Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Banking Technology’s deputy editor Antony Peyton looks at whether Japan’s rules rule. If you’re a billionaire (which I assume isn’t all of […]
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the nation’s central bank, is calling out to fintech start-ups for ideas to improve the financial services sector. The bank’s Financial Technology Enabler Group (FTEG) is now open to concepts through its “Fintech Hacks” initiative which aims to “identify pain points in the delivery and consumption of financial services, and solicit […]
Applications will soon open for Accenture’s fourth annual Asia-Pacific Fintech Innovation Lab, a 12-week programme to help start-ups speed up product and business development. According to the firm, investments in Asia-Pacific fintech companies are on the rise. During the first quarter of 2017, investments totalled $1.1 billion, representing 21% of the $5.1 billion invested into […]
HelloPay Group, which runs the HelloPay payment platform and online shopping and selling site Lazada, has merged with China’s Ant Financial. Ant Financial, part of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group, runs Alipay and so HelloPay has now been rebranded as Alipay Singapore, Alipay Malaysia, Alipay Indonesia and Alipay Philippines in its respective markets. Douglas Feagin, SVP […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have teamed up to improve access to digital financial services in the ASEAN region. The partnership is under the ongoing UNCDF’s Shift (Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations) programme for development in this part of the world. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS, […]
Standard Chartered has given a big boost to two Asian start-ups with two proof of concept (PoC) projects. Bambu, a Singapore-based robo-advisory for wealth management firm, and KYC Chain, a Hong Kong-based digital identity management firm using distributed ledger technology, were selected from SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator 2.0 – a 12-week accelerator programme in Hong Kong […]
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has chosen Nasdaq to upgrade the technological infrastructure of Hong Kong’s main derivatives market, including trading, clearing and real-time risk management technologies. The agreement also extends the existing relationship for an additional five years. HKEX and Nasdaq have been technology partners since 1994. Under the new agreement, Nasdaq will […]
Payments industry practitioners in the European Union are understandably obsessed with the implications of the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). This was evident at the recent European Payments Summit, held in the Netherlands, where PSD2 dominated many of the discussions.
WeChat is on the move again. The China-based social messaging and mobile wallet platform plans to expand its presence in Europe and the U.S., efforts that could bring it better relationships with advertisers, brands and payment providers.
Another day, another cryptocurrency. A concise round-up of blockchain and Bitcoin events. Features Japan, Lykke, ChronoBank and London’s Imperial College Business School. It’s the land of the rising sums, as Bitcoin is now a legal payment method in Japan. As a result, Bitcoin trades rose today – at 11am (UK time) it was up 2.8% […]
The kingdom of Bahrain is looking to Singapore’s success as it tries to boost its fintech fortunes with a new ecosystem and regulatory framework. The Bahrain Economic Development Board (BEDB), Singapore Fintech Consortium (SFC) and Dubai-based asset management firm Trucial Investment Partners have teamed up for the development plans. Khalid Al Rumaihi, BEDB’s chief executive, […]
Deloitte, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and trade finance banks in Hong Kong have developed a distributed ledger technology (DLT) proof of concept (PoC) for trade finance. Industry participants include Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered (Hong Kong). The blockchain project has created […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed agreements with France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) to enhance fintech co-operation between both countries. ACPR is responsible for supervising the banking and insurance sectors in France, while AMF is an independent public authority responsible for ensuring […]
UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has launched the New EON, a new digital banking platform (a revamped version of the original EON, launched at the start of the millennium). The mobile biometric authentication tech is provided by Daon.
Bangkok Bank has launched its fintech accelerator programme, Bangkok Bank InnoHub, in partnership with venture capital firm Nest. The 12-week programme will take place in the bank’s home market and will cater for eight early-stage companies. Nest has run similar programmes with corporates in Hong Kong, Singapore and Nairobi in Kenya. Bangkok Bank president Chartsiri […]
Accenture has opened innovation centres in New York and Singapore for finance and risk, and software application development cycles respectively. The New York hub focuses on developing solutions for finance and risk data management, data engineering, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and reporting. It will offer consulting, development and operations services, and Accenture says it already […]
China-based CredEX Fintech says its mobile lending app’s total credit extended has exceeded CNY 30 billion ($4.3 billion) since its launch ten months ago. According to the firm, its user base has gone beyond five million, daily credit has been extended up to CNY 100 million ($14.4 million), and the average credit extended stands at […]
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have established a co-operation framework for fintech links between both countries. The framework enables MAS and JFSA to refer fintech companies in their countries to each other’s markets. It also outlines how the referred companies can initiate discussions with the regulatory […]
IOB Singapore, a subsidiary of Indian Overseas Bank, is looking to modernise its regulatory reporting tech.
Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has invested a “significant” sum into a new Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, Dymon Asia Ventures.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is partnering with R3, and a consortium of financial institutions on a proof-of-concept project to conduct inter-bank payments using blockchain. This project, which is seen as a rival to Swift’s network, will potentially create a payment system for participants to transact in different global markets round-the-clock. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief […]
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have exchanged letters on a co-operation framework to support fintech companies. This deal will provide a regulatory referral system for “innovator businesses” from Japan and the UK seeking to enter the other’s market. The authority that receives such a referral will […]
Swift has cut off three North Korean banks from its messaging system under United Nations (UN) sanctions, after Belgium says it would no longer give authorisation for such transactions. According to Reuters, North Korea’s “intensifying provocations”, such as missile launches, led to the Belgian foreign ministry’s decision. Let’s face it – the nation behaves like […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed an agreement to assist fintech entrepreneurs and support financial services innovation in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, according to Paybefore sister publication Banking Technology.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed a co-operation agreement to help fintech entrepreneurs and support innovation in financial services in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The agreement establishes a framework for both regulators to assist start-ups and innovators to understand the regulatory regime in each jurisdiction and provide […]
Chinese fintech firms Dianrong and FnConn have launched Chained Finance, the “first-ever” blockchain platform for supply chain finance. According to the pair, supply chain finance companies have been limited by existing technology and, to date, have only served about 15% of suppliers needing financial resources. They claim the vast majority of the 40 million SMEs […]
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Credit Suisse has launched two solutions in the digital space to keep up with consumer expectations: digital client on boarding for private banking and automated account aggregation and reporting.
Mastercard and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore have teamed up to launch a pilot programme enabling commuters to pay for transit fares using contactless payment cards through an account-based ticketing (ABT) system.
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Japan Exchange Regulation (JPX-R) revealed that they have been reviewing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies developed by NEC Corporation and Hitachi to improve market intelligence operations.
Japanese financial services provider Mizuho has partnered with Cognizant to test cross-border document sharing and custom digital currency applications of blockchain – and the cost implications of using the technology. Mizuho says the project was a success and concluded that a tamper-proof distribution database built using blockchain could support a platform to share information and […]
Jargon defeated. Unnecessary words deleted. A brief round-up. Featuring Adel, Bitfinex and crime. If something’s rotten in the state of Denmark, it’s going to get found out. Danish newspaper Berlingske has revealed that police stopped drug traffickers by tracing Bitcoin transactions. It’s not the first time great Danes have done good deeds. Last month, the […]
In the name of innovation Thomson Reuters has officially opened a lab in the Singapore nation. It’s called Thomson Reuters Labs – Singapore, and will do the usual stuff. Namely, collaborate with the government, customers, tech start-ups and universities to “build partnerships and create innovative products and solutions for professional markets” throughout the Asia Pacific […]
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is looking to build an insurtech hub in Singapore. The new unit, Firemark Labs, will act as an incubator for IAG and help teamwork between start-ups and research and tech partners for new products and services across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Julie Batch, chief customer officer, IAG, says “customer lifestyles […]
Asian fintech company 8 Securities has launched Chloe, a robo-advisor that constructs portfolios with exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). To begin, customers must answer a short survey which will help Chloe set goals and target dates to achieve those goals. Each yen deposited is invested into a diversified global […]
Standard Chartered China is partnering with Tencent Financial Technology Group (Tencent FiT) to launch a new e-commerce solution for corporates. The deal makes Standard Chartered the “first global bank to offer a one-stop online collection solution with WeChat Pay” and combines its cash management offering with the online payment gateway. The bank says it can […]
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is looking to work closer on banking supervision with the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI). The pair have exchanged letters on co-operation and the plan is to examine the performance of their respective duties for the “safe and sound functioning” of banking organisations in their countries. […]
China-based Haier Finance has adopted Bloomberg’s foreign exchange (FX) electronic trading platform (FXGO) and multi-asset risk system (MARS) for trading and risk management. Bloomberg FXGO provides access to liquidity from over 300 providers worldwide and commission-free trading for financial institutions, corporations, money managers and hedge funds across “all major” FX instruments including spot, forwards, options, […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has set up a new Data Analytics Group (DAG) with effect from 15 March 2017 as it looks to improve the financial sector and digital economy. DAG will use data analytics for insights, “enhance the supervision” of financial institutions, make regulatory compliance better for financial institutions, and improve work […]
Standard Chartered has unveiled its Open Banking Application Programming Interface (API) Developer Portal for transaction banking. The launch is part of its “digitisation agenda” and to increase collaboration with corporates, fintech firms and developer communities. The portal will initially provide a repository of API services focused on cash management and then roll out other API […]
