A ground-breaking way to fund international space projects, which makes space exploration available to the public, is launching today (January 24) during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A community-led crowdfunding platform run by Spacebit, under the watchful eye of a team of consultants, astronauts, engineers and rocket scientists, will enable the public to vote on large-scale space exploration projects. The Spacebit Foundation has been developing and building an ecosystem to allow people and small enterprise to take advantage of recent giant leaps in launch technology and satellite platforms for five years and has already gained support from top scientists,…
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Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: SM Store, PayMaya to Transform Retail Industry with Cashless Payments The SM Store and PayMaya Philippines are once again redefining the shopping experience in the Philippines by giving Filipinos customers nationwide a 10-percent rebate on all purchases using the PayMaya QR. (Read more) An American Spearheads Southeast Asia’s Mobile Payment Revolution In the half a decade since he moved to the Philippines, American entrepreneur Ron Hose has built a mobile phone payment business with millions of customers — a success he…
A new update to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Semiannual Robotics and Drones Spending Guide forecasts worldwide spending on robotics and drones solutions will total $103.1 billion in 2018, an increase of 22.1% over 2017. By 2021, IDC expects this spending will more than double to $218.4 billion with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or 25.4%. Robotics spending will reach $94 billion in 2018 and will account for more than 90% of all spending throughout the 2017-2021 forecast. Industrial robotic solutions will account for the largest share of robotics spending (more than 70%), followed by service robots and consumer robots.…
LogiNext recently integrated with Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana. With LogiNext’s voice-controlled automation, managers can verbally communicate their directives to the system. If they want a specific parcel to be assigned to a courier who is more well-equipped to deliver it, they can simply say it and it would be done. It can all be automated by a single skill-defined command. The agility and responsiveness gained by the quick and correct communication of information would help companies react better and faster in key situations. Manager: “Alexa! Ask LogiNext to find my Truck on Route 27!” Alexa: “Your Truck has…
Singapore is starting the year 2018 with some exciting news coming from its fintech sector. Here’s our news roundup for the month of January: InstaRem aims for 600% growth this year InstaRem, a fintech startup originally from India that’s headquartered in Singapore, is looking to grow 600% in the financial 2018-2019 year. InstaRem CEO and co-founder Prajit Nanu told Connected to India: “Our company is able to transfer funds within 24 hours in Asia, compared to the average two to four days transfer by banks. We want to drive the adoption rate of technological innovations across both business as…
Providers of digital goods and services in Indonesia had to be inventive to make their business work. Credit cards aren’t widespread in the country, with only an estimated 7 to 8 million out of a population of roughly 265 million owning one. This led some e-commerce sites to resort to cash-on-delivery: Online shoppers pay in cash once the package arrives. Others use intermediaries in physical stores to help people make online purchases and pay in cash – this concept is known as Online-to-Offline (O2O). ATM transfers are another common form of payment. Cash transactions and ATM transfers are a time-consuming…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: Bitcoin too good to be true? As of this writing, one bitcoin is already equivalent to $10,338. Late last year, it reached an all-time high of $19,783.06. Still, it was a meteoric rise from just $2.00 in December 2011. (Read more) McDonald’s Philippines goes cashless with PayMaya PLDT Incorporated unit PayMaya Philippines has partnered with Golden Arches Development Corporation (GADC), which holds the exclusive franchise of McDonald’s in the country, to step up the telcos’ battle on cashless payments. (Read more)…
2017 was an incredible year for the cryptocurrency space which saw the creation of more than 100 crypto-based hedge funds, a market capitalization that surpassed half a trillion dollars and billions of dollars raised through initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to a new report by CoinGecko. 2017 brought the overall cryptocurrency market under the spotlight with the altcoin market rising from US$2.2 billion at the beginning of the year to more than US$350 billion by the end of it. Bitcoin’s dominance shrank towards the end of 2017 to fall below 50% and reach new all-time low levels. Meanwhile, Ripple surged past…
Beijing authorities issued two rules on automated driving in December last year, making them the first such rules issued in the world’s largest automobile market. These new rules will apply only to road testing of automated vehicles in Beijing. Nonetheless, these rules are likely to shed some light on the general direction of future national legislation on automated driving in China. It is therefore worth taking a close look at a number of key provisions introduced by these new rules. Who can apply for the road testing of automated vehicles? An applicant who will be testing an automated vehicle in…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: City of San Fernando, DBP launch e-Payment Portal Paying business permits and licenses just got easier for Fernandinos, as the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the City Government of San Fernando introduced on January 8 a new e-payment platform for the convenience, safety and security of stakeholders. (Read more) Blockchain 101: Is the Philippines ready for another disruptive technology? The digital age has brought hope to peoples and countries to enable them to pursue greater transparency and better…
With 30 million smartphone users and a 52% Internet penetration rate, the Vietnamese market is believed by many to be fertile ground for fintech solutions and digital finance. Foreign multinationals and firms are entering the country in hopes to attract Vietnam’s young and connected population. Online and mobile payment is already the most crowded segment in Vietnam’s fintech scene but now with the entrance of tech and Internet giants like Samsung and Ant Financial, competition is getting fiercer. Samsung launched its mobile payment app Samsung Pay in September 2017 in partnership with the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS). Seven…
Initial coin offerings (ICOs), a fundraising method used by an increasing number of blockchain startups, have surged in popularity in 2017 with investment volumes growing exponentially. More than US$4.5 billion was raised through ICOs in 2017, or nearly 20 times more than in 2016 with US$236 million. In October and November 2017 alone, US$1.838 billion was raised through ICOs, according to a report by PwC. An ICO refers to a limited period of time in which a company or startup sells a predefined number of digital tokens to the public, typically in exchange for major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether.…
At the forefront of transforming the age-old vending machine industry is SmartRetail, an automated retail specialist that recently launched in Singapore. With close to 400 machines in Hong Kong and another 100 operating in partnership with local established retailers such as Guardian, Giant, Procter & Gamble, Lenovo and Amway, SmartRetail is set to bring back a fresh concept to an old business model in a whole new way. “With the similar consumer demographic and mindset, expanding to Singapore made the most logical sense after Hong Kong. Shoppers in both countries value the convenience and experience our machines bring to a…
Singapore’s newest life insurer Singapore Life Pte. Ltd. (Singapore Life) and Zurich Life Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Zurich Life Singapore) have announced an agreement for Singapore Life to acquire the business portfolio of Zurich Life Singapore. Under this agreement, Singapore Life will become responsible for all Zurich Life Singapore’s customers’ policies, totaling approximately SGD6 billion of coverage for life, critical illness, and disability benefits. This agreement follows Zurich Life Singapore’s closure to new business in December 2015 and does not affect any of Zurich’s other life or commercial Insurance businesses in Singapore, including Zurich International Life Limited (Singapore Branch) and Zurich Insurance…
Fintech Vietnam Meetup is back with the first newsletter of 2018, with all you need to know about Fintech in Vietnam. Before diving into the latest news, why not take a look at Fintech Vietnam in Review 2017? This edition features progress in the payments sector such as the deployment of Masterpass QR codes and Wechat Payments in Airport outlets. We also see how regulators are eyeing and curbing the cryptocurrency craze in Vietnam. Fintech Vietnam in Review The Vietnamese fintech industry is on the rise, fueled by growing interest from foreign investors and a desire from the government to boost financial innovation. ( Read more)…
Google Launchpad Accelerator annouced the 5th class of our hands-on mentorship program. This includes a diverse group of startups from all over the world looking to tackle everything from streamlining medical records in Africa to improving breast cancer screenings. Also 5 Fintech Startups made it into the program. Launchpad Accelerator is Google’s six month program that includes an intensive two week bootcamp in San Francisco and mentoring from 30+ teams across Google and expert mentors from top technology companies and VCs in Silicon Valley and globally. Participants receive equity-free support, credits for Google products and media training, and continue to work closely with Google back…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: BSP urges public to convert from magnetic stripe card to EMV chip card Banks have recently been requesting customers to convert their existing debit cards into EMV chip cards. (Read more) 2017 holiday season saw marked rise in e-buying More and more young Filipinos are embracing the digital age, according to latest data from tech company Voyager Innovations Inc., which recorded an almost threefold increase in unique online and cashless transactions during the last two months of 2017. (Read more) Consumer lending…
Singapore had a great year 2017 with local startups expanding globally, additional supports from the government and several initiatives being launched to foster development and boost the sector. 2018 promises to be an even more exciting year for fintech in Singapore as numerous startups prepare to tap into new markets, expand their offerings and grow into potential regional leaders. Here’s a list of eight startups from Singapore to watch in 2018: MyCash Online (Financial Inclusion) MyCash Online is an online marketplace designed for migrant workers in Malaysia and Singapore. It provides easy, secure and convenient services to the unbanked,…
The Google Hong Kong “Smarter Digital City Whitepaper” unearthing the status of the city’s digitization with an analysis of four key business verticals – Retail, Travel, Finance and Living. Conducted by Nielsen, the research revealed digital disparities between perception and practice, among consumers and corporates. The publication identifies opportunities to accelerate the city’s digitization, in an attempt to join hands with the public to shape a smarter digital city, and outlines key recommendations for corporates and policymakers to shape the digital future of Hong Kong. Leonie Valentine, Managing Director, Sales and Operations, Google Hong Kong, said: “Our ‘Smarter Digital City…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: Central Bank of the Philippines Plans to Regulate Bitcoin According to Chuchi Fonacier, Deputy Governor, the bank plans to impose new regulations for cryptocurrencies. The Philippine official wants specifically to work with exchanges and businesses whose business models revolve around digital currencies, as stated in a December 13 news conference. (Read more) The Philippines’ biggest business deals in 2017 The country’s conglomerates have acquired everything from digital payment tech to coal power plants this year, as they acquire the tools they hope will…