Tagged: southeast asia

Indonesian Fintech Investor, BRI Ventures’ CIO Says Company will Use $250 Million Fund to Create “Real Value,” Not Just High Valuations

Indonesia is one of Southeast Asia’s largest markets for digital platforms and services. The country offers an attractive business environment and opportunities for investors who are interested in projects that aim to take advantage of fast-growing economies. BRI Ventures, the investment division of Indonesia’s oldest… Read More

Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank to Offer a Truly Digital Onboarding Experience

Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) aims to offer a truly digital onboarding experience to all its clients. MSB plans to offer seamless online banking services so that customers don’t have to visit a physical branch location to manage their finances. MSB is also… Read More

Triyono Gani, Head of Digital Finance Innovation at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, Compares Fintech with Traditional Banking

Triyono Gani, the head of digital finance innovation at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), notes that it may have taken a long time for people to understand one of Bill Gates’ quotes, “Banking is necessary, but banks are not.”  Gani points out that Gates actually… Read More

ING Bank and UNICEF to Support Fintechs in the Philippines that Aim to Improve Financial Lives of Underprivileged Children and Local Residents

ING Bank, which is part of the ING Group (AMS: INGA), a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam, has confirmed that it will continue supporting startups focused on Fintech solutions. ING and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will be working… Read More

Philippine National Bank May Consider Launching a Digital Bank as a Standalone Business or Subsidiary

The Philippine National Bank (PNB), one of the largest financial institutions in the country, is reportedly considering the possibility of launching a digital bank as one of its subsidiaries. Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, president and CEO at PNB, stated: “We’re discussing internally with the principals…. Read More

AngelList India Launches New Fund, iSeed Southeast Asia, the First Regional Fund Backed by Naval Ravikant and Other Top Investors

Utsav Somani, partner at AngelList India, has revealed that they’re launching a new fund, called iSeed Southeast Asia. Somani notes that the project is being led by Wing Vasiksiri and it’s reportedly backed by Naval Ravikant, the co-founder, chairman and former CEO of AngelList, and… Read More

Indonesia based Digital Commerce Marketplace Provider Tokopedia Wins “Best Companies to Work for in Asia” Award

Indonesia based Tokopedia, an e-commerce marketplace that had announced a $1.5 billion funding round from Softbank, Alibaba, Temasek back in January 2020, has reportedly won the HR Asia Award 2020. The tech firm has been recognized as one of “The Best Companies to Work for… Read More

Financial Inclusion Rate in Indonesia Reaches Record Highs, but Over 2,500 Illegal Fintech Businesses have been Shut Down

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

Southeast Asian Countries are Increasingly Adopting Digital Payments, but Regulatory Issues May Slow Adoption, Fintech Exec Argues

Fady Abdel-Nour, Head of Global M&A and Investments at PayU, a Fintech firm that provides payment technology to online merchants, has noted that regulators in Southeast Asia are working hard to ensure that digital payments are adopted by consumers. Abdel-Nour has pointed out that UPI,… Read More

Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association Establishes Task Force to Help P2P Lending Firms Deal with Rising Number of Bad Loans

The Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association (AFPI) has reportedly decided to establish a special task force to assist peer-to-peer (P2P) Fintech companies with the significant increase in bad loans – which may have resulted from the socioeconomic challenges created due to the Coronavirus crisis. Adrian Gunadi,… Read More

Philippines based Fintech PayMongo, an Online Payments Platform, Secures $12 Million via Round led by Stripe

Philippines-based PayMongo, an online payments platform, has secured $12 million in capital through a Series A investment round led by payments processor Stripe PayMongo provides an online payments API for businesses in the Philippines. The Fintech firm has taken part in Y Combinator’s Accelerator program…. Read More

Vietnam based Digital Bank Timo Plus Set to Relaunch Due to Increased E-Commerce Activity

Vietnam based Timo Plus, a digital banking platform, is reportedly planning to “relaunch” its services as e-commerce activity in the country has really picked up (due to COVID). Timo Plus is Vietnam’s very first digital bank. The company’s management stated on September 28, 2020, that… Read More

Indonesian Regulators and Fintech Firms are Focused on Balancing Regulations with Responsible Innovation

Indonesia’s regulatory authorities and local Fintech firms have been focused on creating a balance that will support innovative projects in the country, while maintaining regulatory guidelines that ensure consumer protection. Triyono, the head of Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), stated on September 25, 2020, that… Read More

Fintech Lenders in Indonesia to Support Government with Disbursing Loans to SMEs as Part of COVID Relief Effort

Asosiasi Fintech Pendanaan Bersama Indonesia (AFPI), which is an association of 156 Fintech lenders, is reportedly planning to work cooperatively with the Indonesian government to distribute funds that are meant to offset the economic problems and challenges created due to COVID-19. As of September 2020,… Read More

Reserve Bank of the Philippines to Continue Working on its Central Bank Digital Currency which Might Streamline Financial Services

Benjamin Diokno, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of the Philippines, recently noted that the underlying technology behind digital tokens may streamline or enhance existing financial services. The nation’s central bank is looking into the feasibility of issuing its own virtual currency. Diokno believes that… Read More

Low Financial Literacy Is a Major Challenge Keeping Rural Area Residents in Indonesia from Accessing Modern Fintech Services

Industry professionals in Indonesia are calling on Fintech firms to expand their operations outside of Java and partner up with the nation’s government in order to cater to the requirements of the unbanked population. Only 23% of Fintech firms in the country have a reach… Read More

Malaysian Fintech Valyou Introduces Blockchain based Remittance Service for Bangladeshi Workers Sending Money Back Home

Malaysia-based Fintech Valyou, a digital remittance payments service provider, has introduced a blockchain-enabled remittance solution in Bangladesh through a partnership with Standard Chartered and bKash, a mobile financial service provider. The distributed ledger tech (DLT)-powered platform will enable instant money transfers from Malaysia to Bangladesh…. Read More

Global ID Verification Provider, Onfido, to Offer Authentication Services to Malaysia’s MyCash Money

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

Southeast Asian Country of Vietnam Needs More Qualified Professionals, Better Policies to Expand Fintech Sector

Vietnam reportedly doesn’t have enough skilled professionals needed to support the growth of the nation’s Fintech focused economy. The Southeast Asian country is home to more than 96 million residents, making it the world’s 15th most populous nation. Its GDP stands at around $250 billion…. Read More

Indonesia’s Fintech Lenders Association Offers to Assist with Disbursing Funds Allocated to COVID-19 related National Economic Recovery Program

Indonesia’s Fintech Lenders Association (AFPI) has reportedly offered to help with disbursing funds that have been allocated to the country’s national economic recovery program (PEN). As first reported by the Jakarta Post, the Indonesian government has been struggling to obtain the data required to provide… Read More

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