What The FinTech #116 - 23 Oct 2022
Happy Sunday & Welcome back to What The FinTech, your regular FinTech & Innovation Newsletter focusing on Hong Kong & Asia!
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What The FinTech Video & Podcast - Season 5 Episode 4
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What The FinTech - Season 5 Episode 5
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
HONG KONG
Hong Kong is considering allowing retail investors to directly invest in virtual assets
Hong Kong is considering allowing retail investors to directly invest in virtual assets
Hong Kong is considering allowing retail investors to directly invest in virtual assets amid a talent exodus hollowing out the city’s crypto industry. Over the past year, the SFC has relaxed some requirements for retail investor participation, including a policy introduced in January to allow service providers to sell some virtual asset-related derivative products to such investors. The regulator is also reviewing rules on whether to allow retail investors to dabble in ETFs that have exposure to virtual assets. The city will soon introduce a mandatory licensing requirement for all cryptocurrency trading platforms, which will be enacted into law through an amendment to the city’s anti-money-laundering ordinance. Later this year, the SFC will seek public opinion on allowing retail investors to directly invest in cryptocurrencies in a consultation for the bill.
SINGAPORE
SBI and Securitize to collaborated for tokenized bond issuance in Singapore
DBS launches AI-driven working capital solution for SMEs
Singaporeans need further nudge to adopt mobile banking
UOB innovation Hub 2 doubling tech talents to 600 in 2023
SBI and Securitize to collaborated for tokenized bond issuance in Singapore
SBI Digital Markets and Securitize announced plans to jointly build a digital asset issuance and distribution platform in Singapore, starting with tokenized bonds in November.SBI Digital Markets, a subsidiary of SBI Digital Asset Holdings (SBI DAH), received its capital markets services (CPM) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in September. Together the companies will target blockchain-based issuance and distribution services targeting institutional investors. There’s a need for a marketplace for tokenized assets as well. SBI Digital Assets Holdings has a joint venture with the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) for AsiaNext, a Singapore exchange for secondary market trading of both cryptocurrencies and tokenized securities. AsiaNext will collaborate with SBI Digital Markets, but not on an exclusive basis. Securitize has been involved in several tokenizations of private company stock. More recently, it has been part of several tokenized fund issuances. These include tokenizing part of a KKR fund, collaborating with investment manager Hamilton Lane for a tokenized feeder fund, as well as an art fund.
DBS launches AI-driven working capital solution for SMEs
DBS bank has rolled out DBS Quick Finance to address the working capital needs of micro and small businesses, as businesses grapple with “an inflationary environment, an impending goods and services tax hike, supply chain challenges, and rising interest rates.The solution enables SMEs “almost instant” access to financing of up to S$300,000. Using hyper-personalised AI and data analytics, the DBS Quick Finance application process is reduced to just one minute, and approval to one second. The bank added that instant disbursement is possible for some instances, with no additional paperwork involved.Customers will have the flexibility to choose between an overdraft which can be drawn down when needed, or a working capital loan which will be serviced every month.
Singaporeans need further nudge to adopt mobile banking
Despite close to nine in 10 Singaporeans (88 per cent) use mobile banking at least a few times a month, many Singaporeans are still using ATMs and visiting bank branches. Three in four Singaporeans use ATMs several times a month while one in four visits their bank’s branches several times a month.Those who frequent ATMs and bank branches are not resistant to adopting mobile banking but in fact have the highest intention to use mobile banking. Those who use ATMs more than once a day scored a 5.8 on intention to adopt mobile banking (with 6 being the highest intention to adopt mobile banking) while those who use ATMs daily scored 5.4. The intention-adoption gapindicates that more could be done to nudge digital banking adoption. When it comes to consumers who frequent bank branches, those who visit more than once a day score highly (5.6) on intention to adopt mobile banking. At the other spectrum, customers who never visit bank branches also indicate high intention to adopt mobile banking (5.6), indicating that there are distinct population segments keen on banking digitalisation.
UOB innovation Hub 2 doubling tech talents to 600 in 2023
UOB is accelerating hiring for technology talents as it builds up its offshore technology centre in Malaysia. The bank is looking to expand headcount at its Malaysia-based Innovation Hub 2 from 180 people to over 300 by the end of this year, and to 600 by 2023.Technology is central to UOB’s ambition to provide solutions that make banking simpler, safer and smarter for its customers, and UOB Innovation Hub 2 is a key enabler of this. Started in January this year, the Hub provides application delivery capability for the Bank’s banking and enterprise technology solutions. UOB is recruiting technology talents in two core areas. It is looking for passionate individuals to develop and deliver applications in established fields such as digital banking, compliance, cards systems, customer management, and financial markets. The bank is also mustering talents well-versed in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data and robotic process automation.UOB Innovation Hub 2 is in the process of creating its own technology academy to enable new talents to become familiar with the organisation and the architecture of its systems in a very short time. It has also created an innovative career path, which places great emphasis on building up employees’ technology capabilities. Its talent development programme for fresh graduate hires from local and foreign universities in Malaysia offers mentoring as well as structured on-the-job training and assessment.
CHINA
Shanghai launches Mobility-as-a-Service app that rewards users for choosing greener travel options
China’s CBDC spending surpasses 100 billion yuan
Alipay test of money transfers via WeChat seen as first breach of mobile payments ‘walled garden’
Shanghai launches Mobility-as-a-Service app that rewards users for choosing greener travel options
Transportation agencies in Shanghai have launched a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app that enables users to pay for their journeys by bus, ferry and metro services, book taxi rides and find and pay for parking spaces across the city from their smartphone. To promote the use of environmentally friendly modes of transport, the app also rewards registered users with credits every time they choose a greener travel option such as the metro or bus. The local transportation agencies will continue adding features to the app as the service is expected to cover the entire Metro system by the end of 2022.
China’s CBDC spending surpasses 100 billion yuan
Transactions using China's digital yuan surpassed 100 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) as of Aug. 31, as the country continues its roll-out of a central bank digital currency.The spending involved 360 million transactions in pilot areas in 15 provinces and municipalities, adding that more than 5.6 million merchants could now accept payments with the digital currency. China is at the fore of a global race to develop central bank digital currencies, although adoption is still in the early stages. Transactions using e-CNY rose from 87.6 billion yuan by the end of 2021.Pilot regions offerednearly 30 rounds of e-CNY subsidies in 2022, including $4.5 million in free digital cash in Shanghai in May, to stimulate consumption, fight the pandemic and promote low-carbon transport. The central bank also took part in the cross-border multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (mCBDC) Bridge trial developed by the Bank of International Settlements and conducted tests to connect with Hong Kong's local digital payment system.
Alipay test of money transfers via WeChat seen as first breach of mobile payments ‘walled garden’
The wall separating China’s two leading mobile payment systems may have started to crack after Ant Group’s Alipay rolled out a trial service that uses a QR code to enable the transfer of funds to users of rival app WeChat.While direct money transfers between the two apps is still not possible despite Beijing’s calls to dismantle the “walled gardens” operated by China’s Big Tech firms, the new service from Alipay –only available to a limited number of users in a trial run –marks a small step towards bridging the two mutually exclusive payment services, which together account for over 90 per cent of China’s mobile payments market. To carry out the transaction, Alipay users generate a QR code after specifying the amount up to a maximum of 2,000 yuan (US$278) per transfer. The code is shared with the WeChat user, who then must use Alipay to scan the code and receive the funds.
ASIA
Asia’s financial institutions begin to use the metaverse
A superapp to a ‘travel superapp’: How AirAsia is upping the ante
Indian PM Modi hails fintech revolution in digital banking push
Malaysian FinTech super Apps plans $1.1B SPAC merger
South Korea’s Kakao super App outage shows risks of living a ‘digital only’ life
Asia’s financial institutions begin to use the metaverse
AIA, Hang Seng Bank and SC Ventures are experimenting with immersive experiences. AIA recently hosted a staff town hall in a virtual-reality environment provided by Microsoft and Hololux, a German vendor of digital strategies for workplace collaboration. SC Ventures has ‘land’ in The Sandbox with the aim of building their brand presence, understanding the technology, getting credentials, and understanding problem statements such as digital identity. Hang Seng Bank is also engaged in multiple pilots, from minting NFTs as rewards for premium customers, to developing a proprietary metaverse that simulates a day in the life working at the bank.
Asia’s financial institutions begin to use the metaverse - Digital Finance (digfingroup.com)
A superapp to a ‘travel superapp’: How AirAsia is upping the ante
AirAsia has been ramping up its digitization effort during the pandemic and now considers itself a travel superapp with dozens of travel and lifestyle products and services embedded in it. The app currently has over 51 million users that it is projected to double in four years. The app offers a seamless journey for customers, enabling users to book a flight, hotel and even ride, prior to their travel date. As it seeks to gain market share, the firm is launching new features to further enhance convenience for users and partners. AirAsia ride drivers, for instance, will soon be able to know users’ flight details which would allow them to plan their journeys ahead. With a similar dynamic pricing applied on its flights, users will soon be paying less for e-hailing rides if booking is done prior.
A superapp to a 'travel superapp': How AirAsia is upping the ante (techwireasia.com)
Indian PM Modi hails fintech revolution in digital banking push
India's prime minister Narendra Modi has announced the launch of 75 digital banking units (DBUs) in 75 districts of the country by Scheduled Commercial Banks, a move he says will improve the banking experience for users and boost financial inclusion. These digital banks will provide a number of services including current accounts, mobile and internet banking, debit and credit cards and digital kits for both merchants and customers.
Indian PM Modi hails fintech revolution in digital banking push (finextra.com)
Malaysian FinTech super Apps plans $1.1B SPAC merger
Malaysian payments technology company Super Apps is set to go public in the United States via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger that values the firm at $1.1 billion.The company will merge with Technology and Telecommunication Acquisition Corporation and list on the Nasdaq as TETE Technologies.Meanwhile, Super Apps plans to purchase 60% of FinTech firm MobilityOne’s stake in OneShop Retail. Investors who put money into blank check companies could see a liquidity boost of more than $75 billion in the coming months, as SPACs that went public during the listings boom will probablyhave to return their cash.
https://www.pymnts.com/spac/2022/malaysian-fintech-super-apps-plans-1-billion-dollar-spac-merger/
South Korea’s Kakao super App outage shows risks of living a ‘digital only’ life
Kakao, the South Korean super app, which offers the proverbial digital front door to a range of services and offerings, from messaging and social media to payments and ride-hailing —went dark over the weekend. For several hours.And that was enough to throw South Koreans’ daily lives —or at least the 47.5 million users, which represents just about 90% of the country’s population —into chaos. Now, the circumstances surrounding the outage are what might be termed unfortunate, unforeseen and fortunately (according to the reports), no one was hurt. A fire at the company’s data centers outside of Seoul interrupted services, which has since been restored.
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
Coinbase, Primer partner to make crypto a standard payment option
Flipkart launches Flipverse to offer metaverse-based shopping experience
Mastercard to bring crypto trading capabilities to banks
Coinbase, Primer partner to make crypto a standard payment option
Coinbase and Primer, a payments and commerce automation platform, have agreed on a strategic integration, enabling merchants worldwide to offer crypto as a standard payment method. After registering with Primer, merchants can add Coinbase’s platform Coinbase Commerce to their checkout page with the help of a few clicks. Primer’s Universal Checkout makes it a quick process for merchants to facilitate crypto payments for their customers. The integration seeks to meet soaring demand by customers to make purchases using cryptocurrencies. The collaboration will also benefit merchants with reduced fees and risk of chargeback rates and near-instant settlements.
Flipkart launches Flipverse to offer metaverse-based shopping experience
Indian ecommerce major Flipkart has partnered with Polygon-incubated organization eDAO to launch Flipverse — a metaverse space where consumers can discover products in a photorealistic virtual destination and shop on Flipkart App. Created using eDAO’s pioneering Web3 tech stack, the company said Flipverse would offer gamified, interactive and immersive shopping experiences for consumers in a digital world by giving them access to their favourite brands, Supercoins and digital collectibles.
Flipkart Launches Flipverse To Offer Metaverse-Based Shopping Experience - CXMToday
Mastercard to bring crypto trading capabilities to banks
Mastercard has introduced Crypto Source, a new programme to enable financial institutions to bring crypto trading capabilities and services to customers. In partnership with regulated and licensed crypto custody providers, Mastercard's financial institution partners will gain access to a suite of buy, hold, and sell services for select crypto assets, augmented with proven identity, cyber, security, and advisory services. This Crypto Source offering is complemented by Mastercard Crypto Secure to bring additional security to the crypto ecosystem and support card issuers in their compliance with complex regulations.
Mastercard to bring crypto trading capabilities to banks | Mastercard Newsroom
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