Chocolate Finance announced on 15 March 2025 that customers have started receiving their requested funds following a temporary suspension of instant withdrawals earlier this week, according to the Business Times. As Chocolate Finance resumes withdrawals, the suspension, implemented on 10 March 2025 due to high transaction volumes, has now been lifted. The company is working to process withdrawals in line with its standard redemption timeline of three to six business days. The report said the firm also raised the spending cap on its Chocolate Visa debit card to S$1,000, up from the S$250 limit imposed on 11 March 2025, to…
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Global insurtech company bolttech appointed Ridhi Chaudhary to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director on 17 March 2025. bolttech appointed Ridhi Chaudhary following the recent completion of bolttech’s Series C funding round of US$100 million, led by Dragon Fund. Since this latest round, bolttech’s value stands at US$2.1 billion. Ridhi Chaudhary is also the Chief Investment Officer at Dragon Fund, a Singapore-based global growth equity fund backed by MUFG and Liquidity. She has played a key role in funding leading technology firms, including bolttech, Cohesity, Meesho, and Zepto, driving innovation across diverse markets. Before joining Dragon Fund, Ridhi…
Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) has appointed Alex Woo as the CEO of Banking Computer Services Private Limited (BCS), effective today. BCS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NETS that plays a role in managing and operating Singapore’s national clearing and payment infrastructure. This includes systems like FAST (Fast And Secure Transfers), Interbank Giro, eGiro, PayNow, and the SGQR Central Repository. Alex brings over 30 years of experience in the technology industry to this new role. Previously, Alex held positions such as Technology Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at DBS. He has experience in technology, operations, and project management. The…
JCB International, the international operations subsidiary of JCB, announced that JCB is now available on Google Play in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Over the years, the number of JCB Cardmembers in Asia has seen significant growth. Alongside this expansion, JCB remains committed to enhancing accessibility across the entire payment experience, including the digital landscape. The company will continue striving to improve the overall payment experience for all JCB Cardmembers, not just in Asia. Yoshiki Kaneko, President & CEO of JCB International, said: “We are delighted to announce the expansion of the availability for using JCB on…
VinFast, a Vietnamese EV manufacturer and a subsidiary of Vingroup, has signed a MoU with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) during the Vietnam-Indonesia High-Level Business Dialogue. The MoU aims to develop financial solutions and promote green transportation in Southeast Asia while strengthening the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Indonesia. Under the agreement, VinFast and BNI will collaborate to support Indonesia’s transition to sustainable transport. The partnership will focus on financing solutions for VinFast’s “For a Green Future” initiative and facilitating electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Indonesia. BNI will provide advisory services, local expertise, and access to financing for VinFast, its associated…
Singapore has seen a rapid proliferation of fintech master’s programs, driven by its position as a global financial hub and a fintech powerhouse. At the end of 2022, Singapore was home to 1,580 fintech companies, up 52.5% from 1,036 in 2018, according to UOB’s Fintech in ASEAN report. At the time, this was the highest number in Southeast Asia, underscoring Singapore’s leadership in fintech innovation. However, Singapore is also facing a major talent shortage. For over a decade, ManpowerGroup has been tracking talent shortages worldwide, including in Singapore, where it found that the percentage of organizations struggling to find and…
Backbase, a digital banking software provider, has partnered with Swiss financial services consultancy Synpulse to support digital transformation for banks across Asia-Pacific. The collaboration builds on their work with major Swiss financial institutions and aims to help APAC banks modernise customer experiences and improve operational efficiency. The partnership combines Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform with Synpulse’s regional expertise to offer strategy consulting, tailored platform solutions, and local implementation services. “This partnership strengthens our ecosystem and ensures banks have both the architecture and specialised expertise needed to accelerate their digital transformation. Synpulse’s proven financial services expertise and understanding of regional markets make…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has deepened its financial collaboration with Vietnam through two key agreements signed on March 12, reinforcing economic ties and fostering innovation between the two nations. MAS and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) have enhanced their MoU on financial innovation to expand cooperation on digital innovation projects, enhance payment connectivity, and support fintech operations in both markets. Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director of MAS, stated, “Today, with the exchange of this upgraded MOU, we reaffirm our commitment to cooperate in the development of our financial sectors, including through FinTech innovation and payments connectivity.” In…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is engaging with Chocolate Finance to ensure customer withdrawals are processed in an orderly manner. Chocolate Finance, a Singapore-based financial services platform operated by Chocfin, temporarily suspended instant withdrawals on 10 March 2025 due to a surge in customer requests. The spike was attributed to a major surge in AXS bill payments, as users sought to maximise benefits from the platform’s miles reward programme. Chocolate Finance CEO Walter de Oude shared that this surge made the programme unsustainable, leading to the removal of AXS payments via its Visa debit card on…
Payments giant Visa has established a specialised Scam Disruption practice to tackle emerging fraud schemes and protect consumers. The newly formalised group operates under Visa’s Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control (PERC) division and prevented more than US$350 million in attempted scams in 2024. This effort is part of Visa’s broader fraud prevention strategy, which blocked US$40 billion in fraudulent transactions across its network last year. The Visa Scam Disruption (VSD) team employs a three-pronged approach to scam mitigation: scam intelligence, proactive investigations, and detection and disruption. The team brings together experts from law enforcement, military intelligence, and data visualisation, combining…
Pine Labs, an Indian merchant commerce platform, and Visa have announced a partnership to bring Visa Instalment Solutions (VIS) to merchants across key Southeast Asian markets. This collaboration utilises Pine Labs’ multi-issuer payment platform and aims to streamline the instalment payment process for businesses. Previously, merchants typically needed separate agreements with multiple issuers and deployed numerous payment terminals to handle instalment transactions. The new integrated system consolidates these processes, allowing customers to use their existing credit cards for both domestic and cross-border instalments. Retailers including Courts, Hooga, and Chicco will be among the first to offer this unified instalment solution.…
Chocolate Finance had previously suspended instant withdrawals due to an unexpected surge in AXS bill payments, driven by customers maximising its miles reward programme, said Chief Executive Walter de Oude. The firm told The Straits Times that this surge made the programme unsustainable, leading to the removal of AXS payments via its Visa debit card on 5 March. The rewards scheme, launched in partnership with HeyMax on 11 February, offered two miles per dollar on nearly all transactions, including categories typically excluded from similar programmes, such as insurance, utilities, and education. This allowed customers to accumulate miles through AXS bill…
American cloud-based software company Salesforce has announced plans to invest US$1 billion in Singapore over the next five years. The investment will focus on expanding the adoption of Agentforce, supporting workforce development, and strengthening customer success. Agentforce, Salesforce’s digital labor platform, is designed to help businesses deploy AI-driven agents that can operate 24/7. With Singapore facing a slowing labor force growth due to an aging population and declining birth rates, Salesforce sees Agentforce as a way to help businesses scale while addressing labor shortages. The investment aligns with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 and is expected to support industries, startups,…
UnionPay International (UPI) and National ITMX (NITMX) have partnered to integrate China’s UnionPay payment system with Thailand’s PromptPay. The initial phase of this collaboration will allow Chinese tourists to utilise the UnionPay app, specifically the YunShanFu app, to pay via PromptPay QR codes at Thai merchants. This will mirror the payment experience they have in China. Subsequently, Thai tourists will be able to use UnionPay QR codes for payments within China. The agreement, formalised through a signing ceremony attended by financial sector officials from both nations, seeks to streamline digital payment for travelers between China and Thailand. This partnership will…
Coinbase has registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in India, allowing the crypto exchange to offer trading services in the country. The company plans to launch retail services later this year, with further investment and additional products to follow. India has emerged as a key hub for blockchain development, with its share of global onchain developers increasing from 3% in 2018 to 12% in 2023. Coinbase sees this as a significant opportunity for expansion, emphasising that crypto is more than just financial infrastructure—it can help drive innovation and economic growth by enabling local entrepreneurs to build world-class products without…
Choco Up, a growth financing platform, and Wonder Capital Group, an independent investment management firm, have partnered to launch a series of private credit funds aimed at raising US$50 million. The funds, led by Wonder Capital, have completed the first close of a US$10 million private credit funding round through the CMAG Private Credit Fund. The initiative is intended to address the US$2 trillion funding gap for SMEs in the APAC region, where SMEs account for 98% of businesses but contribute only 38% to the region’s GDP. The partnership aims to support asset-light businesses, particularly in e-commerce, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and…
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and UnionPay International (UPI) have officially launched the second phase of their cross-border payment initiative, enabling Cambodian users to make payments abroad by scanning UnionPay QR codes at UPI-accepting merchants. The launch event took place on Monday (10 March) with representatives from the Chinese embassy, financial institutions, and industry stakeholders in attendance. This expansion follows the first phase, introduced in December 2023, which allowed UnionPay users to scan KHQR codes in Cambodia. The latest phase enables users of the Bakong app and local bank applications to make cross-border payments in China and other countries…
Singapore Exchange (SGX) plans to launch Bitcoin perpetual futures in the second half of 2025, targeting institutional and professional investors, according to a spokesperson cited by Bloomberg. The offering, pending approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, aims to expand institutional access to cryptocurrency within a regulated framework. The move aligns with a broader trend of established exchanges entering the Bitcoin derivatives market, driven by growing institutional demand and pro-crypto sentiment, including recent policy shifts under former U.S. President Donald Trump. SGX’s perpetual futures, which lack an expiry date, mirror products widely traded on offshore platforms such as Binance and…
Chocolate Finance is addressing recent disruptions to its instant withdrawal and card transaction services earlier today (10 March 2025). The temporary pause, implemented to manage an unexpected surge in withdrawal requests, is part of the company’s proactive measures to ensure stability and security for its customers, according to Chocolate Finance. Earlier today, a notice published on the company’s mobile app indicated processing delays, causing withdrawal requests to take up to 10 business days to settle. As of now, an update given to customers mentions that withdrawals will take 3 to 6 business days to settle, and chocolate card transactions are…
Endowus, a digital wealth platform serving over 250,000 users across Singapore and Hong Kong, has partnered with Twilio to bolster platform security and client trust. This collaboration addresses growing concerns about fraud and phishing scams in Singapore, where the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre has reported a rise in related claims. In response to the increasing threat, and in line with regulatory efforts such as Singapore’s SMS Sender ID Registry, Endowus has implemented Twilio Verify. This addresses risks including bot sign-ups and fraudulent activity. This includes SMS and WhatsApp one-time password (OTP) verification for critical user actions, adding crucial layers…