Author: Fintech News Singapore

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: UnionBank Taps FIS to Digitize Lending Processes UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has tapped fintech firm FIS to digitize its commercial lending processes utilizing the US-based company’s suite of risk management, compliance and analytics solutions. Included in the re-engineering plan are origination and credit assessment, liquidity and capital charge of loans and portfolios, data management and reporting. FIS technology promises to enable the bank to…

The financial services industry in Southeast Asia is rapidly evolving as a result of disruption from new-age fintech companies. The rapid adoption of fintech innovation in the region has been fueled by the rapidly expanding expanding economies, young-urban-digitally-savvy population, increasing mobile and Internet penetration, and largely underserved, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and consumer markets by traditional financial institutions. Among the countries part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have witnessed the emergence of a fintech industry, according to EY’s ASEAN Fintech Census 2018. Singapore has got the largest sector…

With their newest services, GrabFood and GrabPay, the Singapore-based company is set to break into the lucrative food delivery and e-payment markets in Vietnam, taking advantage of their popular ride-hailing app to connect millions of users to drivers, restaurants and each other. GrabFood to connect restaurants and customers Grab is no stranger to the food delivery market in Vietnam. In fact, many restaurants already use their ride-hailing app for deliveries. With GrabFood, however, the company hopes to expand their role by acting as the intermediary between restaurants and customers, giving Grab a distinct advantage over other, more established food delivery…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: Philippines to Welcome First 10 Crypto Operators Ten blockchain and virtual currency companies are set to become the first cryptocurrency operators in the Philippines that will run in an economic zone to take advantage of tax perks while generating employment, Reuters reported. Regulators legalised their entry into the country in February, in contrast to neighbouring countries which have not allowed such entities. The companies should invest…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: Senator De Lima urges immediate passage of crypto bill after P1B Bitcoin Ponzi scheme Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged her fellow senators to push for the swift passage of her bill that seeks to impose stiffer penalties for crimes involving cryptocurrencies to prevent a repeat of the recent Bitcoin Ponzi scheme that reportedly swindled people of up to P1 billion ($19 million). De…

The latest Global Financial Inclusion Index (“Findex”) database released today by the World Bank finds that Indonesia’s financial inclusion has made the most progress, across East Asia and the Pacific, in bringing its citizens into the formal financial system in the past three years, particularly women. Around half of the adults in Indonesia now own a bank account, reflecting a true turning point in the country’s journey to boost financial inclusion. This also registers a marked improvement from its 36 percentage of account ownership in 2014 and 20 percent in 2011. Between 2014 and 2017, Indonesia also saw the…

The era of traditional banking is coming to an end as customers are now demanding banking to be better integrated into their digital lifestyle, providing service that is instant, integrated with social platforms and driven by data, according to a new survey by Oracle. The Oracle research, published on April 11, found that out of the 5,200 customers from 13 different countries polled, 67% have already made the switch to digital, accessing their bank accounts through digital channels and platforms including mobile banking apps and web-based banking platforms. According to Sonny Singh, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle’s…

United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) and Pintec Technology Holdings Limited (PINTEC) announced the launch of their joint venture, Avatec.ai . Avatec aims to help banks and finance companies to be more efficient and more accurate when assessing the credit quality of potential customers, including those who are new to credit. The digital solution can also be extended to companies in sectors such as e-commerce, retail, and travel that offer financial products such as point-of-sale financing. 27% in SEA are Bank account holder According to KPMG, only 27 percent of Southeast Asia’s 600 million people hold a bank account. Within this segment, many people…

In 2017, Singapore hit US$229.1 million of fintech funding, a record mainly attributed to two of Asia’s ten biggest deals taking place in the city-state in the fourth quarter. The deals are the acquisition of Paynear Solutions by e-commerce startup GoSwiff for US$100 million, and global asset management fintech player Smartkarma’s US$13.5 million Series B funding round. The city-state continues to showcase its leading position in the fintech space and ability to attract foreign fintech firms, large corporates, and well-established international venture capital (VC) funds. Several fintech deals were closed since the beginning of the year, continuing to drive momentum…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: SEC warns investing in unregistered cloud mining deals after P900m Bitcoin scam The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned the public against investing in unregistered cloud mining deals, following the arrest of a couple involved in a P900 million Bitcoin investment scam. Cloud mining uses remote data centers to perform the complex calculations needed to produce or “mine” cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum. In…

The Indonesian Central Bank repeatedly warns citizens about cryptocurrencies and cautions to understand the risks, but the country’s regulations are currently fairly open towards digital currencies and blockchain technology. An actual ban only exists for cryptocurrencies in payments, but exchange platforms and ownership of crypto-assets are not. Several state-owned banks and government entities are in fact working on blockchain-based applications, and the country’s financial regulator, OJK, has encouraged this, says Pandu Sastrowardoyo, co-founder of Bali-based blockchain consulting firm Blockchain Zoo. She points out that to use blockchain technology. Indonesia’s geography – spread across a vast area and many islands -…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: PH banks required to set up e-payment channels The Philippine central bank is implementing measures requiring banks and other financial firms to offer electronic payment channels for all clients by setting up systems that will allow fund transfers in a matter of seconds. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is acting upon specific guidelines for the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) covering banks, non-banks…

IDC Financial Insights  unveiled a list of fintech companies in Indonesia that are expected to mature faster than others. As the number of fintech startups are at rise in Indonesia, the list of fintech startups announced are based on extensive analysis of the observed fintech within the country. Indonesia is the fourth largest population country in the world and is an attraction for global players such as Google, Alibaba, Tencent and others to take part in the fintech development as a player or investor. IDC witnessed entries of new and non-traditional vendors into financial services. Payment and Lending categorized fintech…

In developing countries, digital banking platforms and real-time payments have been driving financial inclusion, providing the underbanked and financially excluded with affordable and convenient financial services, according to a new report by Vocalink, a Mastercard payments company. The report, titled Financial Inclusion Accelerated, examines the role of real-time payments in enabling financial inclusion and draws on examples from Thailand, India and China to show how real-time payments has helped respond to the needs and concerns of the financial underserved. Real-time payments enabling financial inclusion In Thailand, PromptPay’s real-time payment infrastructure is allowing millions of Thais faster access to money,…

Through innovative business models, products and use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, digital identity and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), fintech companies are making significant progress in promoting financial inclusion, according to a new report co-authored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group. The report, titled Financial Inclusion in the Digital Age, explores how fintech can help improve financial inclusion by allowing underserved individuals and businesses to gain access to basic financial products including banking accounts, credit, financial planning, and insurance products, among other…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: Coins, Tagcash Racing to Launch ‘First’ Crypto Order-Book Exchange in PH Money transfer platform Coins.ph, and digital wallet company Tagcash are racing to launch a live “first Philippine-based” order-book exchange for cryptocurrency. The goal is to allow people to directly place orders to buy and sell digital currency at real-time market prices, just like investing in the traditional stock exchange. “There are no order…

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have been all the rage these past years raising an estimated US$4 billion globally. An increasing number of startups, in the blockchain space and beyond, are opting for the novel fundraising method instead of traditional venture capital. But as ICOs rise in popularity, these are becoming a key area of focus for regulators around the world who are warning about the unregulated nature of the practice in most jurisdictions. Regulation is coming rapidly for cryptocurrencies and ICOs, and countries have taken different approaches. How are ICOs and cryptocurrencies regulated around the world? Here’s a a follow up…

US-based automatic teller machine (ATM) manufacturer Diebold Nixdorf, Inc. is gradually evolving into a maker of omnichannel-connected banking and has created a new service leveraging the Internet-of-Thing (IoT). The new offering promises to help financial institutions and retailers keep up with digitalization and market changes in physical channels. The Ohio-based firm has rolled out Diebold Nixdorf AllConnect Services, which uses data captured through an advanced IoT infrastructure to analyze the performance and output of ATMs, payment terminals and mobile devices, the company said in a release. Diebold Nixdorf AllConnect Services also powers a collection of integrated business solutions including managed…

Acudeen Technologies, a Filipino startup offering an online technology platform that connects small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to financial institutions through invoice discounting, is conducting a token sale to raise up to US$35 million. The company’s initial coin offering (ICO) is based in Singapore where the startup established its regional office in early 2018. A total of 10 billion ACU tokens will be sold at a price of US$1 per 100 coins with the proceeds going towards the startup’s geographic expansion and its migration onto a blockchain platform. “The ACU tokens serve as our answer to the growing demand for…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Follow the Fintech Philippines Facebook or Twitter channel to stay updated. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly Fintech PH Newsletter here. Here we go: Fruitas goes cashless with GCash Fruitas Holdings, a top food cart business in the Philippines, has partnered with Globe Telecom’s mobile wallet payment platform GCash and now uses a scan-to-pay feature in its pilot stores in Metro Manila. By the end of 2018, Mynt, the mobile financial service company of Globe, is targeting to enable Fruitas Holdings to accept GCash payments in all its…