Author: Fintech News Singapore

Sumsub has launched a module that allows businesses to control what AI agents can access within company systems. Called the KYA Module for MCP, it sits between an agent and company data and can trigger human verification when an agent attempts a sensitive or high-value action. The module supports agents developed in-house or built using models such as Claude or ChatGPT. It works through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that connects AI agents to external tools and data sources. How Sumsub’s KYA module works Every request an agent sends to a connected data source passes through Sumsub’s…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has shortlisted 24 finalists for the SFF Fintech Excellence Awards 2026, with eight winners to be selected across six categories. Jointly organised by MAS and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), with support from PwC Singapore, the awards recognise companies and individuals for their contributions to fintech innovation and the financial services industry. Of the 24 finalists, 20 were shortlisted across five corporate categories, while four are competing for the individual Fintech Mentor Award. An international panel of industry experts assessed the finalists. Corporate entries were evaluated on five criteria: impact, sustainability, practicality, interoperability, and…

Thunes and Coinbase have teamed up to make it easier to send money across borders using stablecoins and local payment networks. The partnership will support international supplier payments, gig worker payouts and cross-border remittances. Coinbase will integrate Thunes’ Direct Global Network into its platform, giving customers access to local clearing systems and alternative payment methods. Thunes’ network will enable real-time payouts to mobile wallets and bank accounts. This will help Coinbase reach more countries and currencies, including markets with limited banking infrastructure. Coinbase will also provide stablecoin solutions to Thunes to support wider adoption across its network and expansion into…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has selected 18 finalists for the Global Fintech Hackcelerator 2026 from 195 applications submitted across 52 jurisdictions. Now in its 11th edition, the programme is organised by MAS and the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), a not-for-profit organisation established by the regulator. It connects early-stage fintech startups with financial institutions to develop solutions to specific industry challenges. This year’s Corporate Champions are GXS Bank, Julius Baer and Zurich Insurance. GXS Bank, Julius Baer and Zurich set three industry challenges GXS Bank is seeking a risk modelling system that combines credit and fraud assessments.…

A technical failure involving a third-party vendor knocked out key YouTrip services in Singapore and Thailand for several hours on 19 October. The outage disrupted payments, wallet top-ups and currency exchange across both markets, according to The Straits Times. YouTrip confirmed at about 6.45pm that all services had returned to normal. The company continues to monitor the vendor’s system and has assured customers that their funds and accounts remain safe. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is following up on the incident and has required YouTrip to investigate its cause and address any vulnerabilities. The regulator described the outage as…

Krungsriayudhya Card and JCB International will launch the Krungsri JCB Ultimate Credit Card in Thailand on 1 November, targeting consumers interested in Japanese culture, fashion, dining and travel. The new premium card is aimed at a segment the companies call “JNERATION” and expands their existing partnership, which already includes the Krungsri JCB Platinum. Krungsriayudhya Card operates as the credit card business of Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), part of Japan’s MUFG Group. The launch follows Krungthai Card’s (KTC) introduction of Thailand’s first JCB Ultimate card in 2022, which targeted customers earning at least THB 50,000 a month. Higher rewards for Japan-related…

HSBC Private Bank has introduced a six-week online leadership programme to prepare the next generation of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families for responsibilities in family businesses and wealth management. Developed in partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management, the Future Family Leaders Digital Programme targets clients aged 23 to 30. HSBC Private Bank’s family governance specialists and experts from MIT Sloan Executive Education jointly developed the course and will deliver its six modules. Participants will explore family enterprise dynamics, ownership responsibilities, family unity, managing difficult conversations and planning their future roles. The programme combines two live modules with four self-paced modules. Its…

Stripe is adding multi-currency support to its stablecoin card infrastructure, with Plasma as design partner. A cardholder holding euros, for example, will be able to spend directly in euros without first converting through US dollars. What Stripe’s stablecoin cards will support The expanded infrastructure will support five fiat currencies: the US dollar, Brazilian real, euro, Mexican peso and Colombian peso. On the stablecoin side, it will support OUSD and other eligible stablecoins that meet the requirements of the GENIUS Act, the US federal law that sets rules for payment stablecoins. Stripe’s stablecoin cards are available in more than 30 countries…

FIS has made its AML Investigations Agent commercially available to all US-based banks, including those that are not existing clients. Developed with support from Anthropic and design partner Amalgamated Bank, the AI-powered agent aims to reduce the manual work involved in financial crime investigations. Amalgamated Bank is now deploying the tool. The launch follows FIS’s initial announcement with Anthropic in May 2026. FIS projects substantial reductions in AML investigation time FIS cited 2023 LexisNexis estimates showing that US financial institutions spend US$35 billion to US$40 billion annually on AML operations. According to 2025 research from AnChain.AI, analysts spend 40% to…

iCapital plans to hire more product and engineering staff in Singapore even as AI generates 75% of its code, CEO Lawrence Calcano told The Business Times. The New York-headquartered alternative investments platform uses AI for code generation, testing and quality assurance. Calcano said the technology allows the company to improve efficiency while expanding its capabilities. “I think it is a significant opportunity for us to be more efficient and deliver more capabilities and user friendliness to clients,” said Calcano. iCapital shifts focus from access to analytics iCapital’s 2026 Asia Advisor Survey found that investors are looking beyond basic access to…

As the automotive industry becomes more digital, the way vehicles are discovered, purchased and financed is changing. For customers, the expectation is increasingly straightforward: a smoother journey, clearer choices and financing that works with, rather than against, the buying experience. For businesses, meeting those expectations requires more than faster technology. It calls for closer coordination across the wider mobility ecosystem. That was a central theme at AIMCONNECT 2026, held on 11 October at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa, Singapore. X Star Technology and Aimotion organised the forum under the theme “Where Mobility Meets the Future”. The event brought together representatives from more…

Episode Six has introduced real-time checks to help banks verify that the digital tokens they issue remain valid when customers redeem them. The new feature, called Verified Backing, forms part of the E6 Token Control Ledger and supports banks issuing their own tokenised deposits and stablecoins. Before issuing a tokenised deposit or stablecoin, the system verifies that the required backing has been recorded in the ledger. At redemption, it checks that the token is genuine and remains outstanding before funds are released. These checks work even if the token has moved across multiple wallets or blockchain networks. Traditional reconciliation reviews…

Mastercard has launched Mastercard Global Money Platform with BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure firm it acquired in August 2026. The platform gives banks, fintechs and enterprises a single API to hold, convert, pay out and spend both fiat currencies and stablecoins, and is the first major integration of the two companies’ capabilities since the deal closed. Businesses can embed multi-currency accounts, real-time conversion, stablecoin-linked cards and local bank payouts into their own products under their own brand. They can also use the platform to run their own treasury, payments and settlement. Customers can start with the features they need and add…

Partior has partnered with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) to explore bringing Bahraini dinar settlement onto its blockchain network. The MoU sets out a framework to evaluate NBB’s potential role as a settlement bank, including the proposed operating model and implementation requirements. Partior operates a live multi-bank blockchain network designed to support cross-border payments and settlement between financial institutions. Vineet Munot, Group Head of Transaction Banking at NBB, said, “Our engagement with Partior allows us to assess how NBB’s local market capabilities could support Bahraini Dinar settlement within an emerging digital infrastructure. We will approach this opportunity with the…

Visa is expanding its use of stablecoins in cross-border payments by allowing eligible businesses to prefund payouts with USDC. Inyo Global, a Visa Direct processor, is the first enabler to bring the stablecoin-enabled prefunding service into commercial use. The integration allows eligible money transmitters, fintechs and payment companies using Inyo’s platform to fund cross-border payouts with USDC in near real time instead of relying solely on traditional funding windows. Businesses can access the service around the clock through Inyo’s existing APIs, subject to eligibility and geographical availability. Inyo’s platform also supports customer onboarding, fraud and compliance management, payment acceptance and…

ADDX has appointed longtime executive Inmoo Jonathan Hwang as CEO as it looks to expand investor access to private markets. Hwang is a co-founder of the Singapore-based investment platform and previously served as Group Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. He has played a role in the company’s strategic development and will now lead its efforts to widen private market access and improve investor understanding of these investments. Hwang said, “Beyond giving investors access to private markets, we want to help them allocate to them with clarity and confidence. There’s a lot still to build, and a lot we can…

Sea Limited has partnered with Google AI Futures Fund to develop and test new AI applications, making Sea Labs the fund’s first external AI laboratory partner. Under the collaboration, Sea’s teams will gain access to selected advanced Google AI models and technical expertise to develop and test new products. The initiative will build on Sea’s existing AI infrastructure, including its proprietary models, computing resources and applications across Garena, Shopee and Monee, which collectively serve hundreds of millions of users daily. The agreement extends an expanded strategic partnership announced in February 2026, covering gaming, agentic commerce and agentic payments. As part…

Lenovo is adding SentinelOne’s Prompt Security to its ThinkShield security portfolio in Singapore and other Asia Pacific markets. The tool gives companies a way to monitor how employees use AI and to set rules on what data staff can share with it, as reported by Tech in Asia. Lenovo said the product allows security teams to identify shadow AI use. It also prevents employees from sharing sensitive data with unauthorised AI apps. The tool protects against prompt injection attacks, where attackers hide malicious instructions in inputs to manipulate how an AI model behaves. How Lenovo is extending its SentinelOne partnership…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted KPay a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license. The license, held by subsidiary KPay Merchant Service (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. under the Payment Services Act 2019, authorises KPay to provide merchant acquisition, domestic money transfer and cross-border money transfer services in Singapore. MAS gave KPay in-principle approval for the license in July 2026, subject to the company meeting specified conditions. KPay set up its Singapore operations in 2022 and now serves more than 10,000 local merchants, mostly in the F&B and retail sectors. The company said it has invested in governance, risk management, compliance,…

A FICO poll has found that 77% of senior banking leaders across Asia Pacific consider it extremely important for banks to use AI tools developed specifically for financial services rather than adapted from consumer applications. The remaining 23% rated such specialisation as somewhat important. “Financial institutions operate under regulatory scrutiny that most consumer technology companies don’t face,” said Dattu Kompella, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, FICO. “Banks need AI models that are explainable, auditable and designed from the ground up for compliance. Off-the-shelf consumer AI doesn’t meet that bar.” Privacy and compliance remain key barriers Banking leaders identified governance and regulatory…