Tagged: southeast asia

August 22, 2020 @ 7:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hangzhou’s Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun), a Chinese cloud computing company that operates as a subsidiary of the e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), has partnered with the Fintech Academy in Singapore and Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. Through the partnership, the two companies and the Fintech Academy… Read More

August 21, 2020 @ 5:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast (SE) Asia is home to an unbanked population of around 290 million, according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings. Fintech solutions can enable more widespread financial inclusion, and could potentially increase the GDP of emerging markets by $3.7 trillion, according to an updated… Read More

August 21, 2020 @ 9:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital banking or the use of online services and platforms may have been accelerated due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which had led to many countries enforcing nationwide lockdowns. While many countries are now beginning to “re-open” their businesses, the Coronavirus crisis has led to major… Read More

August 12, 2020 @ 10:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TrueMoney, a Southeast Asian Fintech firm, has teamed up with Singapore-based Thunes, a cross-border payment company, in order to expand its remittance services. Through the partnership, TrueMoney customers will be able to accept remittance payments from anywhere in the world via Thunes’ international partner network,… Read More

August 12, 2020 @ 12:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Netcore Solutions, a marketing automation and personalization platform, revealed on August 11, 2020 that it has chosen Asian Fintech firm GoBear to power its multi-channel marketing automation and engagement campaigns. GoBear will help Netcore with ensuring customer retention, according to a release. Established in 2014,… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 12:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Critical gaps in the global banking system, especially in emerging markets, have restricted business growth and development. Consumer demand cannot be effectively addressed if banking platforms are not updated to meet the requirements of individuals and small business owners. Billions of people across the globe… Read More

August 2, 2020 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Fintech and stealth bank TransferWise recently revealed that it has taken an “exciting” step towards modernizing and streamlining global banking in Asia. The company confirmed that it has brought TransferWise for Banks, its “bank-friendly” API integration, to Asian markets, allowing financial institutions to surface… Read More

August 1, 2020 @ 1:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zilliqa, a “high-performance” and “high-security” blockchain or distributed ledger tech (DLT)-based platform, recently revealed that it has chosen Singapore’s digital currency custody service, Onchain Custodian, to secure its network’s assets. As mentioned in a release shared with CI: “In working with the firm, the Zilliqa… Read More

July 27, 2020 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Financing for SMEs is severely limited in certain regions of the world. Many different peer to peer (P2P) lending platforms have been launched in order to provide much-needed capital to small businesses. The SME Finance Forum reveals that 41% of formal micro, small and medium… Read More

July 18, 2020 @ 9:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Benedict Carandang and Lee-Anne Tobias from First Circle Growth Finance, a company that offers financing services to qualified SMEs in the Philippines that sell to other businesses or government agencies, note in a blog post published on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) official website that… Read More

June 21, 2020 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Asian Fintech firm BigPay announced on June 19, 2020, that it has added Australia and Vietnam to its global remittance service, and will be adding China soon. The company added Bangladesh and India in January of this year. BigPay’s management noted that they’re committed to… Read More

June 21, 2020 @ 5:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Curlec, a Fintech firm that aims to offer a better way for businesses to collect recurring payments, recently secured funding from 500 Startups, an early-stage VC fund and seed accelerator established in 2010 by entrepreneurs Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. Curlec completed its seed… Read More

June 21, 2020 @ 12:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The COVID-19 outbreak has created significant socio-economic challenges, which have impacted individuals and businesses across the globe. More people are now spending time at home due to government-enforced nationwide lockdowns. Certain segments of the Fintech industry, including digital, mobile, and contactless payments,  have seen increased… Read More

June 9, 2020 @ 10:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Philippines based Ayannah, an online financial services provider, and India’s payments firm Equity Capital Advisors (ECAPS) have merged their operations in order to provide cost-effective and more accessible financial services to South Asia and Southeast Asia’s growing middle-class population. The merged entity will aim to… Read More

June 8, 2020 @ 10:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The steady rise and adoption in Sharia Fintech has transformed Indonesia’s trillion dollar economy, as the nation’s Muslim residents seek financial services that follow Islamic law and guidelines. Indonesia is notably Southeast Asia’s largest emerging market. It has turned into a hub for new companies… Read More

June 1, 2020 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s Fintech sector has been growing steadily, however, the majority or over 70% of the country’s adult population is unbanked or underbanked, according to the latest e-Conomy SEA Report. This suggests that Fintech businesses in Indonesia have a good opportunity to provide modern financial services… Read More

May 23, 2020 @ 9:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asian banks will most likely accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and changing consumer behavior resulting from safe distancing measures and lockdowns. Incumbents could be challenged more than ever before, as they might struggle to offer the same level of… Read More

March 30, 2020 @ 3:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) in Thailand will be launching its Ripple-based consumer international payments mobile app. The SCB, which is one of the country’s largest commercial banks, began using RippleNet (Ripple company’s decentralized network of financial institutions) in order to connect to major banking… Read More

March 15, 2020 @ 3:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vinnie Lauria, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who established Golden Gate Ventures, an early-stage VC company managing more than $250 million in assets, notes that his Singapore-based company has been watching emerging tech sectors across the Southeast Asia region. Lauria reveals that he’s seeing significant… Read More

March 8, 2020 @ 7:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-headquartered EMQ, a globally accessible financial settlement network, recently revealed that it’s planning to connect to Singapore’s Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) network and also offer services in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia. EMQ’s solution will allow businesses to easily make digital… Read More