Asia Financial Services News

A Singapore-led fintech innovation project is bringing together central banks from around the world to trial the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments. The Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank...

Singapore-headquartered fintech firms Hashstacs (STACS) and Mintable are among seven companies selected worldwide for Mastercard’s inaugural global start-up program. The Mastercard Start Path program will support fast-growing blockchain, digital assets and cryptocurrency companies by offering expertise and technology to help...

Singapore’s economy had a rocky first half in 2021 as the Covid crisis took its toll, but the fintech industry has been seeing plenty of activity. Fintech deal volumes are up sharply, although the value of these transactions is well...

Lu International, a subsidiary of Chinese fintech Lufax Holding, and UK asset manager Schroders are partnering to launch a southeast Asian-focused digital wealth management service. Lufax, an online wealth management company backed by China’s Ping An Insurance, will use its...

Singapore’s future as the leading location for regulatory technology (regtech) companies in the Asia-Pacific region is extremely bright, according to Enterprise Ireland. A government body responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets, Enterprise Ireland has...

South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp has picked Singapore as its base to develop an international blockchain business. The company said it had established two new blockchain entities in Singapore – one will be a non-profit firm known as the...

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve has received “in principle” approval from Singapore’s central bank to provide digital payment token (DPT) services in the city-state. It makes Independent Reserve one of the first virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to obtain an...

Singapore is on track to see a record level of fundraising in its fintech sector this year despite the pandemic. This flurry of activity comes as more mainstream institutions move into the sector, and demand for digital payment systems and...

Getting a licence to provide digital currency services in Singapore could take at least a year, but that isn’t slowing the number of financial institutions keen to apply. In Singapore, a licence to operate digital currency services is provided under...

Singapore-based digital wealth technology provider Bambu has expanded its global reach with the acquisition of Tradesocio, a fintech specialising in investment management and trading technologies with offices in India and Dubai. The acquisition gives Bambu a presence in all major...

Singapore has begun gearing up for its big fintech festival later this year by announcing a series of awards for companies and individuals leading the way in the financial technology arena. The awards look to drive development and recognise efforts...

Swiss-based fintech PrimeXM is expanding its technology services in Asia with a new trading data centre in Singapore. PrimeXM said in a statement released in July that its new data centre went live on the Singapore Equinix data exchange in May...

Singapore’s central bank plans to expand anti-money laundering regulations to cover the booming market in digital payment tokens. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a consultation paper on its proposals to update the existing anti-money laundering and countering...