Swiss fintech firm additiv announced that it has rolled out its embedded finance offering in Southeast Asia. The offering will be showcased at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023. This follows the launch of Coop Finance+, a superapp providing comprehensive financial services for Swiss retailer Coop. additiv’s embedded finance platform supports the design and development of superapps similar to Coop Finance+, fully integrating them with client’s brands and other digital channels. The API-first cloud platform orchestrates multiple services into a seamless end-to-end customer experience, enabling increased revenue growth for both brands and financial service providers, at minimal marginal costs. “The Singapore…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
Author
Read More
FOMO Pay has announced its acquisition of a Money Service Operator (MSO) License from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department. This license will enable FOMO Pay to start offering payment and remittance services in Hong Kong, aimed at improving the efficiency of global financial transactions for businesses. The company is currently regulated under Singapore’s Payment Services Act and holds various licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. These licenses cover a range of financial activities including local and international money transfers, merchant acquisition, and digital payment token services, with FOMO Pay being the first in Singapore to secure MAS…
Bambu, a digital wealth technology provider, has launched its latest offering – Bambu GO – that is designed to provide financial institutions with a customisable robo-advisor for mass retail investors. The new offering is a SaaS-based robo-advisor that is integrated with WealthKernel, the UK’s provider of digital investment infrastructure. The platform offers banks, brokerages, insurers, asset managers, and neobanks a comprehensive and fully managed robo-advisor solution with integrated custody, Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, and onboarding capabilities. Bambu GO also offers personalised branding and facilitates customer acquisition, making it a valuable tool for institutions looking to expand their client base…
In the latest edition of the Singapore Fintech Talent Report 2023, jointly presented by the Singapore Fintech Association and Accenture Singapore, valuable insights emerge for industry leaders, HR professionals, and policymakers. The report serves as a comprehensive analysis of the evolving trends and challenges in the fintech talent landscape. A key finding of this report is the robust optimism within the fintech sector, which anticipates a 30% growth in its workforce in the coming one to two years. However, this optimism is slightly tempered compared to the previous year, with a 19% decline in fintechs expecting accelerated sector growth. Nonetheless,…
Mastercard and NEC Corporation have announced a partnership to bring Mastercard’s Biometric Checkout Programme to the Asia Pacific region. The programme will allow consumers to use their biometrics to pay for goods and services in stores. The partnership will combine NEC’s face recognition and liveness verification technology with Mastercard’s payment enablement and user experience expertise. Consumers are increasingly embracing biometric authentication, with 82% of consumers in Asia Pacific using at least one form of biometrics already. Businesses are also adopting biometrics, with biometrics expected to authenticate over US$3 trillion in payment transactions by 2025. The Biometric Checkout Programme will allow…
Amazon, StraitsX (part of Fazz) and Grab have launched an industry pilot at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) that allows users to connect their blockchain wallet to redeem exclusive merchandise. The pilot is built on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Orchid initiative. Project Orchid explores the design and technical challenges of creating a digital Singapore dollar, including its features and how it would work with existing payment systems. To participate in the pilot, users will need to set up a blockchain wallet. Amazon recommends Grab’s Web3 Wallet or any other wallet that is compatible via WalletConnect. The list of…
Temasek Trust has recently entered into a strategic partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) through a Letter of Intent, aiming to develop a unified fintech and impact investment roadmap, focusing on creating an interoperable technology framework. The framework is designed to enhance cross-platform collaborations, particularly between open technology-based platforms. The partnership leverages the regional networks of both MAS and Temasek Trust, seeking to establish a broad design and framework for common platforms. The goal is to attract global capital to high-potential and high-impact opportunities within the region. This initiative is expected to significantly boost investment, thereby accelerating the…
A recent study has revealed that platform workers in Singapore face a number of financial challenges, including low levels of financial freedom, difficulty meeting monthly savings targets, and a lack of retirement planning. The ‘Financial Freedom for Platform Workers and the Self-Employed’ report, a collaborative effort between Singlife, PwC Singapore, and the Singapore Fintech Association, will be officially unveiled at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 (SFF 2023) on 15 November 2023. The report delves into the perceived and expected levels of financial freedom among platform workers and explores the perspectives of both platform workers and platform companies regarding the recommendations…
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the World Economic Forum have committed to a Memorandum of Understanding, aiming to enhance digital inclusion in emerging and developing economies. This initiative seeks to address the disparities faced by individuals and smaller businesses, particularly in terms of accessing financial services. IFC will take the lead in formulating these guidelines, leveraging its extensive network in financial institutions and support mechanisms within emerging markets. The guidelines are expected to cover aspects like digital financial inclusion products, eligible assets, and frameworks for measurement and reporting. MAS plans to integrate the IFC…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the launch of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to assist banks in issuing Sustainability-Linked Loans (SLLs) in the real estate sector. The tool will help banks to address key challenges such as inaccurate settings for Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs), greenwashing concerns, and inefficient processes. The MVP was developed by the Project NovA! consortium comprising 23 members, marking the successful completion of its first phase. Project NovA! was initiated in 2021 as part of the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programme in Finance. The next phase of NovA! will focus on collaborating with the Building…
ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank in Singapore, is taking steps to make financial services more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). The bank launched the ANEXT Programme for Industry Specialists (APIs) and partnered with three new platforms; food delivery service DeliveryChinatown, Hong Xin Da, and e-commerce service Shopmatic. This move aims to provide financing opportunities for over a million regional SMEs within a year. In addition to financial services, the APIs repository also provides secure solutions for customer onboarding and authentication. This initiative is a significant step toward helping SMEs access the financial support they need. ANEXT Bank…
Attendees of the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 (SFF 2023) can get S$1,000 worth of demo trading credits to try out the Future of Finance Trading Portal. This initiative is part of Project Guardian, a collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and eight financial institutions to assess the viability of asset tokenisation and decentralised finance (DeFi) applications. To claim the demo trading credits, attendees can register at a Future of Finance Trading Portal with their SFF badges at participating booths. This can be done at the booths of DBS, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, OCBC, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, SGX Group, UBS,…
Globe Group, a Philippines’ telecoms company, will be showcasing its tech journey at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 (SFF 2023) that had kicked off today (14 November). A highlight at SFF 2023 will be the panel discussion titled “Building Unicorns: An ASEAN Success Story”, featuring Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Group, and Martha Sazon, President and CEO of Mynt. At the panel discussion, the two leaders of Globe’s business evolution are set to discuss the conglomerate’s digital transformation. Globe’s evolution is marked by a 44% year-on-year increase in non-telco revenues, reaching PHP4.1 billion in the first three quarters…
A collaborative effort involving the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), and the SME Finance Forum has resulted in the launch of Universal Trusted Credentials (UTC). This global initiative has been introduced to ease access to financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide. The UTC initiative offers a comprehensive framework for assessing an MSME’s creditworthiness, drawing from both traditional and alternative data sources. These sources encompass a wide array of information that paints a more detailed picture of an MSME’s financial…
Upworth, an upcoming Australian fintech company, has raised A$1 million (US$ 650,000) in seed funding from angel investors. The firm is launching its free personal finance management offering to the public. The platform offers a financial dashboard that allows users to keep track all of their assets and liabilities, such as bank accounts, investments, cryptocurrencies, loans, and more, in one place. This tool also gives users free access to 170,000 securities across over 70 global exchanges, helping users understand how their wealth is evolving. Upworth employs AI and open banking to offer personalsed financial advice, including a quick mortgage refinancing…
The eighth Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 (SFF 2023) kicks off today and will run until 17 November 2023. As one of the largest fintech festivals in the world, the event is expected to attract over 60,000 attendees from over 100 countries. SFF 2023 brings together leaders and experts from around the world in finance, technology, and public policy to delve into the theme “AI for good. AI for good?” amid projections that Generative AI could significantly increase global GDP in the next decade. The festival aims to balance the exploration of AI’s potential with an understanding of its risks, fostering…
Online money transfer service Wise and digital travel platform Agoda have partnered to make it easier for travelers to book and pay for their trips. Wise’s global payments network will be integrated into Agoda’s platform, allowing customers to make faster, lower-cost, and more transparent international payments. Agoda’s users will also be able to receive cashback directly into their local bank accounts. Mai-Linh Bui, Chief Financial Officer at Agoda said, “Today’s travellers seek speed and convenience at every step of their journey, and payments are no exception. With Wise Platform’s expertise in cross-border payments, we are able to offer travellers more…
Singapore-based digital payments platform dtcpay has partnered with PlatON, and Allinpay International to launch a digital currency payment system based on smart terminals. The new system will support Tether (USDT), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and other mainstream cryptocurrencies with the aim to empower partners and merchants to accept payments in both fiat and digital currency, dtcpay will facilitate the seamless and secure digital currency and fiat currency exchange services, while PlatON will leverage advanced privacy computing technology to construct the underlying technical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Allinpay International will provide smart terminals and online aggregate payment interfaces for Web 3.0 payments. “dtcpay’s…
BondEvalue, a Singapore-based fintech company that operates the digital bond exchange BondbloX, has raised US$6 million in a Series B round. The company had previously secured US$6 million in a Series A fundraise in 2021. The round was joined by Beacon Venture Capital, the corporate venture arm of Thailand’s Kasikornbank. Existing shareholders MassMutual Ventures and Citigroup also participated in the round. Other investors include Potato Productions, a company helmed by entrepreneur Lee Han Shih, and Octava, a Singapore-based family office. The fresh funds will enable the company to scale BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX), its digital exchange for trading fractional and…
LXA, a Singapore-based technology startup specialising in mortgage solutions, has raised US$10 million in a seed funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The round also included participation from Openspace Ventures and EDBI. With the new funding, LXA plans to expand its team, enhance its technology platform, and launch its services in additional Asian markets. LXA’s platform aims to bridge the gap between institutional capital pools and residential mortgage borrowers, streamlining the mortgage lifecycle from origination to servicing. The company’s proprietary technology platform utilises digital credit decisioning and intelligent workflow orchestration to provide differentiated mortgage products tailored to the…