Author: Fintech News Singapore

The world has undergone significant changes since the onset of the pandemic, especially in the financial industry’s journey towards digitalisation. The pandemic expedited the transformation of customer interactions by three years and pushed banks’ digital offerings ahead by seven years. However, as the pandemic-induced digitalisation boom subsides, the global economy braces for a recession, accompanied by a looming banking crisis triggered by the collapse of regional banks like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In light of these developments, it is crucial to assess the progress made and the challenges that lie ahead in the digital transformation of financial services. Not all…

Market intelligence platform CB Insights has announced its selection of this year’s top 100 most promising private fintech companies in the world. Of this year’s Fintech 100 list, nine companies are headquartered in Southeast Asia, seven are from Singapore two from Indonesia. These startups, which operate across various segments including cross-border payments, insurance and digital wealth management, are being recognized for the traction they’ve received over the past year, the growth they’ve witnessed, as well as their market potential. The 2023 Fintech 100 list, unveiled on October 03, 2023, features 100 private market companies selected from a pool of over…

In Southeast Asia, the rise in Internet penetration and smartphone usage, coupled with the region’s booming e-commerce sector and large population of unbanked, are providing fertile ground for alternative payments to strive. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements, a type of short-term financing that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time, have grown considerably over the past years and will continue to gain prominence in the years onwards. Estimates by the International Data Corporate (IDC) indicate that in 2020, BNPL options were used to purchase US$900 million worth of goods on e-commerce platforms, a sum which…

Fintech funding in India continued its downward trend this year, carrying on a trend that started in 2022 as rising interest rates, fears of a looming recession and a bear market for technology stocks prompted investors to put the brakes on their investment pace and shift strategies. Fintech companies in India secured a US$1.8 billion in funding in the first eight months of 2023, new data released by the Digital Fifth, a fintech consulting firm based in India, show. Although the figure puts the country on track to surpass pre-COVID-19 levels, the sum contrasts starkly with the US$5.1 billion secured…

Ripple, a provider of enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, has obtained a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to offer Digital Payment Token services. Following the in-principle approval of its license application in June 2023, Ripple can now continue to provide regulated digital payment token services in Singapore. The firm added that it will continue to prioritise the Asia Pacific region for adoption of its crypto-enabled payments solutions. “Since establishing Singapore as our Asia Pacific headquarters in 2017, the country has been pivotal to Ripple’s global business. We have hired exceptional talent and local…

Global payments platform Singapore-based 2C2P today revealed the appointment of three senior executives to advance its expansion and improve its service quality. The first two appointments based in Bangkok, Thailand are Lynn Htaik Aung as Chief Product Officer, overseeing various fintech products within the company, and Adam Rivera as Director of Project Management, to head up the international project management team. The other is Anthony Goh, Director of Credit and Risk Management, who will be based in Singapore. This strategic move coincides with 2C2P’s 20th anniversary, which the company says is reinforcing its dedication to innovation in the dynamic world…

United Overseas Bank (UOB) initiated its trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot, marking it as the first Singapore bank to integrate this Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) tool. Under the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program (EAP), starting in October, around 300 UOB employees from varied sectors like branches, customer service, and technology operations will engage with this AI tool to bolster operational productivity, accessibility, and collaboration. Lawrence Goh, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Group Infrastructure Platform Services at UOB underscores the bank’s proactive approach towards embedding Generative AI into daily processes. He believes the tool has vast potential to…

Singapore’s digital wealth management platform, Endowus, has joined forces with EQT, a global private equity firm. This collaboration grants Endowus Private Wealth (EPW) clients in Singapore and Hong Kong access to a diversified portfolio of EQT funds through the Endowus platform. This partnership signifies the digital wealth management platform’s commitment to providing individual investors greater access to private market opportunities, facilitating portfolio diversification. The platform aims to make institutional-grade investment solutions accessible to a broader audience by offering lower minimum investment thresholds and shorter lock-up periods. The digital wealth management platform has witnessed significant growth, with the number of accredited investors…

MP Tin Pei Ling has joined DCS Card Centre as the managing director for strategic partnership and business development. This information, initially shared by Pei Ling on LinkedIn in August, comes as she moves into a role that involves building partnerships for the company in the payments landscape. DCS Card Centre, formerly known as Diners Club Singapore, was founded in 1973. In recent years, the company has seen a series of changes. After financial setbacks between 2018 and 2020, a Singapore-based electronic payment solutions provider, Ezy Net, acquired the firm in 2021. Following the acquisition, the company rebranded and now…

Global Payments Inc. and Visa have launched Mobile Tap, a payment solution allowing sellers in Singapore to process payments via smartphones, eliminating the need for extra hardware. The solution uses Visa’s Tap to Phone (TTP) technology and is available to merchants with NFC-enabled Android devices through a specific app. This approach removes the necessity for traditional point-of-sale terminals. A key feature of Mobile Tap is its potential to offer SMEs a cost-effective digital payment option, promoting broader participation in the digital economy and streamlining transactions for merchants and customers. Justin Teo, Global Payments Country Head for Singapore, noted the solution’s…

UBS Asset Management has launched its first live pilot of a tokenized Variable Capital Company (VCC) fund. The fund is part of a wider VCC umbrella designed to bring various “real world assets” on-chain as part of Project Guardian, a collaborative industry initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Thomas Kaegi, Head UBS Asset Management, Singapore & Southeast Asia, said: “This is a key milestone in understanding the tokenization of funds, building on UBS’s expertise in tokenizing bonds and structured products. Through this exploratory initiative, we will work with traditional financial institutions and fintech providers to help understand how…

Coinbase Singapore has been granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This follows its initial In Principle Approval and facilitates an extended offering of Digital Payment Token services in Singapore. Singapore’s growing role in the crypto and Web3 economy is evidenced by its numerous Web3 companies and increasing public interest in cryptocurrencies. In response to the market’s needs, Coinbase introduced features such as PayNow, FAST bank transfers, and an integration with SingPass for user onboarding. Additionally, they have provided no-fee USDC purchases using SGD for Singaporean clients. Beyond product offerings, Coinbase has engaged…

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in collaboration with the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland, have concluded “Project Mariana”. This project examined the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) using state-of-the-art decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts on a public blockchain. Jointly developed by the BIS Innovation Hub centres, the Bank of France, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Swiss National Bank, Project Mariana showcased the potential of blockchain in the international financial landscape. The test revolved around simulated trades of hypothetical euros, Singapore dollars, and Swiss francs wCBDCs among virtual financial establishments. Essential…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) wallets were once dubbed a “billion-dollar plan to destroy credit cards.” However, BNPL providers such as Afterpay and Klarna have since begun offering contactless Mastercard and physical Visa cards, respectively. Currently, both Visa and Mastercard have enabled all their merchants to accept BNPL cards. Launching BNPL products on card rails minimises investment in finding retail partners and eliminates compliance issues. Conversely, non-card BNPL offerings have raised regulatory concerns, particularly in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, the US and the UK. To leverage established card industry standards and embedded lending innovations, several BNPL providers have selected…

DBS Bank has announced that all FAST/PayNow transactions affected by the delay on Tuesday (26 September) have been processed and transaction histories have been updated as of 11:50pm on Wednesday (27 September). In a series of Facebook updates, DBS provided updates on the status of the delay and its efforts to resolve the issue. On Tuesday at 6:02pm, DBS announced that some customers were facing delays in their FAST/PayNow transactions. The issue was supposedly rectified at 4.30pm. However, a large number of users commented on DBS’ Facebook post to say that they were still facing issues. At 7:30pm, DBS updated…

Global cross-border payments infrastructure network Thunes has expanded its payment acceptance network to include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. This expansion will enable European and international merchants to receive payments from consumers in Southeast Asia and settle in their currency of choice. Singapore’s popular systems like Atome, GrabPay, and PayLater by Grab are now on board. For Malaysia, the network now includes DuitNow, Boost, GrabPay, Maybank QR, ShopeePay, and Touch ’n Go. Meanwhile, platforms such as Alfamart, DANA, OVO, QRIS, and ShopeePay have been incorporated in Indonesia. The Philippines sees the addition of Cebuana Lhuillier, GCash, GrabPay, InstaPay,…

Singapore-based payment institution FOMO Pay is participating in the Singapore Pitstop Pack industry pilot to enable merchants to accept Purpose Bound Money (PBM). Under the pilot programme, FOMO Pay will provide its hero merchants (Mount Faber and Jumbo) and participating merchants (ANDAZ, LAC, Eu Yan Sang, KOI and City Tours) with the capability to accept PBM in the form of Non-Fungible Token (NFT) vouchers. This will allow merchants to receive funds immediately once the terms of use are fulfilled, without the need for a separate reconciliation process. The pilot tests the payment of goods and services at over 200 merchants…

Funding Societies | Modalku, an SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia, has raised US$27 million in debt financing. The debt fundraise was led by Asia-focused private credit financier AlteriQ Global, with multi-family office Aument Capital Partners (ACP) and sustainability-focused fund Orange Bloom also participating in the round. The funds will be used to provide tailored financing solutions to SMEs in the five markets that Funding Societies operates in namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Funding Societies has disbursed over US$3.2 billion in business financing and processed more than 5 million transactions, serving about 100,000 SMEs across the region.…

Ride-hailing and food delivery superapp Grab announced that it will be shuttering its investment business in Singapore by discontinuing its AutoInvest and Earn+ products. Micro-investment platform AutoInvest is Grab’s first retail wealth management product was formed as a result of their acquisition of robo-advisory firm Bento in February 2020. This solution had allowed Singapore users to ‘invest as they spend” with their Grab transactions. Launched in May last year, Earn+ is an investment product that allows users to earn interests of 2% – 2.5% p.a., touted to be a low-risk alternative to fixed deposits and endowments. Earn+ was part of…

In the wake of the pandemic that struck in 2020, businesses have been severely affected. A study by the World Bank found that one-quarter of businesses saw their sales fall by 50%. Today, three and a half years later, businesses, especially those with international operations, are flourishing again. Digital solutions have provided a platform for businesses to shift and adapt to the ever-changing business environment. With this digital shift, financial technology ensures that digital banking transactions can be safe and efficient. Corporate banking users can find themselves managing a high volume of transactions, taking on more payment risks than individual…