What The FinTech #98: 29 May 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 Season 4 ! 📺
I am thrilled to announce that What The FinTech will return for a fourth season.
I changed the format of those interviews to bring you longer and more engaging discussions, every week, with various Asian Tech Figures about entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, customer engagement, and partnerships.
The First Episode will be live streamed on Monday at 5:30pm HKT.
The first two interviews are exclusively available on podcast.
Interview with Dennis Shi - CEO of Mojodomo
Interview with Jessica Liu - Co-founder of Planto
Check out the previous videos here: on What The FinTech, Instagram or Youtube.
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
HONG KONG
Hong Kong still a regional tech hub for AI and big data but more work needed to provide solid regulatory framework: survey
Robo-adviser Endowus receives Hong Kong licences, aims to launch in 2022
Visa rolls out ‘Tap to Phone’ service for contactless payment in Hong Kong taxis as it eyes slice of market
Hong Kong is seen as a top regional hub for technology set for further expansion, according to a large number of local and global artificial intelligence and big data companies surveyed by the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK), an industry advisory group. The city is considered an attractive location to build an AI or big data business because of its role as a financial hub and well-developed tech ecosystem, according to the Artificial Intelligence and Big Data report by the FTAHK, which surveyed 88 tech companies, including IBM, KPMG, and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp.However, the city still needs to address regulatory challenges and provide more government support to bolster the sector’s development, according to the survey.
Robo-adviser Endowus receives Hong Kong licences, aims to launch in 2022
Singapore based robo-adviser Endowus has received the nod from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to offer its wealth management and advisory services in the territory, moving its expansion plans forward. It had received licences under Types 1, 4 and 9 in the first quarter of the year, for dealing and advising in securities, and asset management. Endowus, which crossed S$1 billion in assets under management in July 2021 is not the only platform eyeing the territory. Fellow local robo-adviser Syfe announced on May 17 that it has opened a Hong Kong branch and will begin offering its wealth management services in the city from Jun 1.
Visa, which is in partnership with technology provider Global Payments Inc, rolled out a “Tap to Phone” service for taxis, allowing passengers to use their contactless cards on cabbies’ Android smartphones to pay their fares. So far about 100 drivers at Chung Shing Taxi have signed up for the scheme with a few hundred more to follow in the coming months but the firm said it aimed to woo the city’s 18,163 taxis with the cashless payment service. More than 2,000 taxis had installed various e-payment apps. Visa aimed to provide an e-payment service for all public transport operators, particularly the taxi trade, which critics said had been reluctant to move with the times and fully embrace electronic payments as an alternative to cash. The credit card firm will charge a small fee for every transaction but it declined to disclose the amount. Upon use of the “Tap to Phone” app, customers will be told they have just made a successful transaction and a digital receipt can be provided. Passengers will also have an option to pay extra as a tip.
SINGAPORE
Grab’s Singapore Digital Bank Launch Set for Second Half
Grab launches investment product Earn+, brings financial services under new brand GrabFin
Singapore-based ADDX raises $58m in pre-series B round
Singapore's Matchmove acquires Shopmatic for $200M
Grab’s Singapore Digital Bank Launch Set for Second Half
Southeast Asian superapp Grab is targeting the public launch of its Singapore digital bank in the second half of 2022. The superapp, in a consortium with Singapore-based telco Singtel, was one of the winners of a Singapore digital bank license in December 2020. Anthony Tan, CEO of Grab, also noted that GXS Bank, which is Grab’s digital banking joint venture with Singtel, had received a digital banking license from Malaysia in April, one of only three full digital bank licenses granted to the total 29 applicants. "Winning the Malaysia digital bank license allows us to create a regional digital bank footprint in a cost-efficient manner. We plan to leverage the same technology stack for our digital banks in Singapore and Malaysia and our Indonesia bank investment, in order to sustainably scale access to financial services across the region," Tan said. Tan said the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio remained steady at low single digits, despite the loan growth. "We plan to expand the buy now pay later product into more markets and deepen lending penetration within our ecosystem. This will allow us to grow financial services to meet the needs of an underserved market, while growing sustainably," Tan said.
Grab launches investment product Earn+, brings financial services under new brand GrabFin
Grab Financial Group, the financial arm of Grab, on Monday (May 23) launched new investment product Earn+, as well as GrabFin, a brand that consolidates its digital payment services, insurance, lending and wealth management services. Slated to roll out to all users at the end of the week, Earn+ is the group’s second investment product and marks its latest foray into an increasingly competitive space for digital investment services. It will come under the GrabFin brand, which brings all of Grab’s financial services together under one roof. Earn+ offers non-guaranteed projected yield of 2 to 2.5 per cent and users can invest with a minimum of S$1, with no maximum limit or lock-in period. It will invest in well-diversified, short-term bond funds offered and managed by Fullerton Fund Management and UOB Asset Management.
Singapore-based ADDX raises $58m in pre-series B round
The Singapore-based blockchain and smart contract-driven FinTech company said the latest funding would allow ADDX to scale its operations as the company entrenches its position as Asia’s largest private market exchange, adding that several strategic initiatives will also benefit from the fresh capital. This funding round would make the company more vital for long-term success and adding new shareholders are more than capital partners and strategic partners. Crypto has become one of the most rapidly developing industries in Singapore as financial regulators aim to keep the industry’s development on the right track.
Singapore's Matchmove acquires Shopmatic for $200M
MatchMove, Singapore-based embedded finance firm, has acquired e-commerce specialist Shopmatic in a $200 million deal, creating an end-to-end embedded finance and ecommerce powerhouse. The combined company will enable MatchMove to provide its Banking-as-a-Service capabilities to Shopmatic’s ecosystem of over a million e-commerce small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers. MatchMove’s platform provides customisable, fast, secure and regulated embedded financial services, such as banking-in-an-app, powered by APIs, to help enterprise firms offer richer services to their SME customers, while Shopmatic offers small businesses an e-commerce presence, complete with chat, social media, a webstore and automated access to the world’s largest e-marketplaces. This deal is the first in a series of planned acquisitions for MatchMove to create an end-to-end service for companies in Southeast Asia aiming to digitalise their offerings.
CHINA
China’s digital yuan goes to school with student card that gives parents control over spending
Chinese tech firms forced into 'blood listings' as capital dries up
JD Worldwide launches cross-border shopping store on Xiaohongshu
China’s digital yuan goes to school with student card that gives parents control over spending
China expands its sovereign digital currency to school in the form of a palm-sized device that allows parents to track the location and purchase records of their children. The new e-CNY “card”, which is effectively a small mobile phone, is being made available to students at Hainan Luxun High School in the city of Sanya, China. The device lets students make payments at designated stores and make calls with select numbers. Location tracking is enabled through GPS. Parents can place limits on the device using the e-CNY app, China’s official digital currency wallet. The app allows parents to top-up their children’s e-wallets and access their consumption records using a special SIM card. Parents can also choose which phone numbers can reach the device to protect their children’s privacy and from unknown callers.
Chinese tech firms forced into 'blood listings' as capital dries up
A growing number of Chinese tech start-ups, are willing to list shares publicly in China at valuations lower than during private funding rounds in so-called blood listings. Unlike tech sector woes elsewhere, triggered mainly by rising interest rates, the misery in China comes from frothy tech markets and disruptions from harsh Covid-19 restrictions. Public offerings at slashed valuations could translate into losses for venture capitalists in late funding rounds. In Shanghai and Beijing, once China's busiest cities in terms of deal-making, venture capital and private equity investment plunged more than 70 per cent from a year earlier in April due to Covid outbreaks. There are more than 15,000 registered VC and PE companies in China, and many VC investors lack deep tech sector expertise. An industry shake-up would potentially slash that number by 2/3.
JD Worldwide launches cross-border shopping store on Xiaohongshu
JD Worldwide, the cross-border e-commerce arm of major Chinese online retailer JD, has launched an official account store on lifestyle and social e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu. Xiaohongshu users can now place orders through JD Worldwide’s store on the platform and receive the same delivery and after-sale services as they would buying directly through JD Worldwide. Products from more than 20 overseas brands such as cosmetics label Charlotte Tilbury and apparel maker Calvin Klein are on sale in the store. As the content-driven e-commerce trend takes hold in China, JD Worldwide is following the company’s domestic e-commerce business in leveraging social media platforms to help drive sales.
ASIA
Wirex adds new features to Indian crypto wallet
Digital bank operators seek to unlock the value of Malaysia’s underserved market
Ministry of Finance in Malaysia offers digital banking licence to MoneyLiaon and AEON consortium
HSBC's private bank rides mobile phone trading wave
Mastercard approval clears launch of FPC’s Biometric payment card tech in Japan
Wirex adds new features to Indian crypto wallet
Wirex, a leading crypto payments company, is expanding the suite of top-up methods on their non-custodial wallet for Indian customers. The Wirex Wallet available globally, allows users to manage over 100 different cryptocurrencies and NFTs from their mobile device. For security, it uses multi-computation (MPC) technology as well as a unique, keyless access system using biometrics. Wirex is adding another payment method using mobile payment and bank transfer. This comes in addition to debit/credit and Apple/Google Pay options already available. With a direct on-ramp in place, it will save users time and gas fees without the need to exchange on other platforms.
Digital bank operators seek to unlock the value of Malaysia’s underserved market
In Malaysia, gig workers, small and medium enterprises and micro enterprises, which do not have proper accounting records, are facing difficulties in securing a loan to finance their businesses. An estimated 55 per cent of the adult population is unbanked or underbanked, while just 39 per cent are able to get a loan from their bank, according to industry findings. With Malaysia’s central bank issued five digital bank licences to five consortia on May 1st , digital banks are expected to complement traditional financial institutions by filling in the gap and catering to the underserved segments. Asked about their plans and product offerings, the digital bank players said they are still on the drawing board. Malaysia is the fifth economy in the Asia-Pacific that joined the digital bank bandwagon after Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines.
Ministry of Finance in Malaysia offers digital banking licence to MoneyLiaon and AEON consortium
Ministry of Finance in Malaysia has awarded a digital banking licence to a consortium involving MoneyLion, AEON Financial Service, and AFS’s non-bank financial service provider subsidiary, AEON Credit Service. MoneyLion is launching a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering to develop the digital platform and provide technology, data analytics and embedded finance capabilities to the consortium. MoneyLion’s platform delivers daily curated content designed to educate consumers on how to best achieve their financial goals. MoneyLion’s technology and analytics capabilities also include underwriting, pricing risk, and originating credit, at scale. As a result of this experience, MoneyLion’s technology, artificial intelligence, and data analytics capabilities have compounded over time to create a data advantage with SaaS applications that will diversify its revenue streams and position the company for further growth. The digital banking license will give MoneyLion, AEON Credit, and AFS the ability to create a digital bank that will offer services which will promote financial inclusion to customers in Malaysia. MoneyLion will be responsible for designing and building the bank’s digital finance platform using its scaled technology and data capabilities.
HSBC's private bank rides mobile phone trading wave
The Asian business of HSBC's Global Private Bank launched online trading capabilities for structured notes in Asia. The feature allows private banking clients to trade fixed coupon notes on their mobile phones, with support for equity-linked notes to be added later this year. The same platform already allows for similar trading in cash equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and foreign exchange, with clients having direct access to stocks in the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. The fixed coupon notes will be created and priced using open architecture every day by the bank's structured products desk, with a digital client services team providing support 20 hours daily from Monday to Friday.
Mastercard approval clears launch of FPC’s Biometric payment card tech in Japan
The company’s Tokyo-based electronics partners, MoriX Co., has received a Letter of Approval from Mastercard concerning biometric payment card production. Mastercard’s Letter of Approval appears to pave the way for MoriX to officially launch its biometric payment card in the Japanese market. Fingerprints had sought the certification – which build on its previously establish compliance with Mastercard’s Biometric Evaluation Plan – in an effort to help its card partners “save time and money when launching and scaling second generation biometric cards,” Roig explained at the time.
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
Swift and CapGemini work on CBDC gateway to existing payment networks
ECB calls for swift action to tackle contagion risks from crypto-assets
Working in the metaverse: what virtual office life could look like
JPMorgan Summer reading List arrives in the metaverse
Flybits introduces OpenDome platform to help banks create multi-dimensional metaverse experiences
Swift and CapGemini work on CBDC gateway to existing payment networks
Interbank messaging network Swift is working with Capgemini to explore ways to interlink the multiple domestic-based CBDC networks emerging worldwide with existing payment infrastructures for seamless cross-border payments. In 2021, Swift conducted a first set of CBDC experiments that demonstrated it could successfully orchestrate a cross-border transaction between one entity on a DLT-based CBDC network and a second running on an established real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. This time, in collaboration with Capgemini, the trials will assess how Swift can interlink, at a network level, CBDC platforms regardless of technology, with existing payments systems.
ECB calls for swift action to tackle contagion risks from crypto-assets
The European Central Bank says crypto-asset markets show all signs of an emerging financial stability risk as traditional financial institutions pile into the space. ECB cautions that a point will be reached where unbacked crypto assets represent a risk to financial stability and mentioned that systemic risk increases in line with the level of interconnectedness between the financial sector and the crypto-asset market especially through the use of leverage and lending activity. ECB emphasized that it is key that regulators and supervisors monitor developments attentively and close regulatory gaps or arbitrage possibilities. As this is a global market and therefore a global issue, global coordination of regulatory measures is necessary.
Working in the metaverse: what virtual office life could look like
The younger generation would most likely be leading the foray into the wide adoption of Metaverse workplace. Demonstrated by their competencies in digital technology and the initiative to troubleshoot problems via online channels. Familiarity with VR has also started to become a norm, that existed in many physical jobs today like astronauts and pilots to law enforcement, surgeon, and manufacturer. Collaboration software such as Meta’s Horizon Workrooms and Microsoft Mesh, which allow colleagues to meet as avatars in VR or take part in a real-world meeting will soon see organisations creating persistent VR workplace environments, where employees can interact in real time as avatars. Companies like Zigbang from Korea has opened a 30-floor VR office called Metapolis to simulate real world virtual working environment and VR versions of office spaces can be designed to encourage chance encounters and corridor chats and participate in virtual social events for gathering and involvement in collaborative work.
JPMorgan Summer reading List arrives in the metaverse
JPMorgan has made its annual Summer Reading List available for perusal in a metaverse library. For a limited time, visitors can explore a curated virtual library exhibit on the lounge’s first floor, created in partnership with metaverse real estate company Everyrealm. Visitors can create an avatar, learn about the books and view exclusive interviews with select authors, with a scholarly owl perched nearby ready to celebrate correctly answered trivia questions about the books.
Flybits introduces OpenDome platform to help banks create multi-dimensional metaverse experiences
Flybits, a global leader in Enterprise-grade Experience Design solutions for the financial industry, today announced the launch of its new Metaverse authoring platform called OpenDome. Built as an algorithmic, template-driven render engine, OpenDome is the first-ever platform enabling banks to create multi-dimensional and personalized Metaverse experiences using proprietary, partner-driven, and open-banking data. OpenDome is built on Flybits’ SaaS product, Experience Studio, which automates and expedites the ability of financial institutions to templatize and personalize Enterprise-grade immersive customer experiences.
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