fintech to complete Y Combinator’s program for startups. The company was reportedly a part of YC’s… Read More

August 31, 2020 @ 11:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The MENA region is reportedly experiencing a strong revival of its digital commerce and virtual payments sector, particularly during the past quarter of this year. This key Fintech trend is expected to continue and also keep up its current growth rate in the coming years,… Read More

August 24, 2020 @ 11:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan still has a very large informal economy, meaning many (or most) transactions are still settled with cash. The majority of the nation’s residents do not have access to a bank account or modern financial services. However, local Fintech and digital wallet solution providers such… Read More

August 24, 2020 @ 10:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia, which has one of the largest economies in Southeast Asia and also ranked high globally, has emerged as a fast-growing Fintech hub. It’s estimated that in the next five years, digital financial services revenues in Indonesia will reach $8.6 billion, meaning they’re increasing at… Read More

August 21, 2020 @ 12:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cairo-headquartered payment company, Paymob has acquired $3.5 million in capital through an investment round that was led by Dubai’s Global Ventures and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO. Existing investor A15 also took part in the round. Established in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El… Read More

August 15, 2020 @ 6:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

StormX, which allows users to complete gamified micro-tasks or shop online while earning as much as 87.5% cryptocurrency back as a StormX rewards member, is now allowing customers to earn cashback in digital currencies when they shop at a Walmart store. StormX users will be… Read More

August 11, 2020 @ 9:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), which currently has a market cap of around $750 billion, employs over 52,000 workers, and generated over $70 billion in revenue last year, has introduced a new group to focus on payments and digital commerce opportunities. David Marcus, the co-creator of the… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 9:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

An Israel-based AI technology firm is planning to help MUFG Bank, which is Japan’s largest financial institution, with assessing the operations of Asian startups in order to determine the feasibility of issuing loans to them. The $80 million 50-50 joint initiative between Tel Aviv based… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 12:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) testing performed by tech giant Microsoft reveals that consumers are actually leaving their planned purchases at relatively high rates when challenged at the time of checkout. SCA is a European regulatory requirement that aims to reduce or eliminate fraudulent activities and… Read More

August 6, 2020 @ 11:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Splitit, an Australian Stock Exchange-listed (ASX:SPT) company that allows consumers to make payments in easy installments using their credit cards, has reportedly secured $71.5 million in capital through a private placement and share purchase agreement. Splitit is a Buy Now, Pay Later service provider that’s… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 10:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeastern Asian ride-hailing service, Grab, has extended its business into the financial services sector, by introducing a micro-investment platform, a third-party loan service, and also a “Buy Now, Pay Later” product for digital commerce sites. Introduced in August 2020, AutoInvest allows consumers based in Singapore… Read More

August 3, 2020 @ 7:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Become, an online lending platform for SMEs, notes that digital or e-commerce has been accelerated by about 4-6 years due to COVID-19 which has led to permanent changes in consumer behavior. Individuals and business owners are increasingly using all-digital services, instead of visiting… Read More

July 30, 2020 @ 8:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dr. R Seetharaman, the CEO at Doha Bank, says that cooperation between Qatar and Hong Kong in key areas such as digital commerce, supporting startups, and the development of Fintech platforms may strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations. Seetharaman, whose comments came during a… Read More

July 28, 2020 @ 3:32 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) announced on Tuesday has teamed up with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) for digital commerce innovation push. According to the duo, this new collaboration will accelerate Mastercard Labs’ native research and development activities, as well as Azure and AI, to advance Mastercard Labs’ mission… Read More

July 26, 2020 @ 8:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  We recently caught up with Sky Guo, a founding member at the OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute, the global central banking think tank that assists policymakers with understanding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Guo, who’s also the founder of Cypherium, which focuses on enabling interoperability… Read More

July 3, 2020 @ 1:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

JD Digits, the Fintech-focused division of Chinese online marketplace JD.com, is reportedly planning to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) at China’s STAR Market, which is based in Shanghai. This, according to a filing submitted by several securities companies. As first reported by TechNode, the… Read More

June 29, 2020 @ 11:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Manila has been ranked among the top 40 emerging startup ecosystems in the world, according to a new report. While neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia are higher up on the list, the Philippines has seen steady growth and development in its… Read More

June 15, 2020 @ 7:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

WhatsApp Payments, an in-chat payment feature that lets customers perform transfers through the messaging app to anyone in their contact list, may finally be on track to achieve mass adoption in India. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, (NASDAQ:FB) who bought the social media platform in… Read More

June 13, 2020 @ 11:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai-based Tpay Mobile, a mobile payment provider, has reportedly acquired Payguru, a Turkish payments company. The amount paid for the acquisition has not been disclosed. Payguru supports mobile payments, ATM cash payments, and standard bank transfer services. The company has integrated its platform with three… Read More

June 2, 2020 @ 1:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Rise, a Fintech firm that offers various financial services to low-income migrants in the Middle East region and recently acquired $1.4 million in capital for ongoing development, has partnered with Pakistani e-commerce firm HomeShopping.pk. Through the partnership, the companies will launch… Read More