Author: Fintech News Singapore

PT Kresna Graha Investama Tbk (KREN) and its subsidiary, PT M Cash Integrasi Tbk (MCAS), announce their plan to invest in PT Sistem Mikroelektronik Cerdas Co-Design (SMC), for its core proficiency in technological advancement and market access to over 60 million potential customers across Indonesia. This investment, with a respective stake of 20% and 30%, is the start of a KREN and MCAS 2018 strategic landmark to strengthen their position, as the country’s leading digital business integrator and digital distribution champion in Indonesia, respectively. SMC, a frontrunner in Information Communication Technology (ICT), Media and Microelectronics development, has provided solutions for…

Panasonic Corporation and Trend Micro Incorporated, announced a partnership to jointly develop cybersecurity solution to detect and prevent cyber-attacks against autonomous and connected cars. The partnership aims to achieve high security of autonomous and connected cars by developing a solution to detect and prevent intrusions into Electronic Control Units (ECUs) that control driving behaviours such as acceleration, steering and braking, as well as in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices including automotive navigation systems, and telematics devices. The risks of hackers taking control of steering and braking systems in connected cars are real. New security vulnerabilities are discovered every day and they pose…

In 2017, Asia Pacific attracted the largest amount of investment in fintech with a total of US$14.8 billion, according to a report by PwC and Startupbootcamp Fintech. The region represented 56% of the world’s total fintech funding, highlighting Asia’s growing importance in the global fintech scene. According to industry experts, Asia’s large pool of underbanked and its growing middle class have been fueling the surge of fintech and the emergence of startups providing new solutions to address their wealth management and banking needs. The rise of fintech has encouraged the establishment and creation of acceleration programs in the region to…

Strong investment of US$8.7B in Q4’17 propelled global fintech funding over the US$31B mark for 2017, sustaining the high level of investment seen in 2016, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report. This brings the total global investment in the fintech sector over the past 3 years to US$122B. While global fintech deal volume declined in Q4, the number of venture capital (VC) transactions exceeded 1,000 for the fourth consecutive year in 2017, with private equity (PE) deals reaching a new high of 139. Fintech M&A also ticked up for the year with 336 transactions in 2017. Among fintech…

Indonesian companies aren’t very diligent when it comes to paying taxes. Instead of filling the state’s accounts, profits go unreported or are stashed in tax havens offshore. In 2016, the government implemented a tax amnesty program, attempting to lure money back into the country, with some success. There are many reasons why Indonesians dodge taxes – lack of trust in the government is one. Another is the tax filing hassle: it’s a lot of paperwork, and payment can only be made through accredited banks. Granted, that problem isn’t unique to Indonesia. And just like in other countries, people are trying…

It’s widely known that hardware wallets are amongst the safest ways to secure cryptocurrencies and now with the recently exposed Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, it has become critical for cryptocurrencies users to secure their holdings. A hardware wallet is a special type of bitcoin wallet which stores the user’s private keys in a secure hardware device, isolating these from a computer or smartphone which are easily hackable. They have major advantages over standard software wallets such as being immune to computer viruses that steal from software wallets, they can be used securely and interactively as opposed to a paper wallet…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: Cagayan mulls casino, cryptocurrency hub with Chinese The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) in the Philippines is proposing a new casino resort in the zone and also possibly a financial technology or “fintech” centre including “blockchain centre, cryptocurrency mining farm, fintech start-up incubators and cryptocurrency exchange” with the help of a Chinese company, according to local media reports. (Read more) Technology, brands join forces In these exciting times for digital technology, only “the strong-willed and creative will flourish.” (Read more) TrueMoney…

According to new research released by professional services and training provider ComtelPro, nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) Singaporean employees say they would be interested in up-skilling in emerging technologies in order to succeed in an increasingly digital workplace. Almost half of the Singaporean employees (48 percent) believe that they need to adapt their current skills and experience in order to embrace digital and technological change over the next five years. ComtelPro commissioned the consumer insights research to better understand how Singaporeans view their employment prospects in the digital age, as well as the impact of digitalization and new technologies…

KrisFlyer, the frequent flyer and airport lounge programs of Singapore Airlines, is set to launch a new digital wallet app powered by blockchain technology. The digital wallet, which is expected to be rolled out in about six months, will allow KrisFlyer’s membership base to use “digital KrisFlyer miles” for point-of-sale transactions at participating retail merchants. Singapore Airlines ran a successful proof-of-concept carried out in collaboration with KPMG Digital Village and Microsoft. The company said the new service will be using a private blockchain owned by Singapore Airlines. KrisFlyer will now be signing up retail merchant partners, initially in the Singaporean…

Over the last decade, the quantity of money laundered has been steadily increasing. According to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, it is estimated that approximately USD $1.6 trillion or 2.7 percent of global GDP was laundered in 2009. Even worse, less than 1 percent of this global illicit financial flow is ever seized and frozen, meaning that the criminals are winning. This is of serious concern to regulators and financial investigators as the proceeds of money laundering fuels serious transnational crime, as research by Celent shows below: Effective anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and processes are essential to…

Philippine-based payment solutions firm Salarium completed recently its initial coin offering (ICO) raising $13.5 million in the sale of its SALPay token. The development came amid pending ICOs of two other local fintech companies Tagcash and Qwikwire who aim to raise $16 million and $9 million in their digital tokens sale, respectively. Tagcash is a micropayments startup, while Qwikwire is a cross-border payments platform for enterprises in the Philippines. Although it originally targeted a $50 million token sale, the Salarium team took the much lower result of the exchange as a huge milestone. “We adjusted our target based on a USD amount which was $20 million.We raised around 13.5 million…

The cryptocurrency and initial coin offering (ICO) craze has put pressure on regulators around the world as the number of scams and cases of fraud keeps on growing in the space. Countries in Asia have had varied stands on cryptocurrencies with nations like China and South Korea emerging amongst the most rigid jurisdictions, while countries such as Singapore and Japan have opted for a more laissez-faire approach. China has been taking ever-increasing steps to curb cryptocurrencies trading and has been amongst the most stringent regulators regarding cryptocurrencies. This started off by banning ICOs in September 2017, followed by ordering a…

Fintech Vietnam Meetup is back with the 2nd edition of 2018, with all you need to know about Fintech in Vietnam. Amidst the cryptocurrency buzz, we place a special focus on the new P2P Lending players in Vietnam. Can they hold themselves against a new foreign entrant? (See: Moneybank.vn) Be sure to also check out the jobs on offer if you’re dying to enter the Fintech industry. For Fintech Vietnam daily updates you can follow our Facebook Page, join our Facebook Group and Meetup community or follow us on Twitter. TOP Fintech Vietnam News Dư án Blockchain của anh chàng nói ‘CEO phải là người ngu…

If you need quick money at the end of the month because you’re waiting for your paycheck, or if you urgently need to pay a medical bill, applying for a conventional loan takes too long to process. In Indonesia, that’s led to the proliferation of online lenders who target people in a pinch. These types of companies are often referred to as payday lenders. They hand out unsecured loans after you complete an online application. By looking at data you provide – most ask for proof of employment, mobile phone number and social media profiles – they assess how likely…

Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: FinTech firms need to build more partnerships to grow Creating more partnerships and going digital is one of the better business formulas to grow for businesses adapting to the use of technology and offering their services without a physical infrastructure. (Read more) Cryptocurrencies undergoing ‘growing pains’: tech startup Cryptocurrencies are volatile due to “growing pains” but offer a lot of potential to make financial transactions cheaper and easier, a technology startup founder said Monday. (Read more) Philippines SEC…

A new company called Lendbiz was recently set up in Hanoi. The company offers a peer-to-peer lending platform targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. Lendbiz joins other peer-to-peer lending platforms in Vietnam such as Timma, Vaymuon and Mofin. But unlike these which focus on consumer loan, Lendbiz focuses on business loan and aims to “provide fast and inexpensive capital to enterprises and help develop the business community in Vietnam.” On Lendbiz, businesses can demand up to 1 billion VND (44,000 USD) in a loan with no collateral required. Applications are approved within 24 working hours. Investors can…

Smart Cities have been gaining a lot of traction of late, though not an entirely new concept, much of smart cities initiatives have been driven by an explosion of technological innovations. We’ll spare you the whole spiel of how over 50% of the world live in urban population lives in cities, climate change and so forth, I’m sure after decades of conversation around this subject we are intimately familiar with why we need smarter cities. During the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneur Summit in Kuala Lumpur late 2017, the IOT News Asia team had the privilege of having a chat…

Powervision Launches The World’s First Consumer Underwater Drone, Powerray In Singapore. PowerVision, a world leader in AI robotics and technology unveils the PowerRay, an innovative underwater robot with groundbreaking features to revolutionize recreational fishing enthusiasts and marine photography. Going beyond the catch for fishermen and the casual hobbyist, the consumer underwater drone redefines the underwater and diving experience in enabling premium photography and videography with innovative functionalities. As a financial hub and trusted gateway to the emerging Asian markets, PowerVision has strategically selected Singapore to lead the Southeast Asian release following the global launch of PowerRay in San Francisco (USA),…

The Central Bank of Indonesia (BI) caused a brief panic when it sent out a press release  on Indonesia’s bitcoin ban earlier this month, reminding the Indonesian public to not buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Many media outlets chose to present the news with headlines proclaiming that cryptocurrencies are illegal in Indonesia, even though the regulation itself only states that they can’t be used as a form of payment, just like other countries’ currencies can’t be used to buy things in Indonesia. BI’s announcement coincided with news of raids on some coffee shops in Bali who had…

A lack of fundamental valuation and the due diligence process by potential investors is leading to extreme volatility of the initial coin offering (ICO) market, according to new research published by EY. The research also found that in some cases ICO investors are contributing capital at an average rate of over US$300,000 per second. The EY research, which studied 372 ICOs around the world, also found that the offerings raised US$3.7b in funds, twice the volume of VC investments in blockchain projects. Furthermore, the US is leading the race with the highest volume of ICOs originating from the country (over…