Author: Fintech News Singapore

Singapore may soon bar individuals convicted of certain money laundering offences from serving as company directors. This proposed change is part of a draft bill released for public consultation by the Ministry of Finance and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). The amendments aim to prevent the misuse of companies, ease compliance requirements, and strengthen regulatory oversight. Courts and the Registrar would be empowered to reject attempts to restore struck-off companies that may be used for unlawful purposes or pose a risk to national security. Other proposals include allowing sole directors to act as company secretaries, removing the need…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration in green and transition finance at the third meeting of the Singapore-China Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF), held in Singapore on 10 July. This marked the first time the taskforce met in Singapore, bringing together over 40 public and private sector representatives. Discussions focused on aligning green finance taxonomies, encouraging cross-border capital flows, and using technology to support decarbonisation. The taskforce operates through three workstreams led by both public and private sector players, aimed at scaling up green and transition finance…

OCBC has appointed Tan Teck Long as its next Group CEO, effective 1 January 2026. He will succeed Helen Wong, who will retire on 31 December 2025. As part of the transition, Tan will assume the additional role of Deputy CEO with immediate effect while continuing to lead Global Wholesale Banking. Wong joined OCBC in 2020 and became Group CEO the following year. She had informed the board last year of her decision to retire for family reasons. After stepping down, she will remain Chairman of OCBC China and a director of OCBC Hong Kong. Tan has chaired OCBC’s Strategic…

Australia’s central bank has announced that Project Acacia is moving into its next phase of testing to examine how crypto assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could support the growth of the country’s wholesale tokenised asset markets. According to The Block, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said that it will trial 24 use cases in this next stage, with participation from fintech firms and leading banks. A collaborative initiative between the RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, Project Acacia also receives support from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC confirmed it is offering regulatory…

Ripple has named BNY Mellon as the primary custodian for the reserves backing Ripple USD (RLUSD), its enterprise-focused stablecoin. The partnership reflects a joint effort to build compliant digital asset infrastructure suited for financial institutions. RLUSD is issued under a New York Department of Financial Services Trust Company Charter and is designed to improve the speed, cost and efficiency of cross-border payments. It is positioned as a stablecoin developed for institutional use, rather than for retail transactions. BNY Mellon will manage the reserves and support RLUSD’s operations through its transaction banking services. The bank brings prior experience in supporting stablecoin…

Polytechnic students will have access to around 300 internship and traineeship opportunities over the next one to two years, offered by a group of financial institutions. The event, organised by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), brought together 12 financial institutions, five polytechnics and three local universities to highlight the growing range of pathways into the financial sector for polytechnic students. These include internships, traineeships and work-and-study programmes designed to help young talent gain industry experience and build job readiness. Firms supporting the initiative include UOB, OCBC, Amundi, Prudential, JPMorganChase and Standard Chartered, among others. Minister of State for…

Circle and OKX have entered into a partnership to enhance liquidity for USDC on the cryptocurrency exchange’s global platform. The collaboration will allow users to convert between US dollars and USDC at a 1:1 rate directly within OKX products and services. The companies said the integration will also improve on-and-off ramp capabilities through shared banking partners, giving customers a smoother experience when depositing or withdrawing funds. As part of the agreement, Circle and OKX will jointly run educational and community programs to promote broader understanding of digital currencies like USDC. “Demand for USDC continues from businesses and individuals eager to…

Ant International, the global arm of Chinese tech firm Ant Group, is evaluating the possibility of applying for stablecoin licenses in several countries, according to comments made during the Reuters Next Conference in Singapore. Kelvin Li, who leads platform technology at Ant International, explained to Reuters that the company is not looking to support cryptocurrency trading. Instead, it sees stablecoins as a way to streamline international payments and enhance the user experience. Stablecoins are digital currencies typically linked to traditional fiat currencies, such as the US dollar, to help maintain price stability. Though they are often used by crypto traders for…

At Money20/20 Asia, we sat down with Jaykie Tan, Head of Business Development APAC at Mambu, and Cecilia Tan, Regional VP at Thredd, to unpack one of fintech’s biggest questions: Are e-wallets or digital banks better positioned for profitability, innovation, and financial inclusion in Southeast Asia?

Finastra, a global provider of financial services software, has named Adam Banks to its Board of Directors. He is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience across financial services, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and logistics. Banks previously served as Global Group Chief Technology and Information Officer at A.P. Moller–Maersk, where he led the company’s technology transformation and helped restore operations following a major cyberattack in 2017. He also founded a digital standards body for the shipping industry, which has since been adopted by 90% of global carriers. His earlier roles include EVP of Technology at FINkit (formerly Monetise) and a 16-year tenure…

Great Eastern Holdings is set to resume trading on the Singapore Exchange after shareholders rejected a proposal to delist the insurer, Channel News Asia reported. At an extraordinary general meeting on 8 July, only 63.49 percent of minority shareholders supported the delisting, falling short of the 75 percent required. OCBC, the insurer’s majority shareholder, and its concert parties abstained from voting. The bank had offered S$30.15 per share for the 6.28 percent of Great Eastern it did not own, and had stated it would not make another offer if the delisting was blocked. Following the vote, the bank confirmed its…

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) is launching a new agentic AI venture headquartered in Singapore, appointing Ahmed Mazhari as CEO. The company will focus on building and deploying enterprise-grade AI agents that can learn, reason, and act autonomously in complex business environments. The venture is part of SMFG’s dual-engine strategy to accelerate its transformation into an AI-driven financial institution. One engine focuses on internal change within SMBC Group, while the other scales new AI capabilities externally through commercial offerings. SMFG has committed JPY 800 billion to digital transformation efforts, with JPY 50 billion specifically allocated for generative AI initiatives. The…

Zepto, an Australian account-to-account (A2A) payments provider, has released its first PayTo Index, offering a snapshot of national PayTo adoption as the country transitions away from the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS), which is scheduled to be phased out by 2030. PayTo enables businesses to collect payments in real time directly from customers’ bank accounts, providing an alternative to traditional direct debits. It operates on the New Payments Platform (NPP), Australia’s open-access infrastructure for real-time payments launched in 2018. Between October 2023 and April 2025, Zepto settled more than 800,000 PayTo transactions, amounting to over A$511 million. By July 2025,…

Singaporean fintech firm Finmo has received authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), allowing it to provide payment and treasury services in the country. The license permits Finmo to issue electronic money, process domestic and international fund transfers, offer foreign exchange services, and issue IBANs. It also allows the company to hold safeguarded client funds in the UK and connect directly to local clearing systems, including Faster Payments and CHAPS. Founded in 2021 by David Hanna, Akhil Nigam, Richard Oh, Raj Vimal Chopra, and Thomas Kang, Finmo offers an integrated treasury and…

A new whitepaper titled The Future of Global Payments & Fourth Generation Payment Networks (4GPN) has been jointly released by the Thunderbird School of Global Management and fintech firm Wiseasy. The paper outlines how emerging technologies such as IoT, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and cloud computing are converging to transform the digital payments industry, with Fourth Generation Payment Networks (4GPN) playing a central role. The global digital payments market is expected to grow from US$10.18 trillion in 2024 to US$32.07 trillion by 2033, according to industry estimates. This projected compound annual growth rate of 13.6% reflects a significant move toward cashless economies,…

SCB TechX, a provider of strategic consulting and digital transformation services under the SCBX Group, has appointed Suttipong Kanakakorn as its new CEO, effective 7 July 2025. Suttipong brings more than two decades of experience in technology and finance, with a background spanning both local and global markets. He has held leadership roles at major tech companies in Silicon Valley, including Nutanix, Cisco, Andiamo Systems, and Savvion. Suttipong also co-founded Blockfint, a firm focused on blockchain and digital solutions for the financial industry. He is recognised for his expertise in blockchain technology and digital platform engineering. His appointment is expected…

OCBC plans to increase its financing for serial entrepreneurs to S$5 billion by 2028, expanding a programme first launched in Singapore in 2019. According to The Business Times, the bank aims to deploy an additional S$3.5 billion across its key markets, building on the S$1.5 billion already extended to more than 1,800 entrepreneurs operating over 8,000 businesses in Singapore and Malaysia as of end-2024. The initiative, which recently launched in Malaysia following a pilot, is set to be introduced in Hong Kong by the end of 2025 and later in Indonesia. OCBC defines serial entrepreneurs as individuals with a majority…

Revolut has teamed up with Ant International to let users around the world, especially overseas Chinese, send money to China in Chinese Yuan using Alipay. Transfers can be made using just the recipient’s Alipay ID, name, and address, and are processed instantly. The service is powered by Ant International’s global remittance infrastructure. This feature supports growing demand for cross-border payments into China, which remained one of the world’s top five remittance destinations in 2024, receiving an estimated US$48 billion. A 2023 report also found that China was the most common destination for remittances sent from Singapore. Revolut offers a tiered…

ShopBack, a shopping and rewards platform in Asia-Pacific, has been granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Issued under the Payment Services Act, the license permits ShopBack to provide regulated payment services through its payment product, ShopBack Pay. This allows ShopBack to enable merchants to accept payments and let customers pay using ShopBack Pay, all under its own licensed infrastructure. The approval marks a key step in ShopBack’s efforts to deepen its payments capabilities in Singapore. With ShopBack Pay now operating under formal regulatory oversight, the company said it is better positioned to…

Worldpay has extended its Asia Pacific presence by launching domestic acquiring capabilities in Thailand. This enables local and international merchants to process transactions in Thai baht and offer local payment methods. This addition brings Worldpay’s domestic acquiring footprint in the region to nine markets, alongside Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, and South Korea. Thai merchants will be able to settle card payments locally and access four widely used alternative payment methods: LINE Pay, TrueMoney, PromptPay, and online banking. The company is also offering fraud protection, dispute management, and consultative expertise backed by global data insights. The…