Singapore’s MVGX launches carbon SaaS subsidiary, appoints ex-BSI exec to take the lead
Frank Zhang, “a fintech, ISO standard certification and sustainability veteran”, will lead the new subsidiary.
Asia Pacific
DBS completes acquisition of Citi’s consumer banking business in Taiwan
DBS has also absorbed close to 3,000 employees from Citi Consumer Taiwan.
Starling Bank plans to take its BaaS platform Engine to APAC
CNBC reports that the challenger is in talks to deploy Engine with an undisclosed Asian bank.
Singapore’s Endowus raises $35m as it eyes regional expansion
The round saw participation from existing investors including UBS Next, EDBI and Prosus Ventures.
Hong Kong fintech Micro Connect raises $458m Series C funding
According to Forbes Asia, the funding round values the start-up at $1.7 billion, making it Hong Kong’s latest unicorn.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma buys 10% stake in Paytm worth $628m from Antfin
Sharma’s shareholdings in Paytm will increase to 19.42%, while Antfin’s shareholdings are reduced to 13.5%.
MAS pledges up to $112m towards tech and innovation in financial sector
The funding comes as part of a renewal of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0).
Cambodia’s Wing Bank selects Ipification for mobile ID verification solution
The bank’s CEO says the new tech will “streamline the authentication process for Wing Bank app users”.
GoLogiq to acquire Vietnamese fintech Symplefy for $30m
GoLogiq’s executive chairman Brent Suen says the acquisition “is the next of several in our pipeline”.
South Korea’s Finda bags $37m Series C funding
JB Financial Group took part in the round as a strategic investor, acquiring a 15% stake in the company.
The Republic of Palau taps Ripple for first stablecoin pilot
The pilot is expected to last for three months between selected merchants and government employees.
The Philippines’ UnionBank taps NCR to manage its ATMs
The Philippines’ ninth largest bank currently operates over 400 ATMs across the country.
GAT Investment Bank taps Currencycloud for new app launch
The app will leverage Currencycloud’s multi-currency virtual accounts for cross-border payment services.
Vietnam’s OCB taps Backbase for personalised digital banking solution
The project implementation will be led by Backbase’s partner SmartOSC.
Vietnamese fintech start-up Gimo secures $17m in Series A funding
Founded in 2019, Gimo provides flexible pay and financial wellbeing solutions for underbanked workers in Vietnam.
Filipino fintech start-up Salmon lands $20m debt funding
Salmon says the investment marks the “largest ever” debt financing for a Series A tech company in the Philippines.
Myanmar’s FDB Bank signs for Oracle’s Flexcube core banking system
The signing and project kick-off took place this week in Yangon, Myanmar.
Huawei launches F2F2X data infrastructure architecture to help FSI build and manage modern data centres
F2F2X (Flash-to-Flash-to-Anything) was unveiled at the recent Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit.
Global fintech investment falls over H1 2023 amid economic turbulence but sector remains resilient
According to Innovate Finance data, $27.3bn was injected into the industry globally during H1 2023 through 1,714 deals.
DBS Bank to sell majority stake in AXS to Tower Capital Asia
The bank has struck an agreement this week to sell a 77.8% stake in AXS to the private equity firm.
UnionPay connects with Cambodia’s central bank over QR code interoperability
The agreement was confirmed by the signing of a MoU in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, this week.
China imposes hefty fines on Ant Group and Tencent as it looks to normalise supervision
Ant Group and its subsidiaries have received a penalty of $984.3m, and Tenpay has been slapped a fine of $413m.
DBS launches e-CNY merchant collection solution in Mainland China
With the solution, corporate clients of DBS China will be able to collect payments from their customers in e-CNY.
Indonesia’s Allo Bank taps Tencent Cloud to enhance digital banking services
Tencent Cloud will deploy its database management system TDSQL, to help the bank manage data efficiently.
South Korea sets out measures to promote competition in banking sector
Financial authorities will work to bring about fair competition by allowing more players to enter the market.
Jirnexu co-founders step down from leadership positions at the company
The company’s co-founder Hann Liew confirmed his and Lucas Ooi’s decision this week.
BIS names Maha El Dimachki as new head of Singapore innovation hub
El Dimachki will join BIS from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
Visa to acquire payments and banking platform Pismo for $1bn
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of this year.
Aussie fintech Stables launches APAC’s first stablecoin virtual card
Stables’ CEO says the company wants to simplify stablecoin usage and drive its global adoption.
Philippines signs MoU with India to strengthen fintech cooperation
The MoU will help establish a joint working group on fintech between the two countries.
Japanese challenger Habitto launches mobile app
Founded in late 2021, Habitto has so far raised $7.3 million in funding.
B2B fintech Aspire reports profitability
Aspire says its results have set “a new industry standard of sustainable growth”.
Thunes closes Series C funding round, secures more than $60m in total
Bessemer Venture Partners and 01Fintech joined UK hedge fund Marshall Wace in providing the cash.
Wise Platform inks first Japan deal with GMO Aozora Net Bank
The bank said it received a “high volume” of requests for a fast and inexpensive overseas remittance service.
Crypto fintech Oobit names Phillip Lord as president
Lord will be tasked with forging partnerships, business development and executing marketing strategies.
Irish payments start-up NomuPay lands $53.6m in funding
NomuPay plans to scale in its core markets and further invest in product development.
Ant Group enables Alipay+ mobile wallet integrations in Thailand
The mobile wallets include Alipay HK (Hong Kong SAR), Kakao Pay (South Korea), and Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia).
Cambodia’s Sathapana Bank taps Finbots.ai for enhanced credit risk management
CreditX will enable Sathapana Bank to build “high quality” credit risk scorecards and accelerate client onboarding.
Digital banking group Tyme lands $77.8m in pre-Series C funding
Existing investor Tencent also increased its stake to become Tyme’s third-largest stakeholder.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority kickstarts e-HKD retail CBDC pilot
A total of 16 firms have been chosen from across the financial, payments and technology sectors to take part.
