Author: Fintech News Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced four successful digital bank applicants. The full digital bank license was awarded to the Grab-Singtel consortium and SEA Group best known for its brands; Shopee and Garena. Meanwhile the digital wholesale bank license were awarded to two Chinese linked entities namely; a wholly-owned entity of Ant Group and a consortium comprising of Greenland Financial Holdings, Linklogis Hong Kong, and Beijing Co-operative Equity Investment Fund Management The successful applicants must meet all relevant prudential requirements and licensing pre-conditions before MAS grants them their respective banking licences. MAS expects the new digital banks to commence…

Key Discussion Points Trends and regulatory development What are the operational challenges and emerging threats of digital banking and payment? What more should the banks do to be better prepared for digital transformation Confirmed Speakers Shailesh Grover, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Hong Leong Bank, Malaysia Michael P. Magbanua, First Vice-President Group Head of Operations and Shared Services, UnionBank, Philippines Natee Srirussamee, Executive Director – Head of Retail Digital, UOB Thailand Frederic Ho, Vice President, APAC, Jumio

UOB has co-developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered anti-money laundering (AML) solution with Singaporean regtech company Tookitaki after more than two years of rigorous validation and evaluation. The solution is said to be highly accurate in identifying suspicious transactions and connected parties as it combats the increased sophistication in financial crime. UOB claims to be the first Singapore bank to apply AI concurrently to two anti-money laundering (AML) risk dimensions namely transaction monitoring and name screening. UOB’s use of AI enables it to pinpoint higher-priority cases from the more-than-5,700 average monthly suspicious transaction alerts flagged and to deploy the necessary…

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those in developing countries, have historically struggled to gaint access to trade finance, which, over time, has led to a global gap that the Asian Development Bank (ABD) estimated at US$1.5 trillion in 2018. The COVID-19 outbreak is further exacerbating these challenges with a new research by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) projecting a capacity of US$1.9 to US$5 trillion in the trade credit market just to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. By 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) believes the global trade finance gap could reach US$2.5 trillion. SMEs face the biggest challenges…

NTUC Income (Income) and Visa launched SNACKUP, which allows consumers to build insurance coverage when they spend with their Visa cards, contributed entirely by merchant and participating brands. SNACKUP is an expansion of SNACK, a lifestyle-based micro-policy insurance model that allows consumers to build insurance coverage linked to their daily activities such as taking public transport, dining out or going for a run. SNACKUP builds on consumers’ shopping habits and rewards them with stackable insurance coverage in the form of rebates when they pay for their purchases with their Visa cards. For every transaction consumers make at participating shops, the…

F10, a Swiss-based startup incubator and accelerator, announced that fintech startups joining its programme will be the first cohort to be evaluated through PwC Singapore’s accreditation program. The accreditation programme aims to boost industry-wide fintech adoption. The startups will be vetted across four key areas including compliance, their business model, team talent and financials. F10’s other corporate partners include SIX (Swiss Stock Exchange), Bank Julius Baer and R3. “We are excited to contribute to the F10 accelerator program. There is a focus on technology and digital transformation within the financial services sector and we hope to continue to spur innovation and…

CardUp, a digital credit card enablement platform, has launched a new solution that enables businesses to instantly access credit on international payments at competitive rates. While the global remittance market is dominated by bank to bank transfers, CardUp enables these payments to be made via credit cards to overseas suppliers who do not accept card payments. CardUp’s technology connects to accounting and ERP platforms, to provide businesses with seamless data flow and reporting. This is said to provide a solution that enables any payment made by bank transfer or cheque to be shifted to cards regardless of whether the end-recipient…

Challengers banks continue to attract investors’ interest, raising US$2.4 billion through 58 deals in Q3’20. This brings the total amount of funding raised by digital banking players so far this year to more than US$6.8 billion, according to CB Insights’ State of Fintech Q3’20 Report. Deals in Q3’20 included Switzerland’s Neon (EUR 4.6 million), Point from the US (US$10.5 million), Spain’s Bnext (US$13 million), Finom from the Netherlands (US$12 million), and C6 Bank from Brazil (US$96 million). Despite COVID-19 and global uncertainties, challenger banks around the world showed sustained user growth. Chime, from the US, reached 10 million users, while…

MSIG Insurance (MSIG) has introduced Freelancer CashPlus, an insurance plan that dispenses daily cash benefits to help gig workers safeguard against income loss during a prolonged illness or injury. According to the Ministry of Manpower, the number of freelancers stood at 211,000 in 2019 which made up 8.8% of the total resident workforce. This number is likely to trend up as more people go through a career change or seek alternative sources of income through contract or short-term work assignments. Understanding the unique needs of this underserved segment, Freelancer CashPlus aims to simplify insurance for gig workers with flexible options,…

Rapyd, a Fintech-as-a-Service company, has announced the launch of its ‘all-in-one’ suite of payment capabilities in Thailand which is its seventh global market. Rapyd’s solution is a comprehensive set of local and international payment methods that includes local ewallets, bank transfers, cash, credit and debit cards. International companies can now offer localised checkout experiences with access to the list of local payment methods preferred by Thai consumers. Rapyd has partnered with leading Thai payment solution providers, including Rabbit LINE Pay, Omise, Razer Merchant Services and GB Prime Pay. Businesses based in Thailand will also reportedly be able to access Rapyd’s…

Homegrown insurer Singlife has completed the transaction for its merger with Aviva Singapore at S$3.2 billion. The transaction announced on 11 September 2020 is said to be one of the region’s largest insurance deals and the largest in Singapore. After the merger, the two companies will be rebranded as Aviva Singlife Holdings Pte. Ltd. which will comprise the Singlife and Aviva Singapore legal entities. Both entities will continue to operate independently until the scheme of transfer of the Singlife business to Aviva Singapore is approved by the Singapore courts and completed. Following the transaction, current Singlife Chairman Ray Ferguson has…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that non-bank financial institutions (NFIs) that are licensed as a major payment institution under the Payment Services Act, will be allowed to connect directly to Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) and PayNow from February 2021. Direct connection to FAST and PayNow will enable users of NFI e-wallets to make real-time funds transfers between bank accounts and e-wallets as well as across different e-wallets. Currently, most e-wallets require the use of debit or credit cards to top-up funds, and funds transfers between e-wallets are not possible. NFIs will be able to connect directly through…

Southeast Asia’s young, digitally-savvy and unbanked populations are driving the rise of digital banking, forcing financial services companies to unlock the power of data to provide better, more personalised and more affordable products and services, explained Arvid Swartsenburg, Head of Partnerships & Strategy of UOB’s stand-alone digital bank, TMRW, to Fintech News Singapore. Southeast Asia is home to an unbanked population of around 290 million, according to Fitch Ratings. Only 18 per cent of the population in the region has access to credit. This is lower than the proportion of the population that is digitally-ready, which is at 37 per…

Blockchain firm Lightnet Group, has announced a partnership with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB). The partnership will reportedly enable remittance services to become accessible to all Thai bank accounts and anyone who has signed up for PromptPay, a government-sponsored service that enables instant bank-to-bank fund transfers. Suvicha Sudchai, Chief Product Officer of Lightnet Group mentioned that “SCB will be Lightnet Group’s settlement partner responsible for disbursing and clearing payments, facilitating the electronic payment processing and enabling frictionless real-time remittances to Thailand from anywhere in the world with lower fees”. This partnership offers SCB additional international money transfer options through Lightnet Group’s…

COVID-19 has speeded up digital transformation by several years. According to a new McKinsey Global Survey of executives, companies across regions and industries have accelerated the digitalization of their customer and supply chain interactions, as well as of their internal operations, by three to four years. In the financial sector, companies are taking steps to catch up with the changes induced by the pandemic, putting in the effort to address the rapidly evolving landscape and provide customers with better digital-first and mobile experiences. In Asia, the pandemic has shifted consumers to contactless payment apps, and digital banking, leading most banks…

The Australian Border Force (ABF) begins a blockchain trial for cross border trade with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). This partnership is in line with the bilateral Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement. A trial was launched on 23 November with IMDA to test digital verification systems, the first to be developed using blockchain technology by experts from Australia and Singapore at the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) for inter-government document exchange. ABF Commissioner Michael Outram said the ABF looks forward to close collaboration with international partner agencies on mutual border modernisation programmes. “The ABF welcomes…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the 20 finalists for the 2020 Global FinTech Hackcelerator. The finalists will pitch their solutions at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day at the Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH). The finalists were selected through two parallel segments; the Local Programme, which addressed high-priority problem statements collated from the finance industry in Singapore and globally; and the International Programme, which comprised solutions from winners of fintech competitions organised by international partners. In the Local Programme, supported by KPMG Digital Village, 10 finalists were shortlisted from…

Digital lender IN Financial through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cash-IN-Asia, raised S$5 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based venture firm DeClout Ventures. IN Financial is a Singapore-based financing platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Asia Pacific that usually have little access to business financing. Cash-IN-Asia’s clients are reportedly able to complete the onboarding and application process within 3 minutes and have their business cash line approved within 3 hours. Cash-IN-Asia is also among the first few alternative financing companies in Singapore to be integrated with the national identity…

Over the past years, the Thai fintech ecosystem has grown steadily, now boasting some 96 startups, according to Fintech News’ latest Fintech Thailand Startup Map draft. The map showcases the domestic fintech startup ecosystem which includes startups operating in payments sector (20), blockchain (20), financial comparison (10), insurtech (9), retail investment (9), peer-to-peer (P2P) lending (8), personal finance (6), business tools (6), crowdfunding (4), financial education (3), remittances (1) and financial infrastructure (1). As of July 2020, the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had so far approved 13 crypto businesses the license to operate which includes cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers…

GBG, an identity data intelligence specialist, has announced the appointment of Dev Dhiman as its Managing Director of Asia Pacific (APAC). Dhiman joins GBG after 12 years at Experian, where he held various senior positions including most recently being Managing Director of South East Asia. Dhiman brings extensive experience working with financial institutions across the APAC and EMEA regions and in-depth knowledge in data intelligence, analytics, and fraud prevention; he will be responsible for driving the next phase of GBG’s growth and innovation. Dhiman takes over the role from June Lee, who has been at the helm of the APAC…