Author: Fintech News Singapore

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on Friday that it will be conducting a retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot at the end of 2022. According to the central bank, the BOT deems it necessary to extend the scope of retail CBDC development to a pilot phase in which real-life applications will be conducted in cooperation with the private sector within a limited scale. However, the BOT reiterated that it does not have plans to issue a retail CBDC at the moment. The BOT will assess the benefits and associated risks from the pilot in order to formulate related…

AsiaPay, a digital payment service provider and technology vendor in Asia Pacific, announces a new partnership with TripleA, a MAS-licensed cryptocurrency payment gateway service provider in Singapore, to enable merchants to accept crypto payment. Through this partnership, AsiaPay’s merchants can now enable the acceptance of cryptocurrencies through the single integrated payment interface at checkout, on top of other existing prevailing payment methods such as card, internet banking, e-wallets, BNPL, and more in 11 Asia Pacific countries. According to AsiaPay, merchants will also have access to ease of reporting and reconciliation using the same backend payment administration across host of payment…

India is seeing the rise of a thriving open banking ecosystem, a burgeoning landscape that has emerged on the back of governmental initiatives and infrastructure projects seeking to boost financial inclusion through digital technology. The India Stack digital infrastructure, which comprises three key layers of open APIs focusing on digital identity, payments and data-sharing, has been praised for revolutionizing access to financial services in an economy that had been historically heavily reliant on cash. The biometric digital identity scheme, also known as Aadhaar, has dramatically lowered the cost of confirming people’s identities, facilitating client onboarding but also drastically reducing fraud.…

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex announced that it will release unaffected digital assets Cardano’s ADA, Solana (SOL) and Ripple’s XRP into its users’ Trade Wallet from 2 August onwards. Tokens in Z Wallet will be debited and the corresponding amount will be credited back into the users’ Trade Wallet and no user action is required. Once the tokens in the Trade Wallet are available, they may withdraw as per usual. So far, Zipmex has already released SOL into its users’ Trade Wallet and will begin releasing XRP on 4 August and ADA on 9 August. Customers can follow the official opening…

Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), Singapore’s payment services group, and National ITMX, Thailand’s key inter-bank payment infrastructure and central data processing system, announced the expansion of their cross-border QR payment collaboration. This partnership will facilitate inbound and outbound cross-border payments between Singapore and Thailand. Singaporeans using local banking apps, DBS PayLah! and OCBC Pay Anyone, will be able to scan Thailand’s national PromptPay QR to make payments at over 8,000,000 retail acceptance points across popular tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket. UOB TMRW users will be able to do so as well from next year. Local merchants will…

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that its Co-founder Yi He will be the new Head of Binance Labs, its venture capital (VC) arm and incubator. Yi will lead global strategy and the day-to-day operations at Binance Labs. Part of her focus will be on supporting infrastructure projects and improving utility in innovative crypto and blockchain projects. Under Yi’s leadership, Binance Labs will have an additional emphasis on investing in capable, driven founders who will play a role in shaping the future of the industry. Yi will continue leading and supporting Binance’s key business initiatives and units including customer support, institutional…

Global financial superapp Revolut has launched its new cryptocurrency service in Singapore, enabling customers to securely buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. There are more than 80 tokens available via its app. Revolut had secured in principal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in April this year to operate a fully regulated cryptocurrency service. There are several ways to buy and sell crypto on Revolut. Customers can set up a stop or limit order so they don’t have to time the market, or use the Recurring Buy feature to average out volatility. They can also round up any spare change…

This past year has seen banks, financial services companies and fintech startups snapping up media companies, realizing the merits of owning their audience to gain exposure, sell more products and become more profitable. An extensive research paper by business analytics and market intelligence company CB Insights looks at finance companies’ possible motives and ambitions in acquiring media companies, delving into the recent deals that occurred. The report highlights that while there is a number of reasons for purchasing media and community, perhaps the biggest benefit is that it drives the cost of acquiring a new client to much lower levels.…

Singapore-based crypto platform Vauld has been granted a three-month moratorium until November 7 by the Singapore High Court to halt its creditors from starting or continuing any legal proceedings against it, according to a report by The Block. This would give Vauld some breathing room to restructure its business and hammer out its acquisition deal with Nexo, a Zug-based digital assets institution. Vauld was also ordered by the court to form a creditors committee. The crypto lender reportedly owes a total of US$402 million to its creditors. 90% of this, which amounts to US$363 million, is from individual retail investors’ deposits.…

Visa announced the launch of a suite of sustainability-focused solutions “Visa Eco Benefits” in Asia Pacific to help its cardholders better understand the environmental impact of their day-to-day payments. User will be able to calculate the carbon footprint generated by their Visa transactions, and access options for carbon offsetting or charitable donations from their bank’s website or app. Additionally, cardholders can also access personalised tips and education on sustainable consumption as well as receive physical payment cards made from sustainable materials. Banks in Asia Pacific that sign up for Eco Benefits will be able to offer these solutions to their…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is actively reviewing its approach to the regulation of stablecoin in the wake of the collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) and Luna tokens, and will consult the public in the coming months. The regulator is looking into a framework that is tailored to the specific characteristics and risks of stablecoins such as regulating the reserve requirements and the stability of the peg. In a parliamentary response, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Minister in charge of MAS said that spillovers to the mainstream financial system and the economy remain limited at this point despite this…

Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek is doubling down on fintech this year, participating in at least seven funding rounds involving companies in the sector since the beginning of the year, an analysis by Fintech News Singapore found. The figure nearly matches the total number of deals it participated in for the whole year 2021, which stands at less than ten, findings from desk research that used data from Crunchbase and Dealroom show. Financial services remain the largest representation of Temasek’s portfolio. In 2022, Temasek continued to demonstrate its bullishness towards the Indian startup ecosystem, participating in at least two fintech…

Digital Treasures Center (DTC), a payment company based on distributed ledger technology, announced that it has secured a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The company was previously granted an in-principle approval in March this year. As a fully regulated provider of Digital Payment Token (DPT), the company got the go-ahead to start providing its services from 1 August 2022 onwards. DTC’s offerings include account issuance, merchant acquisition, domestic money transfer, cross-border money transfer, e-money issuance as well as digital payment token services. Alice Liu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of DTC said, “We…

Singtel announced its plan to invest a further US$100 million into its corporate venture arm Singtel Innov8, raising its total capital commitment to US$350 million. Innov8 invests in startups that align with Singtel Group businesses in the areas of 5G, Artificial Intelligence, the digital economy, sustainability, cyber security and emerging technologies. It operates on an evergreen fund model, re-investing returns from portfolio exits into new investments. With the capital injection, Innov8 said that it will further expand its portfolio of investments in Southeast Asia, United States, China, Israel and Australia. Innov8 has invested in over 95 startups since its inception…

OrBit Markets, an institutional liquidity provider in crypto options and structured products, has raised US$4.6 million in an angel funding round led by Matrixport, a digital assets financial services ecosystem. The oversubscribed round also witnessed participation from Brevan Howard Digital, New Form Capital, Maven 11 and Westridge Markets. OrBit said that the funding will be used to accelerate the development of the company’s proprietary technologies, while enabling it to expand its business footprint. Founded this year by a team of former senior executives at Deutsche Bank’s currency division, OrBit has built quantitative models and risk engines which allow it to…

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex announced that it has filed for for moratoria for all its entities under Section 64 of Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 to buy some time to restructure its debts. The entities that have sought the moratorium relief in the applications are Zipmex Asia Pte Ltd, Zipmex Pte Ltd, Zipmex Company Limited (incorporated in Thailand), PT Zipmex Exchange Indonesia (incorporated in Indonesia), Zipmex Australia Pty Ltd (incorporated in Australia). The firm said that this move helps protect Zipmex against third-party actions, claims, and proceedings while it is active, and enables its team to focus all…

Digital assets trading platform Sparrow announced that it has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide Digital Payment Token (DPT) services. Sparrow was previously issued an In-Principle Approval (IPA) from MAS in June 2022 following their MPI license application. MAS has adopted a rigorous regulatory approach and thus far, only a select few digital payment token firms have been licensed. Kenneth Yeo, CEO of Sparrow said, “We can now provide digital payment token services with credibility through elevated compliance standards. Trust is something that we don’t take for granted. …

India’s International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on supervisory cooperation in the presence of the Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi. The IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India. At present, the GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services center in India. The MOU provides a framework for supervisory cooperation between the two authorities in relation to financial services including stock exchanges and technical…

The cryptocurrency market is down significantly since the end of 2021, with the overall market losing nearly 70% of its value from its last all-time-high levels of nearly US$3 trillion in November 2021. But despite what some are referring to as the beginning of a prolonged “crypto winter”, venture capitalists (VCs) and industry players remain bullish on the long-term prospects of the industry. For Jamie Burke, CEO of Web3 accelerator Outlier Ventures, it is critical to look past the price of cryptocurrencies and consider other key indicators of the health of the industry. First, research and development (R&D) activity is…

Green finance alone is not enough as the world, and Asia in particular, needs transition finance, according to Ravi Menon, Managing Director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). During the MAS Sustainability Report 2021/2022 media conference, he added that the threat of climate change has grown but progress in mitigating it has been slow. According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global warming is already causing widespread climate-related disruptions around us. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and come down by about 45% by…