Author: Fintech News Singapore

MRC, Cybersource and Verifi have released a new report that shares findings of a survey of global e-commerce merchants which. This study highlights the top trends in e-commerce in 2023. The study, which polled 1,000+ merchants involved in e-commerce in December 2022, sought to understand the range of payment acceptance, management, and partnership practices these retailers are deploying, as well as the reasons why they are adopting these payment strategies and tactics. It also sought to unveil e-commerce fraud trends and the methods merchants are relying on to prevent fraud. Findings of the survey revealed that merchants are actively embracing…

Revolut, a global neobank with more than 28 million customers worldwide, announced that its Singapore customers will be able to link, and top-up directly from up to six different bank accounts within the app. This feature is enabled by electronic General Interbank Recurring Order (e-Giro), which authorises top-ups from the customer’s bank account once they link their bank to the Revolut app. The added service enables users to link the wallet to Bank of China, DBS, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB accounts. Revolut’s services include overseas remittance, foreign exchange, fractional stock trading, commodities and crypto trading. Raymond Ng, CEO…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed an additional capital requirement on DBS Bank following two consecutive disruptions of its services in just over a month. Along with the additional capital requirement of S$930 million imposed on DBS in February 2022, the bank will now have to set aside approximately S$1.6 billion in total. The additional capital requirement on DBS Bank is now a multiplier of 1.8 times to its risk weighted assets for operational risk, an increase from the multiplier of 1.5 times that MAS applied in February 2022. MAS added that it may subsequently vary the size…

In Kazakhstan, the fintech industry is growing at a fast pace, driven by rapid adoption of digital payments, ecosystem services and super-apps, among other digital financial services, a new report by Fintech Consult, MOST Ventures and RISE says. Moving forward, supportive initiatives from the government and infrastructure enhancement efforts are expected to further drive innovation and adoption in the sector. These are among the key insights drawn from the Fintech in Kazakhstan report, an industry report released on April 14, 2023 that looks at the state of the domestic fintech ecosystem and which points out to booming usage of fintech…

OCBC Bank announced that it will be expanding its Digital Silvers programme to upskill an additional 2,000 seniors with digital banking skills. The OCBC Digital Silvers is a one-on-one training programme for elderly customers aged 60 years and above to learn how to bank and pay digitally as well as to stay safe from scams while doing so. OCBC will be increasing the frequency of these training workshops from twice a month to three times a week. The bank will conduct these workshops at all of its 30 branches, a step up from 10 branches in 2022. Additionally, OCBC has…

More than one million hawker meal subsidies have been redeemed by Singapore residents in less than three months since DBS rolled out its ‘5 Million Hawker Meals’ scheme. DBS offered cashbacks of up to SGD 3 to the first 100,000 diners who use the PayLah! app to scan and pay for their meals every Friday in at least 11,600 stalls with SGQR codes. The scheme was launched with the aim to provide some relief for the residents amid the persistent inflation that continues to drive up food prices. Since the 10 February launch, PayLah! transactions, which currently make up more…

Crypto.com announced that it will be piloting its first AI-powered user assistant Amy to help its users learn about the crypto industry with near real-time information about specific tokens and projects, as well as details on price listings and historical events. Since the pilot is in its beta phase, Amy will not provide financial or investment advice for the time being. The firm will instead tap Amy to gather learnings before expanding this and future AI-powered capabilities more broadly. The underlying technology of Amy is based on ChatGPT from OpenAI, but it is being further trained with specific case examples…

The prolonged fallout from COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, and an unstable economic landscape plagued by rising inflation are creating the risk of a global recession, taking a toll on fintech companies by triggering a funding crunch while simultaneously driving up expenses. This is prompting the start of an era of “crisis as usual”, consultancy Ernst and Young (EY) says, and is forcing companies in the space to re-examine their strategies, reduce operational costs and refocus on their core value propositions. In a new paper produced in partnership with Singapore government-linked company Elevandi, EY outlines key insights drawn from presentations of industry…

Singapore tech unicorn Advance Intelligence Group (“the Group”) announced it had raised US$ 80 million from an investor consortium led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group. This new investment comes after the Group’s Series D round of over US$ 400 million in 2021, bringing its total funds raised to over US$700 million and securing an excess of US$ 1 billion in capital to support its credit book. They said that the latest investment will accelerate the Group’s mission to leverage AI technology in streamlining consumer transactions and providing more accessible and equitable credit and financial products and services.…

Zodia Custody, the cryptocurrency custody service launched by Standard Chartered, has raised US$36 million in a Series A funding round. The round received participation from Chicago-based financial services company Northern Trust Corporation and Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings, along with SC Ventures, the venture arm of Standard Chartered. The cryptocurrency custody service was launched in late 2020 to provide custody services for digital assets, addressing the growing need for secure cryptocurrency storage solutions. The new funding comes three months after Zodia Custody partnered with SBI Holdings’ digital asset arm to introduce crypto asset custody services to institutional investors in Japan. “We believe…

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, revealed in a disclosure that it plans to invest up to US$250 million in DBS, the leading Singapore-based financial services group. The IFC proposed investment involves a 50-50 equal risk-sharing facility with DBS on a trade asset portfolio with Emerging Markets Issuing Banks (EMIBs) worth up to US$500 million. DBS operates across various regional markets besides Singapore, including greater China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. IFC offers advisory services to governments and businesses on private sector development, access to finance, ESG, public-private partnerships, trade, and competitiveness. Temasek Holdings is a…

The Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance fintech trade and investment flows and foster business-to-business engagement between Singapore and Australia. This agreement marks the initiation of Project Lorikeet, a programme designed to support Singaporean fintechs’ expansion into Australia and Australian fintechs seeking opportunities in Singapore. Project Lorikeet aims to benefit enterprises and startups in both countries by providing resources and support to Singapore-registered fintechs planning to enter the Australian market. Participating fintechs can expect to establish a presence in Australia within six to nine…

The fintech space is experiencing unprecedented challenges when it comes to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. From a global pandemic that shifted users online to economic downturns and sanctions resulting from geopolitical conflicts, fintech firms face daunting challenges that can harm their operations. With the fintech industry expected to grow by US$305.7 billion in 2023, compliance with AML regulations is more crucial than ever to avoid reputational damage and monetary losses. Financial data specialist Refinitiv in collaboration with Fintrail has interviewed fintech experts to understand the AML challenges facing the industry. The resulting whitepaper delves into the cause and effect of…

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has announced that it will postpone the release of the final Virtual Bank Licensing Regulations to the third quarter of this year. The decision was made after the bank received feedback and questions from stakeholders, including individuals, domestic and foreign firms, and the public sector, during the public consultation period from January 12 to February 12, 2023. The bank has identified various questions and concerns about the details of the licensing regulations, which may significantly affect the decisions or business plans of applicants, as well as the business model of the proposed digital bank. In…

iFAST Global Bank (iGB), the digital banking division of Singaporean wealth management fintech firm iFAST Corporation Ltd., has introduced a Digital Personal Banking (DPB) platform to expand its financial ecosystem. The DPB platform will provide online personal banking services to customers worldwide, enabling them to hold, spend, and send money in six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, HKD, SGD, CNY) without fees while earning interest. This move aligns with iFAST Corp’s vision of developing a truly global digital bank business model. Muj Malik, CEO of iFAST Global Bank, said, “The launch of our DPB platform will provide consumers around the world…

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced plans to open a new engineering center in Gurgaon, India, and hire local talent for its expanding regional business teams. Gemini’s Gurgaon office is set to become its second-largest engineering hub globally, next to the United States. The primary objective of the Gurgaon office is to create new products and services to cater to customers worldwide. The exchange’s engineering, design, and operations teams in India will contribute to the development of the next generation of web and mobile user experiences, core platform fundamentals in the area of compliance, data pipelines and warehousing, security, and payments, as…

The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Advanced Bank of Asia Ltd (ABA) Bank have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance digital economy and fintech initiatives in the country. Signed by Dr. Kong Marry, MEF undersecretary and secretary-general for the Digital Economy and Business Committee, and ABA Bank CEO Ashkat Azhikhanov, the MoU aims to promote cooperation in knowledge sharing, training, and use of “digital nurseries”, as well as activities and digital platforms designed to foster the development of fintech and digital-economy solutions in the Kingdom, Dr. Kong noted at the signing ceremony. Dr. Kong…

Stripe, a payment services provider, has expanded its revenue and finance automation suite to Asia Pacific. The suite aims to streamline cash flow management for businesses by integrating billing, tax, reporting, and data services into one modern stack, eliminating the inefficiencies of traditional finance tools. The revenue and finance automation suite allows finance teams to work more efficiently, freeing them to focus on other essential aspects of their business. The suite includes tools for customer acquisition and revenue management, tax compliance and reporting, and data analysis, all built on Stripe’s industry-leading payments architecture. These tools have helped businesses earn an…

Money20/20, the world’s leading fintech show today officially welcomed Bangkok as the host city for Money20/20 Asia to be held on April 23-25th in 2024 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The destination city was chosen due to its growing global reputation as a hotbed of fintech growth in Asia. Bangkok becomes Money20/20’s third host city, joining Amsterdam and Las Vegas which welcome over 20, 000 fintech and financial services professionals globally. Founded by the industry, for the industry in 2011, Money20/20 features world famous speakers drawn from a wide variety of sectors and thousands of companies from across the…

Regtech firm Fenergo has made three new appointments for its C-suite; Chris Zingo as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Conor Clinch as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Stephanie White as Chief People Officer (CPO). Fenergo is a provider of digital solutions for Know Your Customer (KYC), Transaction Monitoring and Client Lifecycle Management (CLM). With more than two decades of experience, Chris Zingo has experience in transforming go-to-market (GTM) operations and steering firms through growth stages from startup to private equity through to exit. Before joining Fenergo, Chris spearheaded the merger of Misys and D&H and the subsequent rebrand to Finastra, where…