Digibank contender Asia Digital Banking Corporation announced today that it will be using Tencent Cloud’s services to provide digital banking to SMEs in Singapore. Tencent Cloud is the cloud computing arm of Chinese internet giant Tencent. Operating in 25 regions and 53 availability zones worldwide, Tencent Cloud describes itself as secure, reliable and high-performance public cloud service provider that integrates Tencent’s infrastructure-building capabilities with the advantages of its massive user platform and ecosystem. In their press statement, they said that Tencent Cloud achieved the Outsourced Service Provider Audit Report standard and the Multi-Tier Cloud Security Standard. Asia Digital Banking Corporation…
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The K-Startup Centre (KSC) in Singapore, the first Korean startup centre in Southeast Asia, was officially launched today by South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS). They said it is a reflection of the strong interest among the Korean startups to anchor in Singapore to drive their internationalisation plans despite the uncertainties brought on by COVID-19. Supported by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), the Singapore KSC will serve as a launchpad for Korean SMEs and startups to plug into Singapore’s and the region’s startup and innovation ecosystem. The KSCs in Sweden and Finland were also launched at the same event. ESG…
OpenNodes, powered by Tribe, unveiled the Singapore Blockchain Landscape Map 2020 at ‘Unitize’, a collaborative online blockchain conference organized by San Francisco Blockchain Week and Blockshow. Since 2019, Singapore’s blockchain ecosystem has seen substantial growth. There are 91 new additions to Singapore’s Blockchain Landscape 2020 map with a total of 234 entities. These entities have been active in various blockchain related initiatives. Some of these include Mastercard, VISA, Alibaba-backed Ant Financial, Tencent-backed WeBank, WireX, Phillip Securities, SAP, Contour, Facebook-backed Libra amongst others. says Ng Yi Ming, Managing Partner, OpenNodes, powered by Tribe. “IMDA’s tireless efforts and support for the blockchain…
Limited access to funding and long sales cycles are hampering Australia’s regtech industry, preventing the sector from realizing its full potential, according to industry trade group the Regtech Association (RTA). The RTA, which conducted qualitative research of 33 regtech companies between October and November 2019, found that the majority of the industry was self-funded (70%). Angels and high net worth individuals were the next most active capital investors (27%), followed by venture capital firms (VCs) (15%), and corporate venture capital firms (CVCs) (12%). In a report released in December 2019, the organization deplores VCs and CVCs’ minor participation in the…
The rise of digibanks is changing the way Singaporeans interact with their bank. As customers demand better user experiences and personalized offers, banks are having to re-think the way they serve customers. However, legacy infrastructure and internal data silos mean banks are struggling to keep up. Digibanks are now taking up the role of a new kind of bank: a bank that is truly customer-centric and technologically savvy. In a webinar we recently organised, I’m joined by Eduard, CTO Razer Fintech, Andrew Taggart, Financial Services Consulting Leader, PwC, Nisha, SVP Matchmove and Anand General Manager Retail Banking, Finastra to discuss…
AMTD Digital, the integrated digital solutions platform of AMTD Group, announced that it will acquire a controlling stake in FOMO Pay, a QR payments provider, via its “Fusion-in” programme, which involves using a combination of share swap and cash for investment. The acquisition is subject to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) approval. FOMO Pay is a well known Singaporean player that enables merchants to accept a full suite of digital payments in Singapore and it recently expanded its operations to Malaysia through a partnership with OCBC. This is AMTD Digital’s third controlling stake acquisition in Singapore’s fintech industry recently,…
In the tech scene, participating in startup competitions, challenges and hackathons can provide young ventures with great networking and funding opportunities, as well as exposure. For this list, we’ve focused on startup competitions and hackathons for fintechs in Asia. Some of these challenges are still open for application for this year’s event, while others, though having already wrapped up their 2020 edition, are being organized annually and will likely be coming back next year. Asia Hot-Tech Battle Held since 2016, Asia Hardware Battle was previously an international hardware startup competition held annually across the region. This year, TechNode has re-positioned…
The payment space in South East Asia is a hotbed for innovation with many players vying for a piece of the action, we’re seeing many exciting things happening in this space from interoperable QR payments to central bank-backed digital currencies. To get a sense of where the industry is headed, we sat down with industry captains and experts to get their sense of where the industry is headed. We were joined by Ooi Huey Tyng, Managing Director, GrabPay, Venkatesh Saha, Head, APAC and Middle East Expansion TransferWise, Henri Arslanian, Global Crypto Leader, PwC and Simon Keates Head of Global Strategy,…
Rhonda Wong, CEO and Co-founder of Ohmyhome, has been recognised as a Women of the Future Award SEA 2020 winner for her one-stop property platform, Ohmyhome. Live-streamed on 25th June 2020, the award recognised remarkable female leaders in South-East Asia who drive positive change with courage, hard work and determination. Rhonda is one of ten female leaders felicitated at the award ceremony, where the successes of female leaders in other categories such as Business, Arts & Culture, Community Spirit & Public Service were celebrated too. Out of 48 candidates across the region vying for the Property, Infrastructure and Construction award,…
The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted Singaporeans to embrace more digital services when taking charge of their finances – and this is a shift that the majority believe will stick post-pandemic, a survey by personal finance website SingSaver found. Conducted in June, the survey analysed 1,000 responses detailing Singaporeans’ biggest challenges with personal finance, changing financial habits and attitudes. The inevitable use of digital services during the pandemic has allowed Singaporeans the time to become more at ease with technology. The survey found 70% of respondents across Singapore have used online banking “frequently” since the outbreak of the pandemic, with 65%…
Burgopak, a packaging design company based in the UK, has released a new range of packaging solutions designed especially for bank, gift and loyalty cards. The post-friendly Super Envelope range was developed to offer a great customer experience and add “a bit of magic” to the dull and boring envelop, all the while delivering on banks’ and fintechs’ strategic and budgetary goals, the company said in a release on June 17. Dane Whitehurst, creative director at Burgopak, said that with the new Super Envelope range, the company wanted to give the envelop, “an undervalued, utilitarian product,” a range of “new…
Singtel has launched an insurance savings solution for consumers looking to start their savings journey. It is offered exclusively through Singtel’s Dash app and underwritten by Etiqa Insurance. This adds to their existing financial services which currently provides payments, mobile data top-ups, e-commerce, lifestyle and remittance services. This insurance savings solution is designed for investors who want to start saving regularly for their future but who may be concerned about cash flow, especially during these challenging times. They can start a Dash EasyEarn plan with a minimum initial premium of S$2,000, up to a maximum of S$20,000. Other benefits include up…
Liquid Group, a regional mobile payment services group headquartered in Singapore, will partner with NICE Payments (“NICE”) as its merchant acquirer in Korea. Nice Payments, a subsidiary of NICE Information & technology, is the payment specialist of NICE Group, is one of the biggest financial infrastructure group in Korea. Through this partnership, customers of Liquid Group and its issuer partners will be able to use their preferred payment apps and e-wallets for their local and overseas QR payment transactions at more than 33,000 of NICE’s QR-enabled merchants, including one of the largest duty-free shops in Korea and many other popular…
Atome, a Singapore based startup, has launched a “buy now, pay later” solution, which they said is intended to support the recovery of Singapore’s retail sector during COVID-19. The company is founded in 2016 and it is a subsidiary of ADVANCE.AI a Series-C big data and AI company headquartered in Singapore which is part of a consortium applying for Singapore’s digital wholesale banking license. According to their media statement, Atome works by splitting bills into three equal zero interest installments over time, which is done by either scanning a QR code at a physical shop or choosing Atome during checkout on partner…
Insurtech is evolving rapidly in Asia with players taking big steps forward and deal counts multiplying as the growing wealth and middle class in huge markets like China, India and part of Southeast Asia, are bringing in opportunities for incumbents, disruptors and investors alike. By 2029, Swiss Re estimates that Asia Pacific (APAC) will account for 42% of global insurance premiums with China forecasted to hold a 20% market share, making it the world’s largest insurance market by mid-2030. Yet, currently, most markets across the region are largely underserved with demand in countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and mainland…
Picture Wealth, an Australian-based wealthtech, announced the close of its AUD$12m late-seed funding round, comprising of private equity and debt, and has recently acquired financial services licensee, NEO Financial Solutions (“NFS”) for an undisclosed sum. NFS became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PictureWealth and NFS MD Mark Edman will also take on the Group COO role. The aligned vision is to take the company forward with a sound and tried growth strategy enabling the business to grow rapidly in a compliant and well-governed manner, whilst augmenting the client experience technology. Within its first 2 years of commercial operation, PictureWealth has grown…
Building Cities Beyond (BCB) Blockchain has announced the launch of its BCB Innovation Grant. The Singapore-based blockchain developers for smart city solutions will be looking to award US$15 million worth of grants to projects developing on the BCB protocol, as it looks to ramp up development of its ecosystem. BCB’s launch of the grant comes alongside news of partnerships with leading accelerators to incubate selected projects. The BCB Innovation Grant aims to boost key development areas of the BCB ecosystem, and will target up to 1,000 projects within Asia. The US$15 million grant will cater to the tech startup ecosystem…
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing consumers to turn to digital channels. Now more than ever, banks must accelerate their digital transformation and focus on delivering tools their customers need for financial self-help, according to a new report by Meniga. In a paper titled Financial Fitness in a Post-COVID Economy, the Icelandic software company explains how the COVID-19 health has and will continue to change consumer behavior and stresses why it is critical for banks to react rapidly or risk losing market share over challengers that are championing digital customer experience. Citing findings from several research papers, the Meniga report notes…
Sparrow, a Singapore based options trading platform for Bitcoin and Ethererum announced that they have secured US$ 3.5 Million in Series A funding. The round was led by the HDR Group, owner and operator of BitMEX, and supported by Signum Capital, Du Capital and FinLab EOS VC. Sparrow was first launched in June 2019, and saw initial funding by Golden Gate Venture’s crypto and blockchain dedicated fund, LuneX. According to them, since the initial launch they’ve seen over US$ 150 million growth in options trading volume. Sparrow Options are settled on Ethereum smart contracts and deployed onto a Proof of Authority…
According to the April update of the IDC Worldwide Blockchain Spending Guide Worldwide and Asia Pacific blockchain spend will decline in 2020 as compared to the pre-COVID-19 forecast scenario. The report captures data from all Asia Pacific countries except Japan. This decline is led by marked reductions in IT spend and bleak economic growth in recent months due to the pandemic. Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to reach nearly $4.3 billion in 2020 – a tempered 57.7% growth from the $2.7 billion spent in 2019. While IDC forecasts a drop in blockchain spend in every industry in 2020…