Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have become the preferred fundraising method for players in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, enabling entrepreneurs and projects to raise over US$2 billion in 2017 alone. While ICOs have proven to be a successful way for startups to raise capital, the practice is still in a regulatory grey area in most jurisdictions. Governments around the world are all looking to regulate ICOs, and while China has so far been the most severe country, straightly banning the practice, most countries have opted for a wait-and-see approach, determined to finding a good balance between enabling innovation and protecting…
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Korean software developers NodBizware are working on a way to safely transfer Ethereum over encrypted messages. This will simplify the way cryptocurrency is being wired, said CEO Yun Seokgu. The hack of bitcoin exchange Mt Gox in 2014 resulted in US$500 million worth of bitcoin being stolen. Transferring digital currency via a wallet could result in breaches by cybercriminals, as such services are still insufficiently protected and secured. Yun intends to change this with the Hackfree Wallet. He presented his platform, available on iOS and Android operating systems and backed by military-grade cybersecurity, at TechInnovation 2017, held on 19 to…
Facial recognition is one of the most widely and commonly used forms of biometric access control. Unlike other biometric systems, the information a face contains has a multitude of versatile applications. This information can be used to identify a subject’s gender, ethnicity, age, and even emotional state. A large factor in why facial recognition is so popular is its familiarity; social media has encouraged people to share their faces online, making users more comfortable with the concept. Owing to the intrinsic nature of facial recognition technology, it is paramount to ensure the system can consistently and securely identify an individual.…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: 10 Fast Growing Fintechs in the Philippines IDC Financial Insights unveiled a list of 10 fast growing fintechs in the Philippines, part of the broader FinTech 101 list for Asia/Pacific. (Read more) ‘Continuity Plus Plus’ Pushed by BSP Chief Monetary authorities will pursue “progressive and proactive prudential reforms” to maintain the country’s resilience against external shocks, the chief of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. (Read more) Southeast Asia’s fintechs: Target the underbanked The region’s affluent classes are well…
Cryptocurrencies have surged in popularity as an increasing number of investors are turning to the new asset class, attracted by the high potential returns. In particular, initial coin offerings (ICOs) have proven to be a successful method for blockchain and cryptocurrency startups to raise funding. At the same, they provide investors with access to highly liquid assets that could potentially double or triple in value in a very short amount of time. An ICO is a fundraising method in which a startup raise capital by selling a percentage of its newly issued cryptocurrency or tokens in exchange for legal tender…
The Crypto Finance Conference, the world’s first and largest investor conference on cryptocurrencies and blockchain investments, will take place right before the World Economic Forum and just 70 kilometers away. The three-day conference will offer expert education, investment opportunities, networking opportunities, and, last but not least, a setting in a one of the world’s best ski resorts in the Swiss Alps. Occurring on January 17, 18 and 19, 2018, in Suvretta House in St. Moritz, the Crypto Finance Conference 2018 promises to bring together both private and institutional investors and leading providers of the crypto and blockchain space. “With its…
Singapore based InstaReM is entering the European market via Lithuania. The regulator Bank of Lithuania issued an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license to InstaReM, which is already operating in more than 50 countries around the world. InstaReM is a new-age enterprise that is disrupting of the current process of expensive and inefficient remittances, providing near-live FX rates, low transaction fees and speed to the tech-savvy consumers of today. The operating license in Europe is one of the planned moves of “InstaReM”’s rapid international expansion. The Electronic Money Institution license issued by the Bank of Lithuania will enable InstaReM to offer an…
Every week, we bring you the best IOT news from Asia and around the world. This week, it’s been all about drones that carry people – aka passenger drones. Would you dare ride on one? AK-47 maker whips up giant drone you can ride on – cnet.com Also, you’ve got to give this a read – Silicon Valley Elitist Starts Religion To Worship Artificial Intelligence As God – We wish we were making it up! In general: Blockchain: the Evolution of the Internet, IoT and Circular Economy, Part 1 – intelligenthq.com 10 Blockbuster Acquisitions That Helped Companies Get Ahead In…
Microsoft wants to make traditional banking a thing of the past with its customizable financial services platform. Asia Pacific is poised to become the most connected market by 2021, and business processes in the region are being digitalized at an increasing rate. Customers are looking to move away from monolithic technology solutions that create disconnected data siloes or require expensive custom extensibility frameworks. As digital transformation begins to affect all aspects of business operations in the financial service industry , we are seeing growing investment in FinTech globally, and especially in Asia where it has surpassed the U.S. in FinTech…
The SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator programme kicked off its 12-week programme today by introducing 10 international start-ups as the finalists for this platform. The programme comes as a partnership between leading financial institutions, Standard Chartered Bank and Allianz Malaysia, as well as strategic partner Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). More than 100 early-stage and late-stage scale-ups from 30 countries submitted applications for the programme. Their diverse businesses covered sub-sectors, such as insurance technology (InsurTech), regulatory technology (RegTech), payments, wealth management, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, all of which represent some of the world’s most cutting-edge solutions. The 10 finalists for SuperCharger…
Foreign fintech companies and investors are looking at the Thai market as many plan to ride on Thailand’s startup boom and growing digital economy. Indonesia’s Kejora Ventures, one of the region’s most active private venture capital firms, expanded to Thailand earlier this year. “We see a lot of potential in the tech start-up scene in Thailand and want to be at the forefront of supporting corporate innovation in the country,” said Sebastian Togelang, founding partner of Kejora Ventures. “Thailand is a natural extension of our vision of setting up a tech community that will work together to share our knowledge.”…
The World Bank estimates that remittances will total USD 636 billion in 2017, and with this comes the advent of e-wallets and disruptive fintech solutions seeking to help increase efficiency and smoothen the flow of these large sums of money. These innovative solutions have more than halved operating costs of traditional money transfer operators. The Demystifying the Cross Border Ecosystem infographic serves to clarify and debunk myths about sending money through these avenues and raise awareness on the cost saving and easily accessible alternatives available to both businesses and individuals. Here’s a short breakdown of the infographic: How big a deal is remittance? We…
IDC Financial Insights unveiled a list of 10 fast growing fintechs in the Philippines, part of the broader FinTech 101 list for Asia/Pacific. “IDC’s FinTech Fast 101” refers to the fast-growing fintech players in Asia/Pacific based on extensive on-ground analysis of the dominant fintech players within the region. 10 Fast Growing Fintechs in the Philippines Acudeen Acudeen is an organization opens its business to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to boost cash flows, thereby answering an unsolved business need. The service Acudeen provides through facilitating an invoice factoring procedure is a dynamic solution that can be utilized to…
Fintechnews.PH picks every Friday for you the top 5 Fintech Philippines News of the week: Here we go: Growth Of Fintech Gives Filipinos Better Access To Mobile Banking, Loans, Remittance, And Credit Mynt, the financial technology (fintech) subsidiary of Globe Telecom, said ordinary Filipinos can now avail of affordable financial products and services like mobile banking, remittance, insurance, loans, and credit as the use of technology and innovation continues to be more pervasive in the Philippines. (Read more) Dynamic, but below the radar: Fintech in the Philippines Despite having one of the youngest populations in Asia that enjoys…
IDC Financial Insights today unveiled a list of 10 fast growing fintechs in Thailand. According to IDC this list is selected based on a “Triple U” framework — ubiquity, utility, and usability. While this is not a definitive list, it is a good reference point to give some insights into Thailand’s fintech landscape 10 Fast Growing Fintechs in Thailand AirPay AirPay is a new way to pay online. Comfortable and safe with internationally recognized standards. With many leading banking partners.When there is AirPay You can make a variety of financial transactions such as online payment. Top up mobile, top up games and much more. There…
Every week, we bring you the best IOT news from Asia and around the world. This week, technology is helping the less able. With Japan’s driverless buses (video) and innovation in healthcare, the opportunities are just starting to be explored. How technology is transforming home healthcare – information-age.com In General: Cellular Puts IoT on Speed Dial – eetimes.com IoT Drives Growth Strategies – marlinfinance.com Are You Ready For The Internet Of Things? – huffingtonpost.com Growing Influence of Internet of Things – huffingtonpost.com How Technology & IoT Is Disrupting The Trucking & Logistics Sector – Inc42.com AI: How Robots, IoT And…
“Mobile Wallets are the future.” In a lot of places, the future is already here. This is especially true in developing countries where smartphones are offering users their first taste of the internet. But there’s so much more to it than that. Reasons Why Mobile Wallets Are Disrupting The Payments Industry: Banks Many people don’t have access to banks or credit / debit cards. Danger Dangerous conditions make people not want to carry cash in some countries. Smartphones Mobile Phone usage is exploding in developing countries. Bundling Companies are bundling digital wallets with recharging of talk minutes and internet data.…
Copenhagen and Singapore-based trade automation platform Tradeworks is about to launch Tradeworks 3.0, a new upgraded platform intended to take the company to the next level. Built from the ground up, the new platform will include many improvements including a brand new interface and a marketplace for algorithms. The new iteration will, above all, be lighter, faster and even more intuitive to use. Also, many additional features will be added to the popular built-in Tradeworks backtest feature offering traders more data and metrics to assess the robustness of their strategies. Social features are an integral part of the product roadmap…
DBS and Visa have tied for top spot in a new R3 ranking of top fintech innovation labs in Singapore, thanks to their “dynamic environment” and interactive tools. R3 based its ranking on a ‘lab crawl’ of eight different innovation labs at financial firms in the city state during the Fintech Festival in November 2016 at the invitation of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 1. DBS 1. VISA 3. Mastercard 3. Microsoft 5. UOB 5.…
For many developing countries in the world, remittances play a key role in their economies, contributing to economic growth and to the livelihoods of those nations. In 2016, more than US$440 billion went to developing countries that involved 250 million migrant workers, according to the World Bank. For some individual recipient countries, remittances can be as high as a third of their GDP. Asia is the main remittance-receiving region in the world, with 55% of the global flows and 41% of total migrants, claims a recent UN report. It is projected that an estimated US$6.5 trillion in remittances will be…