Author: Fintech News Singapore

Jachin Capital Pte Ltd, a home-grown independent fund manager, announced last month that it has received a Capital Markets Services Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. With the licence, Jachin Capital can now offer its digital investing platform – iAdvisor – to all accredited investors in Singapore. Starting from an investment theme or idea, Jachin Capital constructs portfolios based on a transparent rules-based framework. The portfolios are regularly reviewed and re-balanced. If you think the Chinese on-line consumer represents the wave of the future, you can invest in the “China Online US” portfolio and at the click of a…

An initial coin offering (ICOs) is a method through which a cryptocurrency or blockchain-based project or startup raises funding by selling a portion of its tokens. An ICO campaign extends over a certain period of time during which everyone is allowed to purchase tokens in exchange for established cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether. ICOs have mushroomed this year, fueled by rising investor awareness and adoption. In 2017 so far, blockchain projects and startups have raised over US$200 million. Many critics have compared the ICO phenomenon to the dotcom bubble in the 1990s, warning of a possible burst. Fintechnews would like to…

MyCash Online, a fintech startup that is providing online services to the unbanked has raised RM1.3M  (300k USD) in 24 hours in their equity crowdfunding campaign on pitchIN. Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle) led the funding round through their co-investment exercise along with a Hong Kong based co-investor. The MyCash Online equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign went live on 1st June 2017 and was fully taken up in 24 hours. Cradle Fund and co-investor JC Management took up RM1.2M while other investors snapped up the remaining RM100K. MyCash Online operates a platform that offers online purchasing services to foreign workers. Users…

Regtech is earning regulatory endorsement all around the world, including in Asia-Pacific, where initiatives in locations such as Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Australia are being launched to address compliance and regulatory challenges more efficiently. Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, banks across the world have dealt with the numerous new regulations by hiring thousands of compliance officers. The new reforms have dramatically increased challenges and costs for the financial sector related to compliance, reporting and supervisory requests. “This is particularly the case in Asia, where financial institutions often have to deal with more than a dozen different regulatory regimes,…

Blockchain has become a buzzword in the financial services industry, attracting billions in venture capital investment from some of the largest firms across the financial services landscape. Originally developed as the technology underlying Bitcoin, blockchain has quickly risen to fame for its ability to create a vast, globally distributed ledger running on millions of devices, capable of recording anything of value. A blockchain is essentially a digital, distributed transaction ledger with identical copies maintained on each of the network’s members’ computers. All parties can review previous entries and record new ones. Transactions are grouped in blocks and recorded one after…

A report by the Global Transaction Banking (GTB) department of Deutsche Bank named Reimagining ASEAN: The digital journey to 2025, revealed that significant gaps remain before it becomes an “advanced digital region”. This is despite key economic policies signed by the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which emphasise on the need for ASEAN countries to embrace evolving digital technology. The move will align the 2025 AEC vision with ASEAN’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Masterplan 2020 and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025. For example, Indonesia and Vietnam – two of ASEAN’s most populous economies with young demographics – still…

Globally, almost 50% of adults have no access to banking-type services of any description. The lack of access to basic financial services has created major barriers for people to overcome poverty by making it almost impossible for individuals and businesses to borrow or save money. This is where the real opportunity for financial technology lies. By leveraging new and mobile technologies, fintech companies can radically shift the economic foundation of impoverished regions by creating opportunities for the unbanked to obtain the basic services they need to improve their financial situation. And this includes access to credit. By using substitutes to…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s financial watchdog and central bank, has proposed several regulatory changes aimed at boosting the growth of robo-advisors in Singapore and support innovation in financial services. The new proposals were presented in a new consultation paper released earlier this week. Called Provision of Digital Advisory Services, the paper addresses the many advantages of digital advisors, also known as robo-advisors, and proposes amendments to Singapore’s legislations in order to facilitate the provisions of these services in the nation. MAS indicated that digital advisory firms will not be licensed separately and will be offered significant…

Fintech development in Singapore has been largely driven by the government’s efforts to push adoption and growth. On the regulatory front, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) set up the regulatory sandbox framework for financial institutions and companies to test their innovative products in a safe and controlled environment. Last year, the authority organized the inaugural Fintech Festival event, the world’s first large-scale gathering of fintech startups and other industry stakeholders. MAS has also created a fund for fintech innovation, committing S$225 million over a five year period through its Financial Sector Technology and Innovation scheme. Several other grants and…

A classic insurance product has two main problems: it’s boring, and it doesn’t have an obvious value for a customer who hasn’t had any insurance claims for years. By: Dmitry Rudash,  Co-founder Raxel Telematics As a result, the very nature of the insurance product becomes one of the reasons for the low market growth –  something insurers understand quite well. A product that was designed decades ago no longer suits the needs and lifestyle of digital age users, who have access to gadgets and social networks, and can get most of their things done with just a click in a mobile…

Did you ever try to log into one of your accounts using the few variations of passwords you generally use, yet fail because you apparently had used some other password you can’t remember anymore? You’re not alone, which is why, especially in the financial industries, biometrics are becoming more prominent solutions for account log-ins. The Philippine’s UnionBank has recently launched EON Selfie Banking, which uses facial recognition technology in order to allow users to log-in instead of having to enter a password or pin code. EON is a mobile deposit account that also functions as a wallet and can be…

According a 19 May report by Bain & Company, the number of digital consumers in the region has increased by 50 oercent to 200 million. This has helped the region’s internet economy balloon to more than $50 billion, the report added. With the huge potential in the market, Southeast Asia has emerged has a key target among major players from the US and China. Local players are also gaining a competitive edge, according to the report Digital Acceleration in Southeast Asia: Navigating Tectonic Shifts.  “We have seen monumental digital growth in Southeast Asia over the past year, but what is…

If you attend any tech conference with a panel discussing VC investments, you will most likely hear that Southeast Asia is the growth market to invest in over the next 15 years. So far though, research concludes that Southeast Asia remains underpenetrated by Venture Capital Firms or Angel Investors. VC panelists at IBM Connect 2017 highlighted that Southeast Asia’s venture ecosystem reminded them of China’s early days. Unlike in China or India, founders in Southeast Asia didn’t need to be local to be successful, thus VC’s have the opportunity to invest in founders from all over the world, who chose…

In 2016, countries in Southeast Asia began significantly exploring the potential of the Internet-of-Things (IoT). While most have just started with the technology or tested out components, countries such as Singapore have taken a leading position, setting up dedicated innovation labs and rolling out pilot projects. Singapore’s Smart Nation The IoT refers to Internet-connected physical devices, objects, vehicles, buildings and other items, which are able to collect and exchange data using embedded sensors. These stand-alone Internet-connected items create a network in which they can “communicate” to one another, and which users can monitor and/or control from a remote location.…

In 2016, deals to venture-backed Southeast Asian fintech startups rose 29% from 55 in 2015 to 71 in 2016. Meanwhile, dollars fell 12% from US$177 million in 2015 to US$158 billion in 2016 as deal growth was largely driven by seed and angel stage investments, according to CB Insights. The largest deals of 2016 went to Vietnam’s mobile payments platform MoMo (US$28 million Series B), Thailand’s payments enabler Omise (US$17.5 million), Malaysia’s financial comparison platform Jirnexu (US$3 million), and Singapore’s payments provider Coda Payments (US$2 million). Top investors to fintech startups in the region include East Ventures with 12 investments,…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the successful conclusion of the proof-of-concept project with the finance industry to introduce distributed ledger technology (DLT). The project is conducted in partnership with R3, a DLT company, and a consortium of financial institutions. The consortium comprises Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank Ltd, The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, J.P. Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, OCBC Bank, Singapore Exchange, United Overseas Bank, as well as BCS Information Systems as the project’s technology provider. The project was first announced in November 16 last year. It has achieved the objectives…

Tencent, a leading Internet company in China best known for its popular platforms QQ and Weixin/WeChat, is the most active corporate investor in Asia’s burgeoning tech scene, having made over 30 investments to VC-backed tech companies in Asia since Q1’16. The company has backed the highest number of Chinese unicorns of 15, according to a new report by CB Insights. Asia currently hosts 62 unicorns, which make up US$283.5 billion in private value. China alone has 46 of these unicorns, among which 21 are backed by four of the country’s largest Internet firms: Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and Tencent. “Five companies…

Social trading is a new way of trading which involves the use of financial social networks as the major information source for making financial decisions. On these platforms, users can compare and copy trades, techniques and strategies of advanced or professional traders to generate profits. Social trading introduces a new way of finding and analyzing financial data, and integrates social indicators from trading data-feeds of others traders. The concept is particularly appealing to those with limited financial knowledge who are provided with the ability to trade alongside more experienced traders, interact with and learn from them. Some have claimed that…

In 2015, the United Nations’ 195 member countries adopted their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and committed to the global transition from the fossil-fueled industrial era to low-carbon, knowledge-richer, green economies. But this change depends in part on a reset of the global financial system to ensure that private capital is redeployed to finance the transition to an inclusive, green economy. It requires reforming incumbent finance and democratizing such services to drive this global transition toward accessible green technologies, jobs and infrastructure. According to Patrick Njoroge, the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, innovations in fintech offer “the greatest hope…

Remtech, the contraction of the words remittance and technology, refers to the use of digital channels and platforms for international money transfers. The increase in use of mobile phones and technology is providing an avenue for fintech developments in remittance. Tech-focused startups are attacking the US$400+ billion remittance market and putting pressure on large incumbents such as Western Union, which currently controls a ~15% worldwide market share. Online remittance, as compared to conventional money transfers, is highly cost-effective, simple and flexible. Some, such as TransferWise, are re-imagining the international money transfer business by offering clever new ways to send money…