Author: Fintech News Singapore

Citi and Grab, South East Asia’s super app, have expanded their partnership in consumer lending with the launch of the bank’s first API-enabled lending capability in Asia Pacific. Beginning with Singapore with more markets in the region to follow, existing and eligible Citi credit card customers can apply for a personal installment loan or Citi Quick Cash through the Grab app. Qualified customers who meet Citi’s lending criteria can apply for a loan from Citi through the Grab app, with flexible repayment options ranging from 12 to 60 months at attractive rates to help them manage their personal finances. Citi…

Syfe, a digital wealth management company licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has launched the Syfe Cash+ portfolio which is its latest cash management product that aims to enable all Singaporeans to grow their savings and still have full access to their funds. As it is increasingly challenging for savers to earn a decent yield on cash savings, Syfe has developed the Cash+ portfolio aiming to deliver a projected rate of 1.75% per annum on any amount, and has no lock-up period or limits. Syfe’s Cash+ portfolio is constructed using funds from Lion Global Investors, an asset manager…

Silent Eight, a Singaporean regtech using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, announced a multi-year partnership with HSBC that will support the bank in enhancing its compliance operations. HSBC selected Silent Eight to improve its manual processes and existing statistical models to decrease risk while simultaneously increasing efficiency. Following a successful trial period, the solution is set to be integrated into HSBC’s existing infrastructure to provide case adjudications that are explained and auditable. “Given the growth in alert volumes, and unpredictable spikes driven by global volatility, we saw an opportunity with Silent Eight that would give…

In Singapore’s burgeoning 1,000+ strong fintech industry, the wealthtech subsegment continues to grow and mature on the back of increased appetite from investors, acquisition deals, and rising demands for automated financial advisory services, notably from the younger generations. But as the space gets more and more crowded, some startups just can’t cope with the stiff competition. Bigtech moves H1’20 saw bigtechs and platform providers furthering their fintech ambitions in a bid to extend their market reach and customer value propositions. One particular move was ride-hailing giant Grab’s acquisition of Singapore-based business-to-business (B2B) robo-advisor Bento in February 2020. The service, which…

Digital travel platform Agoda has launched a regional partnership with Singaporean buy now, pay later platform Atome to offer flexible instalment payment options for accommodation bookings first in Singapore and Malaysia, before rolling out to include eight additional markets in South East Asia and Asia Pacific this year. Under the partnership starting from 21 December, travellers in Singapore and Malaysia can pay for their accommodation in three installments without any additional interest, charges or service fees by selecting Atome during checkout on Agoda’s website or mobile app. This new convenient and secure payment option for Agoda travellers will expand to…

Like many other areas of the economy, the financial services sector is undergoing a data revolution. Every day, the global banking industry generates massive amounts of data by processing hundreds of billions of financial transactions as well as through interactions including emails, video communications, call logs and mentions on social media. Banks are using this data to develop new products and services that are more personalized and which better fit customers’ digital lifestyle. COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalization of the banking industry, further increasing the amount of data. This huge growth in data creation is bringing both opportunities and challenges…

Digitised securities platform iSTOX announced that it has listed a unicorn fund in digitised securities form, allowing the creation of security tokens where manual processes can be automated and minimum investment ticket sizes to be reduced to US$20,000. This expands participation in unicorn investing to all accredited investors. iSTOX is backed by Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasek Holdings subsidiary Heliconia Capital Management. With the use of blockchain and smart contract technology, iSTOX enables the tokenisation and fractionalisation of securities, in this case, units in the unicorn fund. iSTOX is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a platform…

Fintech News Singapore would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. We will be taking a break from the 24th December 2020 to the 3rd January 2021. Until then, you can access some of our year-end articles that may be of interest to you. We look forward to seeing you all again on the 4th January 2021! https://fintechnews.sg/46474/fintech/5-stories-that-shaped-fintech-in-singapore-in-2020/ https://fintechnews.sg/46183/singapore-fintech-festival-2020/all-the-major-singapore-fintech-festival-announcements-at-a-glance/ https://fintechnews.sg/46370/payments/5-e-commerce-payment-trends-to-watch-out-for-in-2021/ https://fintechnews.sg/43282/redefining-finance-for-good/how-dbs-responded-to-the-pandemic/ https://fintechnews.sg/45754/virtual-banking/grab-sea-and-ant-among-those-who-secured-singapores-digital-banking-license/ https://fintechnews.sg/46013/blockchain/dbs-launches-crypto-exchange-with-sgx-holding-a-10-stake/ https://fintechnews.sg/46011/virtual-banking/ekyc-to-fuel-asias-digital-banking-revolution/ https://fintechnews.sg/45789/blockchain/singapore-blockchain-ecosystem-report-2020-unveiled-at-singapore-fintech-festival/ https://fintechnews.sg/45770/virtual-banking/grab-singtel-to-hire-200-roles-by-2021-to-build-its-digital-bank/ https://fintechnews.sg/45633/funding/challengers-bank-raised-over-us6-8-billion-in-2020-to-disrupt-traditional-banking/ Featured image edited based on photo by Lionello DelPiccolo via Unsplash

It may be a challenge for brands in highly-regulated spaces, but meeting customer expectations is both possible and essential. To get there, marketers need to ensure that they strike the right balance between data privacy/security and innovation. Let’s explore the best practices of how brands in financial services can make the customer engagement journey as smooth and secure as possible. Building out an effective customer journey is an essential part of the long-term success of any brand in today’s increasingly in-the-moment, mobile-first world. For financial services brands, implementing this kind of data-driven customer engagement program requires two key elements: Taking…

CIMB Bank Vietnam and Viva Republica, the operator of Toss app, has jointly introduced the CIMB-Toss Debit Card following the success of the CIMB and Toss virtual card launched in July 2020. Launched in early December 2020, the debit card has been upgraded with a variety of advanced technology solutions and benefits including the eKYC solution managed by CIMB, VISA payWave contactless payment, walk and earn bonus cash, and many more. Now after users successfully open a CIMB bank account on the Toss interface, they can pay for purchases in retail stores with a physical debit card by just holding…

Though still in its early stages, Brunei Darussalam’s fintech ecosystem is developing quickly on the back of rising demand for low-cost fintech products, increasing number of entrepreneurs and startups, and supportive government initiatives, according to a new report by the Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD). In a report titled The State of Fintech in Brunei Darussalam: Year 2020, the central bank provides an overview of the state of fintech in the Southeast Asian country, outlining the major fintech developments that have occurred over the past couple of years. In particular, the paper cites the numerous market drivers that are…

COVID-19 has accelerated consumers’ shift to digital channels with online shopping volumes reaching new highs around the world. In Southeast Asia, e-commerce has emerged as the growth engine for the region’s digital economy, growing 63% to reach US$62 billion in 2020, according to Google, Temasek and Bain & Company’s latest e-Conomy SEA report. This ongoing shift towards online commerce has been accompanied by a rising adoption of digital payments. Accenture forecasts nearly 420 billion transactions worth US$7 trillion are expected to shift from cash to cards and digital payments by 2023 – and increase to US$48 trillion by 2030. This…

Despite global turbulences caused by COVID-19, the Singapore fintech industry remained resilient in 2020 on the back of new favorable rules, fintech initiatives from the government, and increased demand for digital solutions. Over the past five years, the Singapore fintech ecosystem has grown rapidly, with exponential growth in the number of fintechs and people employed by them. According to new report by Oliver Wyman and Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), Singapore is now home to more than 1,000 fintech companies employing over 10,000 individuals. COVID-19 boosts fintech business Singaporean fintech companies have overall benefited from the digitalization push that came with…

Razer Fintech has partnered with Rely, a Singapore-based Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service provider, to offer BNPL services in South East Asia to merchants registered under Razer Merchant Services (RMS), its B2B solution. Through this partnership, RMS’ merchants will now be able to provide interest-free BNPL solution for its customers. RMS powers online payments as a card processing gateway supporting global scheme cards and over 110 payment methods for global blue-chip merchants with over one million physical acceptance points. This strategic partnership follows a recent announcement by Rely to expand its services in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea after…

Airome Technologies, a Singapore-based developer of cybersecurity solutions for digital banking and e-document management systems, has been working with authentication and transaction confirmation technologies for a while, creating advanced products in this field. However, with the pandemic situation the company has faced a new challenge as to how to personalise a user’s device to enable them to authenticate in this new normal. As Airome Technologies works with critical data, they need to use more than just passwords to authenticate a user. It is essential to provide strong cryptographic authentication with key distribution schemes. For an example, a standard case for…

If fintech brands aren’t mindful of today’s looming threats, they may find themselves losing out not just to banks, but to non-financial brands. Think Apple’s wildly successful credit card debut, with over $10 billion dollars of extended credit within two months of launch, or how Starbucks holds over $1 billion in customer mobile payments in their app. What does it take to build a powerful, growth-oriented customer messaging strategy? Here are four winning tips to get your messaging right. 1. Know Your Customer—for Real, in Real Time Financial brands can benefit from the rich data they capture from customer transactions.…

South East Asia’s P2P financing platform, Funding Societies also known as Modalku in Indonesia, announced that Samsung Venture Investment Corporation has invested in its latest funding round. Funding Societies intends to expand its technology team across to tap tech and data talent from across the region. The funds raised will also be channeled towards developing the firm’s strategic and new business models in its next stage of evolution. This comes on the back of earlier investments from Sequoia India, Softbank Ventures Asia Corp, SG Innovate, BRI Ventures, Qualgro Partners and Endeavor amongst others. Additionally, the platform has raised credit lines…

In Southeast Asia, governments are pushing for greater adoption of digital financial services by introducing favorable regulations on digital onboarding, digital banking, and more, experts said on December 3, 2020. During a virtual panel discussion with Fintech News last week, banking executives, digital banking innovators and eKYC experts discussed the state of digital identity and digital onboarding in Southeast Asia, highlighting the developments that have been made this year to encourage digital banking. In the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank, recently approved new regulations on digital banking and introduced a four-year strategy on digital payments. These…

Carro, South East Asia’s automotive marketplace, has launched a behaviour and usage-based car insurance (UBI) in partnership with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings (MSIG), a member of MS&AD, a Japanese insurance company. Drivers in South East Asia will enjoy tailored insurance policies and pricing that reflect their actual driving behaviour. Instead of the traditional packages, the auto insurance premiums will be calculated by applying data science which analyses driver behaviour and distance travelled. The press release made no mention of whether additional devices will be installed or data of driving behavior will be collected in-app. The insurance offering inherently encourages…

Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited (SCBSL) has been awarded enhanced Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank (SRFB) privileges by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), indicating that it is making moves for a second digital-only bank after its launch of Mox. The Mox virtual bank is among the eight entities that were granted a virtual banking license last year by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The bank was also reported to have hired digibank expert Alex Twigg who had co-founded Australian challenger bank Judo. The enhanced SRFB privileges give the bank the opportunity to secure an additional full bank license to establish…