Author: Fintech News Singapore

RazerPay is now collaborating with The Finlab to create a proof-of-concept (POC) to test cross-border remittance using blockchain technology. Since The FinLab is affiliated with UOB as its innovation accelerator, this partnership with RazerPay could be connected with UOB and Intel’s recent announcement that they’re using artificial intelligence to fight money laundering. The blockchain-based POC aims to improve operational efficiency by increasing the transparency and speed of cross-border remittances. Razer Pay will spearhead the technical and product development of the POC, while The FinLab will mentor and guide RazerPay through areas like settlement and the sending and receipt of remittance…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced three winners of the Global Fintech Hackcelerator, selected from the 20 finalists that presented their solutions at the third annual Singapore Fintech Festival. The Hackcelerator was supported by KPMG Digital Village. The demo day culminated a 12-week programme that called for problem statements from the financial industry to be matched with market-ready solutions. MAS had published 80 problem statements under four categories (insurtech, financial inclusion,regtech, suptech, and general problems), and received 304 applications from over 40 countries. Twenty teams were shortlisted by a panel of industry judges to work with corporates, investors, partners,…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) are partnering with six private sector partners to create a Proof of Concept hybrid business data and digital solutions hub. The initiative will leverage on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate the internationalisation and digitalisation of SMEs. The six partners are GlobalLinker, Mastercard, SAP, Yellow Pages and 99%SME (DBS Bank and SingTel). While SMEs are often said to be the pillars of the economy, SMEs often face difficulties in achieving access to cross-border trade opportunities, or financial services. Concurrently, solution providers with innovative and relevant SME solutions – ranging from…

Thanks to a partnership signed between NETS and ITMX, Thailand’s interbank payment infrastructure, Thai mobile wallet users will soon be able to scan the NETS QR Code and NETS Pay Users in turn will also be able to scan the Thai Standardised QR Code. Dubbed the ITMX-NETS Programme, what this simply means is that, citizens of Singapore and Thailand will soon be able to use their QR-enabled mobile wallet to make payments in either country. The collaboration will also emphasise on further opportunity and use case for PromptPay and PayNow linkage as a proof-of-concept study. In fact some of Singtel…

Visa, has teamed up with Stripe, a fintech company focusing on online payment processing, to enable its real-time push payment solution on Stripe Connect, the company’s solution for multi- sided marketplaces and platforms. Visa Direct offers real-time push payment capabilities to business owners and consumers via the cards they already carry in their wallets. Funds are available within minutes, providing speed, convenience and security to the payment experience. With this integration, verified sellers using Stripe’s Instant Payout feature will be able to receive payments immediately on their Visa debit cards. This is a faster option than the current standard payment…

GTR Ventures, an investment and venture-building platform that specialises in trade and supply chain has announced three new deals with Lucidity, iLoan, and RM-Tech, each a company hailing from a different Asian region. These three investments for GTR Ventures represents an expanded pivot towards markets in China and South Asia. GTR Ventures is based out of London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and focuses its capital on trade-centric fintech companies while working together with a variety of stakeholders to integrate technology into trade. Lucidity Lucidity is a trade finance documentation solutions provider that employs automation and machine learning to improve efficiencies…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a set of principles to promote fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency (FEAT) in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics in finance. Known as the FEAT Principles, the document provides guidance to firms offering financial products and services on the responsible use of AI and data analytics, to strengthen internal governance around data management and use. This will foster greater confidence and trust in the use of AI and data analytics, as firms increasingly adopt technology tools and solutions to support business strategies and in risk management. MAS has worked…

United Overseas Bank (UOB) today announced it  collaborated with Intel to test how federated advanced data analytics can enhance cross-border anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. The project was co-funded by the MAS’ Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) Grant under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme. The AIDA Grant was launched at the Singapore FinTech Festival in 2017 to encourage the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics among financial institutions. The joint project between UOB and Intel set out to use a combination of technology and advanced data analytics to provide greater clarity about the extent of transactions made…

Singapore will be receiving a Swiss accelerator and venture capital firm soon, as Blockchain Valley Ventures has decided that our island nation is their next stop, set for operations sometime in 2019. With SGInnovate as a key partner in Singapore, Blockchain Valley Ventures aims to become the bridge between Europe and Asia for both investors, and technology companies. They are looking to source good projects and deals, and expand its regional footprint in what they see as one of the fastest growth engines in the blockchain industry, Asia. Blockchain Valley Ventures’ strategy for funding new businesses is a hybrid of…

United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) and Grab today announced they have entered into a strategic alliance to accelerate the use of digital services among ASEAN’s growing base of digital consumers. Interestingly, this announcement comes shortly after Go-Jek’s partnership announcement with DBS The alliance between the two parties will enable UOB to deliver financial services to Grab’s ASEAN-wide user base and to accelerate the Bank’s efforts to meet the needs of the region’s fast-growing ‘mobile-first’ and ‘mobile-only’ consumers. It will also pave the way for Grab to offer directly from its app a number of payment solutions from the Bank’s holistic…

Razer, a global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced that it is working with NETS Group to enable Razer Pay acceptance on NETS unified POS terminals, with the goal of enabling full interoperability by the time Razer Pay launches in Singapore in Q1 2019. In addition to NETS, major household brands such as Reebonz, Sistic, SP Group, and WTS Travel are also working with Razer Pay in various capacities in the lead-up to its Singapore launch. These discussions may include Razer’s expertise in both in-store offline purchases, as well as online payment. For example, Razer is working with SP Group…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) have developed Delivery versus Payment (DvP) capabilities, its built for the settlement of tokenised assets across different blockchain platforms. The hope is that this will help simplify post-trade processes and further shorten settlement cycles. The platform was developed with technology partners Anquan, Deloitte, and Nasdaq. The DvP prototypes were tested to carry out the simultaneous exchange and final settlement of digital tokens and securities assets on different blockchain platforms. The hope is that the ability to perform these activities simultaneously improves operational efficiency and reduces settlement risks for financial institutions and corporate investors.…

DBS Bank and GO-JEK today announced that the two parties have entered into a regional strategic partnership. The partnership will see the two companies work together on payment services ahead of GO-JEK’s arrival in Singapore and this will soon extend to other countries in Southeast Asia. This new comes hot in the heels of Grab’s recent partnership with Kasikorn Bank in Thailand where both parties will jointly launch a local mobile wallet dubbed GrabPay by Kbank. GO-JEK, whose investors include Google, Temasek, Tencent and Meituan Dianping, is set to launch its beta ride-hailing app in Singapore within the coming weeks…

Fintech has been booming all around the world, including in Europe where countries such as England, Switzerland and Germany have been leading the region’s fintech revolution. But with so much happening in the burgeoning European fintech landscape on a regular basis, it can be hard to keep track of the overwhelming number of news and developments happing in the space. Below are 13 fintech blogs in Europe that will keep you up-to-date with the region’s rapidly evolving fintech world: Fintech News Switzerland (Switzerland) Fintech News Switzerland covers stories about the fintech ecosystem and startups in Switzerland, the UK and the…

Going to the Singapore Fintech Festival? Good. Staying up to date on the latest services and transformative technologies is more important now than ever, because the future of the financial services industry has never before been so uncertain. A rapidly changing landscape Distribution has changed from a vertically integrated model to a digital presence model. Fintech organizations are creating entirely new types of services and changing customer expectations. To those privy, it is obvious this change is not driven purely by ambitious startups, many big tech companies are throwing their hats in the ring. Big tech companies like Amazon are…

One wouldn’t usually associate Switzerland and Singapore in the realms of fintech, but both worlds are colliding at the Singapore Fintech Festival. From 12th-14th November 2018, the Swiss Pavilion in the Singapore Fintech Festival this year will be hosting a slew of innovative Swiss firms, with representatives coming from all sorts of fintech spectrums. Compared to many other nations here, Switzerland’s fintech scene hosts a variety of companies that exist as third-party entities that aim to bring incumbent institutions into the 21st century. This will be your opportunity to brush shoulders with fintech innovators from the region, figure out fintech trends…

Grab is ramping up its fintech ambitions, the company announced today that they have secured a strategic partnership with Kasikorn Bank, a major banking group in Thailand. In this partnership both parties will jointly introduce a co-branded mobile wallet dubbed “GrabPay by Kbank” and a suite of other financial solutions in Thailand. This marks Grab Financial’s expansion to all 6 ASEAN countries namely — Singapore, Malaysia Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand. While Grab Financial’s GrabPay has been making rapid expansions, they have also experienced some difficulties in countries like Vietnam, where a regulatory issue which disallows mobile wallet top-up through credit cards left…

A new currency project called Initiative Q has been all over social media these past weeks as promoters are pushing to enroll more and more people to the scheme as part of a multi-level marketing campaign. But critics are warning about the many red flags hinting at a potential scam. Created by “ex-Paypal guys,” Initiative Q claims it is “building the payment system of the future” which will integrate “the best technological improvements that have been made in the payment industry over the last few decades” but development of the network is not scheduled to start until mid-2019. The project…

We thought 2018 was going to become the year of the blockchain, and while the ledger is still a hot-button topic, the relatively older insurtech scene has risen to the top of the fintech pile thanks to a 2017 boost. It has not stopped since, and in fact,  it has been said that Asia could actually be a strong insurtech pillar, in large parts thanks to China. This is particularly interesting, Asia hasn’t produced an exclusively insurtech unicorn outside of China yet. All signs hint at one emerging in the near future. Despite this, it is clear that insurance appetite amongst…

The 5th iteration of KPMG’s annual Fintech 100 list has come out recently, in a bid to highlight dynamic fintechs from around the world that are doing something right in the financial services industry, be it digital payments, lending, insurtech, to the sexier neo-banks. For the first time since the rankings have been produced, there are up to 6 Singaporean companies among the top 100. This is more tangible proof that the government’s permissive and open stance to fintech across the globe has helped to bolster even local players in the republic, and lends reason to why Singapore is often…