Tagged: southeast asia

May 17, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard-backed Pine Labs, an Indian merchant commerce service provider, has finalized the first close of $285 million in funding at a $3 billion valuation. Pine Labs provides payment terminals, invoicing tools, and working capital to over 150,000 merchants in the Middle East and other regions… Read More

May 17, 2021 @ 2:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Land Bank of the Philippines has introduced its digital onboarding platform for its clients so they can easily open up a savings account without being required to visit a physical bank location. The State-managed banking institution unveiled its digital onboarding system, called DOBS Mobile,… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Y-Combinator-backed Fintech firm Aspire has reportedly managed to reach $1 billion in annualized transaction volumes in just a year since the introduction of its business accounts (in May 2020). Aspire also revealed that it will be offering a new Bill Pay feature, which will be… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australia-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Fintech firm Zip Co has reportedly decided to expand its global operations. Zip has received a strategic investment in TendoPay, a BNPL service provider operating in the Philippines. This latest investment marks Zip’s initial steps into Southeast Asia, which… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 9:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore revealed on May 6, 2021 that it has introduced the sixth edition of the Global Fintech Hackcelerator, with the theme “Harnessing Technology to Power Green Finance.” As mentioned in the… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 9:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PayMaya, a mobile wallet that’s operating under the purview of PLDT, has reportedly become the first Fintech firm to start using QR Ph for merchants. QR Ph was introduced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank, with assistance from BancNet and… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GHL Systems has teamed up with payments giant Visa (NYSE:V) in order to become the first in the ASEAN region to offer Visa Instalments for customers using the eGHL Payment Gateway platform. Visa Instalments works by turning pre-approved issuer credit lines into installment payment options… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

During the past year, firms have been focused on accelerating their digital transformation strategies in order to maintain operations in a post-COVID environment. Their investments in digital technology have been essential to retaining business and clients. Companies now require the tools to conduct business remotely,… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 10:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Adyen (AMS: ADYEN), a global payments solution provider, reveals that its Singapore-based business entity has managed to acquire approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The permit will allow Adyen to perform merchant acquisition services under the Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA). Effective from… Read More

May 4, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesian peer to peer lender Amartha has acquired $28 million (appr. IDR 405 billion) in capital from Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II (WWB) and MDI Ventures. Amartha‘s round also received contributions from existing investors Mandiri Capital Indonesia and UOB Venture Management. WWB Capital Partners… Read More

May 4, 2021 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Bibit.id, a digital investment app provider, has reportedly secured $65 million in capital via a round led by Sequoia Capital India. Bibit’s investment round was also joined by Prosus Ventures, Tencent and Harvard Management Company. Existing investors AC Ventures and East Ventures also took… Read More

May 3, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CGS-CIMB Securities International, an integrated financial service provider based in Asia, and digital securities platform iSTOX have reportedly issued a short-term debt instrument as digital securities. The SGD 150-million (appr. $112-million) multi-tranche commercial paper will be used to cover operational costs and near-term obligations of… Read More

May 3, 2021 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently caught up with Bhavik Vasa, founder and CEO at GetVantage, which is India and Southeast Asia’s first revenue-based financing Fintech platform. Vasa talked about the different challenges entrepreneurs face as they work on developing new products and services. Vasa explained how GetVantage‘s unique… Read More

April 27, 2021 @ 11:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) has reportedly made a co-investment of RM165 million (appr. $40.27 million) in 5,349 equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) initiatives, which aims to benefit 1,197 Malaysian MSMEs by the end of last year. Since its October 2019 launch, these Malaysia-based… Read More

April 27, 2021 @ 1:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

MyMy revealed on Monday (April 26, 2021) that it has obtained conditional approval for a large scheme E-money license from Bank Negara Malaysia, the nation’s central bank. The Fintech firm is now planning to launch its digital wallet services in the coming year. Until all… Read More

April 27, 2021 @ 12:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asia based StashAway, a digital wealth manager, is reportedly raising $25 million as part of its Series D funding round that is being led by VC firm Sequoia Capital India. StashAway’s current investors, Eight Roads Ventures, the international investment company supported by Fidelity International… Read More

April 23, 2021 @ 6:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Philippines-based Uploan, an established provider of salary-linked financial services, has reportedly acquired a senior secured loan of $15 million from UK’s Lendable, a provider of debt to Fintech firms in emerging or developing markets. The long-term facility should help Uploan with expanding its existing loan… Read More

April 23, 2021 @ 4:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS Bank and Contour have expanded their digital trade offerings to four new markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. As mentioned in a release, digital letter of credit capabilities will be offered in Australia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore starting this month. The announcement also… Read More

April 17, 2021 @ 3:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysian Insurtech platform Fatberry has reportedly secured RM 2.5 million (appr. $600,000) through a pre-series A funding round. As noted by its management: “FatBerry is Malaysia’s most comprehensive online insurance portal. We allow you to compare and search for the best coverage plans quickly and… Read More

April 17, 2021 @ 12:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer has introduced its Digital Advisory Suite (DiAS) in Asian markets. The DIAS soluton aims to simplify the regulatory compliance process for relationship managers, allowing them to provide compliant advice to their customers. The suite serves as a “fully-integrated” solution…. Read More