Author: Fintech News Singapore

Citibank Singapore has expanded its footprint in the country with the opening of two new wealth advisory centers, marking the bank’s enhanced commitment to the island-state as a crucial hub for its wealth management operations. The inauguration of the center at One Holland Village by Andy Sieg, Citi’s Global Head of Wealth, follows the earlier opening of the Parkway Parade center, which began operations on 18 December 2023. These openings are part of Citibank’s announcement from October 2023 to establish more accessible wealth management services for its Citigold and Citigold Private Client customers. Located in the One Holland Village integrated…

Flagright, an AI-native company specialising in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance and fraud prevention, has announced its partnership with SALT, a financial platform aiming to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India and Asia. SALT plans to integrate Flagright’s AML and fraud prevention solutions to enhance its service offerings to SMEs, providing them with more secure and innovative financial services. Flagright’s AI technology and intuitive, no-code interface will enable SALT to seamlessly integrate comprehensive compliance and fraud prevention measures, further securing the financial transactions of SMEs in the region. Baran Ozkan, Co-founder and CEO of Flagright said, “We are excited…

The Sustainability Impact (SI) Awards 2024, a collaborative effort between The Business Times (BT) and United Overseas Bank (UOB), has officially opened its nomination period, which will run until 15 May 2024. The awards aim to honor individuals and organisations in Singapore that are making significant contributions to environmental and societal well-being through innovative, sustainable practices. The National University of Singapore Business School’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) serves as the knowledge partner for the awards. The awards are designed to recognise leadership and innovation in sustainability across various sectors, promoting a shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive…

Ishan Agrawal, the former Group Chief Technology Officer of SME digital finance platform Funding Societies, has embarked on a new entrepreneurial journey with the co-founding of Branch AI. With over 7 years of experience in building and scaling Funding Societies from seed stage to Series D, Agrawal, alongside co-founders Govind Chandrasekhar and Praveen Sekar, are steering their expertise towards building Branch AI. Branch AI, which has received backing from the startup accelerator Y Combinator, aims to simplify and enhance the search experience for e-commerce businesses. The startup leverages advanced artificial intelligence models to understand product catalogs and user intents, automating…

DBS Bank and supermarket chain Sheng Siong have embarked on a mission to assist suppliers in adopting more sustainable business practices. The initiative aims to reach out to 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Sheng Siong supply network over the next two years, focusing on enhancing resource efficiency and lowering carbon emissions. This collaboration marks the first of its kind between two SkillsFuture Queen Bee companies. The SkillsFuture Queen Bee programme, launched in 2020, supports SMEs in skill and workforce development, facilitating growth and transformation. Tan Kok Yam, Chief Executive of SkillsFuture Singapore, praised the partnership for its…

Visa is collaborating with the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation to launch the Digital Finance for All (DFA) initiative. This project, set to span five years, targets the promotion of digital financial access for 20 million people, focusing on women, smallholder farmers, and small business owners in developing regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The initiative comes in response to the rising usage of digital payments in low- and middle-income nations, which has increased by 66% since 2014. Despite this growth, significant segments of the population, including women, smallholder farmers, and small enterprise owners, face substantial hurdles in accessing…

Netcetera, a Swiss software company providing digital payment solutions, and Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) have launched a new 3D Secure (3DS) server instance in Mumbai, India, marking a significant step in supporting the expansion of global businesses into the region. This move comes as a response to the increasing demand for secure, efficient, and regulatory compliant digital payment solutions in India and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The Mumbai-based 3DS server is designed to meet the specific needs of clients, offering them the ability to tap into the vast spending potential of millions of cardholders worldwide. By providing a locally compliant payment processing solution,…

Banks in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are diversifying their offerings and embracing innovative digital strategies including super-app platforms, financial marketplaces and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) models. By 2030, these business models and digital offerings will contribute over 40% of banking revenue, representing some of the industry’s biggest growth opportunities for the sector, a new report by Twimbit, a Singaporean research and advisory firm, says. The paper, titled “APAC banks pursue growth with digital adjacencies”, explores the state of digital innovation in the region’s banking industry, identifying the key trends arising in the sector and delving into the biggest growth opportunities for incumbents. According to…

Financial product comparison platform MoneyHero announced the immediate appointment of Rohith Murthy as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His appointment comes on the heels of Prashant Aggarwal’s resignation, which took effect on 20 February 2024. Aggarwal, who guided MoneyHero from its early stages to its current status as a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq, will continue to support the firm in an advisory role. Murthy has over 20 years of experience in product innovation, digital banking, and operations, having held leadership roles at Citi, Siam Commercial Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank, working across Singapore, Thailand, and Central and Eastern…

The Securities and Exchange Commission Board (SEC Board) of Thailand has recommended the Minister of Finance to consider the revocation of the digital asset business license of crypto exchange Zipmex. This recommendation comes after a thorough evaluation of Zipmex’s operations, highlighting concerns regarding the company’s compliance with legal financial standards and the sufficiency of its management structure. The SEC Board’s resolution mandates that Zipmex suspend its business activities immediately and take necessary steps to return assets to its clients in accordance with their requests. Should clients fail to reclaim their assets within a specified timeframe, Zipmex is required to secure…

DBS and POSB has announced the expansion of its digiVault protection to all customer accounts, providing users with the option to securely lock funds in their existing accounts. This initiative is aimed at bolstering self-managed security in response to the increasing prevalence of financial scams. Introduced in November last year, digiVault initially allowed customers to digitally lock funds in a separate account to prevent unauthorised digital transfers. The recent extension offers greater flexibility, enabling customers to also lock a portion of their funds in their existing accounts without the need to open a new one. Additionally, customers can continue to…

A major investigation is underway in Singapore involving the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) against two key figures of Samlit Moneychanger, a licensed payment services provider. A 43-year-old woman, serving as the Director, and a 34-year-old man, the Compliance Manager, are under scrutiny for allegedly engaging in fraudulent trading practices and failing to meet their regulatory obligations. The investigation was triggered by reports that funds remitted to China through Samlit were inaccessible to beneficiaries, having been either frozen or seized by Chinese authorities. This prompted MAS to inspect the operations of Samlit, during which the company reportedly…

Singapore-based wealth and savings app Hugosave announced that it is now jointly certified as Shariah-compliant. This certification, awarded by a consortium including Islamic Finance Singapore, Ustaz Kamal Mokhtar, S Tradition Pte Ltd, and Masryef Sdn Bhd, ensures that Hugosave’s services adhere to Islamic law, addressing the needs of Muslim clients seeking financial solutions in line with their faith. Hugosave’s Shariah-compliant products include savings accounts protected by a local bank, a Visa Platinum Debit Card without annual fees or minimum income requirements, and “Money Pots” for goal-oriented saving and investing. Additionally, the app offers the ability to trade in physical gold,…

HitPay, a provider of commerce infrastructure for small businesses, has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) License. This approval positions HitPay to expand its services to include merchant acquisition along with domestic and cross-border money transfer services. The attainment of the MPI license will enable HitPay to introduce new services aimed at simplifying payment processing for merchants. This includes facilitating SMEs to access cross-border markets, thereby connecting them with a global customer base. In December last year, HitPay had launched its mass payout services in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines…

In its ninth annual Fintech 50 list, Forbes has spotlighted its key contributors to the fintech sector, and Singapore-headquartered payments firm Nium has been distinguished as the sole Asian entity to feature this year. Originally launched in 2014 under the name InstaReM, Nium has evolved into a significant global fintech presence. With a current valuation of US$2 billion, the firm is one of the few fintech unicorns from Singapore and oversees transactions amounting to more than US$8 billion annually for a variety of banks and payment institutions, counting Rippling, Payoneer, and Currencycloud among its B2B clientele. “It’s an honor to…

In an exclusive interview with Fintech News, we sat down with HDFC’s Gautam Anand to delve into how the bank has transformed its customer service landscape in the last 18 months by leveraging advanced AI and ML technologies. Gautam shares insights into the bank’s strategic move to embrace AI technology for improving service efficiency, particularly in a diverse country like India, by providing customer support in over 13 regional languages. This interview is also available on Spotify: Listen here Apple Podcast: Listen here

Dive into the future of fintech with best-selling author Chris Skinner who shares his expert insights on what’s next in the industry in this episode of ‘Banking After Hours’. This interview is also available on Spotify: Listen here Apple Podcast: Listen here

Payment giant Visa has unveiled its newly transformed Innovation Center in Singapore which will serve as a collaborative space for partners, clients, and businesses across the Asia Pacific region, fostering the development of advanced payment solutions. As the digital payment sector continues to evolve, the center aims to facilitate the co-creation of innovative payment solutions, scalable innovations, and tackle the major challenges and opportunities within digital payments in the region. The Singapore Innovation Center is part of Visa’s commitment to shaping the future of payment technologies, incorporating advancements like artificial intelligence (AI) for retail and payments, and exploring new frontiers…

Three of Singapore’s leading banks have announced substantial financial aid packages in a move to support junior employees during times of economic inflation. This initiative, kick-started by DBS, followed by OCBC, and then UOB, is in response to the latest guidelines issued by Singapore’s National Wages Council. The aim is to alleviate the financial pressures faced by lower-income employees due to the rising cost of living. DBS Earmarks S$15 Million for the One-Time Financial Aid The bank set the precedent on 7 February 2024, by announcing a one-time bonus for its junior employees as part of its financial results disclosure.…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has cautioned financial institutions on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities introduced by the advent of quantum computing. Quantum computers, which leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, promise to revolutionise various industries by processing certain mathematical problems much faster than today’s computers. However, they also pose a significant threat to the integrity of widely-used encryption methods, putting financial transactions and sensitive information at risk. Experts predict that the cybersecurity challenges posed by quantum computing will become a reality within the next decade. The introduction of cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs) could render current asymmetric cryptography obsolete and…