Thunes adds $60m to Series B round focused on network expansion
Singaporean cross-border payments firm has raised $130m in total.
Asia Pacific
LINE BK is “an elevation for the financial industry”, says CEO
“In today’s digital world, we are stepping towards a so-called singularity era.”
UnionBank plans total cloud migration with Amazon Web Services
It aims to be the first entirely cloud-hosted bank in the Philippines.
BukuKas raises $50m Series B just four months after Series A
BukuKas’ CEO Krishnan Menon previously worked at Alibaba-owned Lazada Indonesia.
Pine Labs raises $285m in venture funding to reach $3bn valuation
Merchant payments platform Pine Labs plans regional expansion.
Bitcoin tumbles below $37,000 following Chinese ban on crypto services
Chinese financial firms can’t offer clients products involving cryptocurrency.
HSBC launches multi-currency business wallet to rival fintech providers
HSBC says businesses can “pay like a local”.
Google Pay dips toe in cross-border market with Western Union, Wise
India, Singapore, and the US to be first countries trialled for remittances switch.
HSBC on track to hire 1,000 wealth managers in Asia before year end
In 2020, the bank’s Asian business reported $12.8 billion in profits.
Amartha, Vivid Money, Expensya & a55 feature in May funding rounds
A clutch of early investment rounds from May you could have missed.
Bibit.id secures $65m funding to capitalise on Indonesian mutual fund growth
The robo-advisor is focused on Indonesia’s rapidly expanding mutual funds sector.
PBCOM goes live on cloud-based Temenos core banking system
Philippine bank first signed for Temenps back in 2012.
Video: pick of the week – new payments system in Singapore, Bank of Ireland tech hires
A top pick of stories from the world of finance and tech in bitesize video format, weekly.
Au Jibun Bank investment app: changing hearts and minds
Au Jibun Bank aims to become the lifelong partner for every customer.
Singapore pledges $32m to help regtechs take POCs to market
Welcome to “the Valley of the Valuable POCs”, says MAS chief fintech officer
São Paulo fintech brokerage Warren lands $55m led by Singapore’s GIC fund
The fintech intends to use the fresh capital to hire more employees.
JP Morgan, DBS Bank and Temasek to form new payments platform
The platform will start by facilitating flows between Singapore-based banks.
National Commercial Bank migrates payments processing to TranzAxis
Vietnamese bank switches card operations to the Compass Plus system from legacy in-house tech.
FIS expands payment processing in Malaysia, South Africa and Nigeria
“Emerging markets across Southeast Asia and Africa present fresh opportunities”.
Currencycloud moves into Asia-Pacific with new Singapore office
Currencycloud’s Asia-Pacific transactions trebled last year.
PayPal to avoid Chinese competition with new cross-border wallet
US giant aims to create a bridge into China with its new service.
Hana Financial Group completes cloud migration with Oracle
South Korean firm shifts 15 million customer accounts off premises.
Dutch VC Finch Capital snaps up Wirecard’s APAC assets
The purchases were made through Nomu Pay.
Pine Labs acquires digital payments start-up Fave in $45m deal
Indian payments firm snaps up Fave to introduce the latter to India.
MUFG wealth management arm deploys InvestCloud in Japan
Vendor says the deal reflects its “substantial investment” in the country.
Finder snaps up shuttered Singapore fintech GoBear
COVID-19 took a toll on GoBear’s capital reserves and certain financial products.
Fintech funding deals globally 29 March – 4 April 2021
Featuring HighRadius, Next Insurance, dLocal, Pipe Dream Technologies, and Paidy.
Ripple snaps up 40% stake in Asian cross-border payments firm Tranglo
Tranglo’s global network spans more than 100 countries.
Jakarta wealthtech Pluang raises $20m in pre-Series B funding
Pluang wants to extend investment to poorer households in Indonesia.
Digital challenger Minna Bank to launch in Japan by May
Minna will offer both consumer-facing and white labelled products.
OCBC launches facial recognition at ATMs, region’s first
The biometric tool will be first used for account balance enquiries – piloted by eight ATMs.
Indonesian fintech Alami acquires rural bank in $10m deal
Alami is helping the bank keep up with capital requirements.
Tencent suffers $65bn market value blow, analysts put fintech business at “zero”
Tencent, like Ant, holds a financial foothold in China which rivals banks.
Payfazz invests $30m in Xfers to form Fazz Financial Group
FFG aims to develop solutions for the underbanked in Southeast Asia.
Fintech funding deals globally 1-7 March 2021
Featuring Klarna, Papaya Global, TaxBit, Beam Technologies, and Xendit.
International cash transfer app Rewire lands $20m led by OurCrowd
Jerry Yang, former Yahoo! CEO and director at Alibaba, also invested.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: Bank BRI & Infosys Finacle – Best Use of IT for Lending
Revamping customer lending through partnerships and back-office change.
Dear Luc: Your most pressing fintech problems solved
In Dear Luc, we answer the questions the industry’s fintech founders are too embarrassed to ask.
ABA Bank picks Alessa system to meet new AML regulations
Cambodian bank prepares to hit new regulatory targets.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: au Jibun Bank – Best Use of AI
Rebuilding consumer confidence in investments with an AI-driven market forecasting capability within a banking app.
