In the context of financial inclusion, fintech holds boundless potential. Fintech players, who use software and digital platforms to deliver financial services to consumers, are helping in making financial products and services more attainable than ever. According to Julia Kurnia, founder and director of peer-to-peer lending platform Zidisha, the proliferation of Internet and communication technology has made it possible to connect people and markets that were previously isolated. “People need no longer be constrained by their physical location,” Kurnia told Fintechnews. “This means it is no longer inevitable that someone’s physical location should determine his or her opportunities.” Kurnia founded…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
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Emerging Asia FinTech & Agent Banking Summit 2016, to be at the PARKROYAL Yangon hotel on the 17th and 18th of May, will be the very first fintech conference in Myanmar. The conference is set to assess mobile money issues with agent banking operations and the significant role of FinTech in the digital transformation of Asia. It is the only authoritative agent banking and FinTech conference in the region to have a special focus on Myanmar, along with presentations from key emerging economies of Asia. Industry experts and key players will share their insights and analyze critical issues relevant to the…
Life.SREDA, a fintech-focused venture capital fund headquartered in Singapore, has released its annual fintech research report detailing the major fintech trends for 2016. ‘Money of the Future,’ co-authored by Life.SREDA, business school INSEAD, and consultancy firm Deloitte, examines the 15 main fintech trends to expect in 2016. There are more than 5,000 fintech startups in the world, and fintech is undoubtedly hot topic with over US$20 billion being invested globally in the sector in 2015. “The bigger effect from the fintech revolution will be to force flabby incumbents to cut costs and improve the quality of their service,” argues Serguei…
FINNOVASIA is the flagship event for those making an impact in FinTech. The conference brings together extraordinary speakers and practitioners from around the region in FinTech business development, disruption and innovation in financial industry. FINNOVASIA 2015 – The future of Fintech in Asia which was held at Hong Kong Cyberport on 9 Dec., 2015 was a huge success with over 300 attendees, including 40% executives from banks and financial services, 18% FinTech startups and 7% media industry. This year with 45 speakers from 18 countries, the event will create a unique chemistry between FinTech entrepreneurs, investors, bankers and governments both…
As one of the gateways of the Asian financial market, Singapore represents an attractive spot in the region to enter the financial industry and is a hotbed for fintech. Over 200 banks have operational headquarters in Singapore and some of them, including UBS and Citigroup, have opened innovation labs in the city-state to benefit from Singapore’s strategic localization in Southeast Asia and its many areas of competitiveness which include its business environment, infrastructure, high-skilled labor and business-friendly taxation. Naturally, Singapore has got a rich (and growing) fintech ecosystem, thanks partly to the government that has been rather receptive in embracing…
8 Securities, a Hong Kong-based fintech startup, has launched the first free stock trading app in Asia. The new mobile app lets users trade over 15,000 US and HK stocks and index funds for no commission and without minimum balance or account fee. The decision of a zero dollar commission policy came following a research study conducted last year on online brokerage in Hong Kong which found that top priorities for customers were ease of use, mobile accessibility and low cost. “The price of executing a trade has gone down a lot these past years,” Mathias Helleu, 8 Securities’ executive…
In recent weeks we’ve seen two mega deals that everyone should be paying attention to. The scale of these deals puts the strategic ace card of most multi-national corporate at threat. I’m talking about the one billion dollar acquisition of a controlling stake in Lazada, and $4.5 billion dollar capital raise of Ant Financial (AlibabaPay). With one thing in common, Alibaba Group. Author: Scott Bales China is a country that attracts attention, it’s so huge. It’s far enough away geographically from most executives that they can be forgiven for forgetting it. Especially when many of them have struggled to penetrate, or…
BreakingBank$- Fintech: There was a debate over bitcoin and blockchains in the US and European markets before, however the business sectors in Asia show a large number of new issues. Marcus Swanepoel of BitX and Antony Lewis, blogger at bitsonblocks.net appeared as guests on the show hosted by Rob Findlay live from Singapore to talk about the potential outcomes of bitcoin in ASEAN market and why it could be much more important there than in the west. Additionally, Jessica Ellerm presents a meeting with Alistair Lamond and Patrick Crivelli, founders of Skippr.com.au from Sydney. Let’s discover what is happening. Source: SoundClound
Banks should not consider fintech startups as competitors but rather enablers. Those that can assess, adapt and adopt new technologies most quickly will be best positioned to achieve their desired position in the new industry structure, according to consultancy firm Accenture. “Successful banks will rapidly make clear strategic decisions on the business model and use this vision to rally their talent around a more compelling journey, rather than the cost cutting downward spiral in which many players are now falling,” the company claims in a new report. Entitled ‘Fintech and the evolving landscape: landing points for the industry,’ the study…
Recently, I have been invited to speak at the Fintech meetup in Ho Chi Minh City. The theme of the event was “Bankers and Fintech Startups”, a perfect ground to present the findings of our research on banks open innovation and corporate venturing activities in Southeast Asia. Author: Luca Mohammadi Open innovation, and more specifically outside-in innovation, refers to corporate practices of including outside stakeholders in their innovation processes. An increasing number of industries is coming to realize that innovation is not confined within their organization boundaries and thanks to accessible knowledge and capitals, outside players could pose serious threats…
Fintech is booming as a growing number of innovative companies are emerging in hope to disrupt the financial services industry. Banks and traditional players are also starting to recognize the opportunities related to using cutting-edge technologies to serve their clients better and become more efficient. Money is pouring in, with fintech ventures in Asia-Pacific (APAC) closing over 340 investment deals in the region, according to a study. In a new collaborative report entitled ‘Fintech APAC Landscape Developments,’ Startupbootcamp and PricewaterhouseCoopers addressed the major developments within APAC and provides an overview of the state of fintech industry in the region. Startupbootcamp…
Ten winners were announced at Smart Awards Asia 2016. The ceremony took place during the gala dinner on Wednesday, 20 April 2016. SILVERLEAP – Best B2C Payments Initiative Founded: 2009 – Head Quarters: HongKong Silverleap is a globally operating provider of disruptive technologies and services, designed to accelerate the worldwide adoption of mobile NFC payment solutions. XAAVAN – Best B2B Payments Initiative Founded: 2005 –Head Quarters: Singapore Xaavan, a proprietary solution of MC Payment, is the first MasterCard certified Level 3 enhanced data processing solution in Asia. Founded in Singapore since 2005, MC Payment is both a payment technology and merchant service…
At the launch of Singapore FinTech Festival at Asia Society, New York, on April 12th, Tharman Shanmugaratnam – Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic & Social Policies, also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore – made a speech on how ranking in FinTech is unncessary, about FinTech tensions and the current and future comprehensive promotion plan for Singapore FinTech. “I’d like to thank the Asia Society for hosting us this evening, for the launch of the Singapore FinTech Festival. The Festival will take place over 5 days in November this year in Singapore, bringing together technology players, financial institutions, FinTech…
American Express is first in Singapore to bring its customers Apple Pay™ which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure way to pay that’s fast and convenient. American Express Card Members of Innovation, Convenience and Secure “American Express is focused on bringing our Card Members innovative, convenient and secure ways to pay, and they will be the first to experience those benefits with the seamless experience of using Apple Pay in Singapore,” says Cheng Heng Chew, Country Manager, American Express Singapore. “We want to offer value to our Card Members and give them the flexibility to pay the way…
Fintech Validus is a SME fund box that links Singaporean and Global investors to Singaporean SMEs. Differentiated from p2p, it is a new asset class that connects investors who are prepared to put in $100,000 and above, looking for better than market returns with eligible Singaporean SMEs who require funding. Formed by three partners Richard Hoon, Yash Poddar, and Vikas Nahata who met as members of worldwide Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), Validus brings together many years of business experience and management expertise. Mr Richard Hoon, Chairman, explained that “We see this as a new asset class…
The technology and digital disruption on banking and financial services will profoundly change a very large, extremely profitable and well-established industry. Alessandro Hatami, a serial corporate entrepreneur with a passion for generating growth through digital innovation in payments and financial services, had observed and shaped his view about this big change through “Banking Myths”. There are 4 of them: (1) Customers still want human beings interaction at bank branches instead of robo interaction; (2) Banks gains more trust than FinTech start-ups; (3) Banking platform is able to be improved to satisfy any customers’ banking expectations and (4) FinTech identities will replaces the traditional bank. Below is details of…
The most transformative blockchains will be those that can work across geopolitical boundaries and Southeast Asia has the most potential that can be unlocked with this technology, according to a new report by DBS Bank. “Asia’s geopolitical context is unique globally – the region consists of loosely coupled countries who want to trade with each other, yet levels of trust between countries are disparate, preventing the region from realizing its potential,” states a paper by DBS Bank. “We now have the technology for trust. With political will, investment, and industry collaboration, we believe that blockchains can improve the way.” The…
The mobile payment space in Vietnam is ripe for exponential growth and there are three main factors supporting the trend: the relatively young population (42.1% are under 25 years old), the rate of smartphone penetration surpassing 50%, and the majority of the market being unbanked. Many entrepreneurs have understood the opportunity here. In fact, 52% of all domestic fintech startups are providing mobile payments. MoMo, a mobile payments service created by M_Service, had been the most downloaded application in the Apple Store Vietnam last year. The service is reportedly growing 30 to 50% per month in terms of transaction volume…
In the early April, the FinTech festival Money 2020 Europe happened in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracting all kinds of FinTech identities, from start-ups to giants alike all around the world. This global event gave all participants a worldwide view of FinTech. Below is the opinion from Markus Gnirck, Co-Founder of tryb, who was a member of the panel “Opportunities in Asia” at Money 2020. It’s about the differences between Asian FinTech and European FinTech. “Having just spent a few days in Copenhagen (Money2020 was a full on FinTech festival) and London, many were curious what’s going on in Asia. Very common questions…
First time ever in Vietnam, a fintech conference named Blockfin Asia will be held with the centric theme: “Exploring opportunities for organizations and regulators in SEA to leverage emerging Fintech and Blockchain technologies”. Sign up now at here with code FTVNSAVE10 to get 10% discount for the event ticket! The event will take place on June 15th and 16th, location to be confirmed. With 42.1% of population are under 25 and the rate of mobile penetration is more than 50%, this first fintech conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is the most anticipated event to entrepreneurs and investors who are…