What The FinTech #157 - 29 Oct 2023
🚀 Welcome to What The Fintech - your weekly dose of electrifying insights, game-changing breakthroughs, and dazzling trends from the pulse-pounding world of fintech across Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Asia! As your go-to source for top headlines and industry insights, we're here to keep you updated on the latest innovations revolutionizing the way we think about finance and technology in this dynamic region.
Prepare to embark on a thrilling adventure through the digital landscape as we explore the ground-breaking developments, visionary startups, and trailblazing trends that are shaping the future of finance in Asia and beyond. So buckle up, grab your favorite beverage, and get ready to ignite your curiosity with the latest and greatest from the fintech universe! Let's dive in! 🌊💡💸
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WHAT THE FINTECH #67: Revamping #ESG: Drive Low-Carbon Actions with Smart Incentives!
Join me as I dive deep with Arthur Lam, the visionary CEO and Co-Founder of Negawatt Utility Ltd. and hashtag#Zero2.We uncover the true potential of leveraging technology to reshape how companies approach ESG. Why is it essential to look beyond top-down strategies? How can we genuinely integrate sustainability into our company cultures? Arthur sheds light on these critical questions and unveils the game-changing strategies they're implementing.
🌱 Get inspired to think differently about driving behavioral changes for a sustainable future. Understand how Zero2 is making ESG engagement quantifiable, rewarding, and more inclusive than ever.
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🎙️🎧 Dive into previous sessions for a mix of insights and exciting discussions. 🎥🚀 Stay tuned for what's coming, and as always, your likes, give a 5⭐, shares, and subscribes mean the world! Keep the fintech vibes strong! 💪🎉
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Money20/20 Hong Kong World Tour
1 November 2023 | 6pm – 8pm | Ozone Bar
It’s time for a get-together, because the Money20/20 World Tour is heading to the neon city of Hong Kong on 1 November! Did we mention we’re also a partner event for Hong Kong FinTech Week?
Get excited 'cos we’re talking high-impact, high-reward conversations filled with inspiration, innovation, and information over drinks and canapes. Curious about what we're all about? Check out the buzz from the recent Singapore World Tour back in July.
Come mingle with Hong Kong’s most influential players and talk collaborations to propel the fintech industry in the region. Plus, listen to Stratford Finance CEO Angelina Kwan, OSL Co-founder Dave Chapman, and Money20/20 Senior Advisor Medhy Souidi as they discuss what the new Hong Kong Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing regime means for virtual asset businesses in the city, as well as the opportunities and challenges out there.
It’s free to join but hurry, seats are limited. See you as we kick off the most exciting week in Hong Kong’s fintech calendar.
When: Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Where: Ozone Bar @The Ritz-Carlton, 1 Austin Rd W, Tsim Sha Tsui
Cost: Free but limited seating. RSVP today!
P.S. Spread the love and pass this email along to your fintech friends who'd also enjoy a night full of connections and conversations. See you in Hong Kong!
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
HONG KONG
It’s too expensive for Hong Kong fintechs in Singapore
After Hong Kong bled fintech firms during COVID, it seemed for a moment that Singapore’s place at the head of Asian fintech was unassailable. But rising costs are undermining the foundations, particularly when it comes to hiring fintech employees. It’s not just fintech companies themselves that are leaving Singapore. The recruiters say candidates are growing tired of the high costs there, too, and are leaving to work elsewhere. In the circumstances, you might think Singaporean fintechs would allow candidates to work from home. Apparently not. Most are now expecting people in the office three or four days a week. Singapore isn’t losing out entirely, though. Business facing and regulatory-driven roles often remain there.
Hong Kong, UAE and Thailand to launch joint CBDC projects by 2024
The central banks of Hong Kong, China, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, along with HMKA, are working on developing mBridge, a cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. It is expected that the project will be launched by mid-2024. The initiative could bring an alternative to Swift’s dominant payment infrastructure by bringing a precedent for further payment fragmentation across other regions. MBridge is coordinated under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The project will have the participation of different significant companies such as Tencent, the owner of WeChat Pay, and the WeChat app. HKMA is also working on another CBDC-related project known as e-HKD. Digital currency has shown different use cases, such as payment, deposits, and investment scenarios. e-HKD could be used in different areas like programmable payments and new regions like tokenized deposits and tokenized assets.
SINGAPORE
Singapore-based fintech YouTrip picks up $50M led by Lightspeed
YouTrip, a Singapore-based fintech that offers multicurrency wallet for consumers and business accounts with corporate cards for SMEs, has its eyes on growth throughout Southeast Asia after landing a Series B led by Lightspeed. The new funding will be used to develop YouTrip’s product technology and hire more than 100 new positions for its regional team as it launches in new Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The company is a major payment institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and its services include payments, foreign exchange, remittances and cards.
Singaporeans lack confidence in ability to spot online fraud
Over 20% of Singaporeans have experienced some kind of fraud when shopping online in the last six months. Young people aged 18-34 years old were the most affected group (52%), while seniors aged 55-65+ were the least affected group (14%). When asked if they are confident they would be able to spot a fake website or deal, 48% of Singaporeans said they are not confident or they don’t know. Men were more confident than women, with 57% of men saying they are confident compared to 47% of women. 85% of Singaporeans surveyed are also generally worried about the security of their money when they make online purchases. A 64.5% increase in the number of scam victims in the first half of 2023 (22,339) compared to the same period last year (13,576). More than half (55%) of the victims lost up to S$2000.
Microsoft and Cyber security agency of Singapore partner to jointly tackle cybercrime
Microsoft Singapore and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) announced the deepening of its multi-year collaboration, committing to jointly strengthen cybersecurity foundations and protect Singapore’s cyberspace and expand on international partnerships. Together, Microsoft and CSA will advance the sharing of information, analysis and intelligence on cyber threats, vulnerabilities, malicious campaigns and incidents, to build a better database of threats and vulnerabilities. The collaboration will also support joint investigations and operations to address incidents involving critical information infrastructure systems in Singapore, and to apprehend and takedown malicious infrastructure that may be used for cybercrime or digitally enabled crimes. The transnational collaboration across global, regional, and national cybersecurity will also include capacity-building in the form of joint workshops and training on Microsoft solutions and its unique vantage point for security through its investments in security research, innovation, and the global security community.
Revolut, the global financial super app with 30 million customers worldwide, has become the first fintech company in Singapore to launch Instant Card Transfers, the latest innovation in remittances allowing customers to securely send money to anyone in over 80 countries, 24/7 with just their name and 16-digit Mastercard or Visa card number. The transferred funds are sent in real-time1 and protected by Mastercard and Visa’s networks. Through Instant Card Transfers, Revolut customers will be able to push funds to any eligible Mastercard or Visa card in over 80 countries globally within minutes as compared to traditional banking methods, which could take between three to five days. This is managed by the Mastercard Send and Visa Direct platforms. The recipients do not need to be Revolut users. The only details required are the recipient’s name and their card number. No additional card details such as CVV or expiry date is required and any transaction to a new recipient is protected by a two-factor authentication. Revolut remains compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which ensures end-to-end security of information and protection of funds.
Singapore leading net-zero efforts in Asean, followed by Vietnam, Thailand
Singapore is leading in efforts to drive net zero, followed by Vietnam and Thailand, say 150 industry leaders surveyed by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS). Singapore polled first among Asean countries, with 92% of respondents agreeing that the nation is poised to become a world or regional leader in sustainable banking and finance, carbon trading and electric mobility. While seven in 10 respondents believe that Singapore’s ambitions of being a clean energy hub is dampened by land scarcity, their view is that the country could potentially play a significant role as the regional hub for green finance (67%), carbon trading (54%) and electric mobility (50%).
Grab’s expansion plans hit regulatory roadblock in Singapore
Singapore’s competition watchdog has pumped the brakes on ride-hailing giant Grab’s plan to acquire Trans-cab. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) had concerns about the proposed deal, which would see Grab take ownership of the city-state’s third largest cab company. Third-party feedback received by CCCS suggests concerns on the effect of Grab’s ownership of the Trans-cab fleet on Trans-cab drivers’ usage of rival ride-hail platforms, which may raise barriers to expansion and entry for Grab’s rival ride-hail platforms. The commission is needed to examine in greater detail how the proposed deal will affect competition, and added that both Grab and Trans-cab can “offer commitments to address the potential competition concerns.”
CHINA
China offers financial incentives for companies moving into Shenzhen’s digital yuan zone
Industrial enterprises, fintechs, commercial banks, start-ups and other businesses relocating to China’s newly opened digital yuan industrial park in the city of Shenzhen will receive incentives including settlement payments of between 500,000 and 50m yuan (US$6.8m), free rent for up to three years and loans with favourable interest rates. China has opened the park in Shenzen’s Luohu district to both promote the use of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), facilitate and encourage new use cases across various industries and business sectors as well as boost the development of the digital yuan economy. In addition, the Chinese government “will arrange a total of 100 million yuan (U$13.7m) as special support funds over the next three years to develop the digital RMB ecosystem in Luohu, focusing on computing, algorithms and data concerning the digital economy.
OCBC announces key leadership changes for Greater China business
OCBC announced several key leadership changes. The changes, which see seasoned OCBC bankers taking on expanded roles, are said to continue enhancing the bank’s Greater China coverage. Wang Ke, who is currently the CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China, will become the bank’s head of Greater China. He succeeds Tan Wing Ming to the role. Tan will return to Singapore as an adviser to the group CEO, Helen Wong. Ang Eng Siong, who is currently the deputy president and head of corporate banking at OCBC Wing Hang China, will become OCBC Wing Hang China’s acting CEO. His appointment will be formalised once regulatory approval is obtained. Both Wang and Ang’s appointments will take effect on Nov 1.
China rolls out regional digital yuan giveaways to drive contactless cash adoption
Regions across China have launched a series of digital yuan voucher giveaways to drive adoption of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) and encourage consumer spending using the digital currency during the Asian Games and the Mid-Autumn and National Day festivals. The latest round of giveaways comes as the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Research Institute reports that, since the start of the digital yuan pilot programme in 2020, more than 90% of the digital currency and vouchers distributed during previous giveaway events have been spent and that in some regions uptake has been as high as 99%.
China opens CBDC industrial park
China has opened a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) focused industrial park in the Luohu district of Shenzhen on October 11. The government has launched the park to bolster the e-CNY ecosystem and payment solutions using the digital yuan. Residents are incentivised to move to the park for up to three years of free rent and loans. Commercial banks are being offered up to 20 million yuan to settle there, and start ups are offered up to 50 million yuan. The park had nine residents as of its launch, including payment card companies Hengbao and Wuhan Tianyu Information, and payments processor Lakala Payment.
China’s Huawei, Baidu, and Alibaba collaborate to redefine Autonomous Highways
Tech giants Huawei Technologies, Baidu Inc., and Alibaba Group Holding Limited are collaborating with China’s Ministry of Transport to establish crucial technology standards for autonomous driving on the nation’s highways. This collaboration, detailed in the “technical guidelines for highway engineering facilities supporting automated driving,” involves extensive efforts to integrate new technology into China’s road network, aligning it with the demands of the emerging autonomous driving industry. These guidelines, slated to become effective from December 1, emphasize the implementation of centralized cloud control platforms, advanced traffic sensors, communication and positioning equipment, roadside computing facilities, power supplies, and network security measures. Cloud platforms will be optimized to store, process, and exchange traffic information with automated vehicles. Meanwhile, traffic sensors will play a vital role in monitoring traffic flow, incidents, and weather conditions, thereby supporting the seamless functioning of autonomous driving systems.
ASIA
Nium expands B2B travel payments offering in Asia Pacific
Nium, the real-time global payments company, has expanded its B2B travel payments offering in the APAC region, building on rising demand for its virtual card solution offering globally. Travel intermediaries and operators use Nium’s virtual card solution to efficiently pay suppliers around the world. Its customers benefit from optimised working capital because of reduced foreign exchange fees, increased acceptance rates, faster reconciliation, fewer opportunities for fraud, and better protection against refunds. This will be added to over 20 existing currencies already supported by Nium’s virtual card solution across Europe and North America. The expansion comes amidst a rebound in APAC tourism after the global pandemic.
Vietnam’s LPBank selects Temenos core bankig platform
Temenos announced that Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPBank), one of the top 10 private commercial banks in Vietnam in terms of assets and equity , has selected Temenos to modernize its core banking platform for retail and corporate banking. Replacing its existing system with Temenos’ modern technology platform will enable LPBank to manage customer accounts and transactions across its retail and corporate activities with improved performance and efficiency, and offer personalized products, faster and at a lower cost. The retail and corporate core banking solution for LPBank includes banking capabilities for lending and deposits, trade finance, foreign exchange, payments, data and virtual accounts. The solution will support process automation, thereby minimizing operational errors, improving risk management efficiency, and enabling fast, effective digital transformation.
SparkLabs DeepTech Fund launches to discover disruptive technologies in South Korea
Phishing domains in a set of Domain Name System (DNS) records”. SparkLabs Korea, Asia’s leading startup accelerator and early-stage investor in South Korea, has launched a new venture capital fund, SparkLabs DeepTech. The first close of the fund was $15 million that will focus on seed and series A stage companies in South Korea.SparkLabs Korea defines “deeptech” to include artificial intelligence, biotech, spacetech, smart cities, AR/VR, quantum computing, and advanced materials. The fund is led by Eugene Kim, a Managing Partner at SparkLabs Korea. Also Daniel Kim, a Director of Engineering at Meta (formerly Facebook), joins this fund as a Venture Partner.
The global e-commerce expansion plans of short video app operator TikTok have hit a roadblock, according to analysts, amid the uncertainty created in Southeast Asia after Indonesia imposed a ban on online shopping via social media. TikTok Shop’s debacle in Indonesia – a market that made up almost 60 per cent of TikTok’s total e-commerce revenue in the region before the ban, according to market research firm Cube Asia – poses a challenge on how the app operator’s online retail business model could move forward, as competition from other shopping platforms in the region is expected to intensify. So the ban there will certainly have a major impact [on its overall e-commerce operations].” Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous country and largest economy, was among the first markets where ByteDance-owned TikTok set up e-commerce activities in 2021, on the back of almost 100 million domestic users on its short video platform. Indonesia’s ban on retail transactions via social media also showed how certain markets can inhibit TikTok’s live-streaming e-commerce model, which Chinese sibling Douyin pioneered on the mainland, according to Zhang Zhoupin, director of cross-border e-commerce research at consultancy 100ec.cn in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province. Its overall e-commerce GMV in Southeast Asia reached US$4.4 billion last year.
Juniper Networks , a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), Malaysia’s national payments network and shared central infrastructure for its financial markets, has selected Juniper’s campus solutions driven by Mist AI™. The networking upgrades include the Juniper Networks EX Series and Wireless Access Points, Wired and Wi-Fi Assurance services, as well as Marvis™ Virtual Network Assistant driven by Mist AI, enhancing networking capabilities across PayNet’s campus sites and remote command. All powered by the Juniper Mist™ Cloud, Juniper’s AP32 and AP43 provide Wi-Fi 6 accessibility over an EVPN-VXLAN topology, providing consistency, longevity and scalability powered by EX3400 and EX4650 switches. The upgrades have allowed PayNet to do away with complicated command-line interface and on-premises setups while providing seamless connectivity across its two buildings. Furthermore, PayNet was able to integrate the buildings’ various IoT devices, such as CCTVs and smart TVs, into the new network. In addition, Wired and Wi-Fi Assurance services driven by Mist AI, have helped automate and streamline network operations for PayNet’s engineers. The Marvis Juniper Network Assistant, for example, helps determine the root cause of issues, offering proactive insights and prescriptive actions – beneficial as they operate out of a remote command center. This has allowed the team to see a significant decrease in tickets related to connectivity issues since implementing Juniper’s upgrades, ultimately driving better user experiences across the network.
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And that's it for this week's What The Fintech 🎉 We hope you've found our selection of Asia's fintech trends, innovations, and insights both informative and valuable. Your feedback and suggestions are important to us, so please share your thoughts to help us curate content that matters most to you. 🌟
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Until next week, keep exploring the future of finance together! ✨
Your Fintech Navigator,
Medhy
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