Asia-Pacific (APAC) offers massive growth potential for businesses but is a highly fragmented region with each country operating under its own regulations, currencies, and preferred payment methods. According to Checkout.com, success in APAC requires a localized approach, including working with local acquirers, offering preferred payment options, and adapting to individual regulatory frameworks, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all strategy. In a recent post, the London-based paytech firm outlines how to navigate APAC’s complex payments landscape, highlighting the region’s opportunities and challenges, emerging payment trends, and the critical role of localization in a highly diverse market. A major digital commerce market…
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Stripe has announced plans to launch Stripe Capital in Australia. The announcement was made at Stripe Tour Sydney, where the company also highlighted products using AI and stablecoins. Stripe reported that it now supports more than one million users across Australia and New Zealand, ranging from global businesses to sole traders, with tens of thousands more joining each month. This comes after Stripe’s announcement of a series of product updates in Singapore as it looks to support global growth for Asian businesses through stablecoin payments and AI. These announcements were made at Stripe Tour Singapore 2025. Stripe Capital will offer…
From Binance’s first CFO to buying over Coins.PH for double the price from Gojek, this episode’s guest is nothing short of interesting. After building one of the leading licensed crypto exchanges in the Philippines, he’s now got his eyes set on global ambitions but does the Philippines and by extension Southeast Asia have what it takes to build the next crypto powerhouse?
JCB has launched a fresh brand identity in Vietnam, using traditional Dong Ho folk art and weekend promotions to position its cards within everyday life. Its international operations subsidiary introduced the new brand message “Japan Cùng Bạn” (“Japan with You”) on behalf of JCB Co., Ltd., Japan’s only international payment brand. Japan has long been one of Vietnam’s closest economic and cultural partners, with Japanese businesses and products embedded in daily life. The new positioning shifts from “a card that works in Japan” to “a card that enriches life in Vietnam,” aiming to act as a bridge between Japanese quality…
Siam Validus has officially joined the National Credit Bureau (NCB), becoming the first crowdfunding platform in Thailand to secure membership. This gives it real-time access to credit data with borrower consent and enables it to responsibly report SME repayment records back into the system. The move is expected to cut loan approval times from two weeks to near-instant and improve transparency for small businesses across the country. Siam Validus is a joint venture between Validus Group, Southeast Asia’s largest digital supply chain financing platform with more than US$5 billion in SME loans facilitated, and SCG Distribution Co. Ltd. The platform…
Fireblocks and an affiliate of Circle Internet Group have formed a strategic partnership to expand stablecoin use among financial institutions. The deal combines Circle’s stablecoin network with Fireblocks’ custody and payments infrastructure to simplify cross-border treasury, tokenisation and asset settlement. The collaboration builds on recent launches by both firms, including Fireblocks Network for Payments and Circle Payments Network. The two networks are designed to connect banks, payment providers and fintechs with stablecoin-based payments and liquidity solutions, and their interoperability will offer institutions a unified experience for treasury and settlement across borders, merchants and retail customers. Fireblocks customers will gain access…
Sumsub, a global verification and fraud prevention firm, has announced a research partnership with Constructor University in Germany. The collaboration is the first initiative under Sumsub’s newly launched AI Academic Programme, which aims to develop AI-based solutions to address risks to democratic institutions and digital identities, and to counter synthetic fraud. Constructor University is recognised as one of Germany’s leading private research institutions with an international outlook. The partnership will draw on the expertise of Professor Dmitry Vetrov, an AI researcher specialising in Bayesian methods, generative models, and deep learning, and Professor Hilke Brockmann, who leads the AIDE (AI, Democracy…
Fintech is scaling at a pace once unimaginable, bringing millions into the digital economy and redefining how financial services operate. But every leap forward is shadowed by an equally fast-moving wave of fraud. Bad actors are evolving in real time, probing onboarding and transaction flows for exploitable gaps. The rise of GenAI has accelerated this arms race. Fraudsters now wield AI to supercharge attack vectors, from synthetic identity fraud and deepfakes to fabricated receipts and hyper-realistic documents, making scams more convincing, scalable and more challenging to detect than ever before. The Ongoing Dilemma of Synthetic Identity Fraud Synthetic identity fraud…
Ant International, AlipayHK and TNG eWallet are teaming up to roll out new AI-powered safeguards against fraud and account takeovers as digital wallets handle trillions in payments across Asia. The three firms have formed the Digital Wallet Guardian Partnership to deploy advanced security tools, share intelligence on evolving threats and run campaigns to help users and merchants prevent scams. AlipayHK said it is expanding its multi-layered security approach in Hong Kong through 24/7 AI monitoring, customisable protections and regular anti-fraud tips, underscoring the need for innovation to maintain user trust. Asia Pacific accounts for nearly two-thirds of global digital wallet…
Faced with mounting pressures and uncertainties, members of the Generation Z (Gen Z) in Singapore, born between 1997 and 2010 and currently aged 14 to 27, are more financially cautious and prioritizing financial independence and security, according to a new study by Visa. The Visa study, conducted in November 2024 and based on more than 500 in-depth quantitative interviews with 560 Gen Z consumers across 14 markets, reveals that nearly half of Singapore’s Gen Z (47%) see attaining financial independence and security as a major life goal, significantly higher than the Asia-Pacific (APAC) average of 33%. This highlights the generation’s…
Global data and technology company Experian has launched a new solution to help banks and lenders combat financial crime such as money laundering, fraudulent account activity, and account misuse. The Financial Crime Compliance Perpetual Monitoring solution supports Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, which require institutions to verify customer information on a regular basis. These checks are often resource-intensive and can draw attention away from higher-risk cases. Instead of relying on manual reviews, the system continuously monitors customer data from internal and external sources and flags changes that could indicate potential risk, prompting investigators to take further action. The approach reduces…
Databricks is finalising a US$1 billion Series K funding round that values the San Francisco-based data and AI firm at more than US$100 billion, making it one of the few private companies to reach hectocorn status. Several media reports in August said Databricks had already signed a term sheet for the round. The investment is co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Insight Partners, MGX, Thrive Capital, and WCM Investment Management. Databricks plans to use the new capital to accelerate its AI strategy and support research and acquisitions. The raise follows strong momentum for the company, which reported a revenue run-rate surpassing US$4…
Issuers can now set their own rules for payment approvals as Mastercard launches a customisable decisioning platform. The company says On-Demand Decisioning (ODD) is the first solution that allows issuers to directly define decisioning criteria within the Mastercard system, helping them optimise performance and align decisions with their consumer experience strategy. The service is designed to improve authorisation accuracy while maintaining customer experience. At its core, ODD enables a more agile and personalised approach to transaction decisioning. Powered by a customisable rules engine, it allows financial institutions to automate and enforce business logic and policies, delivering instant approvals and declines…
National Australia Bank (NAB) will cut 410 jobs in its technology and enterprise operations in Australia while creating 127 roles in India and Vietnam, a spokesperson said, confirming reductions first reported by the country’s financial services union. The changes come a day after rival ANZ Group announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs over the next year, as new CEO Nuno Matos seeks to reduce duplication and simplify the bank’s structure, according to Reuters. NAB shares were up 1.2% at A$43.29 on Wednesday (September 10), while the broader S&P/ASX200 index was flat. “The environment we operate in is constantly changing and…
Rapyd has launched a suite of stablecoin payment solutions designed to give businesses a secure and scalable way to accept, settle, and pay out in stablecoins for cross-border transactions. The platform unifies what has traditionally been a fragmented process, allowing companies to manage stablecoin pay-ins and pay-outs within a single integrated system. The rollout comes as stablecoins gain ground in mainstream finance. Blockchain transaction volumes reached more than US$27 trillion in 2025, surpassing the combined annual volumes of Visa and Mastercard. New regulations, including the GENIUS Act in the United States and MiCA in the European Union, together with similar…
CIMB Group is reshuffling its leadership in Singapore after Victor Lee Meng Teck stepped down from his roles as CEO of Growth Markets and CEO of CIMB Singapore. Lee has resigned to pursue other opportunities and will be on gardening leave with immediate effect. He joined CIMB in January 2019 as CEO of Group Commercial and Transaction Banking before taking over as CEO of CIMB Singapore in January 2020. The group said its succession plan has been activated and successors will be named in due course. In the meantime, Group CEO Novan Amirudin will oversee Growth Markets as Acting CEO.…
South Korea’s fintech unicorn Toss is preparing to launch its finance super-app in Australia before the end of this year. The company also plans to issue a Korean won-backed stablecoin once regulatory conditions in its home market permit. This marks Toss’s first overseas expansion and a step towards entering digital currency markets as government support for stablecoins grows in South Korea. Toss, operated by Viva Republica, is entering the Australian market with the aim of creating a unified financial platform. Chief Executive Lee Seung-gun confirmed the company’s plans in an interview with Reuters, stating, “We proved in Korea that a…
From deepfakes and synthetic identities to real-time manipulation of biometric data, fraudsters are now using AI with a level of speed and precision not seen before. With generative AI projected to drive US$40 billion in fraud losses by 2027, based on estimates for the United States alone, financial institutions must act quickly to strengthen their defences. Fintechs, banks and regulators are under mounting pressure to respond to increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics that continue to evolve. This webinar will bring together fraud and risk leaders to explore: The new face of financial crime with deepfakes, voice cloning, and fraud-as-a-service accelerating across…
Stablecoins are rapidly evolving from a niche vertical in the cryptocurrency ecosystem into a foundational element of the global financial system, expanding beyond their initial role as lower-risk alternatives to volatile cryptocurrencies. One of the most significant and impactful applications of stablecoins is in payments, with growing adoption across cross-border payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) remittances, business-to-business (B2B) payments, and treasury management, according to a new report by Financial Technology (FT) Partners, a fintech-focused investment bank. Stablecoins for payments Released in May, the report provides an update on the current state of the stablecoin market, exploring the technology’s use cases in consumer,…
Ant International’s Bettr unit launched an AI-driven accounts receivable financing solution to help global e-commerce platform vendors gain rapid and secure access to working capital as year-end demand builds. The product is designed for small and medium-sized businesses that often face difficulties obtaining financing during peak retail periods. It provides fast, flexible, and reliable funding to cover inventory, marketing, and operational costs. Bettr’s system analyses vendor-provided data such as invoices, sales history, and customer ratings to instantly produce a precise credit risk assessment and generate loan offers tailored to each seller’s needs. The platform also incorporates competitive market rates and…