Author: Fintech News Singapore

DBS Bank is the employer Singapore graduates most want to work for in 2026, according to gradsingapore’s annual ranking. The bank topped the Singapore’s 100 Leading Graduate Employers 2026 list, ahead of the Ministry of Education, Microsoft, Marina Bay Sands and Micron Technology. gradsingapore is a specialised online careers portal and publication for students and graduates. It is owned and operated by GTI Media Singapore, part of the GTI Media group. Finance-related employers featured strongly in the wider top 100. J.P. Morgan ranked seventh, Mastercard ninth and Bank of Singapore 16th. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and OCBC also placed in…

Backbase has acquired Kasisto, a New York-based developer of agentic AI software for banks, folding the company’s platform, team and financial-services intelligence into its AI-native Banking OS. Backbase did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition, which it announced on 23 June 2026. The combined agentic banking suite is available to existing and future customers immediately. Kasisto is known for KAIgentic, an agentic AI platform aimed at banks and credit unions, alongside KaiGPT, a proprietary large language model tuned for banking. Its software has been used by lenders including J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, TD and Westpac. Lance Berks has…

Thailand is weighing tighter buy now, pay later (BNPL) rules as instalment payments move deeper into everyday consumer spending. Bloomberg reported that the Bank of Thailand is preparing oversight measures for BNPL providers as regulators worry that quick access to online credit could add to household debt pressures. Governor Vitai Ratanakorn has warned that consumers are now using BNPL for small daily items, including drinks and meals, not only higher-ticket purchases. He said this could encourage people to spend before they have the money to pay. Thailand’s household debt stands at about 87% of gross domestic product, among the highest…

Google Cloud has appointed Saruj Thipsena as its new Country Manager for Thailand to spearhead its regional go-to-market strategy, customer engagement, and cloud operations. In his new role, Saruj will guide Thai organisations in adopting the AI portfolio of Google Cloud as businesses transition into automated digital operations. He reports directly to Mark Micallef, Managing Director for Southeast Asia at Google Cloud. The appointment comes as the company expands its regional footprint, including a US$1 billion investment to establish a new cloud region in Bangkok, highlighting the growing strategic importance of the Southeast Asian digital economy to regional hubs like…

Layoffs at Oracle reduced the company’s workforce by 13% over the past year, cutting headcount by 21,000 as AI and cloud infrastructure spending increased. The scale of the job cuts was reported by Bloomberg based on Oracle’s annual regulatory filing. Oracle had 141,000 full-time employees as of 31 May 2026, down from 162,000 a year earlier. The company said its use of AI across operations had led to workforce reductions and could continue to do so. Oracle also pointed to broader restructuring activity, including changes linked to management, products, strategy, performance and acquisitions. The cuts come as the company spends…

Aspire has rolled out an MCP integration that brings business finance workflows into the AI tools companies already use. The integration allows Aspire customers to securely access financial information and carry out operational tasks through MCP-compatible AI platforms, including Claude, ChatGPT and others. Through Aspire MCP, businesses can review card spending, check invoice and approval statuses, monitor balances across entities, track budgets and access financial information using natural language. The launch comes as more companies explore how AI can support day-to-day operations. While AI tools are already being used for coding, research and workflow management, financial systems have often remained separate…

Sea and OpenAI are bringing Shopee into ChatGPT as part of a wider push to expand AI-powered shopping across Southeast Asia and Brazil. The partnership will cover e-commerce features, seller tools, access to OpenAI products and developer engagement through Codex. The Shopee app is now available in ChatGPT for users in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brazil. Users can discover Shopee products through conversational prompts in ChatGPT, such as asking for gift ideas, fashion suggestions, travel items or specific products, before continuing their purchase on Shopee. Sea and OpenAI have worked together since 2025 through marketing…

Libeara has raised US$14 million in a strategic funding round led by global market maker GSR. The round also included Openspace Capital, Kyobo Life Insurance Group, AlloyX, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Kaia Investment Partners and Simsan Ventures. Libeara said the new investors bring regional distribution and ecosystem support as it expands across different markets. The Singapore-based company will use the funding to support its global expansion and scale its tokenisation infrastructure for regulated digital assets. Libeara works with financial institutions and asset managers to issue and distribute tokenised assets. Aaron Gwak, Founder and CEO, Libeara, said, “Bringing in these partners provides…

Meta will invest US$900 million in CRED as the Indian fintech firm’s founder steps into a global leadership role at WhatsApp. Reuters reported that the deal values the Bengaluru-based startup at US$4.5 billion and gives Meta a minority stake in the company. Kunal Shah, who founded CRED in 2018, will become WhatsApp’s global head. He succeeds Will Cathcart, who is taking up a new role inside Meta after seven years running the messaging service. The move places a prominent Indian startup founder in charge of one of Meta’s most important global products. India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than…

Although artificial intelligence (AI) is seeing widespread adoption, many companies fail to see significant improvements and gains. According to a new blog post by partners at Bain and Company and researchers at OpenAI, this primarily stems from the gap between experimentation, where AI tools are tried out in isolated pilots, and transformation, where AI is deeply embedded into business strategies. These experts highlight the so-called “micro-productivity trap”, where companies often treat AI like a plug-and-play software-as-a-service (SaaS) investment with isolated use cases and scattershot pilots. They use AI either to optimize existing offerings or to automate current processes without rethinking…

Global payments company Payfuture is partnering with Atlantic Partners Asia (APA) to expand cross-border payment capabilities into emerging markets. The collaboration allows internationally active businesses to move funds into fast-growing economies efficiently. Through a single integration, APA clients can now access the local payment infrastructure of Payfuture. This removes the need for businesses to establish and manage their own complex local banking relationships when entering new territories. Navigating local regulatory requirements and settlement networks can present significant hurdles for international expansion. The partnership combines the commercial reach of APA with the established local market knowledge of Payfuture to create a…

SaaScada is establishing a Singapore hub to grow its core banking modernisation business across Asia Pacific. CEO and Co-Founder Nelson Wootton will relocate to Singapore to lead the expansion. The office will support sales, partnerships and customer support across the region. The move follows rising demand from banks and financial institutions looking to upgrade legacy core systems without full replacement projects. SaaScada’s cloud-native platform allows institutions to launch and update banking products through API-led integrations. It also captures transaction data in real time for reporting, customer insight and future AI use cases. Nelson Wootton, CEO and Co-Founder of SaaScada, said,…

Databricks plans to increase its Singapore headcount by up to 50% over the next year to support the rollout of new enterprise AI products, according to a report by The Business Times. The company currently employs over 250 people in Singapore, which serves as its headquarters for the Asia Pacific and Japan region. Out of a regional workforce of more than 1,500 employees, Databricks is actively hiring for more than 50 new roles locally across sales, engineering, and marketing. To accommodate this growth, the privately held startup will move into a 32,000 square foot office at IOI Central Boulevard Towers…

Temasek has named Mapletree Investments’ Wendy Koh as its next Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 1 October 2026. Koh will first join Temasek as CFO-designate on 1 August 2026 before taking over the role two months later. She is currently Group CFO at Mapletree Investments and has more than 30 years of experience across finance, capital markets and corporate strategy. Temasek said her experience will support its focus on disciplined capital management and long-term value creation. As part of the transition, Png Chin Yee will step down from her concurrent role as CFO on 1 October 2026. She will continue…

Finastra is selling its Universal Banking business to Pollen Street Capital as it narrows its focus on payments and lending. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal follows Finastra’s recent sale of its US Mid-Market banking business to CORA Group, which covered core banking, digital banking and analytics products. Universal Banking provides core banking software for account and deposit management, payments, lending and treasury operations. It serves more than 150 customers in over 100 countries, including global and regional banks, digital banks, Islamic banks and building societies. Its main platform, Essence, is a cloud-first open banking platform used by financial…

Bybit is reportedly seeking clarity from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) after the regulator placed the crypto exchange on its Investor Alert List. The MAS entry, dated 17 June 2026, does not state the reason for Bybit’s inclusion. MAS’ Investor Alert List identifies entities that may have been wrongly perceived as licensed, authorised or regulated by the authority, or whose products may have been mistaken as authorised, recognised or registered by MAS. The list is not exhaustive and reflects information available to MAS at the time of publication. Bybit stated in a post on X that it is aware…

AWS has launched its first Local Zone in Hanoi, marking its initial infrastructure deployment in Vietnam to support data residency and low-latency cloud computing. The new facility allows organisations in highly regulated sectors, such as banking, fintech, and healthcare, to store and process data locally. This infrastructure helps enterprises comply with domestic data localisation requirements while reducing the operational burden of maintaining private servers. The Hanoi deployment offers single-digit millisecond latency, which supports applications requiring real-time responsiveness. This capability benefits financial services executing high-frequency trades, as well as gaming and live-streaming companies operating real-time digital platforms. “The AWS Local Zone…

Thailand’s first virtual bank Clicx has launched with a 4% savings promotion for customers opening accounts through its app. According to the Bangkok Post, the rate is offered through the Clicx Save Max 4% pocket, which is available to Clicx Save account holders. The promotion runs for three months from the bank’s 19 June launch. It covers deposits of up to 20,000 baht, while balances above that earn 0.5% per year. Each customer may open one Clicx Save Max 4% pocket, in line with Bank of Thailand requirements. Clicx was established by Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service and PTT Oil…

OCBC has launched a free online SME ESG assessment tool for SMEs across its core markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, named OCBC Pulse. The ESG tool is said to be capable of independently assessing the sustainability readiness of SMEs, while also enabling large companies to better understand the ESG performance of their respective SME suppliers. OCBC Pulse is said to offer these actionable recommendations for SMEs to identify gaps and improve in crucial sustainability areas. The bank intends to pilot the tool, which was developed in collaboration with the UN Global Compact Network Singapore, with its own…

Sumsub has launched an AI agent integration that lets compliance teams turn AML policies into configured verification workflows. The Model Context Protocol integration allows teams to upload anti-money laundering policies or regulatory requirements to AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT or other models. The AI agent can then configure verification levels, risk questionnaires and onboarding workflows in Sumsub based on those documents. According to Sumsub, the process can reduce setup time from days to minutes, including for complex policies with country-specific risk brackets, scoring tables and conditional rules. The company said the integration is meant to reduce the manual work…