Accion and Quona Capital announced the final close of the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, the world’s first global fintech fund for the underserved. The oversubscribed Fund represents $141M in commitments from an array of leading institutional investors including global insurance companies, investment banks and asset managers, a university endowment, prominent foundations and family offices, as well as development finance institutions. The Fund will focus on emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia (with a particular emphasis on India and Southeast Asia) that have demonstrated the greatest potential for inclusive fintech. “Three billion people are left out of, or…
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The robotics market is undergoing a major transformation. Robots are growing beyond the industrial sector and beginning to assume the roles of personal assistants, surgical assistants, delivery vehicles, and autonomous vehicles, among many others. Until now, industrial robots have accounted for more than 50% of overall robotics market revenue. But 2016 marked one of the critical turning points of this shift in the robotics market, as Tractica estimates that industrial robots is set to drop to 41% of total robotics revenue, with the remaining 59% coming from non-industrial robots. Robotics is the interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science. Robotics deals…
OCBC Bank claims to be the first bank in Southeast Asia to pilot a robo-advisory service. Time starved investors will be able to invest in diversified portfolios of stocks and ETFs, using automated, algorithm based portfolio management advice. The platform offers a guided investment journey with regular rebalancing of investments portfolios – without having to interact with a relationship manager. Portfolios of stocks and ETFs With the launch of the robo-advisory pilot, select participants will be able to access the online platform and invest into two categories of investment portfolios, starting from as low as S$3,000. The first category consists…
Startupbootcamp FinTech, a leading accelerator focused on financial innovation, has announced the 12 international startups selected to join its Singapore programme. The finalists, which include teams from across Asia-Pacific and beyond, have been chosen by a panel of industry experts and representatives from program partners including leading banks and VCs. The top 12 teams reflect trending sectors in FinTech, such as Wealth Management, Payments and InsurTech, which are all relevant areas for consumers and businesses throughout the region. The 12 successful companies will join over 400 startups that have been accelerated by Startupbootcamp programs globally. The Top Twelve teams for…
After nine months with Paypal Incubator, the inaugural batch of Singapore 3 startups have graduated. PayPal launched its first startup incubation program in Singapore in July 2016. The nine-month program aims to develop and nurture the next generation of FinTech startups, and offers numerous opportunities including coaching and mentorship by PayPal executives and various subject matter experts; networking opportunities through PayPal’s network and venture capital connections; as well as a conducive co-working space which promotes collaboration and innovation. InvoiceInterchange: Top 40 FinTech Companies in Singapore Since joining PayPal Incubator, InvoiceInterchange saw many positive developments such as increase business, new…
Azimo, the digital money transfer service operating in Europe, announced a complete overhaul of money transfer services to the Philippines, with a lightning fast instant service via bank transfer. BDO Remit, the remittance service of the Philippines’ largest bank BDO Unibank, handles all Azimo transfers to the country. This new service now enables Azimo’s vast user-base to have immediate access to money sent. Transfers are instant via Credit to BDO Kabayan Savings and other BDO Unibank accounts; and 1 hour to accounts with other banks in the Philippines. The Philippines is estimated to have a population of over 100 million…
SBI Ripple Asia announced today that a consortium of 47 banks have successfully completed a pilot implementation of Ripple in Japan using a cloud-based payments platform. This platform, RC Cloud, is powered by Ripple’s solution and is the first in the world to enable real-time money transfers both domestically and internationally. As a result, the consortium has confirmed that it will move into commercial phase. “Consortiums are not hard to come by in this industry, but what makes this significant is that these leading Japanese banks are focused on a clear use case and moving blockchain into production,” said CEO…
Funding Societies, Singapore’s digital lending startup, has announced the launch of FS Bolt – a mobile application to provide flexible working capital loans for local SMEs. With minimal document submission and an application process that takes merely two minutes to complete, FS Bolt offers highly accessible SME financing. Meanwhile, an automated credit assessment process enables decision time in two hours and disbursement within 24 hours – making FS Bolt the quickest source of working capital loans in Singapore. Complementing the government’s financing programs for SMEs, FS Bolt offers loans with quantum up to S$ 20,000. FS Bolt is available on…
In countries like Myanmar, financial inclusion is a topic of growing importance. The rapid advances in technology are changing the way people access and consume financial products. In Myanmar, fintech companies and corporations are capitalizing on the country’s rapid development and increasing smartphone and Internet penetration to offer low-cost, user-friendly digital financial products. One of these companies is Wave Money, a joint venture between mobile phone service provider Telenor, First Myanmar Investments (FMI) and Yoma Bank. Wave Money has developed a mobile money transfer platform, offering an instant, safe and convenient way of sending and receiving money. The solution was…
The Swiss «IFZ FinTech Study 2017» of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts provides interested parties with a comprehensive overview of the Swiss FinTech sector. The first part of the study describes the ecosystem of FinTech: On the one hand, it deals with the political and legal, economic, social, as well as technological environment. On the other hand, it provides the reader with an evaluation of the business models of 190 Swiss FinTech companies. The second part of the study introduces the reader in more detail to 104 Swiss companies that offer digital financial services. These overviews of…
Credit Suisse today announces additional enhancements to its digital private banking platform in Asia, as client adoption and usage continues to increase. Credit Suisse has entered into a partnership with a fintech company Mesitis to provide its clients the ability to access “Canopy”, an automated account aggregation platform and reporting solution provided by Mesitis, through Credit Suisse’s digital private banking platform. In addition, Credit Suisse is also rolling out the first fully front-to-back automated Digital Client Onboarding application within the private banking industry regionally, which will enhance efficiency in the onboarding of new clients and create a new client experience.…
A Singapore digital insurance app that helps consumers organise all their insurance products in one place just raised money from 500 Startups and received approval from MAS to enter a regulatory sandbox. The startup will be testing their solution over a 6-month period starting from 2 March 2017 by partnering with NTUC Income and Etiqa Insurance to distribute insurance products to consumers via the mobile app. Designed while keeping the consumer in mind, the easy-to-use dashboard shows your existing insurance coverage, payment and renewal dates. Consumers now get to see how much they have to pay for each insurance, when they…
The global financial industry continues to face innovative developments including the development of Financial Technology, FinTech. Thus, Authority Monetary Brunei Darussalam, AMBD has undertaken several initiatives to encourage the growth of FinTech companies in Brunei Darussalam, and at the same time, ensuring the stability of Brunei Darussalam’s financial industry. This was highlighted by Managing Director of AMBD during the launch of AMBD’s FinTech Sandbox or a virtual facilitation office. Here is what Awang Yusof bin Haji Abdul Rahman said about AMBD push forward for the development of FinTech in the country. This article first appeared on rtbnews.rtb.gov.bn
Read here all the important fintech news around Fintech in Vietnam from January. You can subscribe to the monthly Fintech Vietnam Newsletter here. Fintech Saigon Meetup, March 9th Save the Date: Fintech Startup Investments Firechat with Eddie Thai from 500 Startups on March 9th in Saigion, Reserve your seat here Vietnamese Bitcoin P2P Platform Remitano Targets Global Expansion Remitano, a Vietnam-based P2P platform for trading bitcoin, has expanded its services across the English-speaking world. (Read more) Vietnam: CMC Corporation launches $2.2m early-stage startup investment fund CMC Corporation, one of the major technology companies based in Vietnam, on February 26 launched…
The banking Chief Innovation Officer, or CIO, has seen their role change in a very short space of time. It may even be argued that the modern demands of the bank CIO are so different to what came before that it is a brand new role in all but name. This article looks at this evolution of the CIO role in banking and why they hold the key to the future success of banks, what the future CIO might look like, and the 6 key qualities of a brilliant CIO. The evolution of the Chief Innovation Officer The changes to the…
Financial service providers should rethink how they service their customers, in light of changing consumer behaviours and expectations. To track consumer patterns, Accenture Financial Services Global Distribution & Marketing Consumer Study found that providers who can deliver a compelling new digital service model, as well as retain traditional values around trust and service, will edge out competitors. The study sampled 33,000 financial services consumers and surveyed their views on banking, insurance and investment advisory across 18 markets globally. The research identified insights on how customers want to interact with financial providers in future, and where digital innovation must play its part.…
Citi announced that Singapore has been selected as one of the countries to hold a Demo Day for its latest global FinTech initiative, the Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge(T4I), targeting the Public Sector. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has committed to support the initiative as a RegTech Contributor for the event to be held on June 9. T4I is a landmark initiative led by Citi in collaboration with public and private sector allies to provide a bridge between public sector entities and tech innovators with the aim of developing solutions that increase process transparency and efficiency. T4I will also provide…
An interesting previous Lendit USA Keynote Presentation: Developing the Developed World with entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel. LendIt USA is the world’s biggest show in lending and fintech, and in 2017 the event returns to New York City, taking over the Javits Center on March 6-7. More than 5,000 attendees from over 40 countries will gather to share ideas, network and learn the latest in all things lending and fintech. With 16 tracks of content, including digital banking, block chain, insurance, and auto financing, as well as our annual PitchIt @ LendIt startup competition, there truly is something for…
A global survey of 2,000 investors and 500 investment providers supported by State Street has identified three aspects of data that will define stewardship for the digital age. Integration, the ability to combine both structured and unstructured data; Intelligence, the ability to draw new insights with the help of emerging technologies that will enable improved decision-making, performance measurement and client centricity; and Integrity, the ability to better safeguard data with the highest levels of security. The new report titled, “Finance Reimagined: Finding Long-Term Value in a Digital Age”, combines quantitative research with views from industry experts, to explore how firms…
Tokyo-based Trillium Inc, a leading contender in the global race to close the cyber-security gap that threatens to stop self-driving cars in their tracks, today announced the successful closing of its Series A financing round with investments by lead investor Global Brain, Mizuho Capital and DBJ Capital. Tokyo-based Trillium designs and provides custom, multi-layer adaptive cyber-security systems, focused in the near-term on automotive needs – but applicable to the entire IoT spectrum. said David Uze, Trillium’s CEO. “With funding now in place, we are set to move quickly to market with a robust and urgently needed solution. Hundreds of articles…