The Philippines launches government-owned OFBank for overseas citizens
Filipinos will be able to sign up to the new service with a selfie.
Asia Pacific
65% of banks say legacy systems holding back Swift gpi adoption
Volante, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, share their insights on a recent webinar regarding Swift gpi.
Report: Five success factors for an ideal ISO 20022 migration
ISO 20022 represents an opportunity for banks to reinvent the way they operate.
UnionBank to tap rural Philippines with 11,000 remittance counters
70% of Filipino adults are still unbanked.
MoneyGram makes another move into South Korea
The remittance firm wants a “leading” position in South Korea’s P2P remittance market.
Chinese lenders suffer two bank runs in a week
China has relied on these local lenders amid the coronavirus crisis.
OCBC sets new SGD 25bn sustainable finance target
OCBC will focus on industrial and geographical diversification to reach its “25-by-25” target.
Railsbank signs on Hong Kong fintech Statrys
Open banking platform continues expansion in Asia.
Thai paytech Synqa raises $80m in Series C round
Synqa plans to use the cash to expand its services in Asia.
HKEX announces sustainable finance exchange Stage
Hong Kong exchange plans to educate stakeholders on the benefits of ESG.
OCBC to hire 3,000 this year in full-time, traineeship positions
About 2,100 of the jobs are full-time roles across the bank’s entities.
Transfergo raises $10m, expands into 11 new markets
Remittance firm claims uptake in growth during COVID-19 pandemic.
Philippines challenger Tonik raises $21m ahead of 2020 launch
The bank has raised $27m since being founded in 2018.
American Express first foreign credit card player to launch in China
AmEx won initial approval in 2018 for a bank card clearing licence in China.
Canadian and Taiwanese regulators sign fintech sandbox agreement
The regulators will build a “referral mechanism” between their fintech sandboxes.
FX fintech Wallex lands Series A led by Ant Financial-backed VC
The value of the round has not been disclosed.
Deutsche Bank set to launch fourth e-FX hub in Singapore
The hub will be developed and staffed locally.
MAS launches $1.25m fintech challenge to tackle climate change & COVID-19
Up to 12 winners will be selected to receive in prize money.
Singapore develops “fairness metrics” for AI adoption in finance
The metrics will inform credit risk scoring and customer marketing.
JCB to deploy FIS Payment One switching and acquiring platform
The payment scheme is planning to enable QR payments for more customers.
Taiwanese challenger Next Bank to launch this year on Temenos
Chunghwa Telecom owns a 41.9% stake in Next Bank.
BNY Mellon plans Singapore FX engine in partnership with MAS
The announcement is part of the bank’s strategic expansion into the Asia Pacific region.
SoftBank unveils $100m fund for founders of colour
SoftBank’s COO says the fund will help create “a new generation of founders”.
Innovation? It’s all about the data, darling
But we are already drowning in a sea of data.
China’s largest bank rolls out more deposit services with Alipay
Alipay has been collaborating with ICBC since March 2005.
GoBear lands $17m to accelerate transition into “full-fledged” financial service
The fintech first launched in 2015 as a metasearch engine.
India among major markets to see increase in ATM usage over 2019
Research suggests ATMs are still popular tools for financial inclusion.
UBS to set up fintech venture fund to speed up its digitisation
The bank will make investments between $10 million and $20 million.
South Korea’s fintech sandbox lands $110m and creates 380 jobs
Fintechs can be exempt of regulations for up to four years.
Anquan Capital partners with crypto arm of Germany’s WEG Bank
The partnership includes an undisclosed investment from Anquan.
Myanmar’s Wave Money lands $75.3m from Ant Financial
Wave Money has tapped more than 21 million people in Myanmar.
Singapore fintech Spark Systems lands $10.5m from Citi and HSBC
These heavy weight investors join existing backer Goldman Sachs.
COVID-19: Highlight of the week
We focus on one particular coronavirus news item affecting the fintech industry.
WeChat to offer credit scoring to its 600m users
Th Big Tech will attribute “payments points” to determine a “trust” value.
Oracle gains three new Flexcube customers in Nigeria, Thailand, and Laos
Technology vendor also reveals 13 go-lives for Q4 2020.
HSBC launches e-wallet PayMe for teens in Hong Kong
The adult version already has 1.9 million customers across Hong Kong.
Digitalisation a must-have for lending in a post-COVID world
The coronavirus pandemic has affected and disrupted every aspect of financial services.
Deutsche Bank appoints Kamran Khan as head of ESG for Asia Pacific
He also served as head of global investments and operations at the US Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Singapore launches $4.2m grant scheme for its fintechs
Applications for the grant scheme will open on 18 May 2020.
Niche Global picks Volante to underpin European entry
Hong Kong payments firm plans market expansion with Volante.
