Thunes is enabling Mashreq to send instant mobile wallet transfers to millions of customers across major remittance corridors. The partnership connects Mashreq to Thunes’ Direct Global Network, giving the bank direct access to mobile wallets in Asia, Africa and Europe. The service is designed to offer faster, more affordable, transparent and efficient cross-border transfers across key growth markets. The rollout will begin with Mashreq’s top 30 payment corridors and expand to more destinations over time. The UAE, the world’s second-largest remittance hub, is expected to process about US$47 billion in outward flows in 2025, growing at 4.7 percent annually. Both…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and PalawanPay have announced a digital partnership during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025. The collaboration will soon allow over 20 million PalawanPay users to open an RCBC DiskarTech basic deposit account directly via the PalawanPay app, advancing financial inclusion through a “Banking-as-a-Service” model. PalawanPay, an e-wallet platform supported by more than 5,000 Palawan Express Pera Padala branches nationwide, will act as an access point for underserved Filipinos to open a “PalaSave” basic deposit account through RCBC DiskarTech, the bank’s multilingual financial app available in Taglish and Cebuano. “Many Filipinos want to save, but traditional banking…

Mastercard is expanding its payout network through a partnership with Thunes that enables direct transfers to stablecoin wallets. The collaboration, announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival, will integrate Thunes’ Direct Global Network with Mastercard Move to support near real-time payouts using regulated stablecoins. Mastercard Move currently supports payouts to cards, bank accounts and cash across more than 200 markets and 150 currencies, reaching over 95% of the world’s banked population. Adding stablecoin wallets gives banks, payment providers and end-users another option for sending and receiving funds, particularly in markets with limited access to traditional channels. Thunes’ recently launched Pay-to-Stablecoin-Wallets solution…

Across much of the developing world, credit remains the final frontier of financial inclusion. While mobile wallets and digital payments have scaled rapidly, formal credit access still eludes millions of consumers and small businesses. According to the World Bank, around 1.3 billion adults remain unbanked. In Southeast Asia, a Bain & Co study revealed that eight out of 10 SMEs need financing, yet they do not have access to affordable credit. The reason is simple yet systemic: legacy credit systems are built for a different era. Traditional credit systems and scoring models fail to capture the realities of modern financial…

Scaling digital assets requires trusted, open and interoperable networks, said Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets & Development) at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Speaking at the Layer One Summit during the Singapore Fintech Festival, Leong said that while digital asset activity is gaining pace, progress remains uneven, creating fragmentation that limits adoption. He cited recent developments such as the GENIUS Act in the US, the Digital Euro’s next phase and SWIFT’s plans for a blockchain ledger. Financial institutions, he added, are moving from pilots to live tokenisation projects, bridging traditional and digital finance. “Technology has the potential…

Global financial software provider Finastra has expanded its technology leadership team with three senior appointments to strengthen its data, information, and security functions. The company has named Ali Khan as Chief Data Officer, Matthew McCormack as Chief Information Security Officer, and Sanjay Jain as Chief Information Officer. These new roles are designed to enhance Finastra’s global financial software capabilities and support its 8,000-plus customers worldwide in innovating, scaling, and growing. Mike Stawchansky, Chief Technology Officer at Finastra, said the appointments underscore the company’s focus on trust and transformation. He added that the executives’ expertise will accelerate the delivery of modern…

Paymentology has entered the Australian market through a partnership with fintech firm Constantinople. The collaboration, announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025, will see Constantinople use Paymentology’s platform for card issuing, processing, and digital wallet integration for its financial institution clients. Founded in Sydney, Constantinople provides Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions, combining digital banking infrastructure with back-office operations including onboarding, compliance, fraud monitoring, and risk management. Its platform supports community banks and fintechs such as Great Southern Bank and Tyro. Through the partnership, Paymentology will handle card issuance and transaction processing across Mastercard and Visa, including Apple Pay and Google Pay tokenisation,…

Goldpac is showcasing its latest end-to-end card production and issuance technologies at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025 from 12 to 14 November. At booth 3-3G19, visitors can explore interactive and gamified consumer onboarding-to-card issuance journeys that highlight how personalisation can enhance customer engagement. Guests can try Goldpac’s integrated card production management platform and design custom LED edge cards using the on-demand DIY printer, DCE160. Cards can be personalised instantly by uploading images via Goldpac’s mobile platform or using the onsite photobooth. The display includes premium card designs featuring eco-friendly materials, metal, LED lighting, and encrusted diamonds. These distinctive branding options…

At the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025, Visa announced a pilot programme that allows businesses and platforms to send payouts directly to recipients’ stablecoin wallets. Businesses using Visa Direct can fund payouts in fiat currency, while recipients have the option to receive funds in USD-backed stablecoins such as USDC. The initiative aims to improve the speed and accessibility of global payouts, particularly in regions with currency volatility or limited banking infrastructure. “Launching stablecoin payouts is about enabling truly universal access to money in minutes, not days, for anyone, anywhere in the world,” said Chris Newkirk, President, Commercial & Money Movement Solutions…

Ant International has added iris authentication to Alipay+ GlassPay, its augmented reality glasses payment solution, through partnerships with smart glasses manufacturers Xiaomi and Meizu. Alipay+ GlassPay already uses multi-modal biometric verification, including an AI-powered voice interface with intent recognition and voiceprint authentication. The addition of iris recognition, tested on AlipayHK, allows merchants and service providers to offer a more secure and seamless experience via augmented reality. Iris authentication has gained attention worldwide for its security advantages over other biometric methods, as it is more resistant to spoofing. Alipay+ GlassPay compares over 260 biometric feature points, using AI and liveness detection…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have partnered to advance the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance. Announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival, the UK-Singapore AI-in-Finance Partnership aims to promote trustworthy AI innovation and help financial institutions and technology providers scale solutions across both markets. As part of the initiative, MAS and the FCA will jointly test AI applications, share regulatory insights, and host discussions on responsible adoption. The collaboration builds on MAS’ PathFin.ai and the FCA’s AI Spotlight programmes to strengthen knowledge sharing and cross-border cooperation. Kenneth Gay,…

Chubb has introduced an AI-powered optimisation engine within its Chubb Studio platform to help digital partners deliver more personalised insurance options. The new capability was unveiled at the Singapore Fintech Festival. Chubb said the engine is among the first of its kind available to digital distribution partners in the insurance sector. It uses proprietary AI to analyse data and tailor offers at the point of sale, allowing digital platforms to embed coverage options directly into their apps and services. The feature aims to improve customer engagement and support business growth by aligning protection with individual needs. Chubb Studio, the company’s…

Nextvestment, a Singapore-based AI solutions provider, shared about their provision of financial guidance co-pilot software for Phillip Securities’ trading platform’s AI capability, POEMSGPT. The project marks a major step toward making AI-powered investing accessible to everyday traders. Introduced at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025, POEMSGPT highlights the potential for collaboration between established financial institutions and emerging AI developers in advancing investor engagement and supporting Singapore’s role as a global centre for responsible financial innovation. “Our collaboration with Nextvestment on POEMSGPT is an example of how innovation and customer-centricity can come together to shape the future of investing,” said Luke Lim,…

Mastercard has announced its ambition to eliminate passwords and manual card entry for online shopping across Asia Pacific by 2030. Unveiled at the Singapore Fintech Festival, the initiative aims to make online transactions more secure and seamless through tokenisation and biometric authentication. Over one-third of Mastercard transactions globally are already tokenised. Scaling this across Asia Pacific, projected to be the world’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce market worth more than US$7 trillion by 2030, will require collaboration among banks, merchants, digital wallets, and technology partners. The company is accelerating efforts in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, targeting full tokenisation and password-free payments…

The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) has partnered with five new platform partners to expand its suite of digital solutions and strengthen its capacity to deliver technology-driven financial transformation globally. The new partners are Finternet, The Linux Foundation, Mojaloop Foundation, RegGenome, and Universal Pensions. Together, they will support areas such as digital infrastructure, open-source innovation and upskilling, inclusive payment systems, AI-enabled policy analytics, and digital pension inclusion. Finternet will contribute a universal digital infrastructure that connects financial ecosystems. The Linux Foundation will collaborate on open-source development and training in technologies such as AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and FDC3, an…

Visa is accelerating its agentic commerce strategy with the rollout of Intelligent Commerce across Asia Pacific and pilots planned for 2026. The initiative aims to establish a secure foundation for transactions carried out by AI agents on behalf of consumers. Visa Intelligent Commerce combines APIs and a partner program to enable safe, transparent, and consent-based payments by AI agents. It integrates tokenisation, authentication, payment instructions, and transaction signals through Visa’s infrastructure, allowing AI systems to transact securely while maintaining consumer trust. AI-driven retail activity has surged more than 4,700% in the past year, with 85% of shoppers who used AI…

Crypto exchange Coinbase has launched Coinbase Business in Singapore, its first international expansion outside the United States. The all-in-one financial platform provides startups and small to medium-sized businesses with a secure, compliant crypto operating account to manage global payments and digital assets. The platform supports crypto trading, instant payment settlement, and lower transaction fees using stablecoins such as USDC and XSGD while helping eliminate chargebacks. It operates in partnership with Standard Chartered, leveraging a strategic banking relationship to enable seamless, real-time Singapore dollar transfers for retail and business users. Businesses can send and receive onchain payments to vendors, contractors, and…

Three in four Singapore SMEs have yet to start their sustainability journeys, prompting calls for stronger public-private support in a new Gprnt and PwC Singapore study. The inaugural SME Sustainability Barometer, supported by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Sustainability Alliance (SA), surveyed more than 560 SMEs across 19 sectors. It found that most small businesses remain at the early stages of sustainability adoption due to constraints in money, skills and time. SMEs Struggling to Justify the Cost of Going Green More than half of respondents said sustainability was difficult to justify amid tight margins and competing priorities, while four…

Nium, a global infrastructure provider for real-time cross-border payments, has announced its participation in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, which allows selected partners to settle transactions with Visa using stablecoins across supported blockchains. The pilot introduces stablecoin settlement to Nium’s operations, enabling faster and more secure cross-border settlement. Supported stablecoins include Circle’s USDC, which Nium will use as a digital settlement rail with Visa. Moving from traditional batch-based systems to blockchain-based stablecoin flows is expected to reduce delays, costs, and friction in cross-border settlement, including issues caused by weekend cut-offs, time zone differences, and slow reconciliation. “Nium’s participating in the Visa…

ST Engineering has introduced enterprise-grade quantum-safe cybersecurity solutions, developed in-house, to assist financial services organisations in Singapore in adopting quantum security measures. The Quantum-Safe Encryptor, built with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and compatible with future third-party Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems, is designed to protect sensitive data and communications from potential quantum decryption threats. Intended for critical infrastructure, government, defence, and enterprise networks, it provides low-latency, high-assurance encryption for mission-critical and high-speed data flows. Its hardware-enforced architecture ensures integrity and protection against tampering. The Quantizant PQC-readiness platform supports organisations in planning and implementing a multi-year transition to quantum-safe cryptography. Its features…