FinTech & banking technology news in August 2020
The fintech – financial technology – news collection below is drawn from online reporting of developments in financial and banking-related technologies, and their applications, from August of 2020.
Fintech news items listed are the headlines; each fintech news headline is linked to the original fintech article behind that banking technology headline, allowing you to gain an at-a-glance understanding of recent financial technology news, and also to instantly read the banking tech articles that interest you the most.
Our monthly cybersecurity news collections are drawn from Startup News Asia’s daily startup news updates, which cover technology news from across 17 primary locations across Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
- ICYMI: Tinkoff Bank, one of Russia’s first neobanks, launches ‘Cashback to Give Back’ tool, allowing users the option of redirecting cashback payments to charities
- Fintech news: A 3-page offline-to-online selection of recent fintech news headlines, drawn from Startup News Asia’s daily feeds
- ICYMI: Facebook Financial team formed, led by co-creator of Libra cryptocurrency project, to pursue payments projects and commerce opportunities
- Fintech: A video snapshot of some recent fintech, banking technology and related news headlines, with links from video to each article
- 4 key misunderstandings of central bank digital currencies debunked, touching on anonymity, tokenization and more
- A brief overview of digital payment and other technology moves by Mastercard and Visa in response to the ubiquity of quick response-based payments across Asia
- A deep dive into ’embedded finance’ – abstracting banking and insurance functionality into technology and enabling integration into third-party products, services and offerings
- Digital currency: Sberbank, Russia’s largest consumer bank, to launch blockchain platform built on Hyperledger Fabric; reportedly considering its own stablecoin
- A brief overview of digital payment and other technology moves by Mastercard and Visa in response to the ubiquity of quick response-based payments across Asia
- Singapore: DBS and Government Technology Agency partner to pilot SingPass face verification system to speed up registration processes for digital banking
- Sri Lanka: National Savings Bank to implement solution for mitigating fraud in partnership with ACI Worldwide digital payment software and solutions firm
- Download: Can blockchain accelerate financial inclusion globally? via Deloitte (pdf)
- ICYMI: Apple acquires Mobeewave, startup allowing shoppers to tap either their credit card or smartphone on another phone to process a payment – phones as POS systems
- Grab builds on super-app moves with launch of micro-investment service, third-party loan platform and ‘buy now, pay later’ products for e-commerce websites
- India: Whatsapp preps to enter the lending and micro-finance sector with bank partnerships aiming at small business loans, small pensions and insurance
- India: A dive into how neo-banks are ushering in a new age of digital banking in the country, second only to China in terms of unbanked population
- India: DocSumo raises $220K seed funding with workflow automation for financial services firms, cutting admin costs with document data capture, analytics and fraud detection
- Indonesia: Ayoconnect raises $5M, connecting bill providers such as utilities, telcos with online and offline partners – minimarkets, postal service, financial institutions
- Philippines: A brief look at 5 fintech developments in the country in July 2020, each in some way likely to have an impact on financial inclusion
- Singapore: Asian Institute of Digital Finance launches to strengthen ties between education, research and entrepreneurship in digital finance services
- Singapore FintTech Festival set for December 7-11, currently set to run both digitally and as a physical event
- Vietnam: Computer Vision secures $500K funding with artificial intelligence and computer vision solutions for financial technology companies
- Indonesia: A recent look at the growing presence of tech firms like GoPay and OVO in the digital payments space, already handling over 55% of all digital payments in the country
- Malaysia: JurisTech acquires iMoney, adding personal financial education to enterprize-focused fintech solutions
- Australia: Startupbootcamp FinTech Melbourne applications close August 7th, seeking startups ready to pilot solutions with financial and insurance corporations
- Australia’s Up digital bank partnered by UK’s TransferWise for b2b cross-border money transfers
- Australia: Parpera opens shares for trading on Equitise crowdfunding platform to further develop digital ?banking ?alternative for businesses, freelancers and entrepreneurs
- Hong Kong: Neat fintech adds $4M, lifting Series A to $15M, backing online company incorporation and multi-currency wallet for SMEs trading across Europe and Asia
- Hong Kong: InvestHK unveils new Global Fast Track Programme for help local firms globalize and global fintechs enter the region
- India: Eduvanz fintech startup raises $5M series A with student-focused education loans
- India: FPL Technologies raises $10M Series A with multi-faceted fintech platform, spanning app, credit card, domestic and int’l transactions, and financial education
- Cambodia: ABA Bank and Techo Startup Center ink MOU around development of fintech, startup and innovation ecosystems, and boosting ABA Bank’s PayWay solutions
- China: Major central bank digital yuan testing expansion set for Hebei province, Yangtze river delta, Guangdong province, and Beijing, Tianjin, Hong Kong and Macau
- Cryptocurrency and digital currency news from July, a month-end round-up on Startup News Asia
- Indonesia: BukuKas raises $9M pre-Series A with digital ledger platform for MSMEs, allowing them to automate processes and monitor sales, profit and credit
- South Korea: Toss fintech raises $173M in drive to become financial super app, aiming for mobile securities service by year-end, and internet bank in 2021
- Malaysia: Hong Leong Bank launches HLB Pocket Connect, allowing parents to set tasks and goals for children to earn extra pocket money, alongside ‘junior debit card’
- Monetary Authority of Singapore to commit Sg$250M over 3 years to accelerate technology and innovation-driven growth in the financial sector
- Standard Chartered reportedly planning launch of its second digital-only bank in Asia in Singapore, partnering with NTUC Enterprise
- Singapore: CredoLab gains $7M Series A with bank-grade digital scoring on smartphone metadata for banks, lenders, ecommerce, ride-hailing, insurance companies and more
- Report: Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research releases Artificial Intelligence in Banking: The Changing Landscape in Compliance and Supervision
- ICYMI: 3 of Switzerland’s crypto companies complete first-ever automated Bitcoin transaction that meets anti-money laundering standards
- ICYMI: Philippine Treasury, UnionBank and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange launched a blockchain-enabled mobile app for distributing gov’t-issued treasury bonds
- Subsidiary of Lufax, China’s retail fintech, partners Thailand’s Kasikornbank to jointly build digital wealth management platform
- China: Over $50BN in cryptocurrency found by Chainalysis to have moved from in-country digital wallets to other parts of the world in the last year, much of it via Tether stablecoin
- Digital Currencies: Public and Private, Present and Future report available to download from DBS Corporate Banking
- ICYMI: The US Library of Congress maintains a jurisdiction-by-jurisdication listing of cryptocurrency regulations around the world
- Malaysia: JurisTech acquires iMoney, adding personal financial education to enterprize-focused fintech solutions
- Cambodia: Clik fintech raises $3.7M, SE Asia’s largest seed round in mobile payments, loyalty programs, data visualisation, business intelligence and cloud services
- Government agencies in Malaysia and Indonesia sign cooperation agreement to establish ‘collaborative framework’ for fintech development, aiming for joint projects
- Australia: A round-up of the country’s tech, startup and funding news from the past month
- Australia: Future Industries eXchange for Entrepreneurship unveils $2.5M funding and range of startup support and development programs
- Australia: Former PM Turnbull suggests lack of a specific minister responsible for cybersecurity is a key weakness in government’s strategy and cyber policies
- Australia: Waddle invoice financing startup to be acquired by accounting giant Xero
- Sri Lanka: National Savings Bank to implement solution for mitigating fraud in partnership with ACI Worldwide digital payment software and solutions firm
- ICYMI: Philippines Central Bank considering issuing its own digital currency, forming committee to assess feasibility and policy implications
- ICYMI: US Federal Reserve Bank of Boston partners Massachusetts Institute of Technology for research on digital currency oriented to central bank use
- South Korea: Bitbit Group launches cryptocurrency payment pilot project for Busan’s Haeundae Beach System, allowing payments for water sports, life jackets and more
- Singapore FintTech Festival set for December 7-11, currently set to run both digitally and as a physical event
- China: Over 20 crypto mining farms stripped of electricity perks, including China Telecom branch and Bitmain subsidiaries, due to concealment of mining activities
- Philippines: Central bank creates committee to look at feasibility and policy implications of issuing its own digital currency, with initial study results expected September
- China: Dodo decentralized finance startup secures $600K
- Singapore: DBS and Government Technology Agency partner to pilot SingPass face verification system to speed up registration processes for digital banking
- Australia: WA Gov’t opens applications for ‘virtual trade mission’ to London Tech Week for Western Australian startups and scaleups ready to explore the UK market
- Australia: Digital Trust Report 2020 available to download now, highlighting the role digital trust plays in attracting investment and driving jobs growth
- Philippines: ConsenSyS selects 5 rural banks in Mindanao to trial blockchain-based real-time payments solution, potentially impacting 35M unbanked citizens
- Digital currency: Sberbank, Russia’s largest consumer bank, to launch blockchain platform built on Hyperledger Fabric; reportedly considering its own stablecoin
- India: A brief intro to the 5 shortlisted candidates in the Startup of the Year category for The Economic Times Startup Awards 2020
- Australia: A video round-up of recent tech, startup and funding news from Australia, with QR code links to each startup news item featured
- Philippines: Securities regulator red-flags several digital currency Ponzi schemes, cautioning investors on unauthorized schemes and operators
In Other news
Other subject-specific news from across South and Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region:
• Blockchain news across Asia-Pacific
• Artificial Intelligence news, Asia
• Cybersecurity and data security news
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