Author: Fintech News Singapore

More than two million yuu Rewards Club members can now earn points when they invest regularly through StashAway. The partnership makes StashAway the first investment platform to join yuu. Until 31 October 2026, investors can earn up to 2,000 yuu Points when they start investing regularly with StashAway. New StashAway clients can also receive up to S$30 in foodpanda vouchers through yuu if they invest consistently during their first three months. “Investing regularly is one of the most powerful wealth-building habits. Month after month, money is put to work and given time to compound. That’s how serious wealth gets built.…

Singapore-based Sea employees are set to use MariBank for salary crediting from October, although exceptions are available in certain circumstances. MariBank is the digital bank owned by Sea. The Straits Times reported that employees were informed of the change earlier in September. An internal memo described MariBank as the mandatory salary crediting bank for staff in Singapore. Separate guidance, however, states that employees with personal circumstances for keeping another salary account can raise the matter with human resources. Sea is offering a S$100 Shopee voucher to employees who updated their salary details by 17 September, including those already receiving their…

Threat actors, including criminal groups, commercial spyware vendors, and state propaganda institutions, are exploiting AI models like Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT for malicious purposes, according to a new report by Anthropic. These frontier AI models are being misused to design weapons, orchestrate large-scale influence campaigns, and conduct extensive surveillance operations. The report, published on September 10, 2026, examines the malicious use of Claude and other advanced AI models over the past year by different threat actors. These actors include suspected state-sponsored groups, financially motivated criminals, spyware vendors, and politically motivated individuals. It details the different cases observed,…

Trust Bank has added a miles rewards option to its Freedom Card, expanding the range of rewards available to customers in Singapore. Under the new Trust Miles programme, customers can earn 1.3 Trust Miles for every dollar spent on eligible local and overseas transactions, with no cap on the number of miles earned. Trust Miles can be converted instantly through KrisFlyer and HeyMax, providing access to more than 25 airline and hotel loyalty programmes worldwide. The miles remain valid for three years. Freedom Card customers will also continue to pay no annual fee, foreign exchange fee or transaction fee on…

Ant International has launched an AI-native financial technology stack covering payments, accounts, foreign exchange, treasury and business growth tools. The rollout brings together close to 100 products across Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst and Bettr, with the products being rolled out globally later in 2026. The stack is built on two proprietary models. Antom 3-in-1 Transformer supports payment functions such as fraud detection and payment optimisation, while FalconTST is designed to forecast foreign exchange exposure, cash flow and liquidity. It is also supported by a two-layer security architecture designed to address existing payment risks and risks linked specifically to transactions involving AI…

OCBC has extended its partnership with Bank of Ningbo for another 10 years as more Chinese companies expand into Southeast Asia. The new agreement continues a relationship that began in 2006 and aims to deepen cooperation across ASEAN and Greater China. OCBC recorded a 50 percent increase in new-to-bank Chinese companies expanding into ASEAN in 2025, reaching a record high. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009, with bilateral trade surpassing US$1 trillion for the first time in 2025. Under the renewed agreement, OCBC will continue a US$5 million training grant supporting staff training, knowledge sharing, secondments and…

In Singapore, retailers are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) at a rapid pace, with the vast majority of merchants incorporating the technology in some form, according to a new survey by Adyen. However, consumers remain cautious, particularly regarding AI agents, due to concerns stemming from cybersecurity risks and fraud. The study, which polled more than 1,000 consumers and 300 senior-level retail employees in Singapore between March and April 2026, found that nearly all of the merchants polled (99%) utilized AI in some capacity, highlighting the widespread adoption of the technology among Singaporean businesses. While AI has become an integral part of…

Grab is stepping up its consumer lending ambitions with the planned acquisition of Atome as it targets stronger financial services earnings by 2028. The Financial Services segment, including Atome, is expected to generate US$500 million in adjusted EBITDA by then. Its gross loan portfolio is also expected to exceed US$6 billion. The company also raised its overall 2028 adjusted EBITDA target from US$1.5 billion to US$1.7 billion following the Atome announcement. Maybank Investment Bank estimates Atome could contribute about US$200 million to US$220 million in EBITDA, TechNode Global reported. Grab has agreed to pay US$1.49 billion in cash for an…

dtcpay has expanded its Series A to US$25 million after securing an investment from Japan’s SBI Group. SBI Group is investing through SBI Ventures Asset and the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund. The company had initially raised US$10 million in the round in March, with Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India leading the earlier tranche. Genedant Capital and existing investor Kwee Liong Tek also participated. The Singapore-based company plans to use the funding to expand its product offering and merchant network. Its 2026 roadmap includes an updated business portal for enterprise customers and new features for the dtcpay app. dtcpay holds…

Demand from private wealth and institutional clients has prompted DBS to increase its gold storage capacity in Singapore. The expansion comes as the city-state prepares to introduce a domestic gold clearing system, Bloomberg reported. Singapore Exchange plans to launch an over-the-counter clearing system for locally stored gold by the end of 2026. DBS, Deutsche Bank, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan, OCBC and UOB have agreed to participate as clearing members. Singapore’s private facilities can currently hold at least 2,200 tonnes of gold. Le Freeport accounts for around 1,700 tonnes, while The Reserve can accommodate another 500 tonnes. Le Freeport reported in…

Partior and LSEG are developing a solution to help banks manage liquidity around the clock for cross-border payments. The Multi-Settlement Bank solution will combine Partior’s clearing and settlement network with the omnibus trust account framework provided by LSEG Digital Settlement House, known as DiSH. It is designed to move settlement liquidity across multiple banks and currencies while reducing reliance on payment cut-off times and pre-funded nostro and vostro accounts. The solution is intended to support payments for corporate and financial institution clients. Participating banks would not need to establish bilateral accounts with one another or integrate with separate proprietary digital…

In trade and commerce, agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is poised for substantial adoption and a broader range of applications across more complex workflows. However, for this vision to materialize, a robust payment infrastructure is essential, according to a new whitepaper by StraitX, Visa, and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA). This infrastructure should extend beyond a single payment system, enabling agents to interact with diverse payment methods, including cards, bank transfers, local payment networks, and stablecoin-based settlements. Released in September 2026, the paper emphasizes the need to upgrade payment infrastructure to support the next evolution of commerce and facilitate advanced AI…

SEON has expanded its fraud detection platform to more than 1,100 data signals to help uncover fake identities and linked fraudulent accounts. The Signal Intelligence update increases coverage from over 900 proprietary, directly sourced data points. It adds address, phone and session data alongside more detailed digital footprint and device checks. According to SEON, comparing these signals can reveal inconsistencies that individual checks miss without adding steps to the customer journey. Digital footprint checks show where email addresses and phone numbers appear across online services. Together with SIM-swap and number-porting history, they help teams assess whether an identity and phone…

Circle has launched Arc to bring stablecoin payments and financial transactions onto a Layer 1 blockchain with fees paid in USDC. The company reported more than 100 applications at launch, with over 100 institutions and ecosystem builders live on or exploring its private mainnet before the public launch. The Circle Arc mainnet integrates with the company’s broader platform. StableFX supports round-the-clock foreign exchange settlement, while Circle Payments Network enables cross-border payments. “Arc is the single most significant launch in Circle’s history since USDC itself, and it is the embodiment of the premise we have operated on for thirteen years: money…

Singapore’s Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) has rolled out more than 200 AI courses alongside new career and workforce support services. Its SkillsFuture AI Subscription initiative offers a complimentary six-month subscription to selected premium AI tools. An AI Ready Quiz developed with the Singapore Institute of Technology helps individuals assess their readiness and find relevant courses. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong opened Connect by SWDA at the Lifelong Learning Institute as he launched SkillsFuture Festival 2026. The centre combines the former Lifelong Learning Exploration Centre and Careers Connect. It offers personalised career and training support for…

Databricks plans to invest more than US$350 million in Singapore over the next three years as demand for its enterprise AI products grows. The company will double its local workforce from 250 to more than 500 employees and open a 32,000-square-foot regional headquarters at IOI Central Boulevard Towers. The new office will quadruple its existing Singapore footprint and include training and collaboration facilities for customers, partners and learners. Singapore serves as Databricks’ regional hub for Asia Pacific and Japan. The investment also supports the country’s National AI Strategy. Demand is growing for products including Lakebase, Genie and Unity Gateway. These…

Sumsub has rolled out a workforce verification solution as deepfakes and credential theft pose growing risks to companies. The solution integrates identity document checks, biometric liveness detection and background screening into existing identity and access management and human resources platforms. It can verify workers from recruitment and onboarding through to account recovery. The risks were highlighted by a 2025 incident in Singapore in which a finance director transferred S$670,000 after fraudsters used real-time deepfakes to impersonate the company’s chief executive and other senior employees during a Zoom call. Andrew Novoselsky, Chief Product Officer at Sumsub, said, “IAM systems manage access,…

Personetics has launched Banking Console to help bank relationship managers identify which customers need attention and why. The AI-powered product analyses customer behaviour and financial activity to create a ranked daily list of customers to contact. It also identifies potential risks and opportunities, provides an overview of each customer’s finances and suggests talking points. The product draws on Personetics’ Shared Financial Context technology, which already supports personalised insights across banks’ digital channels. “Banking Console eliminates the intelligence blind spot in the relationship manager’s workflow. The relationship manager is the bank’s most trusted channel, and now it finally has the same…

Neobank Timo has been ranked as the sixth bank in Vietnam with the highest customer satisfaction in 2026, marking the platform’s entry into the top ten list and demonstrating a substantial improvement in service quality and experience over the past year, according to a new research by Decision Lab, a market research and consumer insights agency based in Ho Chi Minh City. The Decision Lab Bank Satisfaction Rankings 2026 evaluates the customer satisfaction of major banks and digital banking platforms in Vietnam based on data collected throughout the calendar year 2025. Customers were asked to indicate whether they are satisfied…

HSBC Private Bank is giving eligible clients in Singapore access to private investment opportunities including some previously reserved for institutional investors. HSBC Access is available to ultra-high net worth and family office clients. It covers venture capital funds, private market opportunities and direct investments including opportunities involving high-growth innovation companies. This is the first time HSBC Private Bank clients in Singapore can access this type of opportunity since HSBC Innovation Banking launched locally. The business entered Singapore in October 2025 with a US$1.5 billion funding pool for high-growth innovation companies. The proposition also provides specialist insights from HSBC’s corporate, trade…