After a significant pullback in funding in Q4’15, mega-rounds lifted quarterly investment into VC-backed FinTech companies by over 150 percent, according to the Pulse of FinTech, the quarterly global report on FinTech VC trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights. According to the new report, global investment in private FinTech companies totalled US$5.7 billion in Q1’16, with US$4.9 billion specifically invested in VC-backed FinTech companies across 218 deals, a 96 percent jump compared to the same quarter last year. The rise in funding was tempered by the fact that three mega-rounds accounted for 54 percent of VC FinTech…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
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Design thinking is a methodology used during the process of designing and a problem-solving protocol which consists in, first, defining the problem, and then, implementing the solutions, always with the needs of the user demographic at the core of concept development. User centric: design to solve an issue Design thinking is essentially about understanding the challenges that face customers and working with, observing and iterating with them to find a solution. It is also about taking a ‘human experience first’ approach to problem solving, and a customer-centered approach to end-to-end process fulfillment. In a new report released last week, Lightbulb…
Totaling 80 million individuals who are commanding US$1.3 trillion in direct annual spending in the US alone, Millennials are the largest generation in world history. The demographic represents a diverse financial services segment completely different from their predecessors and an “immense opportunity for banks,” according to a new report by Oracle Financial Services and Wharton Fintech. The document, entitled ‘The Millennial Migration: How Banks Can Remain Relevant In Their Decision-Making Eco-System,’ shares findings of a survey on over 4,500 respondents across nine markets and dives into the emergence of what it calls a “new model for lifestyle banking.” Findings suggest…
Although blockchain holds many promises for the financial services industry, the technology will need to overcome many challenges before reaching wide adoption, according to a new paper by SWIFT and Accenture. The paper, which aims at formalizing SWIFT’s position on distributed ledger technologies, highlights eight key requirements in order for the technology to fulfill the needs of the financial community: Strong governance, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities of the parties involved; Data controls in terms of access and availability to preserve confidentiality; Compliance with regulatory requirements; Standardization at all levels to guarantee straight-through processing, interoperability and backward compatibility; Identity…
Fintech has gaining more and more attention from not only industry experts but also those who are active in finance and technology. It is quite surprising that how many events related to Fintech, Bitcoin & Blockchain, Mobile & Online Payment, or Remittance have been planned for 2016 (Please refer to our Events section for details). In Southeast Asia, noticeably Singapore, Fintech has been “blooming” pretty steadily and those Fintech events are great opportunities for everyone to network, update the latest trends or exchange knowledge. From now until September, Fintech News Singapore has selected 5 outstanding Fintech events in Southeast Asia that you should…
As technology is playing an increasing role in the banking and financial world, businesses, universities and organizations have started offering seminars, masterclasses, and courses covering the emerging fintech ecosystem. Today, we’ve listed the most exciting educational events to come, and some of the most popular university courses available out there covering FinTech and its ecosystem: Oxford University Oxford Saïd Business School: FinTech Lectures Oxford Said Business School has been hosting a series of FinTech-focused lectures since the beginning of the month. The lecture series has been curated by Huy Nguyen Trieu, a Resident Expert and friend of the Entrepreneurship…
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, will provide its LinqUs Mobile ID solution to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) – A public organization, part of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Royal Thai Government, Kingdom of Thailand. This aims to develop secure online services nationwide. Gemalto mobile ID authentication leads Thailand to highly-secured online services. The solution will allow mobile users to perform any online transaction on the go, with the highest levels of security and convenience. They will be able to access internet banking, confirm payments, and digitally sign documents for…
In Vietnam, mobile is driving Internet penetration and is changing the habits of online consumer, significantly impacting two key consumer groups: users in rural areas, and consumers aged over 35 years, according to a new market research. The study, conducted by Cimigo, found that in 2015, mobile phone and smartphone penetration reached 69% in Vietnam amongst those aged 15 years and over, while Internet penetration reached 48%. In 10 years, mobile penetration grew by over 30% and Internet penetration by 35%. These figures show that Vietnamese consumers are increasingly more connected as mobile phones and smartphones are spreading across all…
As commerce goes mobile and social networks become funnels for payments, the lines between social media, payments and mobile are starting to blur. This trend has led to the emergence of a new type of services that are blending payment capabilities with social networking called “social payments apps.” Singapore’s Fastacash is one of them and has grown throughout the years to become one of the most successful payments in Southeast Asia. Another player is VisiKard, an Atlanta-headquartered fintech company that provides a mobile, social media platform enabling users to connect with other people, places and events around them. The company…
Singtel today unveiled a new version of its popular mobile payments app, Singtel Dash, in conjunction with the launch of the Singtel Transit NFC SIM. Singtel Dash is Singapore’s first all-in-one mobile payments solution – offering fast and secure transit payments and top-ups, in-store and online retail payments, as well as local and overseas money transfers. Everyone in Singapore can access Singtel Dash for their payments needs, regardless of their telco relationship or device. The Singtel Transit NFC SIM effectively transforms NFC phones into ez-link cards. Via the Singtel Dash app, customers can enjoy the ease of checking and topping…
Aimed at solving the problem of expensive credit and interest in emerging countries, PawnHero has launched the first pawnshop operating in Southeast Asia that doesn’t have an actual physical outlet. In the Philippines, over 70% of the population has visited a pawnshop when falling short of cash. In the country, over 17,500 pawnshops are serving around 1 million customers on a daily basis; an appealing market that had yet to be brought online. Launched in early-2015, PawnHero stands unique as the very first pawnshop serving the Southeast Asian region that operates essentially online. By bringing the traditional pawnshop concept to the digital…
Disruptive innovation in banking and payments is overwhelmingly coming from China. Established global banks had better watch out or they may soon not have a future, according to Haydn Shaughnessy, co-founder of The Disruption House and author of Platform Disruptive Wave. The BAT (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) are now highly scaled Internet and mobile platforms and are excelling at a new form of deeply integrated business based on the ability to maintain near flawless platform performance. Shaughnessy, who names Alibaba as the most innovative financial institution on the planet, argues that the likes of Alipay, WeChat and Tencent have developed…
The very first Fintech event in Seoul, South Korea and will be held at the Korea Exchange (KRX), Seoul, Korea, during June 2nd & 3rd. ‘World Fintech Forum 2016 Seoul’ is a gathering of Fintech experts from all over the world – UK, Europe, Hongkong, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada and more, 16 countries – to share the most recent knowledge, business model and the regulations and support policies of different governments around the world. The main theme will be “The Future of Money: From Analog Money to Digital Money” with a subtitle of “The shapes and the flows of money”. The…
DBS announced a shortlist of 29 Singapore (Fintech) Startups making their way through over 250 applications to enroll in the first phase of HotSpot. HotSpot is a programme designed to cultivate entrepreneurship in Singapore through experimentation, mentorship and training. An award of $S25,000 for 0% equity is offered, along with expert mentorship, pitching opportunities to investors and accelerators, and a collaborative co-working space and meeting facilities. It helps startups to turn ideas into action, and make the impossible, possible. 8 from these startups later will be selected to join HotSpot Pre-Accelerator Programme on August the 1st, where the focus will be…
Mobile is already the largest banking channel by volume of transactions and its adoption by new customers is entering an exceptionally rapid phase. A survey (pdf) by McKinsey and Company found that across ASEAN (Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), the proportion of people using digital banking doubled from 2011 to 2014, with Indonesia and Vietnam showing about sevenfold growth. KPMG estimates that the number of mobile banking users will double to 1.8 billion by 2019 and similarly, argues that Southeast Asia will be a main driver of this trend. The growing importance of digital…
In November 2008, a paper was posted on the Internet under the name Satoshi Nakamoto titled ‘bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ that detailed methods of using a peer-to-peer network to generate what was described as “a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust.” In January 2009, the bitcoin network came into existence with the release of the first open source bitcoin client and the issuance of the first bitcoins, with Satoshi Nakamoto mining the first block of bitcoins ever, known as the “genesis block”. Bitcoin the digital currency was the first successful application of blockchain. Now, innovative startups…
In the context of financial inclusion, fintech holds boundless potential. Fintech players, who use software and digital platforms to deliver financial services to consumers, are helping in making financial products and services more attainable than ever. According to Julia Kurnia, founder and director of peer-to-peer lending platform Zidisha, the proliferation of Internet and communication technology has made it possible to connect people and markets that were previously isolated. “People need no longer be constrained by their physical location,” Kurnia told Fintechnews. “This means it is no longer inevitable that someone’s physical location should determine his or her opportunities.” Kurnia founded…
Emerging Asia FinTech & Agent Banking Summit 2016, to be at the PARKROYAL Yangon hotel on the 17th and 18th of May, will be the very first fintech conference in Myanmar. The conference is set to assess mobile money issues with agent banking operations and the significant role of FinTech in the digital transformation of Asia. It is the only authoritative agent banking and FinTech conference in the region to have a special focus on Myanmar, along with presentations from key emerging economies of Asia. Industry experts and key players will share their insights and analyze critical issues relevant to the…
Life.SREDA, a fintech-focused venture capital fund headquartered in Singapore, has released its annual fintech research report detailing the major fintech trends for 2016. ‘Money of the Future,’ co-authored by Life.SREDA, business school INSEAD, and consultancy firm Deloitte, examines the 15 main fintech trends to expect in 2016. There are more than 5,000 fintech startups in the world, and fintech is undoubtedly hot topic with over US$20 billion being invested globally in the sector in 2015. “The bigger effect from the fintech revolution will be to force flabby incumbents to cut costs and improve the quality of their service,” argues Serguei…
FINNOVASIA is the flagship event for those making an impact in FinTech. The conference brings together extraordinary speakers and practitioners from around the region in FinTech business development, disruption and innovation in financial industry. FINNOVASIA 2015 – The future of Fintech in Asia which was held at Hong Kong Cyberport on 9 Dec., 2015 was a huge success with over 300 attendees, including 40% executives from banks and financial services, 18% FinTech startups and 7% media industry. This year with 45 speakers from 18 countries, the event will create a unique chemistry between FinTech entrepreneurs, investors, bankers and governments both…