UnionDigital Bank, the digital banking arm of UnionBank of the Philippines, showcased its commitment to innovation and financial inclusion at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2023. The digital bank highlighted its efforts to provide accessible and inclusive financial services to underserved communities through AI-powered solutions, aligning with the festival’s theme of “The Application of AI in Financial Services.” The digital bank’s proprietary framework, the Customer Lifetime Prosperity Index (CLPI), a metric illustrating customers’ financial health. At the event, UnionDigital Bank also highlighted its advocacy for embedded finance, collaborating across industries to enhance access to digital bank products. The digital bank…
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Mastercard Singapore and FOMO Pay have collaborated to introduce Mastercard QR within SGQR, the unified national QR code of Singapore. This initiative, in line with EMVCo Merchant-Presented QR standards, allows cardholders to use Mastercard credit and debit cards for payments by scanning SGQR codes. The integration aims to simplify the payment process for merchants by doing away with the need for traditional point-of-sale systems. This move is particularly advantageous for micro, small, and medium enterprises, helping them extend their services to a broader range of customers, including domestic and international Mastercard users. For consumers, this development offers an expanded range…
In Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, green fintech is picking up steam and growing on the back of increasing climate-related regulations, growing adoption of sustainable practices among Asian businesses, and rising investors’ interest, a new report by UOB, PwC Singapore and the Singapore Fintech Association, says. The 2023 Fintech in ASEAN report, released on November 16, provides an overview of the Southeast Asian fintech landscape, highlighting emerging trends and the different developments observed across the region over the past year. According to this year’s edition, sustainability and green fintech are two sectors that are gaining traction across…
In a pivotal development within the nascent fintech sectors of both countries, Indonesian payment gateway Faspay, and Australian remittance company EzyRemit have embarked on a collaboration. This alliance was cemented with a Memorandum of Understanding at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023, and is set to enhance the efficiency and ease of cross-border transactions between Australia and Indonesia. The MOU was formally signed by Eddy Tju, CEO of Faspay, and Elaine Tran, Chief Representative and General Manager of EzyRemit. The main objective of this strategic ollaboration between Faspay and EzyRemit is establish a comprehensive financial ecosystem to meet the evolving demands…
Ant International, Grab, and StraitsX (part of Fazz) announced a collaboration to look into the potential of Purpose Bound Money (PBM) for cross-border payments. PBM is a protocol that specifies the conditions upon which an underlying digital currency can be used and first introduced by MAS as part of Project Orchid, which has the potential to lower the cost of payment processing, and the capability for money to be directed towards a specific purpose. The industry pilot will explore functionalities and interactions of a programmable digital Singapore dollar with existing payment infrastructures to accelerate the payments integration process for merchants…
Transaction guarantee platform Vesta and financial infrastructure provider Stripe have announced a partnership to offer a comprehensive fraud prevention and risk protection solution in a move to combat fraud and protect revenue. The solution will combine Vesta’s Payment Guarantee, which provides 100% indemnification from fraudulent chargebacks, with Stripe Radar’s risk scores to help merchants increase transaction approval rates and prevent both first-party and third-party chargebacks. This partnership is particularly beneficial for merchants facing high fraud risks or excessive disputes. The Vesta Payment Guarantee will be available on the Stripe App Marketplace in the first half of 2024. Additionally, Vesta will…
XREX Singapore, a blockchain-enabled fintech providing cross-border payments in emerging markets, has secured in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution license to provide digital payment token services. The in-principle approval for XREX Singapore covers a range of payment services, including account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfers, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance, and digital payment token services. The approval will enable XREX Singapore to broaden the reach of its crypto-friendly escrow payment tool, BitCheck, which supports fiat, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies. As the Asia Pacific headquarters for XREX, the Singapore entity plans to strengthen partnerships with major banks, credit card companies, and…
The Bahrain Economic and Development Board (EDB) has officially revealed the establishment of its first Southeast Asia office in Singapore. This development aims to bolster Bahrain’s position as an attractive destination for investments, particularly for Singaporean businesses. The office will aim to provide essential market intelligence and guidance, as well as facilitate connections with key decision-makers in Bahrain. Dalal Buhejji, the Executive Director of Business Development for Financial Services at Bahrain EDB, expressed satisfaction over the new office, noting that it represents a significant step in strengthening Bahrain’s partnerships with Asian businesses. “We are delighted to establish a foothold in…
Visa, a global leader in digital payments, and Tencent Financial Technology, the fintech arm of Tencent, have announced a partnership at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 that will broaden Visa’s reach in the Chinese remittance market. This collaboration will enable Weixin users to receive inbound remittances directly in their digital wallets, significantly expanding the Visa Direct network’s reach to over one billion Weixin users in Mainland China. a major player in the global inbound remittance market. Digital wallets offer a convenient and secure way for consumers to conduct financial transactions without sharing sensitive account or card details. Instead, transactions can…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), with support from PwC Singapore, have announced the winners of the SFF Global Fintech Awards at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023. These awards are a testament to the innovation and significant contributions within the fintech ecosystem, celebrating both corporate entities and individual leaders who have made remarkable strides in the field. Out of 96 submissions, 13 winners emerged across six award categories. This year’s awards were particularly noteworthy for the introduction of two new thematic categories focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in…
In a significant move to promote artificial intelligence in the financial sector, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in partnership with the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), announced the winners of the Global Fintech Hackcelerator at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2023. The Hackcelerator, powered by Oliver Wyman and in collaboration with AI Singapore (AISG), invited global participants to develop market-ready AI solutions for high-priority challenges in finance. The competition included a Local Programme, which dealt with problem statements from Singapore’s finance industry, focusing on areas like customer experience, operational efficiency, risk, compliance, and ESG solutions. Twelve finalists from this programme…
Global fintech startups seeking funding have the opportunity to participate in the Fintech World Cup (FWC), organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Registration is currently open for an initial pitch competition that will take place tomorrow (17 November) at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) between 3.00 pm-4.30 pm at DIFC’s booth (6B25). On top of the one held at the SFF, regional qualifying competitions will also be held across ten major business hubs in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to select the most promising startups as finalists. This global competition, part of the larger Dubai Fintech Summit,…
According to the recent “Fintech in ASEAN 2023: Seeding the Green Transition” report, jointly released by UOB, PwC Singapore, and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), there is a growing interest in sustainable finance solutions despite the broader funding winter affecting the region. Key findings from the report Overall decrease in fintech funding: There was a 70% reduction in fintech funding in ASEAN compared to the previous year, with a total investment of US$1.3 billion in the first nine months of 2023. Singapore attracts record fintech investments: Despite the funding downturn, Singapore retained its leading position, securing US$747 million, or 59%…
Three entities have received In-Principle Approvals (IPA) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to issue stablecoins that will align with the central bank’s proposed stablecoin regulatory framework. Stablecoins issued by the three entities – StraitsX SGD Issuance, StraitsX USD Issuance and Paxos Digital Singapore – will become “MAS-regulated stablecoins” upon legislative amendments. Two of the approvals will facilitate the issuance of StraitsX XSGD and StraitsX XUSD, stablecoins pegged 1-1 to Singapore Dollars and US Dollars, respectively. The third approval is to Paxos Digital Singapore to issue a new stablecoin backed by the US Dollar. Under the upcoming MAS stablecoin…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled a series of initiatives to ensure the secure and innovative use of digital money in the country. The three forms of digital money that MAS is promoting are wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), tokenised bank liabilities, and regulated stablecoins. The regulator had just announced today that it has approved StraitsX SGD Issuance, StraitsX USD Issuance, and Paxos Digital Singapore to issue stablecoins that comply with its upcoming regulatory framework. Orchid Blueprint: Laying the Tech Infrastructure for Digital SGD MAS had introduced the Orchid Blueprint today, a comprehensive document outlining the necessary technological…
During the 2023 Singapore Fintech Festival, Visa showcased the progress of seven startups from its Asia Pacific Visa Accelerator Programme 2023. These startups, selected in May 2023, have been working on innovative solutions in digital payments, benefiting from Visa’s global network and expertise over a six-month period. The cohort includes Dowsure, Doxa Holdings, Kadmos, Pi-xcels, Playbux, Transpure, and Twid. Their work, spanning areas such as global money movement, embedded finance, and open banking solutions, was demonstrated at the 2023 Visa Accelerator Programme Demo Day. Kunal Chatterjee, Head of Innovation at Visa Asia Pacific, stated that the programme aims to assist…
Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), unveiled the next phase of Project Greenprint, aimed at revolutionising the financial ecosystem with a new integrated platform named “Gprnt” at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023. The Greenprint initiative is set to be propelled by a newly established entity, Greenprint Technologies, and will receive collaborative support from prominent partners, including HSBC, KPMG, MUFG, and Microsoft, in addition to MAS. Meanwhile, Temenos is the first core banking software vendor to collaborate with Gprnt.ai. The primary objective of this new platform is to consolidate and synergise ongoing pilot projects under…
Temenos shared that it is the first core banking software vendor to collaborate with Gprnt, the newly launched integrated digital platform by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), aimed at advancing tech solutions and product development while exploring data integration within sustainable finance. Gprnt, a product of MAS’ Project Greenprint, aims to meet the financial sector and real economy’s demands for reliable climate and sustainability-related data. Temenos joined MAS and other stakeholders on the ESG Stage at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 to discuss potential opportunities offered by Gprnt. The focus will be on supporting financial institutions in their efforts to…
Zodia Markets, the digital asset exchange and brokerage platform backed by Standard Chartered, has announced a strategic partnership with Triple-A, a global digital currency payment institution. The partnership will enable corporate clients to accept digital assets and stablecoins as payment for goods and services through Triple-A. A subsidiary of UK bank Standard Chartered, Zodia Markets primarily operates in emerging markets like Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Zodia Markets was launched in 2021 in collaboration with digital asset platform OSL, marking Standard Chartered’s commitment to advancing global digital asset infrastructure. Triple-A is a licensed digital currency payment institution that facilitates faster…
The Philippines has marked its presence at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2023 through the Bagong Pilipinas: The Philippines Country Pavilion, an initiative championed by Fintech Alliance.Ph. The Pavilion marks the latest foray of Filipino fintech at the world’s largest fintech festival, with SFF having previously attracted over 62,000 attendees from 134 countries. Representing the Philippines, the Bagong Pilipinas Pavilion showcases the country’s strong growth and active engagement in the fintech sector. This effort is a collaborative one, involving various top government and private entities coming together such as the Office of the President of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng…