Fibe, an Indian consumer lending fintech formerly known as EarlySalary, has raised US$90 million in a Series E funding round. The round was led by TR Capital, Trifecta Capital, and Amara Partners, with participation from TPG’s Rise Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, Eight Roads Ventures, and Chiratae Ventures. According to a statement by Fibe, the new funds will be used to expand business operations, enhance market outreach, and develop tailored financial products. Founded in 2015, Fibe has disbursed over 6 million loans totaling ₹20,000 crores to more than 25 million customers across 350 cities in India. Akshay Mehrotra, Co-founder and CEO…
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Australia will introduce new legislation to amend the Credit Act, requiring Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) providers to hold an Australian credit license and comply with existing credit laws regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Currently, most BNPL products are not covered by the National Consumer Credit Act, leaving consumers without the same protections such as affordability checks that apply to credit cards and loans. Additionally, a new category of “low-cost credit” will be established under the Credit Act to reflect the lower risk and cost associated with BNPL compared to other forms of credit. BNPL providers…
Thredd, a growing global payments platform, has announced its partnership with Discover Global Network at the Money20/20 Europe event. This collaboration aims to meet the increasing demand from Thredd’s clients for more flexible card programmes, especially those requiring cross-border card issuance. Discover Global Network, which processes billions of transactions for over 305 million cardholders globally and is accepted at over 70 million merchant locations, will enhance Thredd’s service offerings. In the coming months, Thredd clients will gain access to Discover’s network, starting with virtual card issuance through Diners Club International. This partnership is expected to support Thredd’s international expansion, enabling…
In 2024, the insurance industry faces challenges caused by the rise in property and auto rates due to inflation, geopolitical uncertainties, and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Technology is emerging as a key driver for insurers navigating the turbulent landscape. A survey conducted by Gartner found that 58% of the insurance respondents have allocated increased funding for digital innovation. This ongoing trend towards digitalization and business automation, accelerated by COVID-19, is projected to continue into 2024, with insurtech playing a crucial role in enhancing insurers’ performance through modern technologies. According to industry stakeholders and experts, a number of technological trends will be…
Sumsub, a global verification platform, has announced its partnership with the Mastercard Engage Partner Programme. This collaboration focuses on providing digital first solutions to enhance customer onboarding and compliance processes. By joining the Engage Programme, Sumsub aims to streamline customer onboarding, reduce fraud risks, and foster trust, ultimately improving the digital experience for end-users. The programme helps partners develop and expand payment solutions for Mastercard’s global customer base, speeding up product innovation and facilitating seamless payment experiences. Sumsub’s Know-Your-Customer (KYC) products will be available to Mastercard customers, ensuring secure and compliant onboarding experiences. These tools will also monitor user activities…
International Payment Identity (iPiD), a Singapore-based fintech that recently joined Visa’s 2024 Accelerator Programme, has raised US$5.3 million in a Pre-Series A funding round. The round, led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, also saw participation from Quona Capital, QED Investors, and existing backers Jungle Ventures, 1982 Ventures, Saison Capital, and Resolution Ventures. Founded in 2021 by former Swift executives, iPiD offers advanced payee verification and identification solutions aimed at enhancing global payment security. The new funds will be used to develop products that prevent payment-related fraud and to expand in strategic markets, especially in Asia. Additionally, the funding will support the…
Payment giant Visa announced at Money20/20 in Amsterdam that it has issued 10 billion tokens through its tokenisation technology. This has contributed over US$40 billion in additional e-commerce revenue globally and has prevented US$650 million in fraud over the past year. Since its launch in 2014, Visa’s tokenisation technology has replaced sensitive payment data with cryptographic keys, enhancing security and making digital payments safer. Tokenisation can be embedded into any device, making digital payments more secure while being virtually useless to scammers. With 29% of all Visa transactions now using tokens, the technology has become a trusted method for consumers…
Global payments company Nium has raised US$50 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at US$1.4 billion. The round was led by a sovereign wealth fund in Southeast Asia and includes previous investors BOND, NewView Capital, and Tribe Capital. The funds will be used to accelerate Nium’s growth in the B2B payments market which is projected to reach US$175 trillion by 2030. This includes expanding its global network, driving product innovation, hiring top talent, and pursuing mergers and acquisitions. In 2023, Nium reported a revenue growth of over 50% compared to 2022, with its focus on product…
Homegrown financial services company Singlife has successfully completed its migration to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The firm claims to be the first insurer in Singapore to be fully cloud-based. Announced in late 2022, the multi-phased project, supported by AWS Professional Services, involved migrating over 39 mission-critical applications and exiting its data centers within 18 months. The collaboration with AWS allows Singlife to better anticipate customer needs and develop the next generation of financial products. By leveraging AWS’s infrastructure and machine learning services, including Amazon SageMaker, Singlife aims to meet the growing demand for real-time, hyper-personalised digital financial services. This shift…
HSBC announced that it is set to open three new wealth centres in Singapore by the first quarter of 2025. This move will see the bank increasing its investment in its physical network fivefold, transforming branches into wealth centres to facilitate comprehensive wealth discussions with clients. The new centres will be located in the Central Business District, as well as in the east and west regions of Singapore. As part of a broader strategy to enhance its international and wealth propositions, HSBC has doubled its technology investments in Singapore over the past five years, improving capabilities and customer experiences. The…
Banking software company Temenos has announced a partnership with Mastercard to provide banks and their customers with more options for international money transfers. This partnership will integrate Mastercard Move, a comprehensive suite of money transfer solutions, into Temenos Payments Hub. Mastercard Move’s solutions facilitate secure and swift international money transfers, offering cost-effective options to route and deliver funds through Mastercard’s extensive global network. With nearly 10 billion endpoints in over 180 countries, recipients can choose from various disbursement options, including cards, bank accounts, cash pick-up locations, and mobile wallets. The integration of Mastercard Move into Temenos Payments Hub will enable…
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched Project Rialto to test the potential for improving instant cross-border payments through a combination of a modular foreign exchange (FX) component and wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDC). Enhancing cross-border payments is a significant international policy objective and a priority for the G20. Currently, FX services provided by correspondent banks are often costly, slow, and complex, posing liquidity, credit, and settlement risks to participants. Decentralised solutions, CBDC, and interconnected payment infrastructures offer promising paths to improve cross-border payments. Project Rialto aims to explore how these elements can interact to advance global payment…
HitPay, a Singapore-based commerce platform for SMEs, has secured a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This follows the in-principle approval issued earlier this year in February. The license will enable HitPay to provide merchant acquisition and domestic and cross-border money transfer services, opening cross-border opportunities for SMEs. In addition to the MPI license, HitPay has secured several local licenses in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, HitPay Payment Solutions Inc holds an Operator of Payment Systems (OPS) license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Meanwhile in Malaysia, Mobiedge E-Commerce Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of…
ORO Bank, touted as Asia’s first full-reserve digital bank, leveraged global financial software provider Finastra’s SaaS core banking solution to launch its cloud-based platform within six months. The Bhutanese bank had launched last week. Finastra’s combination of rich, broad, and deep banking functionality with advanced technology allowed ORO Bank to quickly establish a competitive edge in the market. With Finastra’s cloud-based core banking solution, ORO Bank aims to provide a safe, innovative and sustainable banking experience. ORO Bank is part of the Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (SAR), a strategic initiative announced by the King of Bhutan, with the…
IDEMIA Secure Transactions has introduced the GREENPAY Wallet, a new digital solution aimed at promoting regenerative sustainability in the banking sector. This announcement comes just before World Environment Day on 5 June 2024. The GREENPAY Wallet is a major step in IDEMIA Secure Transactions’ broader corporate social responsibility strategy. It allows banks and their customers to contribute to global nature regeneration and social projects. The solution features a software component for consumers to make financial contributions to NGO projects through their mobile banking apps and a digital platform for financial institutions to select and monitor impactful projects. This initiative builds…
The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region faces significant challenges in combating money laundering due to its diverse economies, large volume of cross-border trade, and varying levels of regulatory enforcement across different countries — the trends of money laundering in Asia Pacific are constantly evolving. However, enhanced regulatory measures, technological advancements and increased public-private and international collaboration are introducing promising opportunities to address these challenges more effectively, a new report by Forrester Research says. The report, titled “Top Trends Shaping Anti-Money Laundering in Asia-Pacific in 2024”, delves into the key trends, technology adoption, and regulatory imperatives shaping the anti-money laundering (AML) market in…
In the financial services industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative force, promising to reshape the way institutions operate, innovate, and compete on a global scale. However, challenges including AI talent scarcity and limited collaboration between financial institutions and AI fintech startups. A study conducted by global consultancy Oliver Wyman in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) explores how cities like Singapore can become global hubs for AI in finance, examining the biggest challenges faced by ecosystem stakeholders and stressing the importance of attracting global AI talent, fostering AI investments, and promoting AI collaboration within the…
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is one of the fastest-growing regions for cyber insurance, according to a S&P Global survey. Over the past five years, the region’s cyber insurance market has grown 51.2% annually, making APAC one of the most dynamic market in the world for the coverage type. German insurance group Munich Re expects the market to continue its growth momentum, projected to triple in size by 2025. Despite its rapid growth, the APAC region remains the second smallest cyber insurance market globally, S&P Global says, a statement that aligns with findings of a Moody’s survey which revealed strong cybersecurity oversight among…
Indonesia’s fintech landscape is booming. Over the past decade, the number of fintech players in Indonesia increased six-fold, rising from just 51 active players in 2011 to 334 in 2022, a 2023 report by AC Ventures and the Boston Consulting Group shows, highlighting fintech investors in Indonesia’s growing interest in the segment. This growth has emerged on the back of increased adoption of digital financial services. According to the report, the Indonesian payment segment counted over 60 million active users in 2020, and that number is expected to grow at a rate of 26% annually between 2020 and 2025. In…
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have launched a global initiative focused on digital inclusion at the ATxSummit, which attracted over 4,000 guests from 85 countries in tech and government sectors. This summit is part of Asia Tech x Singapore, a tech platform connecting over 25,000 global and industry decision-makers to promote a digitally inclusive future. Over the next 100 days, the UNDP will conduct a global consultation to engage its network across 170 countries and territories, as well as national counterparts and practitioners, to gather collective insights on enhancing digital inclusion. This…