Author: Fintech News Singapore

In the finance sector, security has become a top-of-mind issue for business leaders as the number of cyberattacks skyrockets and campaigns become more sophisticated. This is according to findings from a new survey conducted by cloud computing firm VMware. The study, which polled 130 financial sector security leaders, found that top executives and decision makers in the finance industry are aware of the rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape and recognizing the need to put more resources and effort to keep up with these changes, with the majority of respondents planning to increase their security budget by 20-30% this year. Looking at…

Global fintech Airwallex announced the launch of its Airwallex Borderless Card for its Singaporean customers today. The Airwallex Borderless Card is a virtual multi-currency Visa business debit card that enables businesses to easily make online card payments anywhere that Visa is accepted, from Singapore, to the rest of the world. Singapore-based companies can now instantly generate and issue virtual multi-currency business debit cards to promptly pay third parties, such as vendors and other online merchants, with Airwallex’s foreign exchange rates, wherever Visa cards are accepted. These virtual cards will enable Singapore businesses to transact in more than 140 currencies and…

Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), one of Indonesia’s oldest and largest financial institutions, has embarked on a major digital transformation plan by embracing data, innovative technology and industry partnerships to address changing customer expectations. BRI’s big digital push takes the form of a mobile banking app called BRImo that promises convenience, accessibility, and a full remote, borderless experience. It leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and partnerships with fintechs to tackle consumers’ rising demand for superior digital experiences, personalisation and seamless omnichannel engagement, a strategy that has so far proven successful. According to Catur Budi Harto, Vice President Director of BRI, the platform has…

Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm SC Ventures announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings. The MOU was inked to expand both their portfolios at a business and geographic level as well as to explore new ecosystems through this partnership. SBI is a major Japanese financial conglomerate, with verticals in asset management, financial services and biotechnology-related businesses. Its venture capital fund has a diverse investment portfolio covering internet technology, fintech, artificial intelligence and big data, blockchain and crypto assets. The MOU is structured to cover opportunities to drive collaboration as well…

Singaporean cryptocurrency platform Coinhako announced that it has been granted a full license to provide Digital Payment Token (DPT) Services under the Payment Services Act (PSA) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Coinhako said in a statement that obtaining the license has always been a top priority and it had worked arduously towards achieving this goal. The firm had previously secured in-principle approval from the regulator in November last year. MAS has so far granted four other full licenses to Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve, DBS Vickers which is the brokerage arm of DBS Bank, QR code payment solution provider…

Online shopping, which was already experiencing massive surges prior to the pandemic, added hundreds of millions more e-commerce customers over the last two years, as both merchants and buyers pivoted online to survive while social distancing. A Google-Bain report found that Southeast Asia alone added 70 million new online shoppers, from early 2020 to mid-2021. The figure now is definitely higher. The report predicts the number of online shoppers in Southeast Asia to reach 380 million by 2026. And with super-apps such as Shopee, Lazada, Grab and Gojek offering users enticing users to their e-wallets with discounts and point perks,…

Financial services software and cloud solutions provider Finastra announced the launch of Finastra Managed Services (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This move will enable banks and financial institutions to access FMS in the AWS cloud. According to Finastra, the availability of FMS in AWS cloud has helped a large multi-national U.S. bank on the West Coast roll out its lending solution. Users of FMS in the AWS cloud benefit from increased efficiency and scalability, which improves spending and reduces carbon footprint. Neil Budd, VP for Finastra Managed Services said, “The move to bring our customers high quality managed services with…

UOB’s innovation accelerator The FinLab has unveiled The Greentech Accelerator, a new global programme aimed at supporting innovative greentech solution providers regionally and globally to drive their company’s sustainable mission forward. As part of the first cohort, the programme will focus on greentech solutions including energy efficiency; zero-waste supply chain; carbon management and reporting. The Greentech Accelerator is open to all innovative greentech startups and SMEs with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of six and above. The first Greentech Accelerator programme will accept ten companies for its pioneer cohort, with the goal of commercialising their solutions in order to help…

While central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to increase financial inclusion by lowering financial access barriers, they aren’t a silver bullet and must be part of a broader suite of tools and strategy that focuses on promoting universal financial access. This is according to a new report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which draws on interviews with nine central banks with advanced work on CBDCs and financial inclusion, and discusses the opportunities, challenges, risks and regulatory implications of government-issued digital cash. According to the report, while access to payment services has grown in recent years, it…

India’s digital payments space has seen a massive boom over the past few years, a growth that’s been supported by an expanding e-commerce marketplace and the wider availability of acceptance infrastructure at physical stores. Building on the rise in digital payment adoption induced by COVID-19 and growing collaborations between fintechs and traditional financial services providers, the payments industry will continue to evolve rapidly over the next two years with more developments expected to take place in areas including contactless payments, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) payments, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and distributed ledger technology (DLT). These are the predictions made by consulting…

Crypto service providers need to have the ability to manage the risks, said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) at the Financial Times’ Crypto & Digital Assets Summit. He mentioned that there are four risks in the crypto ecosystem that MAS is watching closely – money laundering and terrorism financing risks, technology and cyber risks, consumer protection as well as potentially, financial stability. In the interview conducted by Joy Macknight, Editor of The Banker, Menon outlined the need for these crypto service providers to also have a strong board and management, a strong risk governance…

Visa has selected Cymonz, Moneytree, Perfios, TallyKhata and TripleA to join the 2022 cohort of its Visa Accelerator Programme in Asia Pacific. Over the next six months, the startups will work closely with Visa on creating defined commercial opportunities they can bring to its extensive network of bank, merchant, government and venture partners. With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the world’s migration towards a digital-first future, the 2022 cohort will tackle some of the most pressing financial and technological issues that came to prominence in recent years. The programme was introduced in Asia Pacific in December 2020 for startups that have…

EZ-Link announced the launch of its enhanced EZ-Link Wallet that was developed in collaboration with Mastercard. When users activate the new Pay by Wallet feature, they can use their EZ-Link Wallet to make online and in-store contactless payments at over 80 million Mastercard merchants worldwide. This means that they can use Pay by Wallet to shop online, as well as manage subscriptions for services like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, gym membership, ride-hailing and more. Users will also be able to add Pay by Wallet to Google Pay to make contactless mobile payments for both retail and transit transactions. EZ-Link Wallet users…

Despite limited access to traditional banking services, rising smartphone penetration and rapid e-commerce growth have led to an increase in the use of digital financial services in Southeast Asia. Today, the region is emerging as a hotspot for fintech innovation across all major areas including payments, lending, insurance and investing. Adoption of fintech had been on the rise prior to COVID-19, but the shift to digital channels brought about the pandemic has further accelerated the use of digital financial services. The eConomy Southeast Asia Report 2021, produced by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, found that across all major digital…

Finbots.AI, an AI-powered credit scoring software provider, announced it has raised a US$3 million Series A funding round. This round saw the participation of a single investor – Accel, that made this investment from its Fund VII and this marks the first external investment Finbots.AI has raised. With this fundraise, Finbots.AI said that it will look towards accelerating product enhancement, marketing and sales, and customer support. The firm is also looking to recruit senior talent and expand its team across its offices. It has ambitions to continue increasing its headcount to a total of 50 by the end of 2022…

Global cryptocurrency company Luno has been granted in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act (PSA) to provide Digital Payment Token (DPT) services in Singapore. MAS has granted in-principle approvals to Coinhako, Hodlnaut, Paxos, Digital Treasures Center and Revolut so far. Meanwhile, four full licenses were given to Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve, DBS Vickers which is the brokerage arm of DBS Bank, QR code payment solution provider FOMO Pay, and crypto payments company TripleA. Luno is regulated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia and is registered with the authorities in Indonesia. Since being founded in 2013, Luno said that…

Challenger bank Revolut has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate a fully regulated cryptocurrency service, along with merchant acquiring services. Revolut Technologies Singapore (RTS) is already licensed as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) in Singapore, while its sister company Revolut Securities Singapore (RSS) holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license. As a result of this approval, RTS will be able to provide digital payment token services, which include allowing customers in Singapore to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency in their Revolut app. Revolut said that its customer base in Singapore has grown 6-fold since…

With fintech funding reaching heights of US$ 3.5 billion last year, ASEAN is emerging as one of the hottest regions for fintechs to thrive. Home to a diverse population of over 600 million people, there’s no shortage of fintech entrepreneurs tackling critical gaps with the financial services sector. This webinar will dissect the latest trends and developments within ASEAN’s vibrant fintech ecosystem. State of Fintech in ASEAN Opportunities within the fintech space Where’s ASEAN’s fintech scene headed Panelists: Thomas G. Tsao, Co-founder, Gobi Partners Winsley Bangit, Chief Customer Officer, Mynt Jirayut (Topp) Srupsrisopa, Founder and Group CEO, Bitkub Capital Group…

NTUC Income, an insurance cooperative in Singapore, launched its new travel insurance offering called “FlexiTravel Hourly Insurance”. As indicated by its name, this insurance enables travellers to purchase travel protection as needed by the hour. Available for those who are travelling only to Bintan and Batam (Indonesia) as well as Malaysia, this is a flexible and affordable way for travellers to insure themselves for short or impromptu regional trips by land or sea that range from a few hours to a full weekend. The FlexiTravel Hourly Insurance charges a minimum of SG$1.80 for six hours of protection, with the option…

Crypto.com announced that it has named Dipen Mehta as EVP of Engineering, South and Southeast Asia. In his role, Mehta will be responsible for building out technology expertise and engineering capabilities across these markets, with an immediate focus on setting up engineering hubs in India and Vietnam. Mehta brings with him 25 years of technology and financial services leadership experience, with the last 14 years in Asia. He joins Crypto.com from Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he was responsible for developing initiatives that help customers drive top line growth by leveraging emerging technologies and trends. Mehta has also held various…