Author: Fintech News Singapore

Singapore’s burgeoning fintech landscape, reliable physical infrastructure and progressive regulations are attracting Australia’s fast-growing high-potential, insurtech startups looking to take on Southeast Asia. Citing the city-state’s strategic location, high digital adoption, vibrant ecosystem of industry stakeholders eager to embrace cutting-edge technology, combined with the support of Accelerator programmes, like Firemark Accelerate, startups such as ActivePipe, Gruntify, ProofTec and Truuth, view Singapore as the gateway to the region. Backed by Insurance Australia Group (IAG) and supported by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) Landing Pad, Firemark Accelerate was launched in 2020 as the leading insurtech accelerator in APAC. “The Firemark…

Amsterdam-headquartered digital banking software provider Backbase has recently appointed Iman Ghodosi as Regional Vice President for the Asia Pacific region. The new role is based in Sydney and will see Ghodosi drive the company’s international expansion, product development, and Asia Pacific market growth. He has a wealth of experience in the industry, previously the Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific at Zuora. Ghodosi has also worked at organizations including SAP, Oracle, and Netsuite. Ghodosi holds an MBA from the University of Newcastle in Australia and a Master of e-business from the University of Southern Queensland. In recent months,…

Singaporean B2B payments platform Nium is now a unicorn after having raised more than US$200 million in a Series D round led by Riverwood Capital. The firm has now raised nearly US$300 million to date. Temasek, Visa, Vertex Ventures, Atinum Group of Funds, Beacon Venture Capital, Rocket Capital Investment, and other notable angel investors, including DoorDash’s Gokul Rajaram, FIS’ Vicky Bindra and Tribe Capital’s Arjun Sethi also contributed to the round. The funding will be used to expand Nium’s payments network infrastructure, drive innovative product development, attract top industry talent, and acquire strategic technologies and companies. Nium said that it…

bolt, insurtech exchange for the property and casualty insurance industry that is a part of the bolttech group, has announced two key changes to its senior leadership team to accelerate its next chapter of growth. bolttech had recently achieved unicorn status following the completion of its oversubscribed US$180 million Series A funding round. The firm had also acquired Swiss-based digital insurance platform i-surance to push ahead with its European expansion plans. Eric Gewirtzman, currently CEO of bolt United States, will assume a group leadership role, becoming CEO, Insurance Exchange for bolttech. As part of this expanded role, Gewirtzman will join…

GoTo Group, a merger between Gojek and Tokopedia that was formed earlier this year, is tapping Google Cloud as its principal technology partner to power its next phase of growth across Southeast Asia. The group said that it will leverage Google Cloud’s secure and scalable infrastructure, leadership in data analytics, and advanced productivity and collaboration toolset. GoTo Group added that it will also continue to leverage Maps, YouTube, Play and Google Marketing Platform capabilities and more from Google to open up new frontiers and possibilities. The GoTo ecosystem comprises e-commerce, on-demand and financial services, with reportedly over 100 million monthly…

Prudential Singapore has rolled out new wealth solutions on its health and wellness app Pulse by Prudential to make it simpler for everyone to begin their financial planning journey. The insurer will first launch the wealth solutions in Singapore with plans for a roll out in other markets as the app is currently available in 11 languages across Asia and Africa. With the new wealth features on Pulse, users will have the convenience of having both health and wealth solutions in one app. The wealth tools called “Wealth@Pulse” enables users to seek wealth tips from Ruby, a digital assistant powered…

Xero, a cloud-based accounting software for small businesses, announced that it has expanded its collaboration with UOB to offer small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that qualify for the UOB Start Digital pack free access to its platform for six months. The initiative aims to help SMEs become more competitive and resilient through digitalisation. As SMEs cope with the disruptions and uncertainty arising from the pandemic, many are looking for ways to improve their accounting processes for real-time visibility into their finances. According to the UOB SME Outlook 2021 study, accounting is the top process that SMEs are looking to digitise,…

Instant acknowledgements, quick processing, and personalised experiences – customers’ expectations in Asia have risen along with these developments with how financial businesses are operating and serving their clients. For many traditional incumbent banks and financial businesses, navigating this challenging landscape and staying future-ready is no easy feat. For Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer and global innovation partner Zuhlke, investment in innovation and technology supported by agile ways of working have led the way in offering a differentiated experience for clients. Recently launched for the Asian markets by Julius Baer, the Digital Advisory Suite (DiAS) is a showcase of client-centricity…

Singaporean insurtech firm bolttech announced it has acquired i-surance, a next-generation B2B2C digital insurance platform based in Switzerland. The acquisition of i-surance extends bolttech’s global footprint from 14 to 26 markets across North America, Asia, and Europe, adding 12 new countries in Europe including Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Launched in 2020, bolttech’s insurance exchange has US$5 billion premium on the platform, providing a gateway to more than 5,000 products and 150 insurance providers. Supported by a team of 1,400 employees, bolttech currently serves more than 7.7 million customers. Meanwhile, i-surance offers…

Refinitiv released the findings of its Wealth Management report titled “The Gold Standard of Wealth Management: Redefining investor experiences in Asia-Pacific”. The firm recently surveyed over 500 investors in Asia-Pacific to understand how their trading activities, data needs and digital expectations are evolving. The study finds that investors in this region are more frustrated by their platform experiences and less loyal compared to their global counterparts. This dissatisfaction is due to the fact that wealth firms have struggled to adapt their content and digital strategies to the unique investing behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region. The failure to impress has significant…

OCBC Bank is the first in Singapore to collaborate with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to enable customers to have a seamless review and payment of their income and property taxes within a single digital platform, according to a statement by the bank. IRAS has integrated its payment Application Programming Interface (API) with the bank’s digital platform – OCBC Financial OneView. With the launch of Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex), an open banking initiative, OCBC enabled customers to consolidate their financial information on one platform and view their assessable income. With this recent integration of a direct payment…

A recent study of 2,000 global consumers by Mambu, a banking and financial services platform, revealed that both banked and unbanked individuals feel underserved, with 56% of banked customers claiming that there are other services they should be able to access. “With more than 290 million unbanked adults across Southeast Asia, the data that’s usually reported points us to emerging markets and geographical barriers to access; however, even consumers who are banked have reported gaps in accessibility,” said Myles Bertrand, Managing Director Asia Pacific, at Mambu. “Personalisation is going to be key for banks if they want to avoid being…

Jumio, a provider of AI-powered end-to-end identity verification and eKYC solutions, announced that both its sales and revenue grew over 150% in Q2 2021 from Q2 2020. This is evidenced by the large growth seen in financial services, mobile delivery services and social platforms verifying everyone from customers to employees to influencers. Enabled by Jumio’s acquisition of Beam Solutions’ AML platform, the company also said that it had established all-time record sales for its end-to-end AML compliance solutions. According to a statement by Jumio, the firm processes over 20 million AML transactions monthly to help organisations that move money know…

Singapore-based insurtech firm Zensung announced a partnership with insurance firms ERGO and Munich Re to launch green insurance policy ‘Parrot Safe Driver’. Using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based proprietary platform, delivered through Zensung’s ‘Parrot’ mobile app, they said that this policy makes buying and monitoring car insurance simpler, greener and fairer. Through the app, users can purchase a policy, make a claim, and receive safe driving rebates using their smartphone. The Parrot app also allows policyholders to monitor their trips and compensate for the CO2 emissions caused. It uses the globally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) to calculate emissions. In…

Grab has deepened its partnership with payments platform Adyen by enabling more merchants, starting in Singapore and Malaysia, to offer its PayLater service to consumers. Available through the GrabPay wallet, merchants will now be able to offer PayLater payment methods at checkout. Customers will be able to choose between interest-free payments over four instalments (PayLater instalments), or the following month (PayLater Postpaid). After Zalora, the Southeast Asian online fashion and lifestyle platform, introduced this deferred payment method in May 2021 via Adyen, it reported a 20% increase in new shoppers and a 15% increase in users using GrabPay to complete…

Cross-border payments firm Thunes has announced the acquisition of its European counterpart Limonetik which is one of the earliest developers of an alternative payment methods platform suitable for international merchants and marketplaces. Similar to Thunes, the firm closely partners with payment service providers and financial institutions. This move will complement Thunes’ existing cross-border payments solutions by enabling businesses to get paid in 70 countries, using over 285 local payment methods such as mobile wallets, payment by instalments (BNPL), QR code payments and more. The solution will be known as Thunes Collections. Founded in Paris in 2008, Limonetik’s platform has over 14,000…

Competition is heating up in Australia’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) market as US digital payments giant PayPal and incumbent bank Citi are entering the \vercrowded space. Just last week, PayPal launched its BNPL service to retailers in Australia, a four instalments option for purchases between A$30 and A$1,500. PayPal says PayPal Pay in 4 incurs no interest, no late payment fees and no sign-up fees, with only currency conversion fees potentially applicable to international purchases. PayPal started rolling out the service in the US in October 2020 and has since offered it in the UK and France. Boasting over…

Kyrgyzstan’s nascent fintech is getting a boost as the government begins setting the foundations for further development, launching reform plans and key initiatives to bolster digital payments adoption and banking innovation. Over the past few years, the Kyrgyz government has started looking into the potential of fintech and banking innovation to improve financial inclusion. National strategies like the Main Directions for Digital Transformation of Banking Service for 2020-2021, and the Concept for Development of Digital Payment Technologies in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2020-2022, have been developed and adopted to increase digital payment usage and fintech development. Policies and measures including…

The wealthtech sector in India has been experiencing robust growth, thanks to the growing digital adoption and increasing investor interest in the segment. The wealthtech sector in India has over 300 startups focusing on robo-advisory, personal finance management, online brokerages, investment platforms, among other use-cases. The fintech market in India is growing at an unprecedented rate, making India one of the fastest-growing fintech markets, ahead of the US. This includes a particularly significant growth of the wealthtech sector in India. Moreover, the internet penetration in India, fuelled by the pandemic, has soared by 8.2% since last year alone, leading to increased…

The global pandemic brought about a fundamental shift in the way consumers interact with businesses. As lockdowns and movement restrictions were implemented, digital adoption soared at an accelerated speed. People started shopping online for almost everything from food and groceries to clothing. This resulted in a surge in online payments and also kindled growth for the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) segment of consumer lending. BNPL refers to short-term micro-credit options that enable consumers to shop online and pay within a few days or weeks with little to no interest. Starting with e-commerce marketplaces, BNPL options can now be found…