Author: Fintech News Singapore

The Australia Pavilion returns for the first in-person SFF since 2019 and Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is gearing up an extensive programme for visitors to look forward to at the upcoming Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF). Joining Austrade as co-exhibitors are Fintech Australia, The RegTech Association, Global Victoria, Invest New South Wales, and the largest fintech hub in the Asia Pacific, Stone & Chalk. There will be over 60 Australian delegates from more than [35] companies from a variety of sectors, including blockchain, cybersecurity, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), insurtech, payment, regtech, wealthtech, and more. “We’re proud to showcase the…

The end of October and beginning of November 2022 will be busy weeks for the fintech community with multiple events scheduled during the two-week period. Several of these events will be taking place at the same time and at different locations around the world, putting some of the world’s most highly anticipated fintech events and conferences competing against one another for attention and attendance. This overlapping involves at least eight fintech gatherings, among which large-scale events, like the annual Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) and the Hong Kong Fintech Week, and gives the sense that organizers are overcompensating for the year-long…

The Singapore government will invest an additional US$50 million to develop local artificial intelligence (AI) talent and double the number of AI apprenticeships in the next five years. The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his opening speech at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2022. DPM Heng, who also chairs the National Research Foundation (NRF), said that the NRF will also create a new fellowship for AI to attract top researchers to pursue research in Singapore. Singapore has invested more than US$450 million in AI R&D over the last five years.…

Stripe, a global financial infrastructure platform for businesses, has officially launched in Thailand, enabling businesses to accept payments via PromptPay along with major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard. These businesses will now have access to Stripe’s solutions such as billing for subscriptions and recurring payments, checkout and payment links for e-commerce, invoicing for automated payment collection and reconciliation, and more. According to Stripe, thousands of companies have signed up on its platform over the past 12 months. This has enabled it to work with many of these users during this beta phase to gather feedback and refine solutions to meet…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published two consultation papers proposing regulatory measures for cryptocurrency trading and stablecoins that are to be part of the Payment Services Act. MAS is of the view that cryptocurrencies, which it refers to as digital payment tokens or DPTs, are “highly risky and not suitable for the general public” though “it would not be feasible to ban them.” As such, it proposes disallowing the use of credit facilities and leverage in retail DPT trading, and ensuring that DPT service providers adhere to business and technological standards similar to those faced by other financial institutions.…

The annual Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) is returning this year from November 02 to 04, 2022 as an in-person event, promising to bring together tens of thousands of participants to discuss some of the industry’s most pressing challenges and hottest trends. Organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Elevandi, in partnership with Constellar and in collaboration with the Association of Banks in Singapore, SFF 2022 will be held at the Singapore EXPO under the theme “Building Resilient Business Models amid Volatility and Change”. This year’s event will feature key stakeholders comprising government leaders, regulators, financial services leaders, entrepreneurs, investors,…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm Atome announced that it has achieved 1 billion THB (US$26.3 million) in total gross merchandise value (GMV) since its launch in Thailand last September. Since its launch, Atome Thailand reports that it has partnered with 1,000 merchant brands across a wide spectrum of categories, including food and beverage, fashion, beauty and sports. With the growing popularity of BNPL in Thailand, Atome said that it plans to continue expanding to newer categories such as hospitality, travel and lifestyle. The BNPL firm will also be launching Atome+, its in-app loyalty rewards programme, allowing consumers to earn…

OCBC Bank announced that it has become a signatory to the United Nations-convened, industry-led Net Zero Banking Alliance as part of its commitment to transition to a low-carbon world. As a signatory of the Alliance, OCBC will be transitioning the operational and attributable GHG emissions from its lending and investment portfolios to align with pathways to net-zero by 2050 or sooner. Additionally, OCBC will be setting its 2030 targets (or sooner) and a 2050 target, with intermediary targets to be set every 5 years from 2030 onwards within 18 months of joining. The bank will also annually publish absolute emissions…

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) has unveiled details of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2022 (HKFW), which will take place in person and virtually from 31 October to 4 November. Themed “Pushing Boundaries, Reaping Benefits”, the seventh edition of the flagship event seeks to lead the development of the industry and deliver fintech breakthroughs in different aspects of financial services and beyond. A gathering of global leaders in innovation, technology, and finance Organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and InvestHK, and co-organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Insurance Authority (IA), and the Securities and Futures…

Standard Chartered announced the appointment of veteran banker James Lye as Global Head, International Banking, effective 1 November 2022. In this newly created role, James will lead the Group International Banking team and drive focused execution to drive the bank’s international banking business. James will be based in Singapore, reporting to Raymond Ang, Global Head, Affluent Clients, and Samir Subberwal, Head, Consumer, Private & Business Banking, Asia, and Global Head, Digital Business. James brings with him over 20 years of banking experience. He was most recently Head of Markets for Citibank International Personal Bank Singapore – a business unit specialising…

Visa announced that it has partnered with global payments company Thunes to help individuals and small businesses move money internationally across 44 countries and territories in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This collaboration adds a cross-border send-to-wallet capability to the 78 digital wallet providers that are already integrated with Thunes by connecting its B2B payments platform with Visa Direct. Financial institutions, governments, neobanks and money transfer operators will be able to utilise this new functionality to enable consumers and small businesses to send funds to markets across the above-mentioned regions where digital wallets may be the go-to payment method. Consumers…

A study by the FIDO Alliance revealed that global password usage has dropped, yet passwords are still the most-used authentication method and they are proving costly to service providers. The second annual Online Authentication Barometer gathers insights into the state of online authentication in 10 countries across the globe. The FIDO Alliance was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. Key findings from the study The 2022 Online Authentication Barometer has identified that entering passwords online has dropped by…

Online money transfer service Wise announced that it will expand its team to employ over 400 staff in Singapore, doubling its headcount since the start of the year. Wise launched its APAC hub in Singapore in 2016 which now accounts for 10% of its global workforce. In an effort to bolster its Asia ambitions, Wise said that it will continue to invest across the business and this includes growing its product, infrastructure and team. Over the last 18 months, Wise has also grown from 2,400 to over 4,000 people globally. In Singapore, Wise recently rolled out its Linked Bank Account…

It is no secret that trading activity blossomed over the last couple of years, as an army of small investors entered the financial markets. With everyone stuck at home during the pandemic while market volatility exploded thanks to unprecedented stimulus measures, many people started to trade on a regular basis, familiarising themselves with the dynamics governing currency, equity, commodity, and even crypto assets. There were some long-term drivers behind this trend too. After a decade of zero interest rates on savings but astonishing returns in the markets, there was a paradigm shift with people gravitating towards investing. Fast forward to…

In Asia, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are becoming an increasingly important topic for the financial sector. Financial institutions across the region are starting to understand their role in carbon emissions with some now striving to help create a more responsible industry by embracing ESG strategies. United Overseas Bank (UOB), the third largest bank in Singapore in terms of total assets, has committed to ESG principles and decarbonization, having, throughout the years, strengthen its ESG risk and climate risk management practices. Last year, it rolled out its Group Environmental Risk Management Framework, tighten its policy stance on the financing…

Many Singaporeans are still using ATMs and visiting bank branches even though close to nine in 10 Singaporeans (88 percent) use mobile banking at least a few times a month. An inaugural national survey on digital inclusion and resilience conducted by Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) in partnership with UOB found that three in four Singaporeans use ATMs several times a month while one in four visits their bank’s branches several times a month. Surveying over 2,000 Singapore residents this year, the research provides insights on inclusive banking by examining Singaporeans’ attitudes and behaviours on digital banking…

Singapore-based insurtech firm bolttech announced that Japanese multinational insurance holding company Tokio Marine, alongside other shareholders, will lead its Series B funding round. The sum was not disclosed. According to bolttech, this financing round will push its valuation to approximately US$1.5 billion. This announcement comes one year after it closed its US$247 million Series A. Tokio Marine’s partnership as a strategic investor will complement bolttech’s capabilities and reach, enhancing its distribution strength, product innovation, and balance-sheet capacity. bolttech said that the proceeds of the Series B will be used primarily to fuel the business’ continued global growth. The company is…

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Bank Indonesia has announced the winners of the G20 TechSprint 2022 challenge during a live award ceremony in Jakarta. The G20 TechSprint 2022 focused on solving technology challenges related to wholesale and retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This year’s competition, under the Indonesian G20 Presidency, was launched in April to catalyse new technologies that would better enable the development and future use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). An independent panel of 11 experts convened by Bank Indonesia including Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, assessed the developed…

Digital wealth advisory platform Endowus announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong-based wealth manager Carret Private Investments. Continuing to operate under the individual Endowus and Carret Private brands, the group’s expertise in technology, talent, systematic wealth advice, and institutional investing across the public and private markets, as well as alternatives are complementary to each other. The combined Endowus Group’s client assets was reported to have surpassed US$4 billion as of end-H1 2022. The completion of the acquisition deal will serve as a launchpad for Endowus to make its entry into Hong Kong, its first overseas market.…

The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry was forcibly plunged into remote working arrangements for the past few years due to the pandemic. Remote work will most likely still be the norm in the BFSI sector but perhaps to a lesser extent given the many regulatory and compliance complexities that need to be untangled. This will make the management of a remote sales force all that much harder as a pure digital play is simply not the answer here. Find out how your sales force can replicate the in-person experience to remain competitive while being compliant. Examining the feasibility…