Osome, a fintech platform providing business and financial management tools, has promoted Helena Flores to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Flores, who previously served as Vice President of Operations, has been with the company for six years. She joined during its early startup days when it operated in a single market and has since played a key role in scaling Osome’s operations across multiple regions. Her contributions have included leading automation rollout, building compliance infrastructure, and strengthening customer delivery. “Helena’s contribution in our business has been impactful. She’s transformed our multi-market operations to raise efficiency and strengthen collaborations that enable Osome…
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Finastra, a global financial software provider, is plugging Circle’s USDC stablecoin into its payments hub, giving banks a new way to settle cross-border transfers in near real time. The integration will run through Global PAYplus (GPP), the first Finastra solution to connect banks to Circle’s payment infrastructure. Finastra says GPP customers process more than US$5 trillion in cross-border transactions daily. Banks will be able to settle in USDC even when payment instructions on both sides remain in fiat currency. The option is intended to reduce reliance on correspondent banking chains, accelerate settlement, maintain existing compliance and FX processes, and lower…
Singapore-based payments infrastructure firm Tazapay has closed its Series B funding round. The sum was not disclosed. The round was led by Peak XV Partners and included backing from Ripple, Circle Ventures, Norinchukin Capital, and GMO VenturePartners, along with participation from existing investors January Capital and ARC180. Tazapay provides local collection and payout services in more than 70 markets and processes over US$10 billion in annualised payment volume. The company reported that it has reached operational breakeven and is growing at 300 percent year-on-year. The platform supports a range of payment methods including cards, alternative payments, virtual bank accounts, payouts,…
Pipe is turning to Airwallex’s infrastructure to scale globally, enabling same-day payouts and market launches in under six weeks. The US-based fintech provides embedded capital products to small businesses through software platforms. With Airwallex’s single integration and localized infrastructure, Pipe can expand faster while maintaining a consistent user experience. The partnership supports same-day and next-day payouts in new regions, giving small businesses quicker access to working capital and financial services previously out of reach. Airwallex has already helped Pipe enter the UK in late 2024 and Canada earlier this year, with Australia planned for later in 2025 and more markets…
Okta, an identity and access management company, is set to acquire Axiom Security, adding the Israeli startup’s privileged access technology to its platform to extend protection for sensitive accounts and systems. The deal will see Axiom’s tools integrated into Okta Privileged Access, creating a single control plane for managing privileged accounts across on-premises and multi-cloud environments. Okta said the move reflects growing demand for stronger safeguards as enterprises adopt artificial intelligence, which introduces new types of privileged accounts and heightens security risks. Founded by Itay Mesika and Ilan Dardik in Tel Aviv, Axiom provides an identity-centric, cloud-native Privileged Access Management…
Aspire, a finance platform for businesses, has removed local payroll transfer fees and lowered FX charges, a shift that could ease one of the biggest pain points for companies managing cross-border teams. Employers in Singapore can now process payroll transfers without incurring the usual S$0.20 to S$0.50 charge, while international transactions are set to cost less with reduced FX fees. The platform also allows businesses to pay CPF contributions directly, helping them meet compliance requirements more easily. Beyond cost savings, Aspire has upgraded its payroll system to cut down on repetitive administrative work. Employers can store employee details once and…
Sea Ltd. has overtaken DBS Group Holdings to become Southeast Asia’s most valuable public company after a sharp rebound in its share price, Bloomberg reported. The Singapore-based internet group rose 1.1% in New York trading, giving it a market capitalisation of about US$111 billion. DBS closed lower in Singapore, trimming its valuation to roughly US$110.3 billion. The shift ends the bank’s short-lived reign at the top of the region’s corporate rankings. Sea’s comeback has been fueled by Shopee, its e-commerce platform that continues to capture a growing share of online spending across the region. Record sales in August underscored its…
Standard Chartered, Ant International and Swift have launched production trials that connect bank accounts to e-wallets, marking a step toward faster and more interoperable cross-border payments. The first transfers were completed between a Standard Chartered account and a partner e-wallet through Alipay+, Ant International’s global wallet gateway service, using Swift’s infrastructure. The collaboration is aimed at broadening payment options while applying the ISO 20022 messaging standard for efficiency, scale and interoperability. The initiative brings together banks, Swift and wallet providers in a multilateral effort to expand bank-to-wallet transactions globally. Ant International has said its focus is on fostering collaboration across…
Cloudflare has introduced a new default setting that blocks AI crawlers from accessing website content without explicit permission or compensation, marking a major shift in how online content is protected from unauthorised use. This makes Cloudflare the first major internet infrastructure provider to enforce such blocking by default. The company said the change gives website owners more control by letting them decide whether to allow access and how their content can be used. AI companies are now expected to identify their crawlers and declare whether they are used for training, inference, or search, giving site owners more information to make…
ANZ has launched Digital Padlock, a new feature that allows customers to immediately lock access to their accounts if they suspect they are being targeted by scammers. The feature is now available for users of the ANZ App, ANZ Internet Banking, and the ANZ Plus App. A version for ANZ Internet Banking for Business customers will follow. Digital Padlock is designed to act as a last-resort security measure. When activated, it prevents digital access to accounts, blocks eligible banking cards, and secures banking services until the customer contacts ANZ directly and the bank confirms it is safe to restore access.…
Mastercard announced that Ari Sarker will step down as President for Asia Pacific at the end of 2025 after more than a decade in the role. He will move into an advisory position where he will focus on strategic initiatives and mentoring regional leadership to support a smooth transition. Sarker has overseen the company’s growth across Asia Pacific, driving expansion, strengthening partnerships, and fostering a collaborative culture. He has built relationships with governments, fintechs and enterprises, and will continue to support the business in his new role. Ari Sarker said, “It’s been an incredible journey leading Mastercard in Asia Pacific.…
Global payments company Thunes is undergoing a leadership change with co-founder Peter De Caluwe returning as CEO. He will succeed Floris de Kort, who is set to step down at the end of October 2025. De Caluwe, who has served as Deputy Chairman for the past 18 months, said his focus will be on continuity, global expansion, and advancing Thunes’ mission to broaden access to the global economy. He credited de Kort for strengthening the company during his tenure and positioning it for the next phase of growth. De Kort, who became CEO in 2023, oversaw a period in which…
The Philippines is the fastest-growing digital economy and home to one of Southeast Asia’s most valuable fintech unicorns. Yet for investors and fintech founders looking to expand, this hidden gem is not top of mind. Lito Villanueva, Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer at RCBC and Chairman of Fintech Alliance.PH explains why you should be paying attention to the Philippines In this conversation, you’ll hear about: Why the Philippines is the next fintech hotspot Opportunities and gaps in Philippines’ fintech scene AI adoption in the Philippines
Standard Chartered and Ant International have announced a collaboration to introduce an AI-powered Treasury and FX management solution that integrates Ant International’s Falcon Time-Series Transformer (TST) Model with Standard Chartered’s Aggregated Liquidity Engine (SCALE). Both organisations are active Pathfinder institutions in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) financial sector PathFin.ai programme. This collaboration demonstrates how AI is being applied to enhance services in Singapore’s financial sector. Building on a long-standing partnership in blockchain innovation, the collaboration aims to lower FX costs and improve risk management for Ant International and its clients. The integration allows for seamless data exchange, enabling AI-driven…
In 2019, George Tan, a retiree, first ventured into cryptocurrency. At the time, the market was still reeling from the 2018 crash, when Bitcoin had plunged by more than 80% after an extraordinary rise of nearly 2,000 per cent the year before. Regulators in Singapore had repeatedly warned of the risks and volatility of such trading. Wanting to proceed with caution, Tan enrolled in several courses on blockchain and crypto mining to better understand the market, according to CNA. Convinced of the technology’s long-term potential, he began investing in different cryptocurrencies through a dollar cost averaging strategy. Over time, he…
2C2P Pte Ltd, a Southeast Asian full-suite payments platform, has been granted a Major Payment Institution license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act 2019. The license allows 2C2P to provide domestic money transfer services, cross-border money transfer services, and merchant acquisition services to businesses operating in Singapore. “This marks a significant milestone for 2C2P and we look forward to expanding our services and advancing access to meet the ever-changing needs of our local merchants in Singapore and across Southeast Asia,” said Agnes Chua, Country Manager of 2C2P Singapore. Founded in 2003, 2C2P is among…
Across Southeast Asia, SMEs make up over 97% of all businesses and drive the majority of employment. Yet access to credit remains a challenge, particularly for smaller and non-collateral borrowers. For lenders, the opportunity is huge — but only if they can scale operations quickly, manage risk effectively, and deliver services efficiently. Esquire Financing Inc., one of the Philippines’ largest non-bank financial institutions, faced exactly this challenge. Serving over 27,000 entrepreneurs with flexible, non-collateral business loans, Esquire had the market demand but was held back by operational bottlenecks, slow loan approvals, and aging, siloed technology. Choosing a Partner for Scalable…
OCBC is turning to blockchain with a US$1 billion digital US commercial paper (USCP) programme, giving the bank the ability to raise short-term US dollar funding in minutes. The move reflects efforts to strengthen liquidity resilience as global markets face growing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. The programme complements OCBC’s existing US$25 billion conventional USCP programme, established in August 2011. Issuance, settlement, record-keeping and servicing are conducted on-chain, making OCBC the first USCP issuer globally to use blockchain across the securities’ full lifecycle. Near-instant settlement is enabled by having tokenised securities and funds on-chain. The setup provides all parties with the…
Trust Bank has launched a new S$100,000 give-back programme to mark its one-million-customer milestone, aimed at helping 1,000 families in need through a guided shopping experience using generative AI tools. The initiative, held at FairPrice Xtra in VivoCity, was organised in partnership with FairPrice Group (FPG), the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) ComLink+ initiative and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in support of the national Digital for Life movement. Families with children living in rental housing and supported by MSF’s Social Service Offices in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun each received S$100 in FairPrice vouchers. They were…
Cognizant, a professional services company headquartered in the US, has announced a five-year strategic engagement with Temenos to develop and market the Temenos Country Model Bank in Australia. The Country Model Bank is an extension of Temenos’ core banking platform, designed to help financial institutions accelerate implementation by offering pre-configured, region-specific banking functions intended to reduce cost and risk. Financial institutions in Australia face growing regulatory demands and challenges linked to legacy systems that limit their ability to adapt. By combining Temenos’ cloud-native banking technology with Cognizant’s implementation and market expertise, the Country Model Bank is intended to provide a…