Asia Financial Services News

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chair Tharman Shanmugaratnam has confirmed that the city-state’s banks are free to continue issuing physical tokens to customers to securely access mobile and digital banking services, despite the increasing prevalence of, and preference for, digital...

Singapore’s DBS Bank is set to launch five new digital trade platforms this year, providing a potential supply chain boost for upwards of 15,000 small and medium businesses across Asia. The platforms will have integrated digital and supply chain financing...

Global payments platform Airwallex has launched a borderless card and new expenses solution for Singapore businesses to integrate spending processes and make international payments easier. The Airwallex Borderless Card is a virtual multi-currency Visa business debit card that it says...

The Blockchain Association of Singapore (BAS) and global cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com have joined forces to promote wider understanding of blockchain technology and innovation. The partnership between Crypto.com and blockchain industry group BAS will leverage one another’s networks to promote business...

Singapore crypto fintech Cake DeFi has made its first move into Play2Earn (play-to-earn) gaming and eSports through a multi-million-dollar partnership with UK-based gaming platform, FACEIT. Cake DeFi, which gives users access to decentralised financial (DeFi) services and enables them to...

Alibaba’s Ant Group has bought a majority stake in Singapore-headquartered global payments platform 2C2P, which it says will expand its cross-border payments reach and connect more than one billion consumers globally. Ant Group owns and operates Alipay, the leading digital...

Australia and Singapore have signed the Australia-Singapore FinTech Bridge Agreement in a bid to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation on financial technology and support fintechs looking to expand in each other’s markets. A joint statement by the Australian Government’s Treasury...

Singapore-headquartered fintech Recur Club said it had received US$30 million (S$40.9 million) in seed funding to scale up its financing platform across India and the Asia-Pacific. The funding is a combination of equity and debt allocations from India’s Info Edge...

Singapore has taken third place in the PwC Global CBDC Index for the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), recognising extensive work by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a range of wholesale CBDC projects. The PwC Global...

FOMO Pay has commenced the rollout of Singapore’s first crypto payments for high-end merchants at a time when increased regulation and slower-than-expected licence approvals are keeping other crypto players waiting.   Under FOMO Pay’s new cryptocurrency payment solution, retailers such...

Singapore-based Volopay has raised US$29 million (S$39.3 million) in its Series A funding round which will drive its tech innovation and expansion across APAC, the Middle East and North Africa.   Backed by American technology start-up accelerator Y Combinator, Volopay combines...

A three-way collaboration between Singapore’s DBS Bank, Mastercard and India’s Pine Labs will offer two million Asian customers a new buy now, pay later (BNPL) option on their credit cards. The flexible payment program allows cardholders at DBS Bank and...

Singapore’s regulators are looking to significantly widen their powers over the country’s burgeoning crypto industry and financial services sector under proposed legislation. The Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, which had its first reading in parliament in February, will seek...

Singapore investment company Temasek has led the latest funding round for Australian blockchain start-up Immutable, securing US$200 million (S$271.3 million) in Series C financing to value the company at $2.5 billion (S$3.4 billion). The funding round also saw ParaFi Capital,...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued more in-principle approvals to fintechs looking to get a Major Payment Institution License to offer crypto services in Singapore. The latest companies given the nod to expand their cryptocurrency offerings and other...