Author: Fintech News Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) longest-serving chief Ravi Menon will be retiring from public service end of this year. He will also step down from the MAS board. Menon played a pivotal role in positioning Singapore as a leading fintech hub where he steered the growth of Singapore’s electronic payment ecosystem, initiated a regulatory sandbox to promote experimentation, and oversaw the introduction of digital banking licenses. MAS said in a statement, “The board of directors, management and staff of MAS thank Mr Menon for his visionary leadership as MAS’ Managing Director since 2011 and outstanding contributions during his 29…

India’s YES BANK has enabled Unified Payments Interface (UPI) interoperability on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) app. This enables users to scan any UPI QR code through the YES BANK Digital Rupee app and make payments seamlessly. The RBI introduced the Digital Rupee (e₹) in Q3 FY23, as part of its efforts to establish a comprehensive digital financial landscape in India. YES BANK was one of the initial four banks to participate in the pilot phase of the e-rupee. The e-rupee is a digital currency system that uses QR codes to facilitate transactions. By…

Navigator Investment Services announced that it has rebranded as GROW with Singlife following its inception as an investment platform over 20 years ago in Singapore. The rebranded entity will be under a new management team and with significant focus placed on technology and strengthening its product offerings. Moving forward, GROW plans to introduce a new and improved multi-asset trading platform in the coming quarters to provide financial advisers with an optimised and seamless experience. GROW will also be enhancing its adviser enablement ecosystem, ELEVATE, to offer a wider range of financial tools, insights, bespoke programmes, and experiential events for its…

Laos’ biggest ride-hailing platform and super-app Loca has teamed up with Confluences, a Phnom Penh-based enterprise which specializes in assisting foreign businesses enter the local market, to expand into Cambodia. The move comes just a few months after the company introduced its digital payment service, Loca Pay, in its home country. The strategic agreement will see Confluences assisting Loca in setting a footprint in the country with some of its most innovative and successful products and services, notably its electric vehicle (EV) taxi fleet, EV charging station locations, and its Loca Pay payment platform. Confluences will assist Loca with its…

Singapore-based fintech startup Qashier has raised a US$10 million Series A round co-led by Delivery Hero Ventures and IFP Securities. The fundraise was also joined by Elevate and Cocoon Capital. Qashier is a point-of-sale (POS) and payment provider that has processed over US$1 billion worth of transactions for over 6,000 businesses across Southeast Asia  since its inception in 2019. In February 2023, the company launched the Qashier app, a freemium POS and payment solution that enables SMEs to manage their business and transactions from their smart devices. The app has more than 12,000 downloads. Qashier currently has four offices across Southeast…

Cloud banking platform Mambu has been recognized as the 2023 Google Cloud Industry Solution Technology Partner of the Year Award for Financial Services and Insurance. Mambu was recognized for its achievements in the Google Cloud ecosystem, helping joint customers leverage the robust scale, ease of use, and agility that a cloud-based core banking platform brings to the products and services that today’s fintechs, banks, and financial institutions provide. The partnership between Mambu and Google Cloud has enabled the former to bring its SaaS offering to a host of financial services institutions including bob Finance, Bank Jago and Libertad Soluciones de…

Global issuer-processor Paymentology has partnered with Moneythor, a digital banking software provider, to bring personalised experiences to digital banking customers. The partnership will combine Paymentology’s rich data stream with Moneythor’s real-time insights to provide banks and their customers with more relevant personal finance assistance, money management tools, and loyalty programmes. Paymentology’s FAST Message provides over 120 transaction details in a real-time feed, which will allow banks to deliver advanced use cases to help their customers manage their finances better. Meanwhile, Moneythor’s system of engagement is powered by real-time data analytics and behavioral science, and will deliver personalised experiences to customers…

Tenity, a fintech incubator and accelerator formerly known as F10, has selected 13 early-stage startups from seven different countries to participate in its sixth edition of the Incubation Programme in Singapore. The startups, which represent a diverse range of business verticals, will receive an initial investment of S$70k from the Tenity Incubation Fund II. The four-month programme will provide the startups with extensive support to refine and validate their business ideas and go-to-market strategies. They will also have access to Tenity’s alumni, mentors, and global investor network. The program will culminate with a Demo Day event on 23 November 2023.…

Great Eastern has partnered with mental health startup Intellect to provide its corporate clients’ employees with 24/7 access to a distress helpline staffed by experienced responders, offering real-time, immediate, and professional support. The insurance company said that this ensures that employees receive tailored guidance right from the first contact, without delays or intermediaries. The helpline also prioritises confidentiality and targeted support so employees can feel safe knowing that their conversations with the responders are private and confidential. Leslie Chow, Head of Group Insurance, Great Eastern said, “Our partnership with Intellect represents a significant advancement in the realm of mental health…

OCBC Bank has restored all of its banking services after a technical issue caused an outage on Monday morning. The bank said in a Facebook post at 9.43am that the outage affected its mobile and online banking, PayNow, ATMs, Velocity – the bank’s digital business banking platform – and cards. Customers were advised to visit OCBC branches for urgent transactions. The bank said it was “on standby to deploy additional resources at branches and extend branch banking hours to support our customers”. In an update at 10:33am, OCBC said that card and branch services had been restored. ATM services were…

Canadian fintech company Nuvei and payment giant Mastercard have partnered to offer near-instant payout capabilities for online trading platforms and investors in the Asia Pacific region via Mastercard Send. Nuvei customers will then be able to process payouts, including business to consumer disbursements, and funding transactions between over 1.5 billion debit, credit, and prepaid Mastercard cards. When customers want to cash out, they will only need to input their card details and make a request via Mastercard Send. This option is available on the platform’s cashier and funds are immediately accessible. Already available to Nuvei’s customers in Singapore, the Send…

DBS has unveiled a gamified metaverse experience called DBS BetterWorld, which aims to raise awareness of the global food waste challenge and showcase the work done by Businesses for Impact supported by the DBS Foundation to address this. Karen Ngui, Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications at DBS, and Board Member of DBS Foundation said, “For starters, with DBS BetterWorld, we have chosen to delve into the challenges of food waste and food resilience, issues that DBS and the DBS Foundation have been championing, in a unique and engaging way. As metaverse technologies mature, we hope to create…

Jacky Ang has been appointed as the new Global COO of Bank of Singapore, effective September 13. He will be taking over from Sonjoy Phukan, who is leaving the bank to pursue other interests. In his new role, Ang will support the CEO in the strategic steering of the bank and oversee the execution of its key strategic initiatives. He will also spearhead the bank’s transformation efforts and have oversight of the governance and operations to support the continued growth of the franchise in its key markets across ASEAN, Greater China and Middle East. Ang is a Singaporean banker with…

Cloud banking platform Mambu announced that it has appointed Fernando Zandona as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on a permanent basis. He had served as the interim CEO since June when Mambu’s former CEO and Co-founder Eugene Danilkis had stepped down for personal reasons. Fernando previously held the role of Chief Product and Technology Officer at Mambu. As the CEO, Fernando will be based at Mambu’s head office in Amsterdam and will continue to collaborate closely with the company’s customers and global team as it enters its next phase of growth. Fernando is a technology and product leader with more than 20…

Asia-Pacific (APAC) has one of the world’s most dynamic fintech ecosystems in the world, a burgeoning landscape that has blossomed on the back of an increasingly supportive regulatory environment, the region’s young and digitally-savvy population and rapid adoption of cutting-edged technology including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and digital payment systems. In this vibrant and ever-evolving ecosystem, a multitude of fintech events are being hosted each year to showcase the latest developments and innovations. These events provide a platform for industry leaders, startups, investors, regulators, and enthusiasts to gather, exchange ideas, and drive the conversation forward. In this list, we take…

Singapore, Nigeria and Hong Kong are the three locations in the world where people are searching for the term “fintech” the most, a finding which suggests that people in these locations have the highest level of interest in the topic, a new research by the Fintech News Network (FNN) has found. The Fintech News Network Index (FNNI), which ranks the countries and cities that are querying for the word “fintech” the most on Google, revealed that in April 2023, Internet users in Singapore, Nigeria and Hong Kong showed the most interest in the sector. The rankings are based on search…

In Asia, fintech has experienced significant growth and development, driven by rising demand for digital financial services, supportive regulatory frameworks and technological advancements. China has emerged as a fintech leader, boasting innovative lending platforms, wealth management solutions and blockchain applications, and hosting some of the world’s most successful fintech firms. In Southeast Asia, Singapore has become a major regional fintech hub, attracting investments and nurturing innovative startups through regulatory sandboxes and government initiatives, while Indonesia has seen its large unbanked population spur the growth of digital financial services companies. India, meanwhile, has witnessed a fintech revolution that’s been facilitated by…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has acknowledged that some businesses and customers may have difficulties and challenges in moving away from cheque usage. MAS explained that while banks had generally not charged customers for to process cheques, that is no longer tenable with the rising cost of cheque clearing on the back of a sharp decline in the volume of cheques in recent years. This was in response to two letters from Paul Chan Poh Hoi and Hariharan Gangadharan who have raised concerns about the fee to process cheques. The regulator had announced that all corporate cheques will be…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been conducting inspections of financial institutions (FIs) active in the wealth management space to ensure that they have robust controls in place to detect and deal with money laundering and terrorist financing risks. This follows the recent arrest of 10 individuals for suspected involvement in offences including forgery and/or money laundering. The arrests were made possible with the assistance of MAS, which had worked closely with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to facilitate the development of the case. MAS said that it takes this case seriously and will take firm action against FIs…

Singapore’s multi-currency e-wallet YouTrip has rolled out Apple Pay integration to provide its users more options to pay for in-store purchases, online transactions and public transportation. The company said in a statement that its users will now be able to link their YouTrip cards to their iOS devices, transactions faster, more secure, and hassle-free. The integration of Apple Pay comes shortly after the launch of YouTrip 2.0 in June, where the brand rolled out an upgrade to its app interface and card design. YouTrip added that it is also looking to launch Google Pay integration later this year. Caecilia Chu,…