Currency Research will host the fourth edition of the Digital Currency Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 to 29 May 2025. The event brings together central banks, financial institutions, fintechs, and technology providers to explore developments in digital currencies. Launched in 2022 as digital payment adoption surged during the pandemic, the conference has evolved alongside rising interest in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and tokenised assets. “We started the Digital Currency Conference in 2022 as the world was just beginning to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s well-documented how the pandemic served as a significant catalyst for the accelerated…
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Ripple Labs made a takeover offer for Circle Internet Financial valued between US$4 billion and US$5 billion, but the bid was rejected for undervaluing the stablecoin issuer, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions, said Ripple has not ruled out submitting a new proposal but has yet to make a decision. Circle, meanwhile, is focused on moving ahead with a public listing, having filed for an initial public offering earlier this month. A spokesperson for Circle said the company does not comment on market speculation…
Mambu, a provider of cloud banking platforms, has announced several new appointments to its APAC team to support regional growth and customer relationships. New additions include David Becker as Managing Director and Head of APAC Sales, and Muhammad Irfan as Country Manager for Indonesia. Anjeanette Japor has been appointed Business Development Manager (BDM) for the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, while Patrick Menary takes on the BDM role for Australia and New Zealand. According to Mambu, the expansion reflects increased activity and demand for cloud banking solutions in the APAC region as financial institutions look to update their systems. Becker will…
Though fintech unicorns are flourishing globally, Thailand has yet to produce a significant number of billion-dollar fintech companies. A recent report by the Business Times explores the factors behind this trend, pointing to the dominance of the country’s banking institutions in the fintech landscape and the lack of independent venture funding. Together, these factors have created an ecosystem where fintech startups struggle to achieve significant growth, making the emergence of fintech unicorns in Thailand elusive. Yet, despite these structural barriers, a number of independent fintech startups in Thailand have managed to gain traction and rise to prominence. Today, we take…
Geoswift, a Canada-based cross-border payment services provider, has announced the integration of Visa Direct into its international payments platform. Visa Direct enables fund transfers to over 140 countries and territories. Through this integration, Geoswift will initially support payouts in 32 countries and territories across 13 currencies, covering key markets in the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Middle East, with plans to expand further. Raymond Qu, Group CEO of Geoswift, said: “At Geoswift, our vision has always been to deliver borderless payment solutions to our customers. Our partnership with Visa enhances our global reach, empowering our customers to achieve…
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is experiencing a dramatic surge in system intrusion attacks, as cybercriminals increasingly favor more sophisticated, multi-stage methods to gain deeper, sustained access into organizational systems. Data from Verizon Business’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report reveal that system intrusion has risen considerably over the past four years, escalating to become the dominant threat pattern across APAC. In 2024 alone, system intrusion accounted for an eye-popping 83% of all breaches, marking a staggering 44-point increase from 2023’s already significant 39%. System intrusion is a complex pattern of cyberattacks where attackers gain unauthorized access to an organization’s systems. These intrusions are…
In this exclusive interview at Money20/20 Asia, Vincent Fong, Chief Editor of Fintech News Network, sits down with Bank Negara Malaysia’s Deputy Governor Adnan Zaylani for an in-depth look into Malaysia’s fintech policy and regulatory landscape. We cover everything you need to know, including: Bank Negara’s long-term vision for fintech and digital finance How Malaysia is advancing cross-border real-time payments across ASEAN The evolution and future of Malaysia’s Fintech Sandbox The launch of the new Digital Insurer and Takaful Operator (DITO) licensing framework Progress and next milestones for Malaysia’s digital banks How Malaysia is championing value-based finance and Islamic finance…
Mastercard has launched Agent Pay, a new program designed to integrate payments into AI-driven commerce experiences. The initiative aims to enable secure, seamless transactions through generative AI agents across consumer and business platforms. The company said Agent Pay introduces “agentic tokens,” which expand on its existing tokenisation technology used in contactless payments, card-on-file solutions, and digital credentials like Mastercard Payment Passkeys. These tokens are intended to help AI agents complete transactions securely on behalf of users while maintaining transparency and user control. Mastercard will work with Microsoft to explore new use cases using Microsoft’s AI technologies, including Azure OpenAI Service…
Atom Bank has chosen Provenir’s AI decisioning platform to enhance its credit risk decisioning and data orchestration capabilities across its consumer and business banking products. Founded in 2016 as the U.K.’s first app-based bank, Atom offers savings and mortgage products via its mobile app, alongside secured lending for small and medium-sized businesses. Atom Bank reported that it is currently the highest rated U.K. bank, savings bank and mortgage lender on Trustpilot. The partnership will see Atom Bank use Provenir’s platform to support decisioning related to credit, fraud, and identity for products including residential and buy-to-let mortgages, business loans, and savings…
Backbase, a digital banking software provider, has launched its AI-powered Banking Platform, following the introduction of its Intelligence Fabric in September 2024. The platform is designed to embed AI into core banking operations by unifying customer service and digital sales—two areas Backbase calls mission-critical for growth and efficiency. It uses the Intelligence Fabric, a unified data foundation that converts behavioural, transactional, and operational data into real-time, actionable insights. A key feature is Agentic AI, a set of modular agents built for specific banking tasks. These agents operate within controlled parameters and are embedded into sales and service workflows to automate…
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Payments Japan Association (PJA) have signed a MoU to connect their respective QR code payment systems, KHQR and JPQR. The collaboration will roll out in two phases. In the first phase, Cambodian users of the Bakong payment system will be able to pay in Japan by scanning JPQR codes. The second phase will allow Japanese users to make payments in Cambodia using KHQR codes. NBC has selected ACLEDA Bank and Sathapana Bank as the sponsoring banks in Cambodia, while PJA has appointed NETSTARS as the payment and settlement operator in Japan. The…
Crypto exchange OKX has introduced OKX Pay, a new feature within its app designed to make cryptocurrency payments and self-custody more accessible. The rollout will begin with selected markets before expanding globally over the coming months. The product aims to address long-standing challenges in crypto use, including the complexities of managing private keys and the historical risk of losing digital assets due to forgotten credentials. Users will be able to store half of their private key in their passkey wallet while OKX holds the other half, enabling easier account recovery without compromising security. OKX said that funds cannot be moved…
Mastercard has introduced new global capabilities to enable stablecoin transactions from wallets to checkouts, expanding its role in digital asset payments. The company’s latest partnerships with OKX and Nuvei are part of a broader effort to create a seamless system where consumers can spend stablecoins and merchants can receive them. The move comes as stablecoins gain wider acceptance beyond crypto trading, with regulators providing greater clarity on their use. The payment giant’s approach covers wallet enablement, card issuance, acceptance, and settlement options to support the everyday use of stablecoins alongside traditional money. Mastercard has teamed up with crypto platforms including…
For too long, the banking sector of Asia Pacific has been navigating the digital age with one hand tied behind its back. Most of it is through being held down by the weight of legacy infrastructure. However, the game has now changed. The rapid convergence of digitalisation, soaring customer expectations for seamless, digital-first experiences, and evolving regulatory landscapes have created an urgent need for transformation. Traditional financial institutions are facing mounting pressure from agile fintech disruptors, which all begs one big question not on if they need to evolve, but rather how quickly. The answer, however, is simple. It lies…
Standard Chartered and Temenos announced a collaboration at the Money 20/20 Asia conference, making it the first bank to list a solution on the Temenos Exchange fintech marketplace. The bank’s foreign exchange (FX) API service, known as SCALE (Standard Chartered Aggregated Liquidity Engine), is now available to financial institutions using the Temenos platform. This partnership integrates Standard Chartered’s FX execution and settlement capabilities with Temenos’ core banking and payments technology. The integration aims to allow financial institutions on the Temenos system to implement Standard Chartered’s FX services more efficiently, reducing the need for extensive internal technology resources. This setup is…
Amber International Holding Limited has completed the integration of Sparrow Tech Private Limited, a Singapore-based digital asset platform, following regulatory approval. Sparrow Tech, which holds a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide Digital Payment Token services, is now an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Amber International. The platform offers secure, compliant, institutional-grade solutions for sophisticated investors. As part of the integration, Sparrow Tech is being rebranded as Amber Premium Singapore. The rebranding, expected to be completed by 30 April 2025, aims to align the platform with Amber International’s global brand identity and…
Payments company Thunes announced today it has raised US$150 million in its Series D funding round, the largest in the company’s history. The round was led by private equity firms Apis Partners and Vitruvian Partners. Thunes reported the funding was secured quickly despite challenging capital market conditions and represents a significant valuation increase over its previous round. The company, which states it is currently profitable and maintaining growth, intends to use the new capital to fund expansion in the United States. This follows its recent acquisition of licenses across 50 U.S. states, pending regulatory approval. Funds will also be directed…
Identity fraud is evolving into a global issue, growing both in frequency and complexity. Data from identity verification specialist Sumsub reveal that identity fraud incidents have more than doubled in the past three years, with account takeovers and deepfakes emerging as major concerns. Financial services have become a prime target. Between 2021 and 2024, identity fraud rates increased from 1.1% to 2.6% of all verifications analyzed worldwide by Sumsub, marking a staggering 136.4% increase. Notably, account takeovers witnessed a remarkable increase, increasing by 250% year-over-year (YoY) on a worldwide basis. Deepfake cases grew even more significantly, surging fourfold between 2023…
Stripe has emerged as one of the fastest-growing payment service providers (PSPs) in Asia-Pacific (APAC), expanding its footprint both geographically and through its broadening suite of financial products. A report by S&P Global Market Intelligence (S&P), sponsored by Stripe, explores this growth, highlighting Stripe’s expansion strategy and value propositions across the region. Founded in 2010, Stripe is an Irish-American multinational financial services and software-as-a-service (SaaS) company with dual headquarters in South San Francisco, USA, and Dublin, Ireland. The company provides a comprehensive suite of payment processing tools and application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable businesses to accept online payment securely…
Most customers aren’t just looking for another bank. They’re expecting their bank to think ahead for them. To interpret the patterns in their spending. To flag what they’ve missed. To offer smarter, faster ways to manage money, without being asked. More than seven out of ten customers say they want this level of intelligence, according to a Personetics Cognitive Banking Report. This isn’t a short-term shift in consumer behaviour. It’s a long-term evolution in how people relate to money and what they expect from the institutions managing it. For banks across Asia, that means more than incremental change. It means…