Author: Fintech News Singapore

Banking is experiencing its most disruptive decade yet, and it is becoming increasingly hard to cut through the noise given the rapid pace of change we are seeing. So what would it take for Malaysian banks to win in the next decade? Recorded in Kuala Lumpur and hosted with OneConnect, the technology arm of Ping An, this roundtable brings together senior leaders from Maybank, CIMB, RHB, Hong Leong Bank, GX Bank, Boost Bank and KAF Digital Bank. Topics include: The growing allergy to innovation theatre in banking Malaysia’s open finance pilot Trust in agentic commerce The role of banks in…

Roojai plans to move beyond its motor insurance base by adding more health products and expanding across the region, according to the Bangkok Post. The digital insurer is aiming for a 6% share of Thailand’s motor insurance market by 2030 while building its presence in Indonesia. Roojai Insurance recorded 1.6 billion baht in gross written premiums and 212 million baht in net profit in the first half of 2026. Its loss ratio remained below 65% for a fifth consecutive year, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 520%. At group level, gross written premiums reached 3.3 billion baht in 2025,…

Franklin Templeton has appointed Rene Buehlmann as Head of Asia Pacific and Elizabeth Hogbin as Head of Global Product in a wider leadership reshuffle. Buehlmann will oversee the firm’s APAC business and divide his time between Hong Kong and Singapore. He previously served as Global CEO of Aberdeen Investments and spent nearly three decades at UBS, including as Head of UBS Asset Management in APAC. Hogbin will lead global product strategy, development, positioning and commercialisation across asset classes, investment vehicles and regions. She joins from T. Rowe Price, where she led the global product organisation. Buehlmann will take up the…

FIS has brought its commercial banking platform to APAC to help banks serve businesses across multiple segments without overhauling their core technology. Digital One Commercial works alongside existing core systems and supports SMEs and large enterprises across multiple markets. The APAC launch completes the platform’s global rollout following its availability in the US and EMEA. Its API-first architecture connects with accounting and enterprise resource planning systems and supports real-time payments across PayNow, GIRO, FAST and SWIFT/ISO. The platform also covers cash management, trade finance, foreign exchange and corporate treasury, with support for multiple currencies, time zones and regional languages. According…

Aspire has tapped Flagright to strengthen financial crime compliance across its business finance platform. The Singapore-headquartered fintech, which serves more than 50,000 businesses, will use Flagright’s technology to bring several compliance functions into a more integrated operating environment. The platform will support configurable anti-money laundering controls, user and transaction screening, risk-based reviews, quality assurance, simulation and analytics. “As AI makes fraud and financial crime more sophisticated and harder to catch, compliance infrastructure has to get smarter just as fast. Flagright gives our teams transaction monitoring, screening, risk scoring, and case management workflows that help us stay ahead of that curve…

DBS is matching different AI models to different tasks as it looks to contain costs while usage grows. Chief Executive Officer Tan Su Shan told Bloomberg that heavier AI usage has been accompanied by lower costs per token as the bank improves how it deploys the technology. Simpler requests can be handled by smaller language models, while DBS tests technology from several providers rather than relying heavily on one. The bank also uses caching to avoid processing identical queries repeatedly. Tan said employees are becoming better at optimising how the technology is used. Despite wider adoption, DBS’ overall technology spending…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will bring more banks onto COSMIC and widen the platform’s scope beyond its three initial financial crime risks. MAS launched the Collaborative Sharing of ML/TF Information & Cases, or COSMIC, on 1 April 2024 to help banks share risk information and detect and disrupt illicit fund flows. The platform initially involved six major commercial banks in Singapore and focused on misuse of legal persons, misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes and proliferation financing. Since its launch, information shared through COSMIC has led participating banks to file additional suspicious transaction reports. Banks have also…

Singapore’s financial regulator has licensed 37 digital payment token service providers out of nearly 300 applications since its regulatory framework took effect in 2020. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Chairman Gan Kim Yong disclosed the figures in a parliamentary reply on risks and safeguards for virtual asset service providers. Virtual asset service providers are regulated in Singapore as digital payment token service providers, or DPTSPs. MAS requires DPTSPs to obtain a licence and have systems in place to manage relevant risks and comply with its regulations. Gan said most applications have either been rejected or withdrawn after applicants determined they…

Mastercard and Borderless.xyz are testing whether assurance signals can reduce compliance friction in cross-border stablecoin payments. The pilot will explore how Mastercard Crypto Credential can support verification across stablecoin payment flows. The framework provides assurance signals that payment providers can incorporate into their approval, compliance and risk processes. Infinia, Walapay and Koywe will take part through the Borderless.xyz network and test what the company describes as a single-audit compliance model. “One of the biggest friction points for stablecoin payment operators isn’t the payments. It’s that compliance doesn’t scale the same way the network does. Every new provider means starting the…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will soon finalise its AI risk management guidelines. The guidelines will cover agentic AI alongside other AI use cases in financial institutions. Published for consultation in November 2025, the proposed Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence Risk Management set out expectations for board and senior management oversight, risk management frameworks and processes, and controls across the AI life cycle. MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong said the regulator is taking a principles-based approach to support financial institutions in applying risk management practices proportionately as AI evolves. The regulator has also worked with the industry on practical implementation…

Maybank Singapore has joined the central bank’s BLOOM initiative to advance programmable cross-border settlement. Launched in October 2025, BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. It builds on Project Orchid, which explored use cases for a digital Singapore dollar and the infrastructure needed to support it. The initiative explores cross-border settlement using tokenised bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. Participants include Anchorage Digital, Ant International, Circle, Coinbase, DBS, J.P. Morgan, Kasikorn Bank, OCBC, Partior, Schroders, Standard Chartered, StraitsX, Stripe, Temasek, UOB and Xweave. Maybank will work with Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and other industry participants on common standards and…

Allianz Global Investors will acquire UOB Asset Management for S$555 million under an agreement with UOB. The acquisition covers UOB Asset Management’s operations in Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. UOB expects the sale to generate a pre-tax gain of about S$330 million, excluding one-off transaction costs, and increase its common equity tier 1 ratio by an estimated 14 basis points. The deal also includes a long-term distribution partnership that will see UOB work with Allianz Global Investors to offer investment products to more than…

HSBC lifted first-half profit before tax by 23% to US$19.5 billion as net interest income and wealth fees increased. Profit after tax rose 23% to US$15.3 billion, while revenue grew 11% to US$37.7 billion. The bank booked US$300 million in restructuring costs, down from US$600 million a year earlier. The comparison also benefited from US$2.1 billion in Bank of Communications-related losses recorded in 2025. Excluding notable items and currency movements, profit before tax rose by US$1.1 billion to US$20.4 billion. Wealth and Net Interest Income Drive Growth Banking net interest income increased by US$1.6 billion to US$22.9 billion, supported by…

Cloudflare has launched a wallet and identity system to help AI agents conduct online transactions securely. Cloudflare Wallets and cloudflare.pay allow autonomous software programs to make purchases using stablecoins while operating within spending limits set by their users. The launch targets a key challenge in agentic commerce. Merchants often cannot verify whether an AI agent visiting their platform is authorised by a customer or controlled by a malicious actor. Businesses built existing bot detection tools to handle automated traffic rather than AI agents that act on behalf of people and businesses. Cloudflare said its accounts will receive unique web addresses…

Tether, TrueUSD and Ethena USD sit at the bottom of S&P Global Ratings’ stablecoin assessments with weak scores. Six of the 11 stablecoins covered by the ratings agency are rated adequate or stronger for maintaining a peg to a fiat currency or basket of currencies. Euro Coin (EURC), USD Coin (USDC), Global Dollar (USDG) and Paxos USD (USDP) were rated 2, or strong, while Gemini USD (GUSD) and EUR Convertible (EURCV) received a score of 3, or adequate. First Digital USD (FDUSD) and Sky Dollar/Dai Stablecoin (USDS/DAI) were rated 4, or constrained. Tether (USDT), TrueUSD (TUSD) and Ethena USD (USDe)…

Sumsub and Sumvin have partnered to link AI agents with the verified identity of the users they act for. The integration connects Sumsub’s identity technology with Sumvin’s agentic credential. It allows AI agents to make purchases and manage financial accounts for people who have completed know-your-customer checks. Sumvin will use Sumsub’s AI Agent Verification technology, part of its Know Your Agent framework, together with its Reusable Identity tools. After verification, a person’s encrypted identity credential can be carried across platforms. This allows an agent to show who it represents and that it has permission to act. The setup is intended…

Western Union is bringing stablecoins into everyday payments with the launch of Stablecard in 37 markets. Developed with Rain, Stablecard combines a digital USDPT wallet with a Visa secured credit card linked to the U.S. dollar stablecoin. USDPT is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on the Solana blockchain. It is redeemable one-for-one for U.S. dollars and is fully backed by reserves. The Stablecard app allows users to receive Western Union money transfers directly into their USDPT wallet, hold and transfer the stablecoin, and send or receive funds from compatible digital asset wallets and exchanges. Users can spend their balance through…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) does not dictate where banks place branches or cash machines but will step in when significant access gaps emerge. The regulator monitors banking access across Singapore and works with the industry where needed, taking into account customer demand and local demographics. The comments came in a written parliamentary reply on cash access, physical banking services and changing payment habits among seniors. MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong noted that more seniors are becoming comfortable with digital banking, though many still rely on cash and face-to-face services. Singapore’s local banks have committed to providing an ATM,…

TRM Labs has appointed former Monetary Authority of Singapore regulator Claudia Hui as Head of Compliance Advisory for Asia Pacific. The role is TRM’s first dedicated compliance advisory position in the region and will involve working with financial institutions, digital asset firms and regulators on money laundering and financial crime risks. She previously served as an Assistant Director in MAS’ Payments Department, where she was involved in implementing the Payment Services Act. Hui later moved into industry, serving as Head of Compliance for Singapore at Revolut before taking on a regional compliance leadership role at Qashier. TRM’s compliance advisory work…

10x Banking has raised £40 million (US$53.7 million) in funding from AshGrove Capital after reaching EBITDA profitability. AshGrove Capital joins 10x Banking as a new investor. The firm focuses on business-to-business software and services companies across Europe. The core banking technology provider will use the investment to expand its sales and go-to-market capabilities. Over the past 12 months, 10x Banking surpassed 10 million live accounts, onboarded more than 10 financial institutions and increased annual recurring revenue by more than 30%. The company provides core banking technology to financial institutions including Westpac and Chase UK. Antony Jenkins CBE, Founder, Chair and…