Author: Fintech News Singapore

BlockShow Asia 2017 powered by Cointelegraph is one of the largest platforms showcasing Blockchain solutions, bringing the hottest startups, ICOs, and unconventional sensations. It aims to demonstrate multiple new solutions for implementation and enhancement of the Blockchain and is designed to provide an exclusive look into exciting projects and ICOs, inspiration to get into the Blockchain world. The team’s aspiration is to exhibit the industry’s most groundbreaking solutions and bring businesses together with the Blockchain. What is BlockShow Asia? As an international platform, BlockShow attracts plenty of investors, venture funds and entrepreneurs from all over the world who are searching…

Every week, we bring you the best IOT news from Asia and around the world. This week, the Harvard Business Review looks into how much consumers value “smart” products. Do Your Customers Actually Want a “Smart” Version of Your Product? – hbr.org In General: The impact of the Internet of Things – information-age.com Preparing for the future by securing the Internet of Things – aei.org IoT Promises a Lot but Without Proper Security, It’s a Pandora’s Box – gadgets.ndtv.com U.S. senators to introduce bill to secure ‘internet of things’ – reuters.com Is The Rise In Technology Worth The Unemployment Side-Effect?…

With a population of over 250 million, consistent economic growth and high mobile phone penetration, Indonesia has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most promising markets for fintech disruption. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2020, Indonesia will become one of the biggest digital markets in the region, and with the country’s large population of unbanked (80% according to the World Bank), Indonesia is perceived as fertile ground of digital finance. Indonesia’s challenging banking ecosystem Like other similar markets, Indonesia has historically been relatively low on banking penetration. But unlike them, one of its key particularities (and challenges)…

2017 has been yet another breakthrough year for digital payments. Alongside cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin rising to a record value, there’s been the rise of new mobile payments platforms like Grab that hope to offer us easier and safer ways to buy goods than ever before. But whilst many of these methods have obvious advantages when buying goods online, they are facing a much tougher challenge in being accepted on our city streets. It’s when we spend smaller amounts of money on items like food that there seems to be the greatest amount of opposition to the new generation of digital…

Grab, the leading ride-hailing and logistics services startup in Southeast Asia, is looking to become the top mobile payments platform in the region. In order to “solidify its leadership in digital payments,” the firm has signed in April an agreement to acquire Kudo, an online-to-offline (O2O) e-commerce platform in Indonesia, a deal that will allow the firm to tap into Kudo’s extensive network across Indonesia’s smaller cities and rural areas. Kudo’s payments platform will be integrated with Grab’s proprietary mobile payments platform, GrabPay. The move is intended to expand Grab’s payments ecosystem to support “the massive growth in online consumer…

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have become a popular way for tech startups to raise funding and a lucrative investment opportunity for investors. Yet, regulators are warning the public about the risks associated with ICOs and cryptocurrencies, reminding investors that scams are rampant and that the practice is still unregulated. ICOs, also known as token sales, are a way for startups to raise money from users, similar to crowdfunding, by allowing them to buy a stake. In return, backers receive a token or cryptocurrency. They are not equivalent to shares in the firm. This is entirely dependent upon how the ICO…

Founded in early 2016, Maecenas is set to launch the world’s first blockchain-powered investment platform for fine art, bringing together collectors who want to raise funds, and investors looking for exposure to the art market. The platform promises to allow both sides of a traditional art deal to substantially reduce the commissions paid. In traditional transactions, these can be as high as 30% of the total value for the buyer and 50% of the total part for the seller. Maecenas uses blockchain technology to create tamper-proof digital certificates linked to pieces of art. Investors can purchase these certificates to own…

Fintech has become a global phenomenon and to help industry participants and enthusiasts to keep up with this burgeoning sector, several fintech events, conferences and trade shows are taking place this year to connect industry stakeholders and discuss the hottest trends in fintech. You want to attend some conferences? Here’s our pick of the top upcoming fintech events taking place in Asia. Fintechnews will be for sure at the Fintech Week in Hong Kong and at the Fintech Festival In Singapore end of Year. On top of that we will attend: in Singapore for: Big Data Analytics & Effective CEM Strategy…

Wave after wave of technological disruption has hit us in recent years and it looks like the insurance industry is next in line. Insurtech is the new tradename for an aggressively growing group of apps, software’s, and startups reinventing a tired and lackluster insurance industry. In fact, the Insurtech industry is already forcing traditional financial advisors to seat up and take notice. To further justify the growth of the Insurtech industry, The Monetary Authority of Singapore has committed S$225 million to the Financial Sector Technology & Innovation scheme (FSTI).  The Rise of Insurtech In a 2016 study done by New York…

Bangladesh’s undeveloped financial system, huge unbanked population, and increasing smartphone penetration rate, have fueled the development of innovative digital finance solutions. Home to 160 million people, Bangladesh is the world’s eighth densely populated country and one of the top performing economies in Asia, averaging an annual growth of more than 6%, according to the World Economic Forum. Bangladesh’s startup sector is at a nascent stage but evolving rapidly with several accelerators, incubators, startup events and some state sponsored programs being introduced in recent years. Increasing mobile phone penetration has played a key role in stirring the startup scene. With 131.1…

A report by the The Economist Intelligence Unit noted that while Fintech is an emerging industry that is growing more influential in the banking industry, retail banks will still retain a huge advantage. By 2020, the bank may no longer manage real-time digital transactions or new account opening, said the report, which was conducted on behalf of banking software giant Temenos and which surveyed 200 global banking executives. Banks, however, still have the three “big Cs” of customers, compliance and capital, said the report. Yet established banks generally still fail to create a good user experience, added the report. They…

Texcent, a Singapore-headquartered fintech startup, is looking to launch its digital payment platform, Paycent, this August in Singapore and the Philippines. The company aims to become the global leader for mobile and cashless transactions with a platform that promises a complete payment solution that can be used across all countries. Paycent seeks to offer both end-users and merchants a secure and convenient digital payments platform to send and receive funds, shop and pay bills without the need to use cash or credit cards. Speaking with Fintechnews.sg, co-founders Svetlana Umarova and Sumedha Goel, said that what differentiates Paycent from its competitors…

While China’s fintech industry had been mostly driven by the “fin” component, the importance of the “tech” component will come to the fore in the future, according to management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. With the ongoing integration of fintech into the regulatory framework, the development of fintech in China has reached an inflexion point. From now, technology will be the key driver of value-chain disruption in an increasingly data-driven industry, claims a new report titled “Fintech in China: hitting the moving target.” This comes at a time when China’s fintech industry is facing new challenges as government regulation begins to…

Zalo Pay, a product of ZION, is bringing mobile, contactless payments to Vietnam’s popular social media and messaging platform Zalo. Launched in 2012, Zalo is a free message and call mobile app used by 70 million people. Zalo entered the Myanmar market in mid-2016 and got 2 million users just after four months. The app is mainly used in countries with large Vietnamese communities such as the US, Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Introduced in late-2016 after a period of testing, Zalo Pay is a mobile payments app that aims to tap into the new era of mobile-based financial services that…

Blockchain technology might also disrupt the energy sector. Blockchain technology, the backbone technology behind the Bitcoin, is enabling a peer-to-peer network where transactions between systems can happen without a third party. The focus on peer-to-peer (P2P) applications has mostly been on the financial industry, but the technology is also set to disrupt the energy sector by allowing owners of rooftop PV panels to sell their energy to neighbors, the P2P structure is incentivizing the production of clean energy as an extra source of income. Shanghai-based start-up Energo Labs is bringing this revolution to Asia, and is set to launch projects in Singapore soon.…

Southeast Asia’s largest economy would rather use fintech platforms for their financial needs rather than the country’s more well-established banking institutions with regulations being proposed to safeguard investors and borrowers alike, Indonesia’s fintech industry is set to expand even further. Social enterprise Kitabisa.com is just one of the several crowdfunding sites that leverage Indonesia’s digitally-savvy base to further its cause. Kitabisa.com, which translates to “we can”, helps local communities reach their financial goals, whether they are for building schools in rural areas, or helping a loved one with medical expenses. It is relatively successful so far, with Rp 111 billion…

In Singapore, Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies are set to play a key role in the city-state’s digitalization push and Smart Nation plan. IoT refers to a network of Internet-connected physical objects, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with sensors, electronics, and software. These objects are able to collect data without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Examples of objects that can fall into the scope of IoT include connected security systems, thermostats, cars, electronic appliances, vending machines and more. Businesses and individuals can leverage IoT applications to automate tasks, such as notify authorities when a fire extinguisher in a building is blocked,…

Every week, we bring you the best IOT news from Asia and around the world. This week, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have been arguing over the danger surrounding the future of AI. Mark Zuckerberg v Elon Musk: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Are Officially in a War of Words Over Artificial Intelligence – Inc.com Elon Musk says we need to regulate AI before it becomes a danger to humanity – theverge.com Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Elon Musk’s doomsday AI predictions are ‘pretty irresponsible’ – CNBC.com Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI fearmongering is bad. Elon Musk thinks Zuckerberg doesn’t know what…

Over the past 18 months, adoption of fintech solutions has surged globally with now 33% of digitally active consumers across 20 markets using such products and services compared with 16% in 2015, according to EY’s latest EY Fintech Adoption Index. Fintech is poised to be embraced by the mainstream, driven by high adoption rates in emerging markets including China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico, averaging 46%, the research found. In particular, China and India have seen the highest adoption rates at 69% and 52%, respectively. According to the study, fintech firms in these countries have become successful at tapping…

Singapore is big on blockchain, amid the city state’s Smart Nation push. It is running through a slew of blockchain initiatives to make Singapore the blockchain hub of the world. Leading higher education institution Ngee Ann Polytechnic announced in May that it has teamed up with United Overseas Bank’s FinLab blockchain startup Attores. Ngee Ann  students will be awarded digital certificates called Diploma Plus Certificates, which will be deployed directly on the students’ LinkedIn profiles. The move is a first among the local polytechnics. With blockchain technology, potential employers or university admissions office will have it easier when it comes…