Standard Chartered sets aside $107m for new digital bank in Singapore
UK-listed lender forms joint venture with Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress.
Singapore
DWG expands into Singapore with remittance app acquisition
Fintech says Singapore will act as a springboard for expansion into North America and Europe.
M-DAQ lands $145m Series D funding from Affinity
The investment sees Affinity take a joint controlling stake in the company.
HSBC acquires Axa’s Singapore insurance arm in $575m deal
HSBC doubles down on profit-making Asian businesses.
Azentio Software acquires Islamic banking vendor Path Solutions
Singapore company, spun out of 3i Infotech, plans end-to-end platform with new assets.
GC Partners to boost Asian payments network with Nium collaboration
UK firm looks to strengthen its payment services offering in major Asian markets.
Razer plans shutdown of Razer Pay service three years after launch
Payment service launched in Malaysia in 2018 and Singapore in 2019.
Malaysian challenger BigPay raises $100m to fund Asian expansion
BigPay is the fintech unit of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group.
Singapore fintech Thunes acquires payments platform Limonetik
The firm will combine Limonetik’s PaaS model with its existing global payments network.
B2B payments platform Nium hits unicorn status with $200m Series D round
Nium has now raised a total of around $280 million in funding.
Digital wealth manager Syfe lands $30m Series B funding
The financing comes nine months after its $18.6 million Series A round.
Singapore start-up Bambu acquires investment and trading wealthtech Tradesocio
Bambu plans to tap into Tradesocio’s presence across EMEA and India.
Monetary Authority of Singapore and Banque de France conduct cross-border CBDC test
The experiment was supported by JP Morgan’s blockchain innovation lab, Onyx.
Singapore fintech Nium to acquire Wirecard Forex India
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
Standard Chartered appoints Roel Louwhoff as new technology exec
The former ING exec will begin his new role in November 2021.
Standard Chartered partners Franklin Templeton to launch financial wellness platform
Autumn will allow users to plan and manage their financial and physical wellbeing.
Nityo invests $100m in Singapore embedded finance fintech MatchMove
The US-based firm will also become the largest shareholder in the company.
Singapore fintech Nium acquires B2B travel payments firm Ixaris
The transaction is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2021.
Thunes adds $60m to Series B round focused on network expansion
Singaporean cross-border payments firm has raised $130m in total.
Pine Labs raises $285m in venture funding to reach $3bn valuation
Merchant payments platform Pine Labs plans regional expansion.
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.
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.
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.
Currencycloud moves into Asia-Pacific with new Singapore office
Currencycloud’s Asia-Pacific transactions trebled last year.
Finder snaps up shuttered Singapore fintech GoBear
COVID-19 took a toll on GoBear’s capital reserves and certain financial 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.
Payfazz invests $30m in Xfers to form Fazz Financial Group
FFG aims to develop solutions for the underbanked in Southeast Asia.
Singapore’s central bank reviews BNPL regulation over debt fears
The MAS wants to ensure regulations are “risk-proportionate”.
Asia-Pacific fintechs Volopay and Microleap land funding
Singapore-based Volopay and Malaysia-based Microleap have raised $2.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively.
Fintech funding deals globally 18-24 January 2021
Featuring PPRO, iSTOX, Indy, Mercado Bitcoin, and Brigit.
Singapore’s iSTOX lands $50m from heavyweight Japanese backers
n the past decade, global private equity returned 13.2% on average.
Grab’s fintech arm lands $300m Series A
Grab Financial Group saw its total revenues jump up by more than 40% in 2020.
Fintech funding deals globally 4-10 January 2021
Featuring Grab, Mynt, Divvy, Mambu, and SimpleNexus.
Singapore and Thailand to link national payment systems in 2021
In Singapore, PayNow monthly transaction values have crossed the $3 billion mark.
Singapore issues digital bank licences to Grab, Ant & Sea
The regulator has issued four licences, rather than five.
Grab leads $100m investment in Indonesian e-wallet LinkAja
Singaporean fintech begins investment project in Indonesia.
