Cryptocurrency has been the subject of a huge amount of interest by the populace, yet if you pulled someone off the street to ask them specific questions, there’s a very high chance that they’ll draw up a blank. The crypto-world isn’t exactly the most easy-to-understand field, which has lent to the slew of ponzi scams masquerading under crypto-related names. Even among those who do have an understanding of cryptocurrency, the no holds barred Game of Thrones playing field that is the crypto-trading is not welcoming to beginner traders just starting to dip their toes. Since people learn best through experience,…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
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The global banking and financial services sector is rapidly transforming due to waves of digital disruption enabled by emerging fintech. As fintech is taking an impetuous pace, dynamically penetrating the daily lives of consumers through every available channel, professionals in the financial services industry must ensure they have the necessary skills to face this rapidly evolving landscape. The following is a list of ten fintech, blockchain courses available across Southeast Asia: Fintech Talent Programme – Singapore The Fintech Talent (FT) Programme was launched in 2017 by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and the Singapore…
Advances in digital innovations and cutting-edge technologies as well as evolving customer preferences are creating the need for digital agility in the insurance sector. Insurtech, a subset of fintech that refers to the use of technology innovations to squeeze out savings and efficiency from the current insurance industry model, has received significant traction in recent years with companies in the space raising US$2.3 billion in 2017, according to EY’s Global Insurance Trends Analysis 2018. According to an analysis by Venture Scanner, there are approximately 1,500 insurtech startups around the world, most of which are based in the US. Insurtech…
Indonesia’s tech scene has finally hit its stride, and the industry is now rife with startups and tech businesses that aim to solve problems unique to the Indonesian ecosystem. One area of tech of high interest in Indonesia is blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies that have taken the world by storm in 2017. The technology is the up and coming tech trend of 2018 it seems, and Indonesia already has a strong hand in this pie, starting with startups like those featured here. Within the past few months, there have been huge industry-changing developments in Indonesia’s blockchain that could, with proper…
Singapore is striving a become a top fintech destination aided by a supportive government, an active fintech community, and a large pool of investors looking to back promising ventures. Singapore fintech startups raised a record of US$229.1 million in 2017, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report, and the trend isn’t expected to slow down any time soon. Here are eight fintech investors and venture capital (VC) firms based in Singapore fueling the fintech revolution: Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings is a sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Singapore specializing in growth capital, restructuring, and divestiture transactions. It seeks to…
We’ve told you which fintech events you should consider attending in the upcoming months, but if you don’t exactly live nearby, you’ll have accomodations to contend with. So we have compiled a list of hotels near the events that are either walking distance, or a short trip away from the venue. The prices listed are based on stays during the days of the event, so earlier check-ins or later checkouts may entail higher prices. Prices quoted are also for 1-person rooms. [12 &13 September, Marina Bay Sands] Big Data & AI Leaders Summit Singapore 2018 Located in Marina Bay Sands,…
Singapore’s position as an international fintech hub has always been bolstered with strong regulatory support from its central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Fintech is key for Singapore’s future as a global financial hub, which contemplates a world moving at a much faster pace and with much greater efficiency. Financial institutions need to digitalise, but this requires collaboration with fintech disruptors who are the ones developing new technologies and business models. An overview of the fintech scene in Singapore shows how fintech firms there garnered US$229.1 million in investments in 2017; while total funding so far this…
IoT is a space that goes through rapid development from the latest cutting edge breakthrough, to the latest frightening vulnerabilities and all the way to the silliest of inventions. It is a space that becoming blurry and difficult for the busy IOT professional keep up with, luckily there are plenty of events out there for us to get the down-low on the latest trends and development in the space. Here are few handpicked events that we think you might enjoy. If an important event is missing ( since there are so many), send us an Email or comment on this…
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have become a popular way for cryptocurrency and blockchain startups to raise funds. During an ICO, the company sells a certain amount of crypto-tokens at a set cost prior to listing the token on an exchange. Then, the company uses the money from the ICO to fund development and operations. The practice boomed in 2017 and continues to attract huge amounts of funding in 2018 despite the cryptocurrency market being down. Since the start of the year, the price of bitcoin has fallen by more than 50% cutting mote than US$100 billion from its market capitalization.…
The benefits of IoT span three particular categories, namely the Industrial 4.0 Revolution, smart cities and consumer IoT. Excluding Japan, the IoT market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow from US$250 bil to US$583 bil by 2019. Meanwhile global spending on IoT is expected to hit nearly US$1.4 tril by 2021, up from US$8000 bil in 2017, the technology research firm International Data Corp reports. Yet despite the staggering growth trajectory much of Asia’s investments are largely geared towards investments in IOT Innovation centres. Here are 10 helpful tips for the industry to drive IOT adoption Step 1 : Shifting Gears In order…
While cash remains the undisputed king in Cambodia, the growth of digital transactions and mobile payments is providing tremendous opportunities for fintech ventures and solutions to serve the unbanked and transform the country’s financial landscape. High mobile phone usage and connectivity, as well as low banking penetration rate, make the mobile payment market appealing in the developing Southeast Asian country of Cambodia. According to an Open Institute survey, 96% of Cambodians own a mobile phone and there are over 10 million total units used. Cambodia’s 173% mobile connectivity is the highest in Southeast Asia, beating the regional average of 133% and even…
The benefits of IoT span three particular categories, namely the Industrial 4.0 Revolution, smart cities and consumer IoT. Excluding Japan, the IoT market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow from US$250 bil to US$583 bil by 2019. Meanwhile global spending on IoT is expected to hit nearly US$1.4 tril by 2021, up from US$8000 bil in 2017, the technology research firm International Data Corp reports. Yet despite the staggering growth trajectory much of Asia’s investments are largely geared towards investments in IOT Innovation centres. Here are 10 helpful tips for the industry to drive IOT adoption Step 1 :…
NEXT Biometrics a fingerprint sensor technology, specialist announced hat it has received initial orders for its “Scallop” fingerprint readers for use in India’s Aadhaar government ID program. At the same time, NEXT announced its intention to create a subsidiary in India and has also made key additions to the sales organization in the country. The orders for fingerprint readers come just two months after NEXT received certification from India’s Standardization Testing and Quality CertificationDirectorate to sell products for use in the Aadhaar program. The fingerprint readers are sold through NEXT’s distribution partner, AqTronics Technologies. As previously stated, NEXT’s product plans call…
In 2017, a grand total of US$38.1B had been poured into the fintech industry according to KPMG Pulse of Fintech report and of their 2017 figures, KPMG noted that both insurtech and blockchain saw record-setting levels of venture capitalist (VC) investment, as well as deal volumes. Global Trends In 6 years, insurtech investments went from $326 million to $2.1 billion. The trajectory saw a huge leap between 2014 and 2015, lost a bit of footing in 2016, and is now back on a gradual incline that will hopefully continue in 2018–especially with so many huge corporations and organisations making strides to speed…
In the past year, the fintech industry in Thailand has witnessed significant growth but the latest push from the government is set to position the country as one of the region’s top fintech hubs. The Thailand government is putting a particular effort on developing its fintech industry as part of the country’s broader Smart Cities and Thailand 4.0 initiative, which aims to integrate digital technology, energy and transport to improve the quality of life. In particular, it is the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the country’s central bank, that has taken a leading role in creating a favorable fintech ecosystem, undertaking…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, together with five local polytechnics and 12 industry partners came together to hold the inaugural PolyFinTech 100 API Hackathon. The hackathon which started on the 2nd of June drew in close to 130 participants, who in teams of 5-6 each, turned their ideas into proof-of-concept solutions to prove how financial services can be incorporated into users’ daily lives. Some of the solutions include banking applications for the visually impaired, a mobile application for enabling efficient GST refunds for tourists, and e-payment services in hawker centres. And the team that stood above the rest to win…
Prudential Singapore’s second edition of its digital innovation programme, the PRU Fintegrate Partnership (PRU Fintegrate) is this year inviting scale-ups from all over the world to join its innovation fray. The insurance provider is aiming to build synergistic partnerships with scale-ups from 10 targeted areas to build new, end-to-end scaleable digital solutions for the future. Prudential’s selected partners will win the opportunity to showcase their solutions at Prudential’s booth at the upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 (12-16 November). They will thereafter, in 2019, also begin a fully-paid up pilot programme to further develop their solutions. Areas for disruption Some…
EY announced plans to invest US$1 billion in new technology solutions, client services, innovation and the EY ecosystem over the next two financial years, commencing from July. According to EY, this move is part of their ongoing strategy to provide clients and people with innovative offerings using the latest disruptive technologies. The new US$1b funding is in addition to the existing, significant annual technology investment. The investment will be used to create new technology-based services and solutions in areas such as financial services, cyber, risk management, managed services, software services as well as digital tax and audit services. Mark Weinberger,…
Fintech innovation has experienced major growth in recent years mainly due to addressing the needs of financial institutions in modernizing payment services and improving customer experience in the digital age. The fintech landscape is quickly evolving with new services, business models and providers, but as the industry matures, however, providers will need to deal with attention from regulators, a wave of mergers and consolidations and a slow-down or drop in valuation, and they will need a more pragmatic approach to business development, with a stronger focus on intellectual property (IP) management and exit strategies. In the past years, an increasing…
On August 9, 2018, Singapore will be celebrating its 53rd National Day, which every year commemorates Singapore’s independence from Malaysia with an exuberant parade, an address by the Prime Minister of Singapore, and fireworks celebrations. This is a great occasion to review the incredible fintech journey of Singapore. The state of fintech in Singapore Singapore’s fintech sector has been a great growth story with more than 400 fintech firms in the country and lot more being added every year. In Singapore, the financial sector makes up more than 12% of the economy and employs almost 200,000 workers. The government launched…