Author: Fintech News Singapore

Singlife has revamped its digital investment platform dollarDEX, targeting self-directed retail investors with a streamlined interface and a zero-fee model. The upgraded platform provides access to over 1,500 funds across various asset classes and geographies without platform fees or sales charges. The company states the redesign focuses on simplifying account opening, fund discovery, and trading processes. Singlife plans to introduce additional features to the platform progressively. These upcoming additions include an interest-bearing cash account and a consolidated view of users’ insurance and investment portfolios. “We have listened closely to feedback, and have evolved the platform for today’s retail investor,” said…

Western Union is preparing to launch a US dollar-backed stablecoin in May, positioning the token as a faster alternative to the SWIFT network for cross-border agent settlements. The company confirmed the timeline for the Solana-based token, called USDPT, during its first-quarter earnings call on 24 April, as reported by The Block. Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan told analysts that USDPT will initially function as a business-to-business settlement tool rather than a consumer product. By moving agent settlements on-chain, the company aims to process transactions outside of traditional banking hours and public holidays. Bridging crypto wallets and retail cash Alongside the…

Jumio has appointed software and cybersecurity veteran Mark Lorion as its new Chief Executive Officer to lead the identity verification provider’s defence against AI-driven fraud. Incoming Jumio CEO Mark Lorion succeeds Bala Kumar, who has served as interim Chief Executive since early 2026. Kumar will continue his role as President and Chief Product and Technology Officer. Lorion joins from Tempo Software, where he was Chief Executive and oversaw significant revenue growth. His background also includes leadership positions at cybersecurity software firms Digital.ai and Arxan Technologies. He currently serves as a board director for intelligence firm Team Cymru. The leadership change…

Bank of Singapore is expanding its family office and wealth advisory leadership team as demand grows for succession planning, legacy management and wealth transfer solutions among ultra-high-net-worth clients. The private banking subsidiary of OCBC Group has appointed Elvin Ho as Head of Family Office and Structuring Solutions, effective 4 May 2026. He will lead the competency and solutions centre, focusing on wealth structures and philanthropy. Ho joins from JPMorgan Private Bank, where he advised Southeast Asian clients on multi-jurisdictional taxation and succession planning. He previously spent 19 years at UBS in various senior wealth planning roles. In a related move,…

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has ordered Meta Platforms to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus, according to a Bloomberg report, in one of Beijing’s most far-reaching interventions into a completed cross-border tech deal involving a US company. The directive was issued on Monday (27 April), four months after the transaction closed in December 2025, and requires all parties to withdraw from the agreement. The ruling also prohibits foreign investment in Manus, escalating regulatory scrutiny over Chinese-founded AI firms operating abroad. From Beijing to Singapore Manus had redomiciled to Singapore in mid-2025, relocating its…

Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore (TMLS) has appointed Raymond Ong as its new Chief Executive Officer, according to finews.asia. Ong joins the firm with leadership experience across the insurance sector. He has a reputation for delivering sustainable growth and strengthening operational discipline while leading customer-focused transformation initiatives. Before joining TMLS, Ong served as the CEO of a composite insurer in Singapore. In that role, he focused on product innovation, digital transformation, and the development of customer-centric solutions. His earlier career includes serving as the Chief Financial Officer at one of the largest life insurers in Malaysia. He also held the…

Agentic commerce is rapidly expanding across Asia, prompting Ant International to introduce new payment and AI tools for global merchants navigating the shift. It involves AI agents autonomously managing the shopping process from product discovery to final settlement. The Asia-Pacific region is emerging as a testing ground for this trend. In 2025, the region accounted for nearly a quarter of global agentic commerce revenue. Projections from the company indicate that half of all global consumer transactions will take place in Asia by the next decade. Digital wallets are expected to become the primary payment method for agentic commerce, driven by…

Indian fintech firm MobiKwik has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India for a non-banking financial company license, according to a report by Reuters. The regulatory nod clears the way for the company to launch a lending arm, MobiKwik Financial Services, expanding its regulated credit offering. Shares of the company rose 14% following the announcement on Monday (27 April). The license will enable the firm to roll out lending products faster and improve margins by bringing credit operations in-house, according to the company. The new unit will offer secured and unsecured loans to consumers and small businesses, with a…

GXS Bank has partnered Funding Societies to launch the GXS Biz Property-backed Loan. The facility offers Singapore SMEs financing of up to S$2 million. The loan is aimed at business owners who have residential or commercial property and need financing for growth, cash flow or time-sensitive business needs. GXS Biz Property-backed loan brings together the bank’s ecosystem reach and Funding Societies’ experience in digital SME financing and structured lending. Pei-Si Lai, Group CEO of GXS Bank, said, “For business owners with a residential or commercial property, they can now turn this illiquid asset into up to S$2 million of liquidity…

With their data-rich and language-heavy operations, financial services businesses are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the development of artificial intelligence (AI), a capability they have been pursuing for years. According to a World Economic Forum report in collaboration with Accenture, 32-39% of the work performed across capital markets, insurance and banking businesses has high potential to be fully automated through generative AI (genAI), and 34-37% holds high augmentation potential. PwC estimates that embracing AI could improve a bank’s efficiency ratio by 15 points through revenue boost by matching the right customers with the right messages, and cost transformation via intelligence…

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), effective from the close of business on 24 April 2026. PPBL is prohibited from conducting banking business or any additional business under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The RBI will apply to the High Court to wind up the bank. The central bank confirmed PPBL has sufficient liquidity to repay its entire deposit liability upon winding up. Grounds for Paytm licence cancellation The RBI cited four statutory grounds under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The bank’s affairs were conducted in a manner detrimental…

The Master of IT in Business (MITB) program at Singapore Management University (SMU) was launched in 2007 to equip professionals with the skills to navigate the increasing demand for technology-driven leadership in business. Since its inception, the program has evolved significantly in response to global technology trends and industry needs, expanding from its initial focus on financial services to encompassing key areas of expertise relevant to today’s business environment, including data science, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence (AI). It’s designed to address the critical gap between business leaders who drive strategic goals and tech professionals responsible for implementation. SMU MITB…

DBS and POSB are committing S$10 million to expand cashback rewards for Singapore consumers and step up AI adoption support for SMEs amid rising costs. The package follows the Singapore government’s S$1 billion relief package announced earlier this month. DBS cashback Singapore: what consumers get From August to December, DBS and POSB cardholders and PayLah! users can redeem more than three million cashback rewards at hawker centres, heartland shops and supermarkets, including S$3 cashback at hawker stalls and heartland shops every Saturday. Full redemption details and participating retail partners will be announced in July. Among those who redeemed cashback rewards in…

DBS has expanded Spark GenAI with a tiered support model aimed at helping Singapore SMEs adopt AI more practically. The programme, run with Enterprise Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, now groups SMEs into three levels based on their readiness and business needs. DBS cited its 2026 Business Pulse Check Survey, which found that 39 percent of SMEs are seeking expert advice on how to integrate AI into their operations. Chen Ze Ling, Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking, DBS, said, “Our learnings from client conversations over the past year point to growing interest from SMEs in how…

Amazon India has made an investment of over ₹2,800 crore, or about US$300 million, to expand its operations network and support programmes for its associates. The funding will go towards logistics infrastructure, worker safety, health and financial well-being as the company scales its supply chain across India. The investment follows a ₹2,000 crore commitment in 2025, which added 17 fulfilment centres, six sortation centres and 75 last-mile delivery stations. Amazon is also expanding Amazon Now, its quick commerce service, with plans to more than double its micro-fulfilment centre footprint in existing cities and enter new locations this year. Abhinav Singh,…

Backbase has launched its AI-native Banking OS, a platform aimed at supporting agentic banking by connecting customer channels, employee workflows and AI agents in one operating model. The platform sits above a bank’s existing systems, including core banking, payments, cards, risk and customer relationship management systems, rather than replacing them. Backbase said the launch addresses fragmentation in banks, estimating that roughly 80 percent of frontline banking work happens in the gaps between systems, based on insights from more than 120 deployments. The platform gives banks a shared customer view, coordinates work across systems, authorises actions and learns from interactions and…

Singapore banks reduced headcount by nearly 3,000 roles in 2025, with DBS accounting for most of the decline as local lenders restructured operations and took a more selective approach to hiring. DBS, OCBC and UOB had 104,266 employees at the end of 2025, down 2.6 percent from 107,072 a year earlier, The Business Times reported, citing Bloomberg data and the banks’ annual reports. The decline was not presented as a broad retrenchment exercise. The banks instead pointed to factors including integration-related changes, regular staff turnover, contract non-renewals and tighter workforce planning. DBS posted the largest drop, with headcount falling by…

Robinhood has moved closer to launching brokerage services in Singapore after receiving in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The approval marks a step forward in the company’s Asia Pacific expansion, with Singapore serving as its regional headquarters. The approval could lead to a licence once Robinhood Singapore fulfils the conditions set by MAS, provided there are no material adverse developments affecting the applicant. If licensed, Robinhood Singapore would be able to offer services including securities trading, exchange-traded derivatives, custody, product financing and collective investment funds. The approval does not yet allow Robinhood Singapore to provide brokerage services.…

Global investment platform Moomoo has launched a new API feature that enables Moomoo agentic investing for retail users. By connecting personal AI agents directly to the platform’s trading infrastructure, the feature removes the coding requirements traditionally associated with algorithmic trading and allows retail investors to build automated trading strategies using natural language commands. The system translates user intentions written in plain English into structured trading logic. Connected AI agents can then monitor market conditions and prepare trades based on user-defined strategies. The feature supports monitoring across markets in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan without constant manual oversight.…

MetaComp will use Solana across its cross-border payments, treasury management and tokenisation businesses. The move forms part of its broader push to expand digital asset infrastructure across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. The company, together with affiliate Alpha Ladder Finance, said it is positioning Solana as the primary chain across those core business lines. For cross-border payments, MetaComp will adopt Solana as a preferred chain within its StableX Network, where the StableX Engine routes settlement across fiat and stablecoin rails based on speed, cost and availability. It also plans to expand the range of on-chain…