Author: Fintech News Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is set to take a more comprehensive approach to crypto regulations and is targeting to consult on proposed measures in the next few months. According to Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS, the regulator is looking to widen the scope of the crypto regulations to cover areas such as consumer protection, market conduct, and reserve backing for stablecoins. Prior to this, the focus of crypto regulation to-date in Singapore, as well as in most major jurisdictions, has been on containing money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Given the recent upheaval in the global crypto industry, the…

Okta, a publicly traded identity and access management firm, announced that it has appointed IT industry veteran and senior business executive Ben Goodman as SVP and General Manager for Asia Pacific (APAC). Goodman will preside over Okta’s entire business operations and spearhead the company’s growth plans in the region. He has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry leading hyper growth businesses across the region, executing sales strategy and establishing strategic relationships with the APAC partner community. Goodman was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager for New Relic, a cloud-based software company, in APAC and Japan.…

Despite it being a relatively recent concept, embedded finance has grown rapidly in recent years. The trend is expected to rise further moving forward, with digital consulting company Publicis Sapient forecasting an annual growth rate of 41% in global embedded banking revenues from 2021 to 2025. The predictions were shared in a new report released earlier this month which sought to give an overview of the sector, look at emerging trends, and share recommendations for incumbents looking to tap into the booming sector. Embedded finance, which refers to the integration of financial services and tools within the products or services…

Singaporean crypto fund manager Fintonia Group announced that it has secured a provisional virtual asset license granted by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license allows Fintonia to participate in Dubai’s digital assets ecosystem by operating crypto native services under full regulatory supervision. Fintonia joins this niche ecosystem alongside FTX, ByBit, Binance, Crypto.com among others. Moving forward, Fintonia said that it expects to expand its team in Dubai, as well as provide tailored Treasury and Balance Sheet management services to Token Foundations, protocols, Bitcoin miners and other large holders of digital assets. In late 2021, Fintonia launched two…

Advance Intelligence Group, a Singapore-based AI-driven technology company, announced its acquisition of Jewel Paymentech which specialises in merchant due diligence, fraud and risk management solutions for the financial services and payments industry. Details of the deals was not disclosed. The acquisition aims to strengthen Advance Intelligence Group’s capabilities in the Web3.0, fraud and risk management space. Jewel’s 30-member team based in Singapore and Malaysia, including its senior leadership team, will join the group. The company will remain as an independent business entity under the group’s enterprise business unit, ADVANCE.AI, with the former’s CEO Sean Lam, Co-founders Lee Wooi Siang and…

Myanmar’s fintech industry is poised for significant growth, driven by rising digital payment usage, and strong investor interest. Moreover, with 80% of the country’s 55 million people unbanked, there is substantial potential for fintech solutions. Myanmar’s fintech startups scene is expanding, with digital and card transactions reaching 1.57 billion and a total value of MMK 12.3 trillion (US$3.8 billion) in 2022, according to Thant Mam Hein, assistant manager of sustainability at uab bank. The total value of these transactions was MMK 12.3 trillion (US$3.8 billion). Digital transactions accounted for 17.4% of total retail transactions, indicating a gradual shift towards cashless…

OpenSea, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, will be laying off about 20% of its staff citing the crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability as the reason according to a tweet by Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer. He said that those who were laid off will receive a generous severance package, healthcare coverage into 2023, and help with new job placements. He added that this move would help OpenSea weather the current storm for possibly another five years without having to go through more layoffs. Coinbase, Crypto.com, BlockFi and Bybit have all announced plans to slash their workforce in recent times.…

FSS Technologies Singapore, a provider of banking and payment technology solutions, announced a partnership with Cambodian commercial bank ACLEDA. The multi-product deal aims to consolidate and digitally transform ACLEDA’s nationwide merchant operations and automate its terminal monitoring, reconciliation and settlement processes. ACLEDA has a base of 150,000+ merchants, and an increasing number of POS terminals in the country. FSS’ multi-product solution comprising of FSS Merchant, FSS ADM (Active Device Monitoring) and FSS Smart Recon will help ACLEDA consolidate all merchant related data across multiple systems under one application, provide real-time insights into their multi-estate POS network and reduce downtime. FSS…

Red Hat, a provider of open source solutions, announced that it has named Matt Hicks as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Hicks, who previously served as Red Hat’s Executive Vice President of Products and Technologies, succeeds Paul Cormier, who will serve as Chairman of Red Hat. Known as a hands-on leader within Red Hat, Hicks joined the company in 2006 as a developer on the IT team. He was a foundational member of the engineering team that developed Red Hat OpenShift which has grown into the backbone for hybrid cloud deployments across industries, now serving as the industry’s enterprise…

Hugosave, a Singapore-based Wealthcare® and savings app, announced the completion of its US$4 million pre-Series A funding round, bringing the total amount of funds raised to US$10.5 million. The majority of funding was provided by current shareholders, including 1982 Ventures and Woodside Holdings Investment Management, and several existing corporate venture investors. The funds will be used to accelerate Hugosave’s presence in the region, increase the breadth of offerings and improve the user journey. In April this year, Hugosave had secured a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Since the launch of its app in…

Capgemini, a multinational information technology services and consulting company, announced that it has appointed Wendy Koh to lead its growing business across Southeast Asia. Koh brings more than 25 years of industry sales, strategy and general management experience across Asia Pacific with a deep focus on technology and digital transformation within the government and private sector. Capgemini has more than 1,000 people in Southeast Asia working across strategy and transformation, applications and technology, engineering and operations. In addition, Capgemini has invested in Design Studios and Applied Innovation Exchanges across APAC, including Singapore, to provide an immersive environment for the exploration,…

KASINKORNBANK (KBank) announced a Bht 100 billion strategic programme aimed at boosting access to banking services among Thailand’s unbanked and underbanked population as well as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the self-employed. The programme includes accelerated investments in technology, acquisitions, commercial partnerships, organisational development and more to boost access to banking services. In the next two years, KBank will be investing around Bht 22,000 million in new technology and systems. This is in addition to the Bht 12,700 million that was invested in the past two years. KBank also expects to complete two to five acquisitions and commercial…

Ancileo, a Singapore-based software as a service provider (SaaS) for the insurance ecosystem, announced has raised US$ 3 million seed funding from Fermion. According to Ancileo, it will gain access to some 230 banks and 150 insurers to offer digital transformation solutions in the area of embedded insurance with this strategic investment. Additionally, Fermion’s global footprint will expand to 26 markets, and the company will bring its insurance ecosystems solutions into the travel and lifestyle market. Ancileo’s SaaS platform powers embedded travel insurance distribution for global travel companies such as Etihad Airways, Scoot, One Vasco and more. It delivers customised…

Across Asia-Pacific (APAC), sustainable finance services are growing in popularity among consumers. But despite rising demand for greener and more sustainable products, skepticism remains over how strongly banks are committed to their sustainability agenda. This is according to a new global survey conducted by banking software company Mambu, which polled 6,000 consumers to understand their attitudes to green finance, their expectations of financial institutions and the types of sustainable products and services they’d like to consume. In APAC, results show that consumers are shifting their purchase behavior to become more sustainable, indicating that environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are…

The past year has seen cryptocurrency adoption and trading surge. Total transaction reached US$15.8 trillion in 2021, up 567% from 2020, and the number of crypto holders has increased to an estimated 300 million, indicating that digital currencies steadily moving into the mainstream, a new whitepaper by Banking Circle, a business-to-business (B2B) banking services provider, says. The paper, looks at the state of crypto, highlighting the sector’s growth and demonstrating the increasing opportunity open to banks. According to the report, while non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) including crypto exchanges and specialist acquirers have embraced the move towards crypto relatively quickly, banks…

In June, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its Payments Vision 2025, a document that outlines the central bank’s ambitions for the domestic payment ecosystem for the next three years, sharing aspirations for cross-border payment linkage, the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the possibility of new rules being introduced targeting bigtechs and fintechs in the payments space. Payments Vision 2025 highlights RBI’s aim to establish India as global powerhouse of digital payments, and details the regulator’s implementation plan to reach its goals. The vision is articulated around five key pillars – integrity, inclusion, innovation, institutionalization…

Cloud banking platform Mambu announced a global partnership with Visa to utilise Visa DPS – one of the largest processors of Visa debit transactions globally. The partnership will give Mambu customers a seamless connection to Visa DPS for end-to-end card issuing and processing. Mambu is developing an integration to Visa DPS that will give institutions more flexibility in offering new card products and services to their customers. The partnership with Visa DPS extends also Mambu’s product partnerships marketplace. With payment services being a critical part of financial institutions’ offering, the integration will help increase access and business opportunities across all…

Australia’s first-ever Islamic bank has just been licensed and will begin beta testing with a small number of customers in 2023. The Islamic Bank Australia will be the first Australian bank to offer a full suite of retail and business banking services – all without interest and will be Shariah-compliant. Products at Islamic Bank Australia will be endorsed by internationally by renowned Islamic scholars to ensure they are Shariah-compliant. IBA Group Pty Ltd – now Islamic Bank Australia – had obtained a Restricted Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (Restricted ADI) authorisation from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). IBA Group was originally…

Sleek, a platform providing incorporation and accounting services for SMEs and entrepreneurs, has secured a Major Payment Institution License (MPI) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), effective from 1 July 2022. According to Sleek, it is the first fintech company in Singapore offering incorporation and accounting services to receive the MPI license. The license allows Sleek to expand its Sleek Business Account suite of services with cross border transfers, account issuance, and e-money issuance to an even wider group of its SME clients. The Sleek Business Account is part of a wide range of business essential services offered by…

Nexo, a Zug-based digital assets institution, announced that it intends to fully acquire Singapore-based crypto platform Vauld. According to Nexo, it has signed an indicative term sheet that grants its a 60-day exclusive exploratory period to complete the due diligence process. Upon successful completion of the transaction, Nexo aims to reorganise Vauld’s future operations with the aim to accelerate its deeper presence in Asia. While Nexo aims to provide immediate assistance and alleviate withdrawal limitations put in place on Vauld’s platform, it said that “greater plans for the future are already in the making”. Nexo will concurrently explore the integration…