DigiBankASIA, a Singapore-headquartered fintech currently building its digital bank dubbed as UNO, has selected cloud banking platform Mambu for its technology platform. The company has selected Philippines for UNO’s pilot launch and they said that they are currently working with the regulators to obtain the necessary license. UNO is said to have an AI-first approach where its Cognito platform weaves in AI into customer onboarding, transaction authorisations, alternate data based credit scoring, product and interface personalisation at an individual level as well as advanced security, risk and privacy management patterns. Manish Bhai, CEO and Co-Founder of UNO said, “We selected…

EZ-Link, a contactless smart card used for the payment of public transportation fares in Singapore, has unveiled its enhanced mobile EZ-Link Wallet as part of its rebranding exercise. The enhancement was announced as a part of its new brand direction, where it has adopted a new logo and refreshed its corporate website and EZ-Link app. They said that this new visual identity reflects their “renewed focus on digital transformation”, while still “maintaining key elements that have become strongly associated with the brand”. EZ Link’s new and existing products will be housed under three sub-brands, EZ-Link Rewards, EZ Link Wallet and…

Across Asia Pacific, stock exchanges have accelerated the adoption of smart contract technology and DLT to optimize market workflows. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is looking to replace its Clearing House Electronic SubRegister System, or CHESS, with new DLT and smart contract-based infrastructure, an upgrade  that is expected to bring a host of benefits, such as more control for issuers and investors, cost efficiency and enhanced security. In Hong Kong, local bourse operator HKEX is considering applying smart contract technology to its Stock Connect program to simplify the transaction process of stock trading between the special administrative region (SAR) and…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) announced that more than 40 global satellite events will take place across the world as part of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH) 2020. To be held from 7 to 11 December, the SFF x SWITCH 2020 will feature a unique hybrid format that combines a 24-hour online event platform with global satellite events around the world. This new hybrid model will provide participants with greater access to the global fintech and deep tech communities who are looking to discover partnerships, draw investments,…

In Asia Pacific (APAC), adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in financial markets is accelerating. Though organizations in the Americas still lead in terms of AI/ML maturity and investment levels, those in APAC follow closely behind, according to a new research by Refinitiv, a leading provider of financial market data and infrastructure. Refinitiv, which surveyed more than 420 data scientists, quants, technology and data decision-makers, found that 69% of respondents in APAC view AI/ML as a core component of their business strategy, and 78% are making significant investment in AI/ML. COVID-19 is expected to further push adoption…

Despite COVID-19 headwinds, Southeast Asia’s digital economy has remained strong and resilient, adding 40 million people into the online space this year. Owing to the surge in digital adoption by customers and businesses, usage of digital financial services has jumped significantly this year, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. Usage of mobile banking apps rose across all Southeast Asian markets with Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia recording the strongest growth rates in monthly active users. Digital payments grew 3% this year, rising from US$600 billion in 2019 to US$620 billion in 2020.…

French beauty retail giant Sephora Singapore has partnered with Atome, a buy now, pay later service, to offer customers flexible payment options across its e-commerce website, mobile app as well as physical stores in Singapore. Atome launched its service in December 2019 and now reportedly partners 1,500 online and offline retailers across verticals including fashion, beauty, homeware and lifestyle. This partnership allows customers to split their purchases into three equal payments over time with zero interest, hidden charges or annual fees. Sephora has 12 physical outlets in Singapore, an e-commerce website and mobile app, offering their range of products including…

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, contactless payments have soared and digital banking adoption has increased dramatically. In Q1 2020, MasterCard recorded more than 40% growth in contactless transactions globally. In the US, which has traditionally lagged other countries in digital adoption, 35% of customers have increased their online banking usage during COVID-19, and banks have reported all-time highs in the number of mobile logins. In response to rapidly changing customer behaviors, banks around the world have significantly increased their focus and efforts on digital transformation, recognizing the importance of getting this right in order to remain competitive and gain or…

DBS announced that it will be rolling out a series of initiatives to adapt to the future of work by addressing the massive changes brought about by COVID-19. These initiatives are a result of insights gathered from research, deep-dive experiments and employee surveys conducted by a cross-functional regional Future of Work (FOW) Taskforce which the bank convened six months ago. With DBS’ distributed workforce model, all employees will be given the flexibility to work remotely up to 40% of the time. The FOW Taskforce found that over four in five of the bank’s 29,000-strong workforce are able to work seamlessly…

Lu International, a subsidiary of Chinese personal financial services platform Lufax Holding, and KASIKORNBANK have launched FinVest, an online wealth management platform. They had announced their partnership back in August, teasing the release of the platform. The new digital investment platform is aimed at helping retail investors in Thailand gain access to onshore and offshore investment products through Lu International’s network, and the local expertise offered by KASIKORNBANK. FinVest is said to provide personalised investment solutions for retail investors, providing access to more than 600 funds from 15 asset management companies in Thailand. Additionally, FinVest offers an enhanced design as…

Personal finance platform SingSaver has appointed Henry Sewell as its new Country Manager to oversee and lead growth and business across all functions. At SingSaver, Sewell’s remit includes diversifying and growing SingSaver’s financial wellness offerings while continuing to strengthen relationships with consumers and partners. Sewell was previously with SingSaver’s parent company, CompareAsiaGroup (CAG) as Director of Special Projects. Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at Allianz and AIG where he was responsible for driving profitable growth and building long lasting partner relationships. “With people actively improving their financial habits, SingSaver is strengthening its commitment of empowering our users…

Thunes, a Singaporean cross-border payments network, announced the appointments of Sunil Sabharwal and Ali Mazanderani to its Board of Directors. Both will also take up chairmanship positions at the company, Sabharwal as Chairman of the Audit and Regulatory Committee and Mazanderani as Chairman of the Strategy Committee. Sabharwal joins the board with decades of advisory, private equity and financial technology experience at notable firms such as GE Capital and Ingenico (formerly known as Ogone). In recent years, as the US Alternate Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sabharwal was responsible for casting the United States’ vote on IMF…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus have drastically accelerated adoption of digital banking and contactless payments. Across Southeast Asia, banks have ramped up their digital efforts to respond to the rapidly changing financial landscape. In Singapore, Standard Chartered intends to spend US$5 million in the next three years for growth and digitalization. The British bank has 10,000 employees dedicated to growth and digitalization initiatives in the city-state. More than 1,200 job positions focus on online banking-related fields including cloud and data analytics. United Overseas Bank (UOB)’s digital bank TMRW officially…

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have committed to work together to promote data connectivity in financial services in a joint statement. Both regulators recognise that the ability to aggregate, store, process, and transmit data across borders is critical to the development of the financial sector. “The expanding use of data in financial services and the increasing use of technology to supply financial services offer a range of benefits, including greater consumer choice, enhanced risk management capabilities, and increased efficiency,” they said. Promotion of data connectivity This collaboration is based on the understanding that…

Companies in Singapore have identified the Internet of Things (IoT) as a key priority to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study by Vodafone Business has revealed. According to Vodafone Business’ IoT Spotlight 2020 report, 86% of businesses that have already adopted IoT in Singapore are accelerating some IoT projects because of the pandemic; similarly, 86% highlighted that IoT has risen up the list of priorities during the pandemic. The IoT Spotlight 2020 report is a piece of global research that explores the relationship between IoT, business strategy, resiliency and success. The survey was conducted with more…

Financial services are in the midst of a profound digital transformation, driven by technological advances, changing customer expectations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing public health crisis has accelerated the shift to digital, and at this point, it is safe to say that there will be no turning back. “The digital revolution has been accelerated by COVID-19, and it will never go back to the way things were,” Arvind Swami, director of business development for Red Hat’s financial services vertical in Asia Pacific (APAC), told Fintech News Singapore in an interview. “[Digitalization] will only speed up.” Swami added that we…

Standard Chartered Bank has signed on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a five-year agreement to run its banking systems and customer-facing applications on the latter’s cloud infrastructure. The partnership deepens the existing relationship between the two companies to deliver new personalised banking services in the bank’s 60 markets worldwide. Using AWS’s infrastructure and cloud services across its entire business will enable the bank to be more responsive to customer needs and create new applications. Adopting a cloud-first approach, Standard Chartered will use AWS services including database, containers, compute, networking, storage, and security. Standard Chartered is using Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a consultation paper on the types of information required for non-face-to-face verification of an individual’s identity or better known as eKYC by the industry. These proposed requirements come against the backdrop of rising impersonation scam cases, and seek to address the risks arising from theft and misuse of an individual’s personal particulars. In the new proposed requirement, it would be mandatory for banks to use one of the following type of information for non face to face verification; passwords or PIN, biometrics, token generated password, or information only known between the bank and…

Grab doubles down on Indonesia by leading a Series B funding round worth US$100 million in Indonesian e-wallet LinkAja and the establishment of a new Tech Center. The funding round includes investments from Telkomsel, BRI Ventura Investama, and Mandiri Capital Indonesia. The funds will be utilised to accelerate LinkAja’s growth aspirations, focused primarily on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) segments in Indonesia. Commencing its commercial operations in June 2019, the LinkAja e-wallet was a result of synergy between leading Indonesian state-owned enterprises. Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-founder of Grab, had previously stated that Indonesia was one of…

Zühlke Group, a Swiss innovation service provider, has appointed Jonas Trindler as the CEO of Zühlke Asia and Aleksandar Marjanovic as the CEO of its Global Delivery Centers from next year onwards. The Asian market and the expansion of Zühlke’s Global Delivery Centers locations are both crucial to the company’s further development as a global service provider. Jonas Trindler has been with Zühlke for 16 years. He has successfully built up and scaled the two Asian locations in Hong Kong and Singapore over the last three and a half years. Zühlke has gained a foothold in the Asian market during…