When we talk about wealth management today in fintech, more often we’re talking about how to create wealth: goal setting, risk profile management, or simply investment management overall. But Dr. Sekar Jaganathan, Director of Digital Strategy in Kenanga Bank opines that “wealth management” as it stands now more often refers to wealth creation: goal setting, risk profile management, and also investment management. Wealth management as the term entails should include data from one’s lifestyle, such as spending habits and insurance. “Wealth management [as an industry] has to grow. Then it has to mature,” said Dr. Sekar. This was one of…

Indonesian fintech startup PAYFAZZ announced that it has invested US$30 million in Xfers, Singapore-headquartered counterpart to form a new financial entity called Fazz Financial Group (FFG). PAYFAZZ said that both companies will retain their respective names whilst operating under the new financial entity where the FFG will oversee their combined mission of providing inclusion through financial services across Southeast Asia. With this investment, Xfers will serve as the designated business-to-business (B2B) arm of FFG, focused on connecting external merchants to the payment infrastructure and user network amassed by FFG as a group. In Indonesia, Xfers currently connects businesses to a…

Symbo Platform Holdings, a Singapore-based insurtech platform, announced the completion of a US$9.4 million funding round led by the CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. The round also saw participation from San Francisco-based investment firm Think Investments along with follow on investment from existing investors Integra Partners, Insignia Ventures and AJ Capital. With the new investment, the Symbo aims to bolster its core technology platform and leadership team to bring its offerings to scale across India and Southeast Asia. Key areas of investment include recruitment across senior technology and product functions, in addition to senior business development hires in Singapore, Malaysia and…

European supplier of post-trading services Clearstream has selected BearingPoint RegTech, a Netherlands-based compliance technology provider, for its Abacus360 Banking solution for MAS 610 reporting. BearingPoint RegTech said that Abacus360 Banking is a standard software for national and international prudential reporting, statistical reporting as well as granular reporting and ad-hoc reporting. Starting January 2021 onwards, there will be a testing phase with go-live scheduled for July 2021. MAS 610 is the core set of reporting requirements within Singapore’s financial services space, and contains the balance sheet and off-balance sheet information of banks and their underlying details MAS 610 reporting contains the…

The second edition of the Fintech and Digital Banking 2025 in Asia Pacific report by IDC commissioned by Backbase, reveals that APAC banks are going back to the drawing board on their digital transformation programs. Digital banking fitness has been the key factor, with digital banks enjoying three times the growth in customer bases compared to traditional banks. In response, incumbent banks are reinvigorating digital transformation initiatives, having had to accommodate at least a 50% growth in the quantity of digital customer transactions and interactions. It is expected that organisations will undertake a comprehensive realignment of customer engagement projects, with…

KPMG Singapore has named Anton Ruddenklau as its Head of Financial Services with immediate effect. He most recently served as Global Co-Leader of Fintech for KPMG International, and Partner and Head of Digital and Innovation for Financial Services in KPMG in the U.K. Ruddenklau has deep domain expertise in emerging areas such as cryptocurrency and platform-based business models and will harness his experience in digital transformation and customer growth to provide strategic direction and impetus to the financial services practice at KPMG in Singapore. KPMG said in a statement that financial services in Singapore is one of its priority sectors,…

Six startups from F10 Singapore’s first fintech accelerator cohort will be ready for market launch after graduating the programme. Two of those startups namely SynctacticAI and CoverGo will also undergo an accreditation programme by PwC Singapore to vet them for corporate adoption readiness. SynctacticAI and CoverGo were selected for the accreditation programme based on various criteria such as traction, potential, team composition and focus area. The selection committee consisted of senior leaders from PwC Singapore, F10 and some of its corporate partners. SynctacticAI provides a data science platform while CoverGo helps insurance businesses overcome their legacy systems to serve their…

Finastra, a financial services software and cloud solutions provider, revealed changing priorities for corporate banks in APAC and their customers over the next five years during its flagship virtual event Finastra Universe. Finastra’s research showed that corporate banks are moving away from the traditional ‘relationship builder’ approach of client interaction and management where they build wider banking relationships with clients to cross-sell additional services towards being ‘platform players’ that offer value-added services and can deliver real-time execution. The research, which gauged the views of over 700 heads of relationship, technology and product across global corporate banks, shows how their priorities…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) jointly issued a paper on managing new risks that could emerge from extensive remote working arrangements adopted by financial institutions (FIs) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Risk Management and Operational Resilience in a Remote Working Environment” is part of the ongoing collaboration between MAS and ABS’ Return to Onsite Operations Taskforce (ROOT), to coordinate responses to the crisis and prepare for a post COVID-19 new normal. The paper highlights that, in view of the protracted remote working arrangements and the likely adoption of hybrid working arrangements in future,…

HSBC announced that it has become the first financial institution to move software firm R3’s blockchain platform Corda Enterprise onto Google Cloud. HSBC said that the move will reduce client onboarding time from months to weeks, improving the client experience and significantly reducing costs. The bank currently uses R3’s Corda technology for its Digital Vault which is HSBC’s custody blockchain platform. R3’s Corda platform enables businesses to transact directly and privately using smart contracts, reducing transaction and record-keeping costs and streamlining business operations. HSBC is pursuing using blockchain to support the custody of future digital asset classes. Shifting the Corda…

Australia is home to 733 active fintech companies, up from 629 in September 2019, reveals KPMG’s Fintech Landscape 2020 map. This represents an increase of 104 companies that joined the sector between September 2019 and December 2020. The infographic, released on December 21, 2020, provides a snapshot of the Australian fintech ecosystem, revealing several major trends that have emerged over the past year. In particular, the blockchain and cryptocurrency segment saw the strongest growth with 49 new companies being established. It’s followed by lending with the addition to 26 companies (some reclassified from the payments category since KPMG’s Fintech Landscape…

Interest in Thailand’s insurtech sector is picking up, with companies in the space closing million dollar funding rounds, incumbents ramping up digital capabilities, and foreign companies entering the market. So far, 2021 has seen two Thai insurtech companies securing funding. The two Series A rounds were closed by Muang Thai Broker (US$6.7 million), the operator of online insurance comparison platform and sales platform Gettgo, and AppMan (US$4.6 million), the operator of AgentMate, an electronic point-of-sale (POS) that digitizes the sales process of life and non-life insurance. AppMan, one of Thailand’s insurtech pioneers, said it will use the proceeds to expand…

Digital banks are proliferating in Asia on the back of favorable regulatory changes, market liberalization pushes by governments, and enhanced digital penetration by consumers. In Singapore’s digital banking race, the Monetary Authority of Singapore granted 4 digital banking licenses with SEA Group and the Grab-Singtel consortium securing the full digital banking license. Across the causeway, in Malaysia, roughly 40 parties have registered their interest in Bank Negara Malaysia’s digital banking license, the new regulatory framework is anticipated to spur massive funding rounds in Malaysia. Just last month, Vietnamese ride-hailing company Be Group launched its digital banking offering Cake in partnership…

‘Buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) adoption is set to grow exponentially in the coming years with Asia Pacific (APAC) being the key driver. A study by Coherent Market Insights estimates that the global BNPL was valued at US$7.3 billion in 2019, but is expected to reach US$33.6 billion in 2027, growing at an annual rate of 21.2% between 2020 and 2027. During the forecast period, APAC is set to be the fastest growing region owning to increasing mobile Internet users in the region. Rising interest in BNPL have pushed regulators in jurisdictions including the UK and Singapore to begin looking deeper…

As part of its regional hiring efforts, Grab expects to create around 350 new jobs in Singapore this year to support its growth plans. These include the expansion of products and services to support the digitalisation of micro SMEs, the delivery of digital financial services across Southeast Asia, as well as the development of the upcoming digibank which will be managed by a Grab-Singtel consortium. The hiring drive was announced when Grab signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG). The MOI will see Grab working with IMDA and DISG…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations and individuals to embrace new practices and move to online channels, bringing with it a significant increase in fraudulent activities. Affirming this situation, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recorded a 20% increase in the share of account takeover incidents in 2020 compared to the previous year. This trend comes on the back of the growing adoption of digital and mobile banking. Boston Consulting Group’s survey of 17,600 respondents last year found that 16% of those surveyed enrolled into online or mobile banking for the first time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One in three…

Swiss fintech NetGuardians, known for its AI-based, enterprise risk platform for combating banking fraud, announced a partnership with PwC Singapore to help banks fight fraud. With this partnership, banks in Singapore will have access to NetGuardians’ solution along with PwC Singapore’s fraud advisory and technology implementation services. NetGuardians said that its AI-based fraud solution is already being used by established Tier 1 to Tier 3 banks as well as new and emerging digital banks in Asia Pacific and across the world. The move comes as banks are increasingly offering innovative digital services to meet the needs of their clients and…

Episode Six, the global provider of modern payment processing and banking infrastructure, today announced that it has secured an additional $30 million of investment, bringing its total capital raised to $40 million. This additional funding comes nine months after the company secured $7 million of its Series A funding. Episode Six’s investors include HSBC, Mastercard, SBI Investment Co., Ltd., and Anthos Capital. Episode Six will leverage its latest investment to continue to accelerate its global expansion across all regions and key financial markets, supporting clients across a broad range of verticals. The Company will continue delivering flexible and extensible technology…

While the world continues to contend with COVID-19, with various countries now taking extreme lockdown measures, there is no doubt that many businesses have to maintain their work-from-home mandates. Critical economic sectors like banking, financial institutions, and digital financing platforms – like fintech services, e-wallets, and micro-funding, are expected to keep the economy running somehow. Many news reports throughout 2020, have shared how the workforce prefers being in a proper office environment. In contrast, an extensive research study that Singapore-based EngageRocket put out late last year had revealed that 64% of those surveyed confirmed they are more productive at home…

Fenergo, provider of digital transformation, customer journey and client lifecycle management (CLM) solutions, announced the appointment of Gary Brookes as its Head of Sales in Asia. In his new role, Brookes will spearhead growth and execute Fenergo’s cloud strategy across the Asian continent. Brookes brings with him an extensive background in driving revenue for disruptive and fast growth technology firms across Asia and Australia with sales leadership roles at Datasite, eFront and Ansarada. Brookes will look to expand Fenergo’s sales presence in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong and will be responsible for growing and strengthening Fenergo’s partner ecosystem to boost…