Author: Fintech News Singapore

In this interview, Fintech News Network Chief Editor, Vincent Fong sits down with Roger Wang (Huawei) and Wizard Hee (Netis Technologies) to uncover how the Huawei RongHai Program is helping banks skip years of development time. From the “Gandalf” project in Singapore to migrating core banking systems in less than 10 months, we explore why over 150 fintech partners have joined forces with Huawei to build the future of banking infrastructure.

Agoda and Mastercard have partnered to update travel loyalty programmes for cardholders across the Asia Pacific region. The collaboration connects Agoda’s global inventory of flights and accommodation with Mastercard’s Global Redemption Suite, allowing banks to offer direct, real-time travel redemptions to customers. Banks connected to Mastercard’s rewards ecosystem can integrate a modular Agoda-powered travel redemption solution into their existing loyalty programmes. This allows cardholders to redeem points instantly and apply them directly to bookings across Agoda’s global inventory, while banks retain control over the branding and structure of their loyalty offerings. “By enabling effortless redemption with Agoda, we’re creating a…

Juniper Group has acquired Singapore-based digital banking software firm Tagit Singapore, adding another fintech company to its portfolio. The financial details were not disclosed. Juniper Group operates under Vela Software, which is part of Canada-listed Constellation Software. Under the transaction, Tagit will become part of the TSI Group, a Juniper Group division headquartered in Chennai, India. The deal marks TSI Group’s third acquisition since joining Juniper Group in 2020 and its second in the Indian market, where it already operates alongside subsidiaries including SysArc. Based in Singapore, Tagit develops the Mobeix digital banking platform, a cloud-native system built on open…

Trust Bank has launched fractional trading for US stocks and exchange-traded funds, allowing customers in Singapore to invest with smaller amounts of capital. The feature lets users buy portions of shares, with investments starting from US$10. Through a partnership with Saxo Singapore, customers can access more than 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs directly within the Trust App. The service was initially offered to customers on a waitlist in November 2025. Since then, around 10,000 customers have opened trading accounts. Trust Bank said about 45 percent of customers who traded during this period made fractional trades. The bank is offering zero…

Osome, the Singapore-based business management platform, has appointed Eugenio Ferrante as CEO. Ferrante takes on the role after advising the company for the past 16 months, formalising a leadership transition that began when he joined in an advisory capacity. He succeeds founder Victor Lysenko, who stepped down in 2025 after growing the platform to more than 30,000 customers. Prior to joining Osome, Ferrante led Casa Mia Coliving to a successful exit and founded ColivHQ, a software platform for co-living and rental housing operators. He previously served as Chief of Staff at Acronis and held senior regional and operational roles at…

Aspire is adding Deel’s Employer of Record services to its platform as more founders turn to international hiring to scale their teams. The move reflects growing demand for simpler cross-border employment tools as startups expand beyond their home markets. Aspire data shows that 63 percent of businesses already hire internationally or plan to do so, often starting with small overseas teams of one to three employees before expanding across multiple markets. Through the integration, Aspire customers can access Deel’s Employer of Record infrastructure within the platform, allowing them to hire employees abroad while managing payroll and compliance alongside their financial…

HSBC’s market value could climb beyond £300 billion as the bank builds on a strong rally in its shares, according to comments from a senior executive. The view was shared during a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Michael Roberts, who leads HSBC’s corporate and investment banking business, said the lender’s earnings outlook supports a higher valuation despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. HSBC recently crossed the £200 billion mark for the first time and is now valued at about £210 billion. The share price gains have cemented HSBC’s position as Europe’s largest bank by market capitalisation, ahead…

Singapore bank branches and off-premise automated teller machines have fallen by an average of about 2 percent a year over the past decade. Banks have been rationalising their physical networks as customers increasingly shift to online banking and cashless payments. The figures were disclosed by Gan Kim Yong, who is also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in a written parliamentary reply. He said the three local banks currently operate more than 150 retail branches and over 1,600 off-premise ATMs across Singapore, with more than 1,200 of these located within Housing & Development Board towns. Gan said MAS…

Private banking arm Bank of Singapore has appointed Collins Chin as its Group Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect, according to a report by The Edge. Chin will join the bank’s Global Management Committee and report to Chief Executive Officer Jason Moo. He moves into the role from parent group OCBC, where he held senior finance and investor relations responsibilities. Chin joined OCBC in 2009 as Head of Group Financial and Management Reporting and was appointed Head of Investor Relations in 2013, working closely with the investment community and supporting the group’s capital market activities and corporate transactions. Prior to…

Payments software provider ACI Worldwide has appointed JP Krishnamoorthy as Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. Krishnamoorthy joined the company in December 2025 and has assumed leadership of ACI’s Global Technology and Innovation organisation. In the role, he will be responsible for advancing ACI’s technology strategy to support faster product delivery and more scalable payments services for banking, biller and merchant customers that process trillions of dollars in transactions each year. Tom Warsop, CEO of ACI Worldwide, said, “We are in a critical modernisation phase, and we need a technology leader who understands how to drive innovation and build smarter capabilities…

Singapore’s Sea Ltd has increased its investment in MariBank with a S$75 million capital injection, lifting the digital bank’s paid-up capital to about US$639 million. The funding was disclosed in regulatory filings and first reported by DealStreetAsia. The top-up comes after another shareholder injection in May 2025, when Sea added about US$78 million to MariBank’s capital base as the lender continued to expand its operations. Singapore’s digital banks are required to raise capital progressively as they grow under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s licensing framework. The latest funding comes as digital lenders across the region place greater emphasis on improving…

Fujitsu Limited and SC Ventures have announced the launch of Qubitra Technologies. It is a joint venture aimed at advancing quantum computing applications and building a global quantum ecosystem. Previously incubated as Project Quanta in September 2025, Qubitra will operate from the UK. The company will focus on high-performance applications and a marketplace platform for quantum software and hardware providers. Vishal Shete, CEO of Qubitra, said: “Our mission at Qubitra is to turn quantum innovation into business impact by combining high-performance applications with a collaborative ecosystem that advances the industry.” Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, added: “Qubitra, with access…

Leadership changes are under way at GXS Bank, with Geraldine Wong and Vishal Shah scheduled to leave at the end of February 2026, according to an internal email seen by Fintech News Singapore. Geraldine, Chief Data Officer at GXS Bank and one of the digital bank’s early employees, has spent the past five years leading the bank’s data and artificial intelligence strategy. Her work included building data partnerships across the group and developing AI capabilities used internally and by customers. During her tenure, GXS took part in Project Mindforge, an industry taskforce led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore that…

Merchants in Southeast Asia will soon gain wider access to overseas payment routes, including in the European Union and the US, following a tie-up between Primer and HitPay. HitPay serves as merchant of record for businesses in Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, handling payment processing, compliance and settlement for companies selling to customers in the US and Europe. Under the partnership, HitPay will use Primer’s unified infrastructure to connect with local acquirers in key international markets, extending multi-currency card acceptance beyond the region while maintaining high-performing, locally optimised payment flows. Aditya Haripurkar, Co-founder and CEO of HitPay said, “Our…

Digital banking in Asia was supposed to change the world. Five years later, did it live up to the hype? In this in-depth retrospective, Vincent Fong (Chief Editor, Fintech News Network) sits down with David Becker (Managing Director, Head of APAC Sales, Mambu) to unpack the last five years of the digital banking boom. They discuss why the predicted “death of traditional banks” never happened, how incumbents managed to adapt so quickly, and why the real revolution is happening in rural financial inclusion rather than just glossy apps. From the technical challenges of cloud-native infrastructure to the “boring but important”…

Singapore-based fintech firm Atome has expanded its syndicated debt facility to US$345 million to support its regional growth, Reuters reported. The latest facility represents an increase from the US$200 million that the company secured in 2024. HSBC continues to act as structuring bank and has been appointed mandated lead arranger and bookrunner, while DBS has joined in the same role. Returning lenders include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s Singapore branch, Baiduri Bank and Cathay United Bank, while Fubon Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank are participating as new lenders. Atome said the funds will be used to expand its instalment payments…

Citigroup is moving forward with about 1,000 job cuts this week, according to people familiar with the matter and a report from Bloomberg. The reductions extend CEO Jane Fraser’s multi-year drive to simplify the bank and push down expenses as it works to improve returns. The latest cuts fit within a target Citi has discussed since 2023 to eliminate 20,000 roles by the end of 2026. The bank had about 229,000 full-time employees at the end of 2024, underscoring the scale of the effort still ahead. Fraser, who took over as CEO in 2021, has been reshaping the lender by…

FIS has completed the acquisition of Global Payments’ issuer solutions business, formerly known as TSYS, at an enterprise value of US$13.5 billion. The company has also finalised the sale of its remaining 45 percent stake in Worldpay to Global Payments. The issuer solutions unit was purchased at a net price of about US$12 billion, including US$1.5 billion of net present value of tax assets, and will now operate under the FIS Total Issuing Solutions brand. “We are pleased to have closed this strategic acquisition ahead of schedule, enabling us to start 2026 in a strong position to deliver greater value…

Standard Chartered is exploring plans to establish a cryptocurrency prime brokerage as part of a broader push into digital markets, according to a report from Bloomberg. The proposed business would be developed within the bank’s wholly owned innovation and investment arm, SC Ventures, rather than its core corporate and investment bank. People familiar with the discussions said the plans are still at an early stage and there is no confirmed launch timeline. Locating the business under SC Ventures could help the lender manage the capital impact of deeper involvement in digital assets. A spokesperson for SC Ventures declined to comment.…

Episode Six has been appointed by Monee to support the regional rollout of the ShopeePay Unlimited Card across Southeast Asia, with the card currently live in Thailand. The card allows users to make online and in-store payments using balances from their ShopeePay wallets and SPayLater accounts. Monee plans to extend the launch to additional markets in the region. The partnership will use Episode Six’s cloud-based card issuing and ledger infrastructure to help connect to global payment networks and deploy the product across multiple countries with different regulatory requirements, while supporting compliance across markets. The infrastructure is deployed across several cloud…