Author: Fintech News Singapore

Grab is reportedly considering a controlling stake in Atome Financial that could value the BNPL fintech at more than US$2 billion. Bloomberg reported that negotiations are ongoing and may not produce a deal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the discussions. Grab was previously reported to be joining an Atome funding round that could raise more than US$100 million. Atome provides instalment payment services for purchases made online and at physical stores. Its services cover sectors including fashion, beauty, travel, fitness and homeware. The Singapore-based company recorded US$470 million in revenue for 2025, an increase of 80% from the previous year.…

Singapore will not extend its Shared Responsibility Framework to investment scams where victims authorise the transfers themselves. Chee Hong Tat, Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), told Parliament that the framework was designed for phishing scams involving unauthorised transactions. He said the same approach was unsuitable for self-effected transfers. Investment scams recorded the highest losses among all scam types in the first half of 2026. However, overall scam cases and losses declined in 2025 and the first half of this year. Singapore will instead focus on making it harder for scammers to reach potential victims and giving…

Mastercard is giving merchants a simpler way to connect their products and payments with AI shopping agents. Its new Agent Connect service will link merchants, AI agents, digital platforms and payment providers through a single integration. Businesses can choose which AI services can access their products while retaining control over pricing, fulfilment and customer relationships. Mastercard is also expanding Agent Suite for Merchants. The service helps businesses add AI shopping tools to their websites and apps, share product information with participating platforms and connect with third-party agents. Merchants can make product details, prices and availability accessible to AI agents. The…

Smartphones now hold vast amounts of sensitive personal and financial data, including passwords private communications, and work-related data, making them prime targets for cybercriminals. This has led mobile banking Trojans and other malicious mobile software to proliferate and spread rapidly over the past years, as attackers shift their focus to mobile devices for greater profits. In Q1 2026, global cybersecurity and anti-virus company Kaspersky said it detected an alarming 162,275 new mobile banking Trojan installation packages. The figure is more than twice the number recorded across the whole of 2024, and roughly two-thirds of the 2025 annual total in a…

Live-stream sellers could face verification checks if their platforms are linked to e-commerce scams in Singapore. Authorities may act against services accessible in the country that are used or likely to be used to facilitate such scams. This could include designating providers under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 and applying the Code of Practice for E-Commerce Services. High-risk sellers and advertisers could then be required to undergo checks against official government records. Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam outlined the possible measures in response to MP Shawn Loh, who asked whether locally registered businesses selling through live streams would need…

Mastercard has launched Wallet Pay to connect digital wallets across contactless, QR and online payments. More than 4.3 billion people currently use digital wallets worldwide, with that figure expected to exceed 6 billion by 2030. Alipay+ partner wallets including AlipayHK, Clip, GCash, KakaoPay, TNG eWallet and TrueMoney are among those using Wallet Pay. Other participating providers include Axian, CRED, DaviPlata, Mercado Pago, MTN and TenPay Global. Alipay+ connects more than 50 e-wallets and banking apps as well as over 10 national payment schemes. It will help its partners connect to Wallet Pay. Wallet Pay gives participating providers access to hundreds…

Singapore will pilot a common prefix for official calls to help the public identify impersonation scams. The Singapore Police Force will test the prefix later in 2026 before it is adopted more widely across government agencies. The plan was first announced earlier this year. MAS Deputy Chairman Chee Hong Tat discussed the measure in Parliament after MP He Ting Ru asked about safeguards introduced from October 2025 and a deepfake impersonation case involving losses of about S$5 million. According to Chee, bank controls alone cannot stop scams. Singapore also needs safeguards involving financial institutions, online platforms, government agencies and the…

Mastercard, Visa and Ant International want to make payments safer when AI agents shop for consumers. The companies are exploring an interoperable Know-Your-Agent framework to help payment networks, digital wallets, agent platforms and marketplaces identify AI agents and who operates them. Each network would retain its own verification and decision-making processes. As AI agents move from recommending products to completing purchases, the framework would link each one to a validated operator, cardholder or organisation. Shared checks across payment networks The initiative builds on protocols already developed by the three companies, including Ant International’s Agentic Mobile Protocol. Common trust signals could…

TRM Labs has doubled its valuation to US$2 billion after extending its Series C funding round just seven months after the initial raise. Blockchain Capital, which led the earlier round in February 2026, also led the latest investment. TRM Labs did not disclose the amount raised. The February round raised US$70 million and gave TRM Labs unicorn status at a US$1 billion valuation. Following the investment, TRM Labs will continue developing its AI investigation capabilities. It is also recruiting AI researchers, data scientists, engineers and domain experts. “Today’s crimefighters are tasked with finding a needle in a haystack. Only, the…

Global insurtech bolttech has appointed Emma Butler as CEO of Asia Pacific and Philip Weiner as CEO of North America to its leadership team. Butler takes up the role immediately and joins bolttech’s Group Executive Committee. She succeeds Weiner, who moves from his position as CEO of APAC to lead the company’s North American business. Butler currently serves as Regional General Manager for Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. She has more than 20 years of experience in insurance, banking and retail across Asia and Europe. She joined AmTrust Mobile Solutions Asia in 2015 before the business was acquired and integrated into…

Mastercard and Backbase are collaborating to bring Mastercard’s AI, data insights and ecosystem capabilities into the Backbase AI-native Banking Operating System, giving banks access to tools for personalisation, analytics, customer engagement and cyber resilience. The deal marks the companies’ second collaboration this year. In June, Backbase integrated Mastercard Move into its Banking OS to simplify cross-border payments for banks. Through this expanded collaboration, financial institutions can access four Mastercard capabilities directly within the Backbase Banking OS. Dynamic Yield supports personalisation across digital banking journeys, while Test & Learn helps assess the commercial impact of product, pricing and campaign changes. SpendingPulse provides…

Indian travellers can now use UPI apps to book and pay for selected Resorts World Sentosa experiences online. The service is being introduced through a partnership between FOMO Pay and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL). Indian visitors pay in rupees, while Singapore merchants receive settlement in Singapore dollars. The companies announced the partnership at Global Fintech Fest 2026 as part of plans to expand UPI QR acceptance in Singapore. Resorts World Sentosa is among the first merchants to join the initiative. UPI is available for participating experiences booked through the resort’s website. Singapore welcomed 1.2 million Indian visitors in 2025,…

Income Insurance has dropped plans to sell its Hive platform to Embed Financial Group Holdings (EFGH). The Straits Times reported the decision as EFGH faces prosecution over CPF contributions allegedly left unpaid for six employees. Income Insurance first announced the transaction in June. The deal was scheduled to close in the third quarter, but neither company disclosed its value. Under the agreement, Hive would have become part of EFGH while Income Insurance continued using the platform as a customer. The transaction also involved moving 27 of Hive’s 42 employees to the fintech firm. Those employees will remain with Income Insurance…

Visa wants to make it easier for stablecoin card providers to secure funding through onchain lending. With the card provider’s authorisation, the payments group will make its settlement data available alongside onchain transaction records to help lenders assess financing opportunities. Stablecoin card providers need funding to meet daily settlement obligations before collecting money from cardholders. Newer operators can struggle to obtain traditional financing because they lack the required scale or operating history. Visa is working with Credit Coop, which provides revolving credit facilities backed by settlement receivables. Smart contracts automate funding, collateral management and repayments. “Stablecoins are not only changing…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to expand into more international markets. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Modi urged the industry to link UPI with the domestic payment systems of other countries. He said the expansion should focus on countries with large Indian communities, significant trade links with India or an interest in working with the country. India has already connected UPI with Singapore’s payment system, which Modi presented as a model for links with other countries. He added that wider connectivity could lower the cost of sending money to…

Singapore has proposed penalties of up to S$10 million for designated online services that breach anti-scam requirements. The Scams (Countermeasures) and Other Matters Bill, debated in Parliament on 8 September, would also give police wider powers to disable suspected scam accounts and restrict services used to facilitate scams. Reported scam cases fell 14.4% to about 16,800 in the first half of 2026, while losses declined 17.9% to around S$411 million from a year earlier. However, Singapore still records an average of about 90 scam cases and S$2 million in losses each day. Around 90% of cases in the first half…

Robinhood will take initial equity stakes in Crypto.com and its prediction markets spin-off OG.com. The stakes will be priced in line with Citadel Securities’ recent investment in Crypto.com Group, which valued the group at US$20 billion. That included a standalone US$5 billion valuation for OG.com. The companies did not disclose the size of Robinhood’s stakes or other financial terms. The equity deal is part of a multi-year partnership that will see Robinhood route retail event contract volumes through OG.com’s regulated exchange and clearing infrastructure. Robinhood offers the contracts through Robinhood Derivatives, a registered futures commission merchant regulated by the US…

Webull is stepping up its expansion in Thailand after acquiring Pi Securities for about US$100 million. The transaction received approval from Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Webull acquired a 90.98% stake from Pi Securities’ controlling shareholder Country Group Holdings for about US$90 million. It purchased another 8.38% stake from a different shareholder for US$10 million, bringing its ownership to about 99.36%. Pi Securities has operated in Thailand for more than 50 years across equities, derivatives and wealth management. It is also a depositary receipt issuer. Chonladet Khemarattana, Chief Executive Officer of Webull Thailand, said,  “By combining Pi Securities’ local…

Visa has unveiled an updated security roadmap for Singapore’s payments sector as it responds to a shift towards authorised payment scams, where fraudsters use AI and social engineering to manipulate consumer behaviour. Named the Singapore Security Roadmap 2026 and Beyond, the framework outlines six strategic priorities across the payments value chain. These include anticipating emerging cyber threats, expanding tokenisation to protect sensitive payment credentials, and modernising e-commerce checkout processes. Visa is also advancing authentication technologies such as passkeys and biometric authentication to secure digital experiences. The strategy comes alongside the network’s recent rollout of global security tools, including an enhanced…

Singapore has proposed legislation to help major financial institutions absorb losses without destabilising the wider financial system. The Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Bill 2026 was introduced for its first reading in Parliament on 8 September. It would allow the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to require systemically important financial institutions to maintain a minimum level of total loss-absorbing capacity, known as TLAC. TLAC acts as a financial buffer. It includes ordinary shares, eligible debt and other resources that can absorb losses and help recapitalise an institution in serious financial trouble. The requirement would complement MAS’ existing power to write…