Singapore has released its updated Terrorism Financing National Risk Assessment (TF NRA) and National Strategy for Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) to address terrorism threats. The evolving global terrorism landscape necessitates regular updates to Singapore’s risk assessments and counter-terrorism strategies given its status as a global financial and business hub Singapore employs a comprehensive, government-wide approach to identify, monitor, and mitigate terrorism financing risks. Security, intelligence, law enforcement, supervisory, and regulatory agencies work together to detect and respond to both existing and emerging threats. The country also collaborates with the private sector and academic institutions to enhance its understanding…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
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CIMB Singapore encountered a technical issue on 29 June 2024, affecting the reflection of certain transactions in the bank account balances of a group of customers. The bank claimed that the root cause for the technical issues have been identified and that its team is working on resolving it in a Facebook post. Despite this glitch, CIMB Singapore reported that both inbound and outbound transactions were processed successfully. The bank released a statement saying to confirm that its core banking systems and customer accounts remain secure. CIMB assured that all affected customers will see their funds posted within the next…
Nearly three-quarters of banks globally continue to run on legacy core banking systems, which fail to deliver on transformation goals. However, new reports by the International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Thought Machine, reveal that 98% of banks are planning to upgrade their core banking systems to accelerate digital transformation within the next three years. The reports, produced in May 2024, examine core banking transformation and data migration strategies, sharing findings from a study of banking executives to understand their current core banking system challenges and priorities. It defines the characteristics of fourth-generation cloud-native core banking systems, emphasizes the imperative…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), alongside international financial institutions, has successfully completed the first phase of the Global Layer 1 (GL1) initiative. The regulator is now focusing on developing standards, market practices, and governing principles for digital infrastructure supporting tokenised assets. The MAS Global Layer 1 initiative includes partnerships with global industry associations and financial institutions to develop common standards in fixed income, foreign exchange (FX), and asset and wealth management. Over the past two years, MAS has collaborated with 24 financial institutions to pilot asset tokenisation use cases under Project Guardian. These institutions encompass asset managers, market operators,…
Silverlake Axis, a Singapore Mainboard-listed provider of enterprise and digital financial services solutions, has announced that Cassandra Goh Shiou Ling will assume the role of Group CEO. Effective 1 July 2024, Goh succeeds Andrew Tan Teik Wei, marking an earlier-than-expected transition. Goh was expected to take on the Group CEO role in 2025. Goh aims to continue the growth trajectory set by her predecessor, Andrew Tan, who will remain with the company to provide strategic guidance until 31 December 2024. Her father, Malaysian tech billionaire Goh Peng Ooi, founded Silverlake Axis that serves 40% of the largest banks in Southeast…
Developing countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region are embracing generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) at a faster pace than their advanced counterparts, driven by young employees and students, a new survey by Deloitte found. A 2024 study by Deloitte surveyed more than 11,900 individuals, including approximately 9,000 employees and 2,900 students in APAC, and found that gen AI is already transforming how people work in APAC, with younger generations leading the gen AI revolution. Across the region, 43% of employees and four in five university students reported using gen AI for work and study purposes. The study highlighted that young…
Governments worldwide are launching digital nomad visa programs to boost local economies, attract global talent, and adapt to the rise of remote work. According to CNBC, more than 40 countries and jurisdictions now offer these programs, which allow remote workers, freelancers, and digital nomads to live and work in a host country for an extended period while being employed by companies based elsewhere. In Asia, Thailand, Japan and Turkey have recently launched their own digital nomad visa schemes, targeting individuals who use technology to work from anywhere, commonly in fields like software development, marketing, writing, and consulting. Additionally, Malaysia has…
OceanBase, a distributed relational database developed by Ant Group, announced that its range of cloud database products and services will soon available on the Google Cloud Marketplace. This expansion enhances OceanBase’s multi-cloud deployment capabilities, allowing for greater flexibility and scalability across 80 availability zones worldwide. The service, compatible with major cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Cloud, is now accessible in over 30 regions across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and America. The company’s distributed database supports data-intensive transactional workloads and real-time operational analytics, offering high performance and scalability for mission-critical tasks.…
A recent study by Jumio, a provider AI-driven identity verification and compliance solutions, has found that 78% of consumers in Singapore are ready to change banks due to inadequate fraud protection. The Jumio 2024 Online Identity Study highlights rising concerns among consumers about their banks’ ability to safeguard against fraud, with 75% globally and 78% in Singapore indicating they would switch providers over these issues. The study, which surveyed over 8,000 adults across the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, and Mexico, reveals that 75% of consumers believe their banks are ultimately responsible for protecting them against cybercrime and fraud. The…
Ant International, a global digital payment and financial technology provider, announced that it supports nearly 100 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide. The company also revealed the launch of its global “Embrace the Power of Small” campaign, coinciding with International MSME Day today (27 June). Ant International offers a variety of solutions that enable MSMEs to digitise and unlock growth opportunities. Alipay+, the company’s cross-border mobile payment platform, is now accepted by over 90 million merchants in 66 markets. This expansion has been driven in part by the integration of Alipay+ with national QR codes in several countries,…
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is leading a US$195 million investment in Thailand’s digital payment and financial service provider, Ascend Money, alongside Krungsri Finnovate. Ascend Money, backed by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group, has 30 million active users and a strong presence in consumer payments and financial services. The company partners with major businesses like True Corp and 7-Eleven. Ascend Money is currently expanding its digital lending business by leveraging its customer base. MUFG has been actively expanding its commercial banking presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which is considered its second home market, investing in various digital startups and tech firms…
Member of Parliament Tin Pei Ling has joined Singapore-based digital asset platform MetaComp as its Co-President. She will drive strategic partnerships and corporate development starting 24 June 2024. MetaComp, a licensed Digital Payment Token Service provider under Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) through MVGX Holdings (MVGXH). Prior to her role at MetaComp, she was the Managing Director at DCS Card Centre for just nine months until June 2024 where she focused on strategic partnerships and business development. She was previously appointed as the Director of Public Affairs and Policy at Grab, an appointment which attracted criticism as there were concerns of…
Singapore unveiled its National Asset Recovery Strategy today, aimed at combating illicit finance by recovering funds and assets from criminals and returning them to victims or forfeiting them to the state. Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced the strategy at the Financial Action Task Force Plenary Meeting, underscoring Singapore’s commitment to bolstering its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts. The strategy addresses the increasing sophistication of global money laundering, emphasising Singapore’s role in tackling transnational cases involving complex methods to conceal illicit funds. Since January 2019, Singapore has seized S$6 billion linked to criminal…
2C2P, a full-suite payments platform, and MineSec have launched a new cloud-based Point of Sale (POS) payment app for Android devices in Singapore. This collaboration introduces a versatile solution enabling businesses to accept Tap-to-Pay and QR payments directly on NFC-enabled Android devices. This is touted to be the first of its kind in Singapore. The app supports major card schemes like Visa and Mastercard, along with popular digital wallets such as PayNow, GrabPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay. Merchants will also be able to view the consolidated payments easily on the mobile application. While the initial rollout focuses on Singapore, the collaboration…
GXS Bank, a digital bank in Singapore, has received an additional S$229.5 million (approximately US$169.4 million) funding from its parent companies Southeast Asian superapp Grab and telecom conglomerate Singtel, according to regulatory filings reported by DealStreetAsia. Grab led the round, injecting around US$141.5 million through its subsidiary A5-DB Holdings Pte Ltd. This latest investment follows several previous capital injections by Grab, including a US$109 million infusion in January and additional investments last year. The capital infusion comes as GXS Bank experienced a 59% increase in losses for the financial year ended 31 December 2023, despite a sixfold increase in net…
Atome Financial, a digital financial technology platform in Southeast Asia and part of Advance Intelligence Group, has secured a three-year debt facility from EvolutionX Debt Capital. This marks EvolutionX Debt Capital’s first fintech investment in Southeast Asia and includes an ‘accordion feature,’ allowing the facility to potentially increase up to US$100 million based on company needs and additional investor participation. This feature provides flexibility, enabling Atome Financial to scale the facility’s size as its expansion and financial requirements evolve. The financing is intended to support Atome Financial’s expansion across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It aims to strengthen the…
Singapore has released its updated Money Laundering (ML) National Risk Assessment (NRA), highlighting increased risks in the digital payment token (DPT) services sector. While DPT activities in Singapore constitute a small portion of global activities, authorities have noted a rise in reported cases and various ways these tokens can be exploited. Consequently, Singapore is closely monitoring the sector. The updated assessment also identifies other high-risk sectors within the financial industry, including payment institutions that provide cross-border money transfer services, such as remittance agents, and external asset managers. These sectors face significant money laundering risks due to their roles in facilitating…
GXS Bank, a digital bank supported by Grab Holdings and Singtel, reported a substantial increase in losses for the financial year ending 31 December 2023, as reported by DealStreetAsia. Despite this, the bank experienced a remarkable sixfold increase in net interest income, according to recent regulatory filings. The bank’s losses expanded to S$208.2 million in 2023 from S$131.1 million the previous year. Net interest income, which measures the difference between interest earned on loans and interest paid to depositors, increased to S$14.9 million from S$2.4 million. However, non-interest income decreased to S$1.18 million from S$2.6 million in 2022. Overall, GXS…
HSBC Singapore has unveiled its new Wealth Centre, located on the ground floor of Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2. This marks the first of three planned wealth centres that HSBC intends to establish in Singapore by early 2025. The centre is a key part of HSBC’s broader strategy to expand its wealth business in Singapore, focusing on the growing affluent segment. This move represents a fivefold increase in the bank’s investment in its physical network, transforming branches into wealth centres to support comprehensive wealth discussions with clients. The new wealth centre integrates sustainability, technology, and lifestyle elements to offer…
Global payments firm Airwallex has introduced its ‘Airwallex for Startups’ programme in Singapore, aiming to bolster the local startup ecosystem. Following successful launches in Hong Kong and Australia, the Airwallex for Startups programme in Singapore seeks to assist over 55,000 startups with growth and scaling. The programme provides startups with essential tools to manage finances effectively from the outset and fosters connections within the business ecosystem. Participants in the programme will benefit from six months of waived expense management fees, 3% cashback on Airwallex Borderless Cards, up to S$20,000 in fee-free payments, Google Cloud credits worth up to S$250,000, up…