Financial technology companies are shaping the financial services industry from the outside in, and more than 20% of traditional players being at risk to fintech companies by 2020, according to a new report by PowerwaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In a new report entitled ‘Blurred lines: How fintech is shaping financial services’, Big Four auditor PwC argues that traditional financial services companies are being challenged by new entrants that are leveraging technology to provide products and services that are more suitable for today’s consumers’ needs and habits. The survey, which interviewed 544 top senior executives from the financial services industry and the fintech…

Banking in Vietnam had stood in place for decades before it’s moved to a new stage of Internet banking. For the first time ever, Vietnam has its first Digital Bank. First Mobile-Only Bank in Vietnam — Timo Timo stands for TIME & MONEY, which serves for the right purpose of the product: saving time on many transactions and payments, instead of being tired queuing at the banks or logging with several different internet banking systems. On August 4th, 2015, the National Bank of Vietnam had confirmed that Vietnam Prosperity (VP Bank) bank had registered to issue a new debit card named…

Consumers in Asia Pacific (APAC) are embracing digital wallets as one in five users (19.5%) in the region say they are using these new mobile technologies, citing more convenience when shopping online. This represents an increase of 9.7% from two years ago, according to MasterCard’s latest Mobile Shopping Survey. Most particularly, China (45%), India (36.7%) and Singapore (23.3%) are leading the trend as the region’s top three adopters of digital wallets. “Smartphones are already deemed indispensable to consumers’ highly digital lifestyles in Singapore,” Deborah Heng, group head and general manager at MasterCard Singapore, commented in statements. “In the digital payment…

Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) and Goldman Sachs have respectively invested US$25 million and US$3 million in M_Service, a Vietnamese fintech startup and the operator of mobile digital wallet MoMo. The deal marks the second publicly disclosed investment in M_Service by Goldman Sachs as the bank previously injected US$5.75 million into the startup back in 2013. Prior to the deal, Standard Chartered Bank had partnered with M_Service to develop and launch in 2015 Straight2Bank, an online payment system that allows users in Vietnam to transact with each other in a cashless manner. The service lets Standard Chartered’s corporate clients in Vietnam make…

Mobile bank users globally are forecast to more than double by 2019, according to a 2015 KPMG report, and the millennial generation, born from the 1980s to the early 2000s, may well be the reason of this emerging trend. Real-time mobile access to personal financial information has become a baseline expectation among millennials today and banks are starting to understand that. One of the latest banks to follow the trend is Caixa Bank, one Spain’s largest financial institutions, which launched earlier this year its mobile-only bank called imaginBank. In a release, Caixa Bank pointed out that the reason of this…

Startupbootcamp FinTech, the leading accelerator focused on financial innovation, has announced the 10 international startups selected to join its Singapore program. The finalists, which include teams from across Asia-Pacific have been chosen by a panel of industry experts, including representatives from Startupbootcamp FinTech’s partners. Top 10 FinTech startups reflect important trends in FinTech, including Insurance Technology, Data Analytics and SME Financial Solutions, which are all relevant areas for consumers and businesses in Southeast Asia. They will join the ever-expanding list of successful startups that have been through the Startupbootcamp programs globally. 2016 Startupbootcamp FinTech Singapore program From 18 April, the successful startups will benefit from extensive mentorship…

Aviva, a leading insurer in Singapore, has introduced Aviva ClaimConnect – a mobile application and portal designed exclusively for its group insurance policyholders. It enables users to locate their nearest panel clinic with ease, and eliminates reliance on paperwork by allowing them to submit employee insurance claims electronically. Aviva ClaimConnect The key features of Aviva ClaimConnect are as follows: Locate the nearest panel clinic in either a list or map view for easy navigation to the clinic Submit claims electronically with scans of the relevant documents using the camera function on your phone (no additional paperwork required) Receive updates on the status of claims…

In 2015, fintech funding in Asia hit a record of US$4.52 billion across 130 deals, a rise attributed to the 17 US$50 million+ investments into the likes of One97, Dianrong, and BankBazaar, according to a new report from CB Insights and KPMG. Released yesterday, “The Pulse of Fintech, 2015 In Review” gives an analysis of the state of global fintech funding. According to Warren Mead, global co-leader of KPMG Fintech practice, “2015 was a tremendous year for fintech investment around the globe.” “The evolving needs of digitally savvy consumers and the drive for efficiency, not least to meet regulatory and…

Vietnam’s startup scene is in the limelight as the public and private sectors are multiplying initiatives to promote Vietnamese startups, entrepreneurship and innovation. 2015 was a fruitful year for the young and yet promising Vietnamese startup scene. Last year, the country saw 67 deals (more than double the number in 2014) with domestic and foreign investors. A number of initiatives launched last year to foster the local startup scene including the inaugural TechFest Vietnam, a multi-day platform to connect startups and investors. With just a little over 1,300 startups, the Vietnamese market is still nascent compared to other markets. That…

Dragonfly Fintech, a Singapore startup that develops blockchain technology for the financial services and banking industry, has signed a contract with Nomura Research Institute (NRI), in conjunction with the Japanese SBI Sumishin Net Bank. Under the agreement, Dragonfly Fintech will provide NRI with its blockchain technology, a set of practical tools under a framework called the Automated Clearing and Electronic Settlement (ACES) initiative. The collaboration will be focused on conducting a proof-of-concept test of the application of blockchain technology to the core architecture of SBI Sumishin. ACES is a distributed and decentralized blockchain system which uses the core technology of…

Hanoi-based fintech startup BankGo has launched in closed beta a service that allows individuals and businesses to search, compare and easily apply for loans with the best interest rates. Speaking to Fintechnews, BankGo’s founder and CEO Vu Viet Hung indicated that more than 1,500 people registered to the service on the launch day last week. Hung said his team has received very positive feedbacks from customers and bankers. BankGo is a financial comparison platform for personal loans (housing, car, consumer loans), credit cards, savings accounts and SME loans that aims to help customers get relevant information and support them in…

Fintech challengers have been gaining ground by offering easier, cheaper or more intuitive ways to compare and acquire the financial services that customers need. Today, the question is not whether these new players will topple the established banking hierarchy, but rather if banks are willing to lose a significant portion of their customers to these new firms. Banking and financial services leaders are well aware that their businesses are under threat and many are increasing spending to counter the menace, according to a new survey by recruitment firm Robert Half. The survey, which involved 400 financial services leaders in Singapore,…

DBS Bank has officially launched DBS HotSpot 2016, and applications are now being accepted until 1 April 2016.  This is the second run of the pre-accelerator programme for very early stage start-ups in fintech, social enterprise, and digital technology as well as innovators within the bank to develop their business ideas and seek funding. DBS was the first bank in the region to organise a wholly-owned pre-accelerator programme when it launched DBS HotSpot in September 2015, as part of its SGD10 million commitment to develop the start-up ecosystem. Unlike most accelerator programmes, DBS does not require participating entrepreneurs to relinquish…

Tech giant IBM has announced that it will open so called IBM Garages in Singapore, Tokyo, New York City and London where its experts will be able to collaborate with local developers on the design and implementation of blockchain technology for business. The initiative is part of IBM’s wider plan of pushing blockchain usage for businesses and came simultaneously as the corporation had unveiled its latest suite of services entirely dedicated to facilitating the development, design and implementation of blockchain technology for developers and businesses. Blockchain-as-a-Service IBM’s new blockchain services aim to enable developers to access fully integrated DevOps tools…

Forbes has released the first ever 30 under 30 2016 Asia Finance, a list of the top venture capitalists and fintech entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region. This list includes founders and senior executives from top financial technology companies including Neurowave and Call Levels, as well as some of the world’s most successful venture capitalists in the APAC region incl. Markus Gnirck from Startupbootcamp Fintech Singapore. Pocket Sun, 24, Singapore Pocket Sun is the founder of the first cross-border community and capital firm led by and dedicated to millennial females, SoGal. SoGal currently has 4,000 members in more than 20 countries. The firm…

Millennials have never known anything but new technologies, changing technologies, adjustment and adaptation. Born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s, this generation wants to do everything on their mobile devices, a trend that had the influence to be a commerce disruptor. A survey conducted by Zogby Analytics commissioned by Fintech company Mitek found that among 1,006 respondents aged between 18 and 34 years old, 86% said that they had already made purchases or conducted a transaction from their smartphone. 11% of them indicated that they did so on a daily basis. 60% of respondents said they felt comfortable…

Inspired by Airbnb’s success story – and > US$25 billion valuation -, a growing number of entrepreneurs around the world are applying the winning model to other types of services and markets. MeetingsBooker, Zipcube, PivotDesk and ShareDesk, are just a few amongst the dozens of startups that are providing Airbnb-style marketplaces for short-term office space and conference hall rentals. Already, some of them have become quite successful. MeetingsBooker, a startup based in Dublin, is arguably the largest venue-booking online platform in the world featuring over 70,000 meeting rooms and conference centers in 134 countries. Last year, it raised US€1 million…

Please find attached the Fintech Singapore Newsletter. Every 2 weeks we will summarize the most important Fintech News from Singapore and around Southeast Asia, including Studies, Events and Fintech Jobs. We will present in this edition interesting insides about the Fintech ecosystem in Singapore and a lot of ongoing investment activities around Singapore startups. Furthermore, we offer special discounts for 2 top events and you will be surprised about one open Fintech Job in Singapore. Follow us on Twitter @FintechSIN or join the Fintech Singapore Facebook Group to stay tuned. Please recommend our Fintech-Newsletter and our webpage to your friends. (www.Fintechnews.sg) In case of any Feedbacks please send us an e-mail…

There seems to be an undeniable connection between FinTech and robotics, and it is only a matter of time until both industries collide. When thinking of the robotics concept, it is important to take its wide scope into consideration. So many different aspects of our everyday lives can be influenced and improved upon by robotics, and Singapore startup CtrlWorks is looking to bring exactly that to mainstream consumers. The product created by CtrlWorks serves as an add-on kit to transforms any wheel-based form of transportation into an autonomously guided vehicle. Similar to how GPS systems work, the add-on kit from…

Holding the promise of making investing easy, affordable and accessible to the greatest possible number of people, robo-advisors have already caused a stir in the UK and the US and are now winning market share in Asia. Infinity Partners, a high-end financial advisory outfit based in Singapore, claimed in September last year it was about to launch the first robo-advisor available in the country. The group could well be outstripped by Smartly, another robo-advisor expected to launch in Singapore in July this year. Smartly, which aims to simplify and educate users about investing, is building what the company claims to…