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…
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Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are on track to grow 15.1% in 2018, totaling 132.9 million units over the course of the year. The overall market is also expected to deliver a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% over the next five years, culminating in 219.4 million units shipped in 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. With cellular connectivity on the rise and shifting consumer preferences, IDC believes smartwatches will account for almost two out of every five wearable devices shipped in 2022. Jitesh Ubrani “Consumers are finally starting to understand and demand…
The best countries for startups in Asia-Pacific have strong economies, relatively low cost of conducting business, healthy business environments and highly educated populations. Our scoring system is based on available data and each country’s rank across several categories. Lower scores indicate higher ranks, or better locations for startups. 1.Singapore Singapore is rated by the World Bank as the second best country to conduct business, globally. It is a wealthy country (GDP per capita of $52,962), with low unemployment (2.15%) and good internet accessibility (81%). While the country has a high cost of living, there are tax incentives for small…
Too lazy to clean your room at home, we are too. Therefore we have selected our Top 10 robot vacuum cleaner for 2018 that will help you. 1. ILIFE V5s Pro Robot Vacuum Mop Cleaner ILIFE V5s pro is specially designed for hard floors ( wood/tile/mable/laminate). With a smart water tank installed, V5s pro pull deeper dirt and grime off your floors and maintain them Gleaming every day. 2. iRobot Braava jet 240 Robot Mop The iRobot Braava jet Mopping Robot delivers fresh, clean floors every day. With its compact, smart design and iAdapt 2.0 Navigation system, Braava jet mops and…
IDC Government Insights announced today that this year’s search for the top smart city initiatives in Asia Pacific is underway. Dubbed as IDC’s Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA), which is now on its fourth year, IDC is looking for the next best smart city initiatives, that will join the 38 projects awarded in the past three years. SCAPA is IDC Asia Pacific’s way of recognizing deserving agencies, private or public organizations that IDC deemed to have excelled across the 12 Smart City functional eService categories using IDC’s Smart City Development Index framework. Phase 0 – Public Nominations Phase 1 –…
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) surged in 2017 with a total of US$6 billion raised through 884, according to ICO Data. 2018 is on track to surpass this number, with already US$3 billion raised through 380 campaigns. Telegram ICO expects this year to raise a world record US$850 million, exceeding 2017’s records of Filecoin with US$262 million and Tezos with US$232 million, according to data from CoinDesk’s ICO Tracker. ICOs in Singapore In the ICOs craze, Singapore has emerged as the third largest ICO market after the US and Switzerland, three countries perceived to be “ICO-friendly.” Some of the largest…
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: CIMB partners PLDT units FINTQ, Bayad Malaysia-based commercial bank CIMB Bank Berhad recently partnered with PLDT Group’s affiliates FINTQ and Bayad Center Inc in preparation for the establishment and operation of its first branch in the country CIMB Bank Philippines Inc slated in the fourth quarter of 2018. As a provider of digital financial solutions and interactions, FINTQ through the partnership will allow CIMB to…
Fintech Vietnam Meetup is back with the 3rd edition of 2018, with all you need to know about Fintech in Vietnam. For those of us who live in Vietnam, you will be very familiar with the iconic yellow/black branding of electronic retailer Thegioididong and its sister brand DienmayXANH. Earlier this year, a Malaysia-based investment fund spent $43.8 million on its parent company Mobile World Corporation. They are now at the forefront as private equity investments take off in Vietnam. Read on to find out what is driving this. For Fintech Vietnam daily updates you can follow our Facebook Page, join our Facebook Group and Meetup community or follow us on Twitter.…
E-commerce is on the rise in Southeast Asia with more than US$10 billion worth of goods being purchased online in 2017, almost the double of 2015’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of US$5.5 billion. According to a study by iPrice titled The State of eCommerce in Southeast Asia 2017, Vietnam leads in the total number of conversions when compared to other countries in the region, and Singapore is the biggest spender with an average basket size of nearly US$100 per order. The paper, released last month, details the e-commerce habits of consumers from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.…
Following Grab’s previous announcement on GrabPay and acquisition of Kudo, Anthony Tan, Co Founder and Group CEO announced the company’s ambitions to further strengthen their play in the fintech ecosystem through Grab Financial during his keynote at Money 20/20. Grab Financial will encompass all of Grab’s fintech offerings, including payments services, rewards and loyalty services, agent network services and micro-loans. Grab Financial Services Asia was announced as a joint venture between Grab and Credit Saison one of Japan’s largest financial consumer lending companies. The joint venture is set up with the aim to to provide loans and lending services to millions of…
Banks in Indonesia are still hesitant to collaborate with fintech startups, some local startup founders say. At this stage, exchange between banks and fintech startups takes place in the realm of events and competitions, where the aim is to get an overview of the landscape rather than working together on innovative products. This is especially true for startups with a small user base. However, when they’ve managed to grow to the size of a company with millions of users like Go-Jek, Indonesia’s version of Uber, but with many additional on demand-services it’s easier to open doors. Go-Jek and Bank Rakyat…
Here are selected Fintech Events in Asia to attend in 2018. For Switzerland, Germany , London and US check out this Fintech Event List. If an important event is missing (there are so many), send us an Email or comment on this post. 13-15 March Money20/20 Asia Singapore Read more Get US$250 discount with code: 18FNS 15-16 March 4th Annual Block Chain Finance & Fin-tech China 2018 China Read more 20-21 March Robotic Process Automation Philippines Philippines Read more Get 10% off with code: FINTECH_10 20-21 March Token2049 Hong Kong Read more 20-21 March Blockchain…
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: FINTQ rolls out 1 million free microinsurance policies FINTQnologies Corp. (FINTQ), the financial technology unit of Voyager Innovations, Inc., has rolled out its free offering of one million microinsurance policies to unbanked and underserved Filipinos which will cover 42,000 barangays (villages) nationwide under the KasamaKA Microinsurance Program. Insurance coverage periods are three months, to be provided by FINTQ’s partner-insurers such as Pioneer Insurance,…
Private Equity in Vietnam. The country kicked off the year 2018 with major investment deals in private equity, revealing investors’ confidence in the rapidly growing economy. In February, Malaysia-based investment fund Creador announced its plan to open an office in Ho Chi Minh City and spend as much as 15% of the upcoming US$500 million Creator IV fund on Vietnam-based private equity over the next three years. The fund made its debut in Vietnam earlier this year by spending UD$43.8 million for shares in leading retailer Mobile World Corporation, which owns the Thegioididong and DienmayXANH brands. “We see tremendous opportunities…
Fintech startups have some key advantages over banks: they can move fast and react to trends, experiment with new technologies and processes, and work on small budgets.Banks, on the other hand, know how to navigate regulations and obtain licenses required to operate in the industry. They have a large client base and access to infrastructure and resources. In Indonesia, banks have used this argument to suggest that collaboration between banks and startups is the best way forward to solve pressing problems such financial inclusion. Some of Indonesia’s large banks have programs through which they interact with startups. These include incubation programs,…
Whether you are looking to save up for your dream house or start a small business, these personal finance bloggers in Asia will teach you everything you need to know about budgeting, smart-savings. investing, as well as the latest trends in digital finance. Here are ten interesting financial and personal finance blogs from Singapore and Asia. MoneySmart (Singapore) Singapore’s popular MoneySmart blog provides readers with tips, tricks, news, reviews and commentary on all things money related. Articles are written in a style to amuse, entertain and enlighten. Founded in 2009, MoneySmart is an online comparison platform for loans, insurance…
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. Here we go: Qwikwire Claims Biggest Funding Round Cross-border property solutions platform Qwikwire claims to have concluded its biggest funding round led by First Asia Venture Capital, and Cerebro Labs, but declined to give figures. (Read more) The Philippines Sees Rising Startup Ecosystem: Study The Philippines’ startup ecosystem is growing rapidly with more and more young professionals starting their own ventures. (Read more) Sweetbridge foresees Philippines thriving as a Digital Economy Sweetbridge Inc, a…
Sweetbridge Inc, a blockchain movement in the US, is expecting the Philippines to become a successful digital economy. The group’s strategic communications director Aaron Stanley shared his vision during a visit in Cebu City together with Sweetbridge CEO Scott Nelson to discuss blockchain implementation in partnership with Cebu Innovation Network (CIN). “We can see high organic interest in the Philippines to learn about this new technology, about blockchain and this digital economy that we are in,” Stanley said, in a report by Sun Star Cebu. He stressed about the country’s entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with its expanding young and tech-savvy population,…
Cross-border property solutions platform Qwikwire claims to have concluded its biggest funding round led by First Asia Venture Capital, and Cerebro Labs, but declined to give figures. The 500 Startups-backed company said investors from the US and Japan, and others coming from the real estate industry, also participated in the round. Qwikwire, which has already raised over $460,000 previously from 500 Startups, JFDI, and Manila Angel Investors Network will use the funds to further expand its operations overseas, according to DealStreetAsia. Qwikwire is a Delaware Corporation but mainly runs its operations in Manila. It was founded in October 2013 with…
The widespread use of mobile phones and the “tingi” or sachet culture in the Philippine retail market provides a fertile environment for financial technology companies, according to Anthony Thomas, president of Mynt, a unit of Globe Telecom. “Filipinos like transacting in small amounts, sachet qualities and they like doing it frequently and that’s easily solved with the mobile phone-based delivery,” Thomas was quoted by ABS-CBN as saying. Thomas believes fintech allows for “quicker, more convenient, cheaper and smarter” services. Mynt, which partnered last year with Jack Ma’s Ant Financial for a mobile payment service in the Philippines, is looking at…