Author: Fintech News Singapore

Singapore’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) company Pace had filed for a voluntary winding up in August citing liabilities as its reason, according to a report by The Business Times. The company’s website shows no indication of its plans to shutter. Pace had launched amid much fanfare as it was founded by Turochas “T” Fuad, who was the Managing Director at WeWork. He had also previously founded Spacemob and HomeAway Asia, previously known as travelmob. The BNPL firm even managed to snag a 7-figure seed round that was undisclosed as well as a US$40 million Series A funding round in…

Singapore’s homegrown financial firm Singlife has received a significant boost with an investment of nearly S$180 million from Japanese insurer Sumitomo Life. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Singlife’s total share capital now stands at S$2.258 billion and its total issued shares to 481.7 million. This move increases Sumitomo Life’s stake in Singlife to 27%. In September this year, Sumitomo Life had inked a S$900 million deal with Aviva Group to acquire its 25.9% stake in Singlife. Singlife is the exclusive insurance provider for the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Public Officers Group Insurance Scheme in Singapore.…

Singapore’s digital wealth management platform Endowus has deepened its partnership with Carta, a global equity management solution provider. This partnership will help Endowus employees and other minority shareholders have greater transparency and liquidity of their holdings in startup equity directly on the Carta platform. Endowus’ co-founders Samuel Rhee and Gregory Van had bootstrapped the business for the first four years. They then opened up the ownership of the company to its early joiners to achieve broad ownership by employees. As a result, the majority of the company today is owned by a broad number of employees through direct investments into…

DBS’ CEO Piyush Gupta revealed that software bugs or technical glitches were the root cause of four out of the five major service disruptions experienced by the bank in 2023, according to The Straits Times. Recognising the need for stronger in-house engineering expertise, DBS is reportedly expanding its engineering team to effectively identify and resolve complex software issues. This move is part of a broader strategy to increase system robustness and reliability following the multiple service interruptions that customers have faced this year. To address these challenges, the bank is committing S$80 million towards enhancing its systems’ resilience. DBS also…

Global full-cycle verification platform Sumsub is augmenting its Travel Rule solution by partnering with Merkle Science, a predictive Web 3.0 risk and intelligence platform. The Travel Rule, mandated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), is a crucial compliance requirement in major jurisdictions. By integrating Merkle Science’s wallet monitoring feature into its Travel Rule solution, Sumsub aims to enhance transparency and assist its digital asset clients in accurately tracing and identifying the source of fund transfers involving various Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The partnership will provide Sumsub’s clients with an additional verification layer through Sumsub’s AML and anti-fraud products.…

OCBC Bank has announced that its internet banking, OCBC Digital App Funds Transfer, and PayNow services have resumed after experiencing intermittent technical issues in a Facebook post yesterday (7 November 2023) at 2.45 pm. However, the comments from users after the update indicated that some of them still experienced difficulties logging in, making fund transfers, paying for their credit cards or even paying out salaries. The bank had earlier advised customers who need to make urgent transfers to use other modes of payment such as credit cards and/or NETS. OCBC Bank did not reveal the cause of the technical issues.…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has asked banks to assess and implement customer authentication mechanisms that are more resistant to both phishing and malware attacks, taking into account the needs of seniors with limited digital literacy. These measures, when well developed, could be considered for inclusion in the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF), which prescribes a set of anti-scam duties for financial institutions (FIs) and telecommunication companies (Telcos). Minister of State for Trade and Industry and MAS’ Board Member Alvin Tan shared this in a parliamentary reply about the SRF. The SRF was proposed by the MAS in October 2023…

Singapore’s Trust Bank had partnered with the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Social Service Office (SSO) at Ang Mo Kio and Yishun to reach out to lower-income families under the Community Link (ComLink) initiative. Since the launch of this initiative in March, Trust Bank’s staff have visited 500 families in need in these two areas, supporting ComLink’s social service officers as they went about their work with the local community. Trust Bank had handed out FairPrice vouchers worth S$100 to each family to help them moderate their cost of living. The bank said that the initiative, which supports families…

Fintech companies in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region are eagerly gearing up for the highly anticipated Singapore Fintech Festival from November 15 to 17. This annual event, known for its valuable networking opportunities and fostering innovative collaborations, serves as a dynamic platform for fintech startups, established financial institutions, and technology enthusiasts to come together and explore the latest trends, cutting-edge technologies, and transformative ideas in the world of finance and technology. It also presents an opportune moment for Sumsub to interact with industry players and prospective clients ranging from compliance and anti-fraud experts, Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), Chief Product Officers…

Four Singaporean fintech companies, Choco Up, Rhino Partners, Moneythor, and USER, have made significant progress in expanding to Australia through Project Lorikeet, a joint initiative between the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). SFA and Austrade had inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May this year to enhance fintech trade and investment flows and foster business-to-business engagement between Singapore and Australia. The four cohort members are estimated to invest at least A$26 million (US$17.5 million) in the next three years in Australia. Choco Up offers revenue-based financing and growth solutions for e-commerce brands.…

Three fintech startups from Southeast Asia have been named among the world’s largest and most successful financial technology companies, recognized for their scale, growth and ingenuity. The Financial Technology Report has released its selection of the world’s Top 100 Financial Technology Companies of 2023. This year’s selection features a wide array of companies, spanning both emerging players and established financial giants. Notable recipients of recognition include Intuit, a leading provider of fintech software, Fundbox, a company that has garnered acclaim on prestigious lists such as the Forbes AI 50 list; and PayPal, the operator of one of the world’s most…

Primer, a unified infrastructure for global payments and commerce, announced that it has raised funds from Chinese internet giant Tencent. Details of the fundraise was not disclosed. The company said that it would use the fresh funds to focus on product innovation and enhancing its payment products and features as well as further expansion into global markets. According to Primer, it is currently operating in over 35 countries and has been backed by the likes of Iconiq, Accel, Balderton, and RTP Global. Primer has partnered with brands such as Zip, Beam, Printify, Ocado Smart Platform, ONE Championship and New Look.…

The impact of the DBS and Citibank digital banking disruption on 14 October was wide, with up to 810,000 attempts to access the digital banking platforms of both banks failing between 2.54 pm and 4.47 am the following day. Approximately 2.5 million payment and ATM transactions were also affected. Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Board Member Alvin Tan said that the disruptions were caused by a malfunction of the cooling system in the data centre hosting both banks’ IT systems. The temperature in the data centre rose above the optimal operating range,…

Elevandi, a Company Limited by Guarantee (GLC) created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to manage the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), has expanded its global reach by establishing its first international subsidiary, ELEVANDI Japan. Takeshi Kito shared in a LinkedIn post that he has been appointed as the Co-founder and CEO of the new venture. After a six-year tenure as Vice-chair of the Fintech Association of Japan, Kito has stepped down to fully commit to his new leadership role at ELEVANDI Japan. Takeshi said, “ELEVANDI Japan is on a mission to build Japan’s financial and Fintech ecosystem and fostering…

The United Overseas Bank (UOB) experienced sporadic disruptions with its online banking platforms last Saturday (4 November), according to a report by The Business Times. Users began reporting difficulties in accessing the bank’s mobile and internet banking services around midday, with many voicing their concerns on the bank’s Facebook page about being unable to sign into the mobile app due to a network connection error. The Business Times conducted its own tests, confirming that not only did the app have an extended login time, but any attempt to utilise features within the app resulted in the same network error message.…

The Cambodian government unveiled last month the Cambodia Financial Technology Development Policy 2023-2028, a new strategy designed to promote financial innovation, maintain financial stability and enhance financial inclusion. The launch ceremony was held on October 04 alongside a workshop presided over by Aun Pornmoniroth, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Chairman of the Digital Economy and Business Committee. The workshop was attended by high-ranking officials representing different stakeholders in the fintech ecosystem including Cambodian ministries, public institutions, regulators, embassies, banking and financial institutions, insurance firms, educational organizations, trade groups and private companies. It focused on…

Forecasting the necessity of payments in tech enabled economies, JP Morgan’s Global Head of Payments Takis Georgakopoulos believes that “payments are eating the world, and anybody who doesn’t recognize that and adapt will not survive”. In KBZ Bank’s quest for adaptation and innovation, KBZPay is at the cutting edge of payment processing: it is an entirely free, real time, instant payment rail with a distributed ledger and capacity to complete 18,000 transactions per second. For a country of 55 million people, Myanmar is not often thought of as a regional Fintech pioneer. Yet its population, their access to technology, and…

Singapore’s annual fintech festival is returning this year from November 15 to 17, 2023, promising to bring together tens of thousands of participants to explore the evolving fintech landscape and discuss how emerging technologies are set to transform the financial ecosystem. This year’s Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) event, themed “Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, will focus on the growth and adoption of AI and explore how this technology can potentially be used in the financial services industry. The event will convene leaders the government, financial services, investment and technology sectors to examine this theme, as well as how other cutting-edge…

STACS, an ESG data and technology solutions company, has announced upgrades to its ESGpedia platform. The upgrades offer digital tools to help businesses comply with the increasing ESG regulatory requirements across Europe and Asia. Starting in 2024, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will mandate over 50,000 EU companies and 10,000 non-EU firms to disclose their ESG performance, including aspects of their supply chains, which are predominantly composed of SMEs in Asia. This presents a challenge, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, where there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive ESG data, especially for SMEs. Financial institutions and large corporations…

In a dynamic and ever-changing financial landscape, the concept of embedded finance has emerged as a powerful force shaping the future of financial services.  During a recent fireside chat, a panel of experts delved deep into the intricacies of embedded finance, its immense potential, and its transformative impact.  The panellists included Sheyantha Abeykoon, Group CEO of Boost; Arnost Micek, Chief Strategy Officer at Tonik and Todd Schweitzer, Co-founder and CEO of Brankas. Guiding this discussion was Vincent Fong, Chief Editor of Fintech News Malaysia. The fireside chat titled ‘Embedded Finance – Seizing the Multi-Trillion Dollar Opportunity’ provided a platform for…