Tagged: financial inclusion

December 17, 2020 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fairbanc, the Silicon Valley-based Fintech firm that provides credit to the unbanked or financially underserved in Southeast Asia, has received financial backing from Columbia Business School’s student-run impact fund, Microlumbia. According to a release, this financial backing has come shortly after an investment from 500… Read More

December 9, 2020 @ 10:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mexico-based digital bank albo has secured $45 million in capital through an investment round in order to expand its operations into lending and insurance services. Several investors took part in albo’s latest round, including Valar Ventures, Greyhound Capital, Mountain Nazca and Flourish Ventures. The digital… Read More

December 2, 2020 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vikas Raj, the Managing Director at Accion Venture Lab, a global non-profit firm focused on creating a “financially inclusive” world, with a “pioneering legacy” in microfinance and Fintech impact investing, notes that we’ve now entered a new age of Fintech and financial inclusion. Raj, an… Read More

November 28, 2020 @ 12:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Brian Armstrong, Co-founder and CEO at Coinbase, the leading US-based digital asset exchange, notes that this past week, the company heard rumors that the U.S. Treasury and Secretary Mnuchin had been planning to “rush out” some new regulations for self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets  – which would… Read More

November 26, 2020 @ 10:18 am By JD Alois  |  

In an interview as part of the Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival taking place this week, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), discussed how Fintech or digital finance has been boosted by the COVID health crisis. Digital Transformation Menon shared that… Read More

November 11, 2020 @ 9:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ride-hailing service Grab, which has diversified its business and includes Grab Financial Services, has reportedly led a $100 million Series B investment round in Indonesia-based e-money institution LinkAja. LinkAja’s digital wallet and merchant services businesses are notably the flagship product of PT Fintek Karya Nusantara… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 9:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently connected with Ray Youssef, the CEO at Paxful, a leading peer to peer Bitcoin exchange, which reported a 274% increase in new registrations in Turkey, during the past year, on its platform. There was also an average of $65,000+ in monthly trade volume… Read More

October 12, 2020 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UAE based Fintech Galaxy, a Fintech marketplace and innovation platform, has teamed up with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in order to launch a virtual hackathon – which focuses on supporting financial inclusion and encourages regulatory collaboration in the MENA region. According to… Read More

October 11, 2020 @ 11:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has reportedly issued updated guidelines and instructions that will allow local residents and small businesses to open certain types of bank accounts under various terms and conditions. The CBE sent a letter to local banks in which it noted… Read More

October 8, 2020 @ 3:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai-based Fintech firm Rise has launched a new platform that allows expatriate workers to make low-cost or affordable remittance payments. The platform’s users are able to send payments in real-time to friends and family members living abroad. At present, the remittance service is in its… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The role of Fintech platforms and services in supporting public services in Indonesia has become more prominent and relevant due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. Fintech service providers are now offering more digital payments options which allow Indonesians to pay for everyday expenses, instead of… Read More

October 4, 2020 @ 4:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Commonwealth countries are planning to further tap into the potential of Fintech applications. A new toolkit has been introduced to help countries with harnessing the potential of financial technology in order to achieve inclusive economic progress. The toolkit has reportedly been developed as a response… Read More

September 24, 2020 @ 12:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Antony Welfare, Chief Commercial Officer at NEM Group, an organization supporting the development of NEM, a blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) based platform for building enterprise-grade applications, states that blockchain tech is now more than 10 years old (as far as its application is… Read More

September 14, 2020 @ 8:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Onfido, a global ID verification provider, will be offering its user authentication services to Malaysia’s MyCash Money. Onfido has also been providing similar services to other Fintech firms in the region, including BigPay and MoneyMatch. MyCash Money is a digital marketplace that’s focused on serving… Read More

September 14, 2020 @ 6:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Minted, a Shariah-compliant platform for trading gold, is planning to launch its services this month. Gold has served as a safe haven asset during times of economic uncertainty, but mostly wealthy people have invested in the precious metal. Minted aims to change this trend… Read More

September 9, 2020 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency adoption has been growing steadily across the globe, according to Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index. As mentioned in a report from the blockchain security firm, the majority of cryptocurrency volume reflects trading and speculation that was conducted by professional or institutional investors that were… Read More

September 7, 2020 @ 11:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Fintech industry in the Middle East and wider MENA region has experienced significant growth during the past several years. The State of Fintech report reveals that the number of financial technology companies in the Middle East was expected to increase from around 105 in… Read More

September 1, 2020 @ 11:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Niyogin, which is listed on the BSE (previously called Bombay Stock Exchange and located at Datal Street, Mumbai), has acquired a majority 51% stake in iServeU for INR 592 million (appr. $8 million) in a cash and stock deal. Niyogin aims to develop… Read More

August 31, 2020 @ 6:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

It’s now possible to open a new bank account or apply for a credit card or loan with just a few taps on our smartphones. Many people now have access to modern financial services, such as instantly transferring funds, from the comfort of their home… Read More

August 30, 2020 @ 3:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BABB (Bank Account Based Blockchain), an FCA authorized payment institution, aims to make it easier and cheaper to send cross-border payments. The company uses the latest technology to “bypass” traditional banking networks and costly third-parties to facilitate international fundraising and peer to peer (P2P) transactions…. Read More