Author: Fintech News Singapore

Sunrate has unveiled a global rebrand as it seeks to strengthen its positioning in cross-border payments and treasury management. The update reflects the company’s focus on payments, foreign exchange, treasury and compliance services for businesses operating across multiple markets. “Our brand refresh represents far more than a new visual identity—it reflects the company we have become and the future we are building. Our vision is to power the digital evolution of the global economy by helping businesses operate seamlessly across borders. As we continue to engineer the future of global payments, we remain committed to combining trusted financial infrastructure with…

The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has gone live with Citi’s integrated 24/7 USD clearing and token services solution, becoming its first financial institution client globally. The service allows corporate and institutional clients to make near real-time cross-border USD payments outside normal banking hours, including over weekends and holidays. Citi Token Services uses a private permissioned blockchain to tokenise deposits held within Citi’s global network and operates within the regulated banking system. It has been integrated with Citi’s 24/7 USD Clearing solution, which connects more than 300 financial institutions across over 50 markets. The first transaction under the collaboration was completed…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) wants to make it easier for new retail fund products to reach investors while keeping safeguards in place. MAS published a consultation paper on proposed changes to the Code on Collective Investment Schemes, or CIS Code. The changes would give fund managers more room to launch products that do not fit neatly within current investment guidelines. MAS noted that investor needs in Singapore are changing, while the industry has shown interest in offering funds for a wider range of investment goals. Under the proposal, MAS could adjust existing investment requirements and allow more types of…

As employees increasingly embrace artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity is entering a new phase characterized by the growth of security incidents, the concealment of heightened breaches within organizations, and the proliferation of shadow AI, according to a new study by Bitdefender. The study, which surveyed 1,200 IT and cybersecurity professionals across six countries, found limited insight into employees’ use of AI. Only 48% of Singapore organizations reported having full visibility into the AI tools and large language models (LLMs) employees use for work, below the global average of 51.8%. Half of Singapore organizations reported partial visibility. These organizations track official enterprise…

Swift has made the initial phase of its blockchain-based ledger available for use, with banks preparing to pilot live transactions. The financial messaging network is enabling 17 global banks to pilot 24/7 cross-border payments using tokenised deposits through the new ledger. The shared ledger provides participating financial institutions with a secure orchestration layer. Banks can issue tokenised deposits on their own internal systems and move funds for customers at any time, including overnight and on weekends. Final settlement is then completed through existing payment infrastructure. Institutions involved in the initiative span six continents. Banks preparing to pilot live transactions include…

9Pay has connected directly with Visa through CyberSource, giving foreign payment providers and merchants another route into Vietnam’s card payment market. The move positions 9Pay as one of the few payment intermediaries in Vietnam with card infrastructure capabilities aligned with international operating standards. The connection combines Visa’s global network with 9Pay’s domestic processing capabilities, giving international payment gateways, Payment Service Providers and multinational corporations another route into the Vietnamese market. For foreign PSPs and merchants, 9Pay offers compliant cash flow management solutions, allowing partners to operate without setting up a local legal entity or obtaining a Vietnamese payment intermediary licence.…

Nium has acquired Cypher as it pushes deeper into infrastructure for payments between fiat currencies and digital assets. The financial details were not disclosed. The Singapore-based cross-border payments firm said the deal adds crypto-native expertise to its stablecoin-backed issuing and global money movement infrastructure. Nium has been expanding its network to support stablecoin funding and settlement, as Web3 firms, wallets, exchanges and fintechs look to connect traditional payment rails with digital assets. Cypher is a non-custodial wallet and issuing company founded by Kuberan Marimuthu, also known as Kube. It is backed by Y Combinator and Coinbase Ventures. The company has…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is proposing a new framework to help insurers separate insurance risk programmes under one legal entity. The framework covers Protected Cell Companies, which are corporate structures made up of a central core and separate cells. Each cell’s assets and liabilities would be legally ringfenced from the core and from other cells. MAS is consulting on the proposal as Singapore looks to support alternative risk transfer tools such as captive insurance, insurance-linked securities and sovereign risk pools. How Protected Cell Companies Work Risk owners today often need to set up separate legal entities to ringfence…

Singapore’s Anti-Scam Centre and five banks helped stop more than 600 scam attempts in two months, averting over S$38 million in potential losses. The Anti-Scam Centre, which sits under the Singapore Police Force’s Cyber Command, worked with DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and GXS between 1 May and 30 June 2026. The joint effort used Robotic Process Automation technology to support faster detection and intervention across government official impersonation, investment, job, e-commerce and rental scams. Officers and bank staff sent more than 3,800 SMS alerts to over 3,300 customers who had been identified as at risk. The police said…

Singapore Management University (SMU) is expanding its capital markets research as Asia takes on a larger role in global corporate financing. The university has launched the Singapore Capital Markets Initiative (SCMI) under the Centre for Commercial Law in Asia at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law. The initiative will focus on research, policy dialogue and talent development at the intersection of law and finance, with an emphasis on Singapore and Asia. Its research will cover equity and debt capital markets, venture capital, private equity, private credit, corporate governance, investor protection, financial regulation, market infrastructure and emerging technologies. The…

Singapore has ruled out case-by-case approvals for PayNow nicknames, citing the risk of impersonation scams. The position was set out in a written parliamentary reply on 7 July 2026 by Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The reply addressed whether some PayNow retail users could use nicknames where automated display names may be easy for scammers to guess. Gan said the Association of Banks in Singapore discontinued the feature because scammers had used nicknames to impersonate legitimate entities and trusted individuals. In some cases, fraudsters changed…

Thought Machine raised £81.1 million in its Series E round, according to the core banking software company’s audited 2025 accounts. The round included £51 million raised from existing investors in July 2025 through a mix of equity and convertible loan notes. This comprised £41.4 million in convertible loan notes and £9.7 million from the issue of Series C3 shares. The Series E round closed in May 2026 with a further £30 million transaction involving a new investor. That transaction included £9 million in primary funding through convertible loan notes. The remaining £21 million was a secondary share sale that provided…

Microsoft will carry out layoffs affecting around 4,800 employees, or about 2.1% of its global workforce, as the company shifts resources toward its main business priorities. The layoffs will mostly affect its Commercial and Xbox organisations, according to an internal note shared by Amy Coleman, the company’s EVP and Chief People Officer. Coleman said the job cuts are part of Microsoft’s wider effort to adjust its workforce, investments and operations as customer needs and technology use continue to change. The company noted that the roles being eliminated are not being directly replaced by AI, though the technology is changing how…

Choco Up has launched an accounts payable financing product for SMEs. The expansion of its credit suite is designed to help businesses manage their cash flow as customer payment cycles lengthen, according to a statement from the company. SMEs often face a mismatch between supplier payment terms and customer settlements. Suppliers typically expect payment within 30 days, while customer payments can take 60 to 120 days. This gap can delay procurement, payroll, and inventory purchases. The company also noted that slow payments rose year-on-year to 44.39% in Q4 2025. The impact is prominent in industries with large procurement requirements and…

A claim circulating on Threads reported that layoffs are coming from Singapore-based robo-advisor StashAway. StashAway has since confirmed to Fintech News Singapore that a restructuring did affect roles in its Product and Engineering teams, though the company has not verified the exact number of employees impacted. According to the post, the cuts affected roughly 20 of StashAway’s approximately 140 employees, with 11 described as engineers and the remainder said to be in HR and other support functions, though management has yet to publicly confirm or deny the cuts. A StashAway spokesperson has since responded to Fintech News Singapore’s request for…

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the fraud threat landscape, a new set of companies is emerging to address these AI-driven challenges, creating specialized tools that span real-time fraud detection, digital identity verification, and the infrastructure required to govern AI agents. Market intelligence firm CB Insights has analyzed this sector, identifying recently funded ventures that are demonstrating strong potential for success. Compiled into a map, these companies were selected from more than 1,800 companies based on their Mosaic Score, a metric that assesses a private company’s health, growth, and success potential using funding data, personnel changes, market strength, and online sentiment.…

Organizations worldwide are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) at a pace that exceeds their organizational readiness. A new survey by software company AvePoint reveals that more than eight out of ten companies experienced at least one AI-related security breach over the previous 12 months, reflecting how the adoption of AI is outpacing preparedness. The study, which surveyed 750 respondents with direct responsibility for information management, data security, or AI programs across the world, found that 39.6% of respondents reported at least one prompt injection attack bypassing security guardrails for generative AI assistants, 20.4% detected non-corporate-approved generative AI (genAI) assistants within their…

Standard Chartered has launched a new multi-asset fund with BlackRock as sub-manager to help wealth clients invest across Asia Pacific markets. The Signature Select APAC Allocation Plus fund is the eighth sub-fund under Standard Chartered’s Variable Capital Company platform. It is also the bank’s third fund launch in 2026. The strategy invests across equities, fixed income and liquid alternatives, with the aim of supporting long-term capital growth and income. The portfolio will be dynamically allocated across Asia Pacific asset classes, using BlackRock’s equity and fixed income investment approach. The fund will be offered to accredited and professional investors across Standard…

HSBC has appointed Nick Elias to lead its wealth platforms as the bank expands the use of AI across its wealth business. Elias will take on the role of Head of Wealth Platforms, Wealth and Premier Solutions, effective 15 August 2026. Based in London, he will report to Lavanya Chari, Head of Wealth and Premier Solutions at HSBC. He will oversee HSBC’s wealth platform strategy and help embed AI into its services and client journeys, with the aim of making client interactions simpler, faster and more personalised. Elias will also lead HSBC’s Wealth Transformation Programme, which focuses on building a…

Thought Machine crossed US$100 million in revenue in 2025 as it secured more core banking work with large financial institutions. The company reported a 57% year-on-year increase in total revenue for the financial year ended December 2025, based on its audited accounts. Its annual recurring revenue also passed US$100 million in the second quarter of 2026, supported by multi-year contracts for tier 1 bank migrations. Thought Machine works with 18 large financial institutions and has signed 68 banks globally, with clients across more than 30 countries. It also reported positive free cash flow for the second half of 2025. The…