What The FinTech #111 - 18 Sep 2022
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
HONG KONG
Web3 investor Animoca brands raises another $110M for open Metaverse
Web3 investor Animoca brands raises another $110M for open Metaverse
Animoca Brands, a leading investor in NFT and metaverse-centric startups, has raised an additional $110 million in funding in a round led by new institutional investors Temasek, Boyu Capital, and GGV Capital. The fundraise was conducted as a sale of convertible notes issued at a conversion price of AUD $4.50 (just over US$3.00 at present), although it’s subject to conditions concerning a future potential initial public offering (IPO), liquidation event (such as merger or sale), or equity financing round. he company has invested in more than 300 startups, including a number of prominent Web3 and NFT firms that have since hit it big—including NBA Top Shot and Flow blockchain creator Dapper Labs, leading NFT marketplace OpenSea, and Axie Infinity game creator Sky Mavis.
SINGAPORE
Tencent Cloud and Singapore-based strange universe to develop Web3 business metaverse Platform
Singaporean digital bank Trust notches 100,000 customers in first two weeks
MAS and SGX Group launch ESG data portal ESGenome to streamline sustainability reporting
Cake DeFi opens R&D hub in Singapore
DBS sets decarbonisation targets for 7 sectors it finances, including oil and aviation
Sequoia backs SG wealth management platform
Tencent Cloud and Singapore-based strange universe to develop Web3 business metaverse Platform
Tencent Cloud announced signing of a memorandum of understanding with Strange Universe Technology, a Singapore-based Web3 company, involving the creation of an immersive and integrated platform that helps businesses adapt and thrive in a virtual environment. Strange Universe is a high-tech firm focusing on AR/VR/MR applications and market creativity. With the development of a Web3 metaverse platform – EOsu world – it aims to become a global leader in the emerging virtual hybrid field in the exhibition industry. Under the MoU, both parties agree to collaborate in various areas, potentially integrating Tencent Cloud’s comprehensive virtual world-related products and cloud solutions into Strange Universe’s platform. One of Tencent Cloud’s offerings available to Strange Universe is the one-stop solution Virtual Interactive Space (VIS), which is based on real-time cloud rendering technology.
Singaporean digital bank Trust notches 100,000 customers in first two weeks
Trust announced that its community of customers has reached 100,000 following its launch on 1 September 2022. Sign-ups were received from a diverse range of users in Singapore aged 18 to over 90. Trust is the first of Singapore’s new wave of digital banks and its app was made available to all residents in Singapore on 1 September 2022. It is backed by a unique partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group and launched with a range of products, comprising a credit card, savings account and family personal accident insurance. This is combined with Link Rewards, the market-leading rewards and loyalty programme integrated with the FairPrice Group ecosystem.
MAS and SGX Group launch ESG data portal ESGenome to streamline sustainability reporting
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) jointly launched ESGenome, a digital Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure portal. ESGenome is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution operated by World Wide Generation (WWG) that will help SGX-listed companies simplify the disclosure process using a core set of metrics that is mapped across global standards and frameworks. Companies will be able to carry out their baseline sustainability reporting based on a set of 27 SGX core ESG metrics, make additional disclosures across more than 3,000 ESG metrics depending on business needs, and automatically generate a report from the inputs. Furthermore, companies need only provide a one-time input for each ESG metric and these inputs can then be automatically mapped across their selected standards and frameworks to cater to different investor requirements.
Cake DeFi opens R&D hub in Singapore
Cake DeFi, the leading and fastest-growing Singapore-based fintech firm, has announced the launch of its global R&D hub, Birthday Research. The new hub will be located in Singapore and will focus on developing best-in-class blockchain and digital asset technologies through open-source blockchain research and development. Cake DeFi has committed to investing US$50M in R&D over the next four years to develop new products and innovations for fintech and financial institutions within the digital asset ecosystem. Currently, the company has over 50 R&D staff within its product and engineering teams. Cake DeFi plans to double this figure while consolidating its R&D operations in Singapore. Aligning with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) direction to grow all aspects of the digital asset ecosystem, Birthday Research will centralize all of Cake DeFi’s product innovation and development in its technology stack for B2B solutions.
DBS sets decarbonisation targets for 7 sectors it finances, including oil and aviation
South-east Asia's largest lender DBS Bank has mapped out its decarbonisation targets in some of the most carbon-intensive sectors it finances, as the bank ploughs ahead with its net-zero pledge. Decarbonisation targets have been set for seven sectors - power, oil and gas, automotive, aviation, shipping, steel and real estate. Data coverage targets were also set for two sectors - food and agribusiness, and chemicals. In particular, an absolute emissions reduction target has been set for the oil and gas sector. By 2030, the bank is looking to reduce by 28 per cent the absolute emissions in this sector that are attributable to DBS. This is in line with the International Energy Agency's net-zero emissions by 2050 scenario.
Sequoia backs SG wealth management platform
StashAway, a Singapore-based wealth management platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of new funding that includes a strategic investment from Hamilton Lane. The fundraising also saw Eight Roads, Square Peg, and Sequoia Capital come in as follow-on investors. VentureCap Insights pegged the amount raised at US$12.6 million. The partnership with Hamilton Lane will give StashAway access to strategic advice on both private markets investment methodology and product development. The partnership with Hamilton Lane will give StashAway access to strategic advice on both private markets investment methodology and product development.
ASIA
China wants unified QR code systems for digital yuan
Southeast Asia fintech Fazz raises $100M Series C to serve businesses of all sizes
VCs under the top 2 banks in Thailand invest in Forward DeFi
APAC fintech investment more than doubles
Indian neobank Zolve adds Citi's Steve Freiberg to US team
China wants unified QR code systems for digital yuan
China’s central bank is pushing for interconnectivity between its digital yuan and other traditional digital electronic payment tools through universal QR code payments, as the country expands the pilots for its digital currency. Standardization is key for the construction of a sound ecosystem for the e-CNY, the nation’s central bank digital currency. It is important to promote the unification of digital identity, QR code mechanisms, Bluetooth and near-field communications to allow consumers to scan a QR code for various kinds of payment access. The comments come as the country has seen widespread use of QR code payment systems dominated by Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay.
Southeast Asia fintech Fazz raises $100M Series C to serve businesses of all sizes
Fazz, the Southeast Asian digital financial services group created by the merger of PayFazz and Xfers, announced today that it has raised a total of $100 million in Series C funding. This includes $75 million in equity and a $25 million debt facility. Formerly known as Fazz Financial Group, Fazz’s goal is to close the $300 billion funding gap for MSMEs, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and give them the same tools as larger businesses. Fazz’s units include Fazz Agen, an agent-based financial app for micro- and small-businesses in Indonesia, Fazz Business, its business accounts, which serves businesses ranging in size from MSMEs to large corporations, Modal Rakyat, a peer-to-peer lending and borrowing services for MSMEs, and payments infrastructure provider Straits X.
17 Fintech and Insurtech startups among Forbes Asia’s Top 100 to watch in 2022
Forbes Asia has released its 2022 “100 to Watch” list recognising the top 100 fastest-growing startups and small companies in the Asia Pacific region. This year’s list include 17 startups in the fintech and insurtech sectors tackling a broad range of areas including business banking, wealth management, compliance and crypto crime. These companies, representing 15 countries and territories, were selected from over 650 public nominations and cover 11 categories.
VCs under the top 2 banks in Thailand invest in Forward DeFi
Forward, a Thai digital asset and blockchain startup focusing on protocol development for decentralized derivative exchange and DeFi platform, has successfully closed its USD 5 million seed round within just 6 months of fundraising, despite severe economic uncertainty and high volatility in the digital asset landscape. The round was led by RPVAF-1, a global VC fund under Primestreet Capital, with participation from: Beacon Venture Capital from Kasikornbank; KASIKORN X from Kasikornbank; Krungsri Finnovate from Bank of Ayudhya, a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG); and together with Ratanakorn Technology Group, GBV Capital and Varys Capital who have confirmed their investments earlier in this round.
Reserve Bank of India is considering running a CBDC trial
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has consulted with public sector banks and fintechs such as FIS in order to test out a central bank digital currency. The project aims to slow the growth of private cryptocurrencies in India or eliminate them from the market altogether according to RBI officials cited by atmmarketplace.com. Consultations for the CBDC trial are underway with fintechs such as FIS and banks such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda. US-based financial services company FIS launched a CBDC Virtual Lab in August 2022.
APAC fintech investment more than doubles
Investment in Asia-Pacific’s fintech sector more than doubled during the first half of 2022, as a result of several large M&A transactions. Despite total global investment in fintech and the total number of fintech deals falling between H2’21 and H1’22, APAC investment soared to a record $41.8billion during the first half of 2022 from $19.2billion recorded in second half of 2021. Asia-Pacific’s record figures were driven almost entirely by three large M&A transactions: the $27.9billion acquisition of Australia-based Afterpay by Block, the $2.1billion buyout of Japan-based Yayoi by KKR, and the $1billion merger of Australia-based fintechs Superhero and Swiftx. In many parts of the region, particularly outside of China, the aged infrastructure underpinning existing financial markets is driving a significant amount of investment towards the innovation of financial market infrastructure and to the digital last mile of transactions. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, a number of fintech subsectors that attracted substantial interest and hype over the past 12 to 24 months cooled off considerably during H1’22, including retail payments, insurtech, and B2C solutions. Crypto, NFTs and blockchain also came off the investment burner as well.
Indian neobank Zolve adds Citi's Steve Freiberg to US team
Zolve, India’s first neobank providing cross-border financial services, today announced the appointment of Steve Freiberg to its leadership team in the United States. Freiberg comes with vast experience and expertise in the financial domain and has held several key leadership roles in global organizations in the past. He served for 30 years as Co-Chairman and CEO of Citigroup’s Global Consumer Group, where he was responsible for all business lines serving consumer and commercial customers, spanning 53 countries and 230,000 employees.
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey
BNB Chain and Google Cloud partner to support Web3 and Blockchain startups
DeFi: Is anyone really using It?
Crypto exchange Reku raises US$11 million Series A led by AC Ventures
BCG and ADDX project asset tokenisation to grow into US$16 Trillion opportunity by 2030
Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey
Starbucks is officially introducing Starbucks Odyssey, the coffee chain’s first foray into building with web3 technology. To engage with the Starbucks Odyssey experience, Starbucks Rewards members will log in to the web app using their existing loyalty program credentials. Once there, they’ll be able to engage with various activities, which Starbucks called “journeys” — like playing interactive games or taking on challenges designed to deepen their knowledge of the Starbucks brand or coffee in general. As they complete these journeys, members can collect early digital collectibles in the form of NFTs. Starbucks Odyssey, calls these NFT collectibles “journey stamps” instead.
BNB Chain and Google Cloud partner to support Web3 and Blockchain startups
BNB Chain and Google Cloud have formed a partnership to provide early stage Web3 and blockchain projects with foundational infrastructure, cloud computing credits, mentorship, and enhanced technical support. BNB Chain, a combination of BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain, has over 1,300 active decentralised applications (dApps) in its ecosystem and claims to be the largest smart contract blockchain in terms of transaction volume and users in Web3. Startups leveraging BNB Chain’s infrastructure can now build on Google Cloud’s cloud infrastructure and use its services for on-demand analysis of on-chain data and data encryption while it is being processed in real-time. BNB Chain will also facilitate accelerated access to the Google for Startups Cloud Program for eligible Web3 builders in its ecosystem, including those under Binance’s Most Valuable Builder accelerator.
DeFi: Is anyone really using It?
Crypto investors may be buying the coins of the big DeFi players. For sure, hardcore crypto fans believe DeFi will render traditional finance obsolete in their very closed world, at least for them. Everyone interviewed for this article agrees that DeFi lacks accessibility, has a lackluster user experience and often comes with high gas fees (think of it as a transaction charge). This, coupled with the learning curve itself, means many potential users who like cryptocurrency stay away from DeFi services. Everyone in the crypto world wants DeFi to work. DeFi has the wind at its back, as an idea. Several core challenges need to be addressed in the DeFi world. If anything, it made DeFi interesting.
Crypto exchange Reku raises US$11 million Series A led by AC Ventures
Indonesia-based crypto exchange Reku has raised a US$11 million Series A round led by AC Ventures. Other investors include Coinbase Ventures, the venture arm of crypto exchange Coinbase and Skystar Capital. Sumandi Fung, co-founder and chief executive said: “It’s no secret that crypto has been surging in Indonesia in recent years. Despite multiple macroeconomic pullbacks such as the pandemic and the 2022 recession, local demand remains resilient”. Reku claims it has generated US$3 billion in gross transaction value in 2021. The crypto exchanges founding team has pre-existing relationships and intimate knowledge of Indonesia’s Commodities and Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI).
BCG and ADDX project asset tokenisation to grow into US$16 Trillion opportunity by 2030
A new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and digital exchange ADDX forecasts that asset tokenization will expand into a US$16.1 trillion business opportunity by 2030. Assets being fractionalized and tokenized on platforms such as ADDX can reduce minimum investment sizes from millions of dollars to just thousands of dollars. Globally, growth in tokenized assets is expected in real estate, equities, bonds and investment funds, as well as less traditional assets such as car fleets and patents. With a 50-fold increase predicted between 2022 and 2030, from US$310 billion to US$16.1 trillion, tokenized assets are expected to make up 10% of global GDP by the end of the decade
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