Over the past few years, the fintech industries of south and northeast Asian countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, and China have demonstrated rapid growth and development, creating some of the most established and innovative Crypto and blockchain startups in all of Asia. Hong Kong in specific led the growth of the blockchain market in northeast Asia, with its friendly regulatory frameworks and policies for digital currency and blockchain-focused platform providers. Here are 6 Hong Kong-based blockchain platforms and startups you must be aware of. OK Link Founded by OK Coin’s Star Xu, OK Link is a blockchain-based payments and…
Author: Fintech News Singapore
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Managing your finances in a foreign country can seem impossible, especially if you don’t speak the language. It’s hard enough figuring out the local exchange rate, let alone choosing the best way to store your money as you travel, the cheapest way to withdraw and move cash, how to keep your money secure, etc. There are so many variables that your trip can sometimes seem more trouble than it’s worth. Travel to amazing places, see amazing things, but be totally confused every time I even think about getting my wallet out? Ahhh, it’s ok I think I’ll just stay at…
TransferWise, one of the UK’s hottest fintech unicorns, has begun serving the Vietnamese market, only supporting inbound money transfers (for now?). Transfers to Vietnam have gone live yesterday and are being charged 1.5% per transaction, or 95,000 VND for transfers under 6,300,000 VND. Users “get the real exchange rate for your money, … with no hidden charges.” Founded in 2010 by Estonians Taavet Hinrikus, the first ever employee of Skype, and consultant Kristo Käärmann, TransferWise is a peer-to-peer international money transfer platform that allows private individuals and businesses to send money abroad without hidden fees. How it works On…
When we do international money transfer, fee can be a problem, not to mentioned all the hassle that can happen when we do an international transaction. Cross-border payments can be uncertain and expensive. Ripple, Singapore’s first major gateway had made a fintech infographic about this topic to show how they are making themselves different in the market. This infographic first appeared on Ripple Insights.
With the upcoming week long Fintech Festival organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the central bank has named the 100 challenges it invites fintech startups and ventures from around the world to solve using innovative products and services. In November, MAS will organize the inaugural Singapore Fintech Festival which will bring together a series of district fintech events. As part of the Fintech Festival, MAS will also be hosting the Global Fintech Hackcelerator. Aimed at creating market-ready solutions to 100 industry problem statements, the Global Fintech Hackcelerator is inviting teams from around the world to submit their ideas…
Solve this problem on the Singapore Hackcelerator and apply until August 15th here! 7 problem statements on KYC / Identity Authentication 8 problem statements on RegTech 4 problem statements on Trade Finance 14 problem statements on Insurance 5 problem statements on Financial Literacy 10 problem statements on Financial Inclusion / SMEs 12 problem statements on Customer Engagement 11 problem statements on Payments 12 problem statements on Portfolio Management 7 problem statements on Capital Markets 9 problem statements on General All infographics presents the informative analysis and summary about…
With over 20 million customers and operations in 14 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, BIMA is a leading insurtech company that uses mobile technology to deliver affordable insurance and health services, and fuel financial inclusion in developing countries. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Stockholm, BIMA aims at disrupting the global insurance industry by bringing mobile-delivered insurance and health services including microinsurance, pre-paid life, personal accident and hospitalization insurance, as well as pre-paid tele-doctor services to low-income families. In 2014, BIMA launched in the Cambodian market. By mid-July, the firm had managed to secure more than 75,000 Cambodians…
Bitspark, a bitcoin remittance startup, has expanded its Southeast Asia coverage, announcing a new partnership with Malaysian Vitaxel Group. Headquartered in Hong Kong, Bitspark provides a bitcoin remittance solution and currently serves Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. By signing a Master Agreement with Vitaxel Group – a firm specializing in multi-level marketing with close to 5,000 distributors based in 16 Asian countries -, Bitspark will be entering the Malaysian market soon, further expanding its business in Southeast Asia. Committed to “provide the most effective technology to deliver the best value to our current and future customers,” Vitaxel’s CEO Ryan Leong…
A fintech infographic from Savvy Beaver and startup Call Levels takes a closer look at the current financial technology landscape. This infographic first appeared on nordicstartupbits.com
Ten startups have graduated from the startup acceleration program, Startupbootcamp Fintech Singapore, with some of them already managing to secure pilots and key partnerships with banks and other financial institutions. The three-month program ended on July 14, 2016 during Demo Day with the teams presenting their solutions to an audience of over 600 guests from the financial sector. Designed to showcase the startups’ ventures with the objective of attracting strategic partnerships and investments, Demo Day has allowed some of these teams to secure pilots and collaborations. For instance, Connaizen, an Indian startup offering a data-driven marketing solution which enables retailers…
Possibly the first thing you think about as an expat is money – how to manage it, where to store it, how to earn it, how to move it, etc. And as any expat in Ho Chi Minh will tell you, navigating the world of finance in this crazy city can seem impossible! In other parts of the world finance technology (fintech) has transformed the way people deal with their money, bringing almost all financial activity online or onto your mobile phone. Fintech is still relatively new in Vietnam, but more and more startups are joining the tech craze all over the continent.…
The digital revolution is bringing sweeping changes to the banking and financial industry. As digital platforms and new business models are growing in popularity, governments from around the world have started responding to the emergence of fintech. Today, we take a look at the most recent regulatory developments in favor of fintech with a particular focus on Asia. Fintech Singapore Fintech is one of Singapore’s top priorities as the city-state is working towards becoming the world’s first Smart Nation as well as a Smart Financial Center. In particular, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s financial regulator and…
Crowdfunding in Vietnam: Crowdfunding is a term that has just reached Vietnam within the last years and is therefore still a relatively new concept for the country. Crowdfunding is not only a source for raising funds from a larger community but also a possibility for Start-Ups to see if their project is well perceived. Even though crowdfunding in Vietnam is not that common yet in comparison to many Western countries, it is showing growth and is emerging as a new trend. The four types of crowdfunding In general four main types of crowdfunding can be observed, which are divided by…
Amazing Social Media Data Analysis By Numbers Social Media is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. It seems like every day there’s a new way to send a picture, start a chat, meet new people, tweet, watch a video, share a video, send a video, or just say hi. With such a quickly growing industry, it’s surprising to see just how much these apps, and their browser counterparts, get used in a day. It’s also becoming more socially acceptable to find love, find a job, or even try to start a brand new career through social media. Going…
Since 2007, over US$300 million has been invested into Southeast Asian fintech startups, with more than half of that amount being invested in 2015 alone. The rise in the funding activity comes along with the growth of the fintech startup scene. According to a new research paper by Tracxn, over 520 fintech companies have been founded in last ten years with 2/3 of them being incorporated in the last three years. 2015 in particular saw the highest number of new companies and funding by value. In 2015, US$155 million has been injected into the fintech industry through 59 deals. Notably,…
OCBC Bank’s FinTech accelerator programme, The Open Vault at OCBC FinTech Accelerator, has come to a successful close with three upcoming pilot tests with three start-ups – Fincast, BondIT and CogniCor. The pilot tests involve wealth management and artificial intelligence solutions – two key pillars of innovation for The Open Vault at OCBC, OCBC Bank’s FinTech and Innovation lab. The pilot tests will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and will last for three months. As for the other five start-ups that had participated in the accelerator programme, OCBC Bank will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with…
For August’s startup of the month, we take a look at Smartkarma, a collaborative marketplace for Asian investment research and analysis that seeks to radically change the way market participants create, distribute and consume investment insights. Founded in 2014, Smartkarma is a Singapore-based fintech startup that aims at being a trusted and unbiased information source, which combines intelligence from the world’s premier analysts, academics, data scientists and industry experts in one marketplace. Smartkarma’s customizable platform helps investors optimize research spend and enhance returns while accessing the widest range of global analysis of the Asian markets available, allowing for global institutional…
A SPACE Philippines invites any individual or startup currently building or looking to create innovative products in the financial services vertical to take _PASSPORT to FinTech. This trip is the first trip to be launched under A SPACE’s _PASSPORT program. The PASSPORT Program will take a passionate, entrepreneurial mind on a journey towards innovation success. Aspiring entrepreneurs, teams, and businesses are invited to undertake “trips”. Each trip takes up to three months, and each trip gets progressively more sophisticated. At the end of each trip is a Destination. Each Destination becomes increasingly more valuable to the aspiring entrepreneur. With enough…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that it has set up an International Technology Advisory Panel (ITAP). The Panel will advise MAS on international developments in FinTech and how Singapore can harness new technologies to enhance the provision of financial services. The ITAP comprises chief innovation and science officers in major financial institutions, Fintech business leaders, venture capitalists, and thought leaders in technology and innovation, including: – Dr. Andreas Braun – Head of Global Data and Analytics at Allianz – Murli Buluswar – Chief Science Officer of AIG – Sassan Danesh – CEO of Etrading Software – Pieter…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced today that the submission of entries for the FinTech Awards will be open from now till 31 August 2016. The FinTech Awards, comprising the MAS FinTech Award and ABS Global FinTech Award, will be part of the inaugural Singapore FinTech Festival that will be held during 14 – 18 November 2016. The Awards recognise innovative FinTech solutions that have been implemented by FinTech companies, financial institutions, and technology companies. To qualify, the projects must have been implemented before 30 June 2016. Entries could fall under any…