Author: Fintech News Singapore

Visa has introduced six new and enhanced dispute resolution tools as issuers, acquirers and merchants contend with rising case volumes and outdated manual processes. Inefficient dispute handling continues to drive administrative costs and fraud-related losses across the payments ecosystem. Visa processed 106 million disputes globally in 2025, up 35 percent from 2019. “Disputes put strain on every part of the payments ecosystem, frustrating consumers, while driving cost and complexity for merchants and financial institutions. When outdated technology cannot keep pace, fraud goes undetected. Our expanded suite of dispute services gives clients the visibility they need to focus on what matters…

Sumsub has introduced an automated Satoshi Test to help virtual asset service providers verify unhosted wallet ownership as regulatory scrutiny increases. The feature has been added to its Unhosted Wallet Verification solution, allowing users to prove control of a self-hosted wallet by sending a small preset amount within a set timeframe. Sumsub then verifies the transaction on-chain and confirms the originating wallet before allowing the deposit or withdrawal to proceed. With the addition, Sumsub now supports four commonly accepted methods for proving ownership of unhosted wallets. The others are digital signature, self-declaration and screenshots. The company said this gives firms…

Alteryx, an AI-ready data and analytics company, has promoted Sabya Sen to a wider regional role covering India, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Sen will serve as Vice President, IMEA & APAC, where he will focus on expanding adoption of the Alteryx One platform and helping organisations move beyond AI pilots to enterprise-scale use. He was most recently Vice President and Head of UKI and Emerging Markets Europe at Alteryx. Prior to joining the company, Sen spent 11 years at Salesforce in leadership roles supporting customers in the insurance, financial services and healthcare sectors. “Across the Middle East,…

OCBC will offer lower bonus interest on its 360 Account from 1 May, as Singapore banks continue to reprice savings products in a softer rate environment. The change was reported by Channel News Asia after the bank notified customers that the maximum effective rate on the first S$100,000 in the account will fall to 4.45 percent a year from 5.45 percent. Customers will still need to meet the same broad conditions to earn the top rate. These include crediting a monthly salary of at least S$1,800, increasing their account balance by at least S$500 a month, spending at least S$500…

HSBC Singapore has refreshed its mobile banking app to make it easier for customers to manage investments, foreign exchange, financial planning, international transfers and everyday banking in one place. The update comes as more customers use digital channels for wealth-related transactions. The bank said 95% of foreign exchange transactions, 100% of equity trades and 78% of unit trust transactions are now completed digitally. Ashmita Acharya, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC Singapore, said, “Our refreshed mobile app reflects this shift by simplifying how customers access banking, wealth and cross-border capabilities in one place. By combining simpler navigation…

Thunes has launched a cross-border payout service for remote staff, freelancers and gig workers across 140 countries. The service supports payouts to 12 billion bank accounts, mobile wallets and stablecoin wallets through a single API, with funds available 24/7. This removes the need for multiple payout relationships and more complex technical setups. Its network connects businesses to local payout channels such as M-Pesa, Alipay and GCash. In markets with volatile currencies, workers can also be paid in stablecoins to help preserve the value of their earnings against FX swings. The service can be used for overseas payroll, international gig platforms,…

Standard Chartered has named former Deutsche Bank executive Ole Matthiessen to lead a newly unified transaction services and digital assets team within its Corporate & Investment Banking business. He joins the bank as Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets. Matthiessen will oversee a structure that brings together transaction banking, financing and securities services, as well as Standard Chartered’s digital asset capabilities. He will be based in Singapore, join the Corporate & Investment Banking management team, and report to Roberto Hoornweg, CEO of Corporate & Investment Bank. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he spent 18 years at Deutsche Bank,…

In Asia-Pacific (APAC), finance applications are seeing a slow down in installs, indicating a market correction after years of rapid growth and increased maturity, according to a new report by AppsFlyer and Google. At the same time, companies are pivoting from aggressive customer acquisition to user retention, as providers become more careful with budgets and prioritize re-engagement. In 2025, fintech app installs in Asia-Pacific (APAC) declined 17% year-over-year (YoY), marking the first broad correction the region has seen in recent years. India experienced the sharpest decline, dropping 22% YoY. However, the country remained the region’s largest volume contributor, accounting for…

Nium has launched a stablecoin card issuance platform that allows businesses to issue payment cards across the Visa and Mastercard networks. Through a single API, businesses can issue cards and use stablecoin balances for payments at merchant locations worldwide. The platform supports crypto-to-fiat conversion at the point of sale and can also support stablecoin settlement in markets where this is permitted. Nium said the platform requires no new infrastructure and is the first enterprise platform to support stablecoin card issuance across both Visa and Mastercard. It can shorten launch timelines for stablecoin card programmes from months to days by handling…

If the startup world is one big pizza party, female founders are still only walking away with a single slice. Despite a recovering market, only 12% of deal funding is going to women. Where is the rest of the capital going, and why is the system structurally built to ignore female ambition? In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Lim (Investment Partner, OSK Ventures) and Rejina Rahim (Founder, Wahine Capital) to uncover the hard truths of the Venture Capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia. We move past the surface-level “diversity” buzzwords to address the real roadblocks: from the staggering lack…

World Foundation has sold US$65 million worth of WLD in OTC transactions, with the token trading near an all-time low. The Block reported that World Assets, the foundation’s token issuance arm, sold the tokens to four counterparties, with the first settlement taking place on 20 March. The transactions were priced at an average of about US$0.2719 per token, bringing the total sold to around 239 million WLD. The sale price is far below WLD’s March 2024 peak of about US$11.82. World Foundation said US$25 million worth of the tokens sold are subject to a six-month lock-up. The foundation said the…

SCBX has formed BankX Bank after its consortium won approval to establish one of Thailand’s three virtual banks. The new subsidiary will serve as the vehicle for SCBX’s planned virtual banking business in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand announced in June 2025 that SCB X Public Company Limited, WeTechnology Limited and KakaoBank Corp. were among the three groups approved by the finance minister to establish a virtual bank. In a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, SCBX said it holds 90 percent of the total issued shares in BankX Bank Public Company Limited. The company was registered as a…

Singapore is setting out new measures to strengthen its position as a trusted gold trading centre for the Asia-Pacific, as interest in vaulting and trading gold in the city-state grows. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Bullion Market Association said the focus areas were identified by a Gold Market Development Working Group formed in January 2026, following discussions and studies with industry participants in 2025. The group will look at developing gold-related capital market products to support price discovery and liquidity, while also setting internationally aligned standards for vaulting and logistics. It will also build a clearing system…

Sri Lanka’s national payment network, LankaPay, has launched cross-border QR payment acceptance via China’s Weixin Pay. The integration allows inbound travellers to make payments at over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants across the island. With Weixin Pay reportedly serving nearly 900 million monthly active users globally, the partnership aims to reduce friction at points of sale for Chinese tourists. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam said the industry is preparing for a possible 30% to 40% decline in the European market due to global crises. The initiative also seeks to direct tourism revenue into rural areas and reduce foreign…

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said authorities had launched a large-scale investigation into alleged cryptocurrency fraud across Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Da Nang, and Dak Lak. Following directives from the ministry, the Economic Security Department, in coordination with the Investigation Security Department and local police forces, conducted coordinated searches over two days in March, summoning more than 140 individuals. According to the statement, they confiscated computers, mobile devices, documents, and other evidence linked to the alleged offences, “successfully dismantling” a network that reportedly embezzled billions of US dollars from investors in the ONUS ecosystem. On 23 March…

Visa has launched Enhanced Subscription Manager, a new service that lets issuers help customers manage recurring payments through their mobile apps. Part of Visa’s Digital Issuer Solutions platform, the service allows cardholders to view subscriptions, get alerts, and receive insights through their banking app. It also allows them switch eligible subscriptions paid with any card to a Visa card and cancel certain subscriptions without leaving the app. Visa said the launch comes as subscription use continues to grow, with the total projected to reach 12 billion by 2030 and consumers seeking clearer ways to track recurring charges. The company is…

Sumsub has partnered with ComplyAdvantage to strengthen anti-money laundering screening across its compliance platform. The partnership brings ComplyAdvantage’s Mesh risk intelligence technology into Sumsub’s AML screening tools across Know Your Customer, Know Your Business and transaction monitoring. It is aimed at helping compliance teams manage sanctions checks, politically exposed person screenings and watchlist monitoring more accurately within one system. Sumsub said the integration is designed to improve screening accuracy and give compliance teams more flexibility to tailor workflows based on their risk appetite and regulatory requirements. The company is also introducing a Bring Your Own Key option, allowing customers to…

Mastercard is considering a sale of the account-to-account payments business it picked up from Nets in 2019, the Financial Times reported. The company declined to comment. A sale would put Mastercard’s largest acquisition to date back in play, after the company bought the business for about US$3.2 billion as part of its push beyond traditional card payments. According to the report, Mastercard has appointed bankers to explore a sale of the unit, which could draw interest from private equity firms. People familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the company is unlikely to recover the price it originally…

Xero is teaming up with Anthropic in a multi-year deal that will enable small businesses to use Claude for financial analysis and workflow tasks. The partnership will bring Claude into Xero’s platform while also making Xero’s financial data and tools available through Claude.ai. This is intended to help small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors get real-time insights and act on them more easily. Within Xero, Claude will support automation across accounting, payroll and payments. Customers will also be able to use Xero financial data and insights in Claude.ai for analysis and planning, including scenario testing and follow-up actions.…

Revolut plans to take its India workforce to 5,500 by the end of 2026 under a five-year £500 million investment plan, Reuters reported. The expansion will add 1,600 roles across product development, support and financial services functions such as payment processing and fraud investigations. The move will deepen Revolut’s global capability centre in India, which is separate from its local consumer business. India already handles about a third of Revolut’s processes, including transaction monitoring and AI-led alert systems. The company has also used tools developed there, such as video KYC capabilities, to improve onboarding in other markets. Revolut currently employs…