OCBC will offer lower bonus interest on its 360 Account from 1 May, as Singapore banks continue to reprice savings products in a softer rate environment. The change was reported by Channel News Asia after the bank notified customers that the maximum effective rate on the first S$100,000 in the account will fall to 4.45 percent a year from 5.45 percent. Customers will still need to meet the same broad conditions to earn the top rate. These include crediting a monthly salary of at least S$1,800, increasing their account balance by at least S$500 a month, spending at least S$500 on selected OCBC credit cards, and buying eligible insurance and investment products from the bank. OCBC’s updated notice says the qualifying criteria for the bonus interest categories remain unchanged even as the rates are revised lower. The latest revision follows two earlier cuts to the 360 Account that took effect on 1 May and 1 August last year. The revised OCBC table shows lower bonus interest across the salary, save and spend categories, while the bank continues to offer insure and invest bonuses under the same structure.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by wavebreakmedia_micro via Freepik The post OCBC to Lower 360 Account Bonus Interest to 4.45 Percent appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In a world where AI is becoming an integral part of nearly every industry, one company stands out for its ambitious vision of democratising AI – Agnes AI. With a bold mission to build AI for the other 99.5% of internet users who have never had access to premium AI tools, Agnes is redefining what it means to make AI accessible, affordable, and inclusive. AI Neutrality, AI Parity, and AI Inclusion: The Core of Agnes AI’s Mission At the heart of Agnes AI’s work is a strong commitment to three foundational principles: AI neutrality, AI parity, and AI inclusion. These principles guide the company’s development strategy, ensuring that AI is not an exclusive technology for the few but an essential tool for the many. AI Neutrality: Agnes AI operates independently of global tech giants’ ecosystems, creating solutions that are open and flexible, accessible to anyone, and everyone, regardless of geographic location or technology platform. AI Parity: Agnes believes all users, regardless of their organisation’s size or financial capacity, should have access to the same top-tier AI capabilities. The company ensures that smaller businesses, emerging markets, and individual users can benefit from the same advanced AI models that large corporations use. AI Inclusion: The company’s ultimate goal is to bring cutting-edge AI to those who need it most — the underserved 99.5% of internet users. Through its products, Agnes is working to eliminate the digital divide and provide opportunities for all users, regardless of their technological resources. Agnes-Claw: Revolutionising AI Performance Agnes AI’s vision is embodied in its newly launched ‘Claw’ model series Agnes-1.5-Pro and Agnes-1.5-Lite, which exemplifies the company’s commitment to improving model capabilities, speed, and cost efficiency. Recently, Agnes-Claw was showcased in a PinchBench ranking, proving its performance edge. Agnes-1.5-Pro: Achieved 84.5% accuracy on PinchBench (rank 7) on the list, comparing favorably to deepseek-v3.2(81.9%) & minimax/minimax-m2.5(80.5%). Agnes-Claw delivers top-tier AI capabilities at just 10% of the cost — making advanced AI accessible to individuals, small businesses, and organisations that previously couldn’t afford it. The introduction of Agnes-Claw marks a significant step forward in AI evolution, with improvements in: Model capabilities: Agnes-Claw achieves near state-of-the-art performance, providing powerful AI tools while significantly reducing costs. Speed: Optimised for faster response times, enabling real-time AI-powered applications in multiple industries. Cost efficiency: Delivering high-value AI solutions at a fraction of the price, democratising AI access for the 99.5%. Agnes-Claw now sets the bar for a new era of AI, where speed, cost-effectiveness, and advanced performance converge to deliver powerful tools to everyone, not just the top 1%. Source: Agnes AI Agnes AI: A Model-First Company Powering Multiple Applications Unlike other AI startups that focus on consumer applications or single-use AI services, Agnes AI operates as a model company that powers multiple AI applications across various sectors. The company’s proprietary Agentic Intelligence infrastructure enables intelligent agents capable of reasoning, collaboration, and autonomous problem-solving, making it applicable to industries ranging from finance to e-commerce, education, and beyond. Through this model-first approach, Agnes AI has positioned itself as a leader in developing AI infrastructure that can support a broad ecosystem of applications, rather than merely offering a one-off product. Some of Agnes AI’s core applications include a suite of specialised products built around its broader agentic AI infrastructure. Agnes (+Claw) serves as the company’s flagship all-in-one AI assistant, designed to handle a wide range of productivity, research, and automation tasks. In global markets, it is positioned as a direct benchmark to platforms such as Doubao. Agnes Echo focuses on multi-modal AI companionship, enabling more natural and context-aware interactions across text, voice, and other media. The product is being developed to compete with conversational AI platforms like Character.ai. Agnes Pixa is a multi-modal generative platform that allows users to create and manipulate content across formats, positioning it alongside next-generation creative tools such as Sora and Little Lark. Looking ahead, Agnes Volt — currently in development — is planned as an AI-native website building solution. It aims to simplify and automate the process of creating and deploying web experiences, with positioning comparable to emerging AI-driven builders like Lovable and Replit. Strong Financial Performance and Future Outlook Agnes AI has achieved rapid growth, reflecting the increasing demand for its accessible AI solutions. The company is nearing US$20M ARR in revenue, a testament to the market’s strong demand for its products. Additionally, Agnes AI has raised tens of millions of US dollars in funding to continue its global expansion and technological innovation. Looking ahead, Agnes AI has set its sights on a public listing by the end 2026 or early 2027, a goal that will provide even more resources to scale its technology and expand its reach. The company’s funding, coupled with its growing revenue, positions Agnes as one of the fastest-growing AI platforms emerging from Southeast Asia. Agnes AI’s Vision: Building AI for the Other 99.5% Agnes AI’s vision is clear: to build AI for the other 99.5% of internet users who have been underserved by current AI platforms. This includes not only individuals in emerging markets but also small businesses, nonprofits, and other organisations that traditionally lack access to the resources needed to leverage cutting-edge technology. The company believes that AI should be inclusive and affordable, enabling everyone to benefit from the transformative power of AI. By providing advanced capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional platforms, Agnes is giving voice and agency to those who need it the most. This will allow AI to be used by a diverse global user base, helping businesses, governments, and individuals solve complex problems and achieve their goals. Leading the Charge for the Future of AI Agnes AI represents a new generation of AI companies emerging outside traditional technology hubs. By combining proprietary model clusters, Intelligent Routing system, enhanced RL framework, and a mission centered on AI inclusion, the company is building the foundations for the next phase of AI development. With the introduction of Agnes-Claw, strong financial backing, and clear vision for the future, Agnes AI is well-positioned to continue leading the charge in making AI a global tool that benefits all. The company’s growth and commitment to creating AI for the other 99.5% reflects its dedication to democratising access to AI, ensuring that the power of AI is no longer limited to just a select few but is available to all who need it.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by vishaldesignstudio via Freepik The post Agnes AI Unveils Agnes-Claw: A Game-Changer in AI Performance and Accessibility appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

HSBC Singapore has refreshed its mobile banking app to make it easier for customers to manage investments, foreign exchange, financial planning, international transfers and everyday banking in one place. The update comes as more customers use digital channels for wealth-related transactions. The bank said 95% of foreign exchange transactions, 100% of equity trades and 78% of unit trust transactions are now completed digitally. Ashmita Acharya Ashmita Acharya, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC Singapore, said, “Our refreshed mobile app reflects this shift by simplifying how customers access banking, wealth and cross-border capabilities in one place. By combining simpler navigation with hyper-personalisation, the refresh aims to make wealth journeys more tailored and accessible, while helping our clients stay connected to opportunities across HSBC’s international network.” The redesigned app groups services into seven sections covering accounts, cards, wealth, payments and transfers, chat, products and an app library. Customers can also customise their homepage with favourite accounts and quick actions. Within the wealth section, the app now includes Future Planner, a goal-based financial planning tool, alongside updates to equity trading, unit trust search and foreign exchange conversion within the investment journey. Equity trading now includes tiered pricing based on trading activity and push notifications for order status and corporate actions. The bank has also added targeted messages, contextual prompts and a chat interface available across the app. In Singapore, the refresh includes dual language support in English and Simplified Chinese across key navigation pages, payments and selected investment journeys. More updates will be rolled out through 2026, including expanded dual language support and Global View on mobile, which will allow customers to link and view HSBC accounts across markets.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Freepik The post HSBC Singapore Revamps App to Bring Banking and Wealth Services Into One Place appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Thunes has launched a cross-border payout service for remote staff, freelancers and gig workers across 140 countries. The service supports payouts to 12 billion bank accounts, mobile wallets and stablecoin wallets through a single API, with funds available 24/7. This removes the need for multiple payout relationships and more complex technical setups. Its network connects businesses to local payout channels such as M-Pesa, Alipay and GCash. In markets with volatile currencies, workers can also be paid in stablecoins to help preserve the value of their earnings against FX swings. The service can be used for overseas payroll, international gig platforms, e-commerce refunds, insurance claims and NGO payouts in harder-to-reach markets. Elie Bertha Elie Bertha, Chief Product Officer at Thunes, said, “With Thunes’ direct-to-global-workforce solution, we are empowering businesses to meet the modern worker’s demand for instant transparency and immediate access to their hard-earned money. Our single API entry point reaches all corners of the world, ensuring that whether you are paying a creator in Argentina, a hail-riding driver in Singapore or a developer in Nairobi, the experience is fast, transparent, and reliable.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Trend2023 via Freepik The post Thunes Launches Cross-Border Payout Service for Gig, Remote Workers Worldwide appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Standard Chartered has named former Deutsche Bank executive Ole Matthiessen to lead a newly unified transaction services and digital assets team within its Corporate & Investment Banking business. He joins the bank as Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets. Matthiessen will oversee a structure that brings together transaction banking, financing and securities services, as well as Standard Chartered’s digital asset capabilities. He will be based in Singapore, join the Corporate & Investment Banking management team, and report to Roberto Hoornweg, CEO of Corporate & Investment Bank. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he spent 18 years at Deutsche Bank, where he most recently served as Co-Head of the Corporate Bank division and was a member of the Group Management Committee. He also previously held senior roles including Global Head of Cash Management and Head of Corporate Bank for Asia Pacific. His experience covers transaction banking, derivatives, structured lending and capital markets. The appointment supports the bank’s effort to bring these capabilities closer together as it strengthens its cross-border offering for corporate and financial institution clients. Roberto Hoornweg Roberto Hoornweg, CEO, Corporate & Investment Bank, said, “Ole is a fantastic addition to the team as we harness the convergence between Transaction Banking and Financing & Securities Services, and between TradFi and DeFi. Integrating these solutions in a unified financial ecosystem with our fast-growing digital asset capabilities will further accelerate our ability to provide a world-class cross-border experience for our corporate and financial institution clients.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by lifeforstock via Freepik   The post StanChart Names Ole Matthiessen to Lead New Transaction and Digital Assets Team appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In Asia-Pacific (APAC), finance applications are seeing a slow down in installs, indicating a market correction after years of rapid growth and increased maturity, according to a new report by AppsFlyer and Google. At the same time, companies are pivoting from aggressive customer acquisition to user retention, as providers become more careful with budgets and prioritize re-engagement. In 2025, fintech app installs in Asia-Pacific (APAC) declined 17% year-over-year (YoY), marking the first broad correction the region has seen in recent years. India experienced the sharpest decline, dropping 22% YoY. However, the country remained the region’s largest volume contributor, accounting for 40% of the total market share. Thailand followed, declining 40%, while Vietnam dropped 20%, reflecting maturing adoption of finance apps in markets where penetration is already widespread. At the same time, APAC finance app providers are increasingly showing tighter spending decision. In particular, user acquisition investment contracted sharply across the region in 2025, with total spend declining approximately 27% YoY. The Indian subcontinent, comprising India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, recorded the steepest contraction at 38%, driven by a 42% drop in India alone. Southeast Asia declined by 27%, led by Thailand and Vietnam, with 55% and 48% drops, respectively. In contrast, Japan and South Korea recorded modest overall growth of 3%, reflecting more stable acquisition environments, while Australia increased 16% YoY. Overall finance apps install trend in Asia-Pacific, Source: AppsFlyer and Google, 2026 Growth markets see increased in paid campaigns The research also shows that while overall finance installs declined, the share of installs driven by paid campaigns expanded in growth ecosystems. Indonesia recorded one of the clearest increases in paid install rates for finance apps, reaching roughly 21% by Q4 2025, nearly double the levels seen in early 2024. At the category level, Indonesia’s investment segment saw a surge in paid install share, jumping from 22% in Q4 2024 to 45% in Q4 2025. This highlights continued expansion in markets with strong monetization potential. After Indonesia, Vietnam followed a similar trajectory, with paid install rates climbing from 12% to about 21% over the same period. Conversely, mature ecosystems moved in the opposite direction, pulling back amid budget tightening. In Australia, the paid install rate declined sharply, falling from 49% in early 2024 to roughly 15% by late 2025. These findings suggest that companies are prioritizing high-potential, lower-saturation regions for expansion and paid acquisition, while treating established, mature markets as cost centers to be optimized for efficiency and lifecycle engagement. Remarketing spend surges While user acquisition budgets contracted across APAC’s financial apps, remarketing investment accelerated in selected markets. Remarketing spend refers to the portion of an advertising budget used to target people who have already interacted with a brand in order to bring them back and convert them. Across APAC, Southeast Asia recorded the strongest expansion, with remarketing spend increasing 193% YoY. This was led by Thailand, where remarketing spend surged 339%, followed by the Philippines with 241%, Vietnam with 161%, and Indonesia with 144%. This reflects a meaningful shift in spending from user growth toward engagement depth. Japan and South Korea followed a steadier trajectory, with remarketing spend rising 74% overall, further reflecting sustained lifecycle investment in mature ecosystems. Install fraud declines The study also found that install fraud across APAC finance declined in 2025. The regional average fraud rate fell from 41% in 2024 to 22% in 2025, reflecting strengthened detection frameworks and a broader shift toward higher-quality traffic sources. Improvements were most visible in historically high-risk verticals. Investment fraud rates declined from 26% to 8%, becoming the category with the lowest exposure in 2025. Personal loans as well improved, rising from 31% to 14%. Mobile banking, meanwhile, remained the highest-risk vertical at 29%, despite a significant decline from prior-year levels. At the market level, Thailand and South Korea were among the lowest-risk ecosystems in the region, recording fraud rates of 3% each. They were followed by the Philippines reached at 9%, and India at 11%, reflecting sustained quality improvement. However, elevated exposure persisted in specific markets, with Vietnam recording a 46% install fraud rate and Bangladesh, 35%. Mobile apps dominate banking interactions Mobile apps have become the primary banking touchpoint around the world. According to Accenture’s Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, customers are averaging 150 app interactions in the category per year, representing the highest frequency among service channels. Penetration is particularly high in Southeast Asia where 81% of consumers have used an app, and 32% have used a website to access financial services, according to the 2024 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study. This shift has accelerated the adoption of digital banks. These companies operate as digital-first entities whose services are only accessible online via an app or a website. In Southeast Asia, most consumers engage with virtual banks at least weekly, with Vietnam and Thailand showing the highest adoption rates at 87%, the Visa study shows. Part of the appeal of digital banks is their ability to provide users with access to bank accounts (69%), a leading product among Southeast Asian consumers, closely followed by debit (43%) and credit (38%) cards, it found.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by freepik via Freepik The post APAC Finance, Fintech Apps Pivot to Retention as Market Matures appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

We’re living in a time when convenience is moving as quickly as you can blink, including all things payments, thanks to the gift of AI. Yet the very same technology is fuelling something far more sinister and constantly proving harder to tackle: fraud. Fraud numbers are growing exponentially. According to Juniper Research, eCommerce fraud could rise from $56 billion in 2025 to hit highs of $131 billion in 2030, with factors like friendly fraud carving deeply into merchant margins. Visa paints an equally alarming picture. Today’s cyber criminals are arriving armed with AI-powered deepfakes, synthetic identities, and agentic scams that can hijack a customer’s entire identity through hyper-realistic impersonations. Once in, they own every transaction that follows. This is fraud at scale, and the world’s fraud teams are operating in right now. The scariest fact is that most of the systems sitting between customers and their money were not quite built for this challenge, and needed to catch up yesterday. The New Fraud Frontier Is Agentic If 2024 was the year of AI-generated deepfakes, 2025 is the year fraud went pretty much fully autonomous with AI. Agentic AI, software that can reason, plan and execute decisions across multiple steps without human intervention, has become the payment industry’s most exciting and dangerous pet. We’re seeing solutions like Mastercard’s Agent Pay surface, which is ‘enabling secure, scalable and trusted payments in agentic commerce’. AI-initiated payment solutions are becoming a structural feature in modern commerce. The same technology enabling that convenience is right now being exploited by bad actors, running fraud operations at a speed and scale human teams are finding harder to match. Think about it for a moment. When a fraudulent agent enters the picture, it does not merely mimic a person. It mimics a trusted AI agent, introducing an entirely new layer of deception that most detection engines may not be calibrated to catch. Synthetic identities, which are trained to exhibit good customer behaviour across months and even years, are among the hardest to detect, simply because they do not look fraudulent until the moment exploitation hits. For organisations, the implications are acute. As real-time payment rails expand across the region, driven by national switches and the rapid growth of instant and A2A payments, the attack surface expands with them. Faster payments are an unambiguous benefit for consumers, and equally beneficial for fraudsters. Your institution is possibly already facing some facets of AI-orchestrated fraud. The next question is whether your fraud stack is built to meet it or built for yesterday’s threats. SmartVista Fraud Management, Architected for the Moment The BPC SmartVista Fraud Management was built for this environment. Trusted by more than 200 clients across 80+ countries, SmartVista Fraud Management is an enterprise-grade, omni-channel AI fraud management platform that unifies real-time scoring, machine learning, behavioural profiling and link analysis into a continuous flow. Source: BPC SmartVista Fraud Management Brochure SmartVista Fraud Management delivers a 360-degree view of the customer across all channels, regardless of whether a customer uses their card online, in-store, in-app, and in every jurisdiction. Underpinning this is a continuous profiling engine: every piece of information is monitored, used and reused, creating a precise customer profile built from common behavioural patterns. For enterprises that can’t afford a rip-and-replace approach, BPC provides a dedicated integration layer supporting any interface or API. SmartVista Fraud Management works alongside what you already have, saving both cost and time without disrupting existing middleware. Its architecture is also designed for the pace at which modern fraud operates. Built on microservices and deployable on Kubernetes across AWS, Google Cloud, OCI, or on-premise, SmartVista scales elastically with transaction volumes. Detection rules can be updated in minutes, critical when fraud patterns mutate faster than traditional release cycles allow. Maxim Kuzin, Head of Fraud Prevention and Risk for BPC Banking Technologies, shares, Maxim Kuzin “Our goal isn’t just catching more fraud, it’s giving the future-proven tools to our customers to prevent the most modern fraudsters and shorten the time to contain them. Update your defences in minutes, not days or months, and stay aligned with local compliance wherever your business is operating.” In instant payment rails, the window between a fraudulent transaction and an irreversible transfer is seconds, and that window is unforgiving. SmartVista’s online, real-time risk and fraud prevention solution is built to close it, a capability that is central to the platform since its launch in 2008 and still remains its defining priority today. Proven in the Field With Malaysia’s Co-opbank Pertama When Bank Negara Malaysia issued stricter directives mandating all licensed banks to adopt high security benchmarks for digital channels, Co-opbank Pertama (CBP) needed a platform that could meet requirements like velocity checks to analyse customer behaviour without disrupting operations or customer experience. CBP deployed SmartVista Fraud Management across its retail and corporate mobile and internet banking channels. The platform delivers real-time transaction monitoring alongside near-real-time and offline validation modes, behavioural profiling, rules-based analysis, comprehensive case management, and a notification engine, all surfaced through a 360-degree view of data via customisable dashboards and reports. Zairil Anuar Ahmad, Chief Technology Officer at CBP, commented, Zairil Anuar Ahmad “Implementing high-standard preventive measures is both a top priority and a regulatory requirement as Malaysia intensifies efforts to combat fraud. Through our partnership with BPC and the integration of their advanced fraud management solutions, we have strengthened our defence mechanisms and are now better equipped to deliver a secure, seamless digital banking experience.” A machine learning module was also introduced to leverage historical fraud data and continuously refine detection mechanisms, sharpening the precision of the bank’s defences. The entire project went live in under four months. CBP’s experience reflects a pattern playing out across the region: regulatory requirements and fraud threats are not separate problems requiring separate responses. They are the same problem, and financial institutions that address them through a single adaptive platform are the ones that stay ahead of both. Strengthen Your Fraud Defences With SmartVista Fraud Management Fraud teams do not need another reminder that the threat landscape has evolved. What they need is the ability to respond at the same speed and scale, if not more than the attacks that they’re facing. SmartVista Fraud Management was built for this shift, enabling institutions to move from fragmented detection to real-time, omnichannel protection without the operational drag of legacy systems. Whether the challenge is rising alert volumes, increasing false positives, or the latest fraud AI agent, the solution is designed to address it effectively. BPC works with tier-1 banks, national switches, payment service providers, fintechs, and government agencies, and the breadth is intentional, as fraud is a global problem. The intelligence that comes from operating at that scale, across regulatory environments and channel types, is embedded into how the platform develops. Assess your fraud readiness and see how BPC’s SmartVista Fraud Management can deliver real-time, adaptive protection across every channel. Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images by ezps and stocksbuddy on Freepik The post When Fraud Runs on Autopilot, Your Defences Can’t Afford to Coast appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Nium has launched a stablecoin card issuance platform that allows businesses to issue payment cards across the Visa and Mastercard networks. Through a single API, businesses can issue cards and use stablecoin balances for payments at merchant locations worldwide. The platform supports crypto-to-fiat conversion at the point of sale and can also support stablecoin settlement in markets where this is permitted. Nium said the platform requires no new infrastructure and is the first enterprise platform to support stablecoin card issuance across both Visa and Mastercard. It can shorten launch timelines for stablecoin card programmes from months to days by handling conversion flows, cross-border settlement requirements and card network compliance in one system. The offering is tied to Nium’s payout network in more than 190 countries, giving businesses a way to manage card spending and disbursements through one provider. Nium holds regulatory licences in more than 40 countries. Prajit Nanu Prajit Nanu, CEO and Founder, Nium said, “Stablecoins have proven they can move money. We are now proving they can power commerce at enterprise scale. Every business we speak to that holds stablecoins wants the same thing: a simple, compliant way to deploy those balances without building the infrastructure themselves. Today, Nium delivers exactly that – on both major payments networks, in every major market, through one integration.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ismode via Freepik The post Nium Enables Stablecoin Card Issuance Across Visa and Mastercard appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

If the startup world is one big pizza party, female founders are still only walking away with a single slice. Despite a recovering market, only 12% of deal funding is going to women. Where is the rest of the capital going, and why is the system structurally built to ignore female ambition? In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Lim (Investment Partner, OSK Ventures) and Rejina Rahim (Founder, Wahine Capital) to uncover the hard truths of the Venture Capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia. We move past the surface-level “diversity” buzzwords to address the real roadblocks: from the staggering lack of female decision-makers (67% of SEA investors have none) to the societal “Double Burden” that traps women in invisible labor at home. The post Southeast Asia Funding is Recovering, But Why Are Women only Getting 12% appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

MobiFone Digital Payments Joint Stock Company has launched in Vietnam with plans to develop digital payment infrastructure in the country. The Hanoi-based company is backed by MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation. It is licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam to provide intermediary payment services covering financial switching, electronic clearing, payment gateway services, and collection and payment support. MDP has already partnered with more than 20 member institutions, including Vietnamese banks and financial institutions, and announced a collaboration with Visa at its launch event. Prior to its official launch, MDP signed a MoU with the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam, or NAPAS, to explore possible interconnection models between their switching systems. The move is aimed at supporting a more coordinated and secure national payment infrastructure. MDP received its licence from the State Bank of Vietnam on 27 November 2025. The company said it will continue expanding partnerships with banks, technology firms, fintech companies, and other ecosystem players as it grows its presence in Vietnam’s payments market. Phan Thanh Son Phan Thanh Son, CEO of MDP, said, “With a modern technology foundation and an open collaborative approach, MDP aspires to build a new digital payments infrastructure for Vietnam, one developed by Vietnamese, operated to international standards, and seamlessly connected with both domestic and global financial ecosystems. We believe that when banks, technology companies, and partners collaborate on a shared platform, Vietnam’s digital payments market will grow faster and more sustainably, while gradually enhancing the country’s position within the regional digital economy ecosystem.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Phan Thanh Son via LinkedIn  The post MobiFone Digital Payments Officially Launches in Vietnam appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

World Foundation has sold US$65 million worth of WLD in OTC transactions, with the token trading near an all-time low. The Block reported that World Assets, the foundation’s token issuance arm, sold the tokens to four counterparties, with the first settlement taking place on 20 March. The transactions were priced at an average of about US$0.2719 per token, bringing the total sold to around 239 million WLD. The sale price is far below WLD’s March 2024 peak of about US$11.82. World Foundation said US$25 million worth of the tokens sold are subject to a six-month lock-up. The foundation said the proceeds will support operations, product development, orb production and ecosystem growth. The disclosure came days after on-chain activity flagged by Lookonchain showed 117 million WLD moved to Binance and FalconX on 21 March. That transfer was valued at about US$39 million at the time and may have been linked to part of the OTC activity disclosed later. The latest transaction adds to earlier WLD sales by the project. In April 2024, the then-named Worldcoin Foundation said it planned to sell between 500,000 and 1.5 million WLD a week through private placements to institutional trading firms. In May 2025, the project also raised US$135 million through a token sale backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto to support its US expansion. A major community token unlock is also due to begin on 23 July 2026, covering 52.51% of WLD’s total supply, according to DefiLlama. Eightco Holdings, which launched a WLD treasury in September 2025 alongside a US$250 million private placement, held 277 million WLD as of 20 March and has been identified in market coverage as the largest publicly traded holder. World has also drawn regulatory scrutiny in Asia, including an operational suspension in Indonesia, a cease order in Hong Kong, investigations in Singapore tied to the sale of Worldcoin accounts and tokens, and a fine in South Korea over biometric data privacy breaches.       Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons, and user23413193 via Freepik The post Sam Altman’s Iris-Scanning Crypto Project Sells US$65M in WLD as Token Plummets 98% appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

SCBX has formed BankX Bank after its consortium won approval to establish one of Thailand’s three virtual banks. The new subsidiary will serve as the vehicle for SCBX’s planned virtual banking business in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand announced in June 2025 that SCB X Public Company Limited, WeTechnology Limited and KakaoBank Corp. were among the three groups approved by the finance minister to establish a virtual bank. In a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, SCBX said it holds 90 percent of the total issued shares in BankX Bank Public Company Limited. The company was registered as a public limited company with an initial registered capital of THB 10,000. SCBX said it plans to raise the registered capital to THB 5 billion within 2026, or upon submission of an application for a virtual banking licence to the Ministry of Finance, in line with the rules and timeline set by the Bank of Thailand. The central bank said approved groups must establish a public limited company, meet the conditions set by the finance minister, pass a readiness assessment by the Bank of Thailand and begin operations within one year from the date of approval. BankX Bank is now preparing for launch with its strategic partners KakaoBank Corp. and WeBank Technology Services Limited. KakaoBank is one of BankX Bank’s shareholders and is South Korea’s largest digital banking service provider. WeBank Technology Services Limited, formerly known as WeTechnology Limited, is a subsidiary of WeBank Co., Ltd. The new entity will use technology and innovation from its partners to develop financial products and services in Thailand. The virtual banks are expected to serve unserved and underserved retail and SME segments, while bringing new value propositions or improving the efficiency of existing financial services through digital channels.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by lifeforstock via Freepik The post SCBX Forms BankX Bank as Thailand’s Virtual Bank Race Takes Shape appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore is setting out new measures to strengthen its position as a trusted gold trading centre for the Asia-Pacific, as interest in vaulting and trading gold in the city-state grows. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Bullion Market Association said the focus areas were identified by a Gold Market Development Working Group formed in January 2026, following discussions and studies with industry participants in 2025. The group will look at developing gold-related capital market products to support price discovery and liquidity, while also setting internationally aligned standards for vaulting and logistics. It will also build a clearing system for the over-the-counter settlement of large bar and kilobar gold trades in Singapore. MAS is also studying the possibility of offering vaulting services for foreign central banks and sovereign entities to meet potential demand. These steps are aimed at improving market confidence and supporting Singapore’s role as a regional gold hub alongside other major centres. The effort is also intended to anchor higher-value activities in Singapore, create jobs, and strengthen the resilience and diversity of the financial sector. The working group is co-chaired by MAS and SBMA, with steering committee members from DBS, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan Chase, SGX Group, UBS, UOB and the World Gold Council. It is supported by technical workstreams involving a wider group of stakeholders, including the institutions listed below. The group is expected to work out the details of the measures over the next few months and provide updates on implementation through 2026.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by amankris via Freepik The post MAS and Industry Partners to Strengthen Singapore’s Gold Trading Infrastructure appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sri Lanka’s national payment network, LankaPay, has launched cross-border QR payment acceptance via China’s Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay). The integration allows inbound travellers to make payments at over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants across the island. With Weixin Pay reportedly serving nearly 900 million monthly active users globally, the partnership aims to reduce friction at points of sale for Chinese tourists. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam said the industry is preparing for a possible 30% to 40% decline in the European market due to global crises. The initiative also seeks to direct tourism revenue into rural areas and reduce foreign exchange leakage. Currently, tourism revenue leakage exceeds 30%, largely because major hospitality providers rely on imported goods. Hewawasam highlighted that rural vendors, such as craftspeople, bakeries and local produce sellers, could benefit from the ability to accept digital payments, according to the Daily Mirror. For local businesses, the integration offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional payment methods. LankaPay Chief Executive Officer Channa de Silva said: Channa de Silva “The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has capped the merchant discount rate for international QR transactions at 1.8%, presenting a significantly cheaper alternative to standard international credit card fees. The direct integration also eliminates the cumbersome and costly dual conversion process through the US dollar.” He called on banks to educate merchants to ensure the system is fully used. Weixin Pay Managing Director for Southeast Asia and North America Ben Yang said Sri Lanka is well-positioned to benefit from Chinese outbound tourism. “The collaboration extends beyond basic payment processing; the objective is to connect with Chinese tourists, convert their engagement into seamless transactions, and grow Sri Lanka’s overall tourism revenue,” he said. Both parties plan joint campaigns to promote Sri Lankan travel experiences and local merchants to Chinese consumers.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Harsha de Silva via LinkedIn The post Chinese Tourists Can Now Use WeChat Pay at LankaPay Merchants in Sri Lanka appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said authorities had launched a large-scale investigation into alleged cryptocurrency fraud across Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Da Nang, and Dak Lak. Following directives from the ministry, the Economic Security Department, in coordination with the Investigation Security Department and local police forces, conducted coordinated searches over two days in March, summoning more than 140 individuals. According to the statement, they confiscated computers, mobile devices, documents, and other evidence linked to the alleged offences, “successfully dismantling” a network that reportedly embezzled billions of US dollars from investors in the ONUS ecosystem. On 23 March 2026, the Investigation Security Agency initiated criminal proceedings for “using computer networks, telecommunications, or electronic means to commit asset misappropriation” and “money laundering,” covering activities from 2018 to the present. Authorities temporarily detained Vuong Le Vinh Nhan, General Director of Digital Asset Management JSC; Tran Quang Chien, technical administrator of the ONUS cryptocurrency exchange; Ngo Thi Thao, Director of HANAGOLD Jewelry JSC; and five others. One additional individual faces charges of money laundering, though their identity remains undisclosed. The Supreme People’s Procuracy approved all prosecution and detention decisions. Investigators allege the suspects created tokens including VNDC, ONUS and HNG, promoted them using false information, and used artificial trading activity to manipulate prices and misappropriate investor funds. Authorities also blocked attempts to destroy evidence or disperse assets. ONUS, formerly known as VNDC Wallet, launched in 2020 and has been widely marketed to Vietnamese users, though reports have described it as Singapore-headquartered. The platform had previously said it had more than 7 million users globally by end-2025, with VNDC positioned as a stablecoin pegged to the Vietnamese dong.   Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ganzevayna1 and pvproductions via Freepik The post Vietnam Police Detain ONUS-Linked Suspects in Multi-Billion Dollar Crypto Fraud Probe appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Visa has launched Enhanced Subscription Manager, a new service that lets issuers help customers manage recurring payments through their mobile apps. Part of Visa’s Digital Issuer Solutions platform, the service allows cardholders to view subscriptions, get alerts, and receive insights through their banking app. It also allows them switch eligible subscriptions paid with any card to a Visa card and cancel certain subscriptions without leaving the app. Visa said the launch comes as subscription use continues to grow, with the total projected to reach 12 billion by 2030 and consumers seeking clearer ways to track recurring charges. The company is working with Pinwheel, a fintech firm that provides in-app bill management and switching tools, to expand those features. Through the integration, issuers will be able to offer card switching and subscription cancellation across more than 100 major merchants, with cancellation available for select merchants and guided workflows offered for others. Visa said the service could help issuers reduce disputes and chargebacks linked to recurring payments while improving customer engagement and retention. Kathleen Pierce-Gilmore Kathleen Pierce-Gilmore, Global Head of Issuing Solutions at Visa, said, “Consumers today want clarity, control, and convenience when it comes to managing the subscriptions that touch so many parts of their lives. By enhancing subscription management capabilities with Digital Issuer Solutions, and expanding through strategic collaborations with companies like Pinwheel, we’re helping issuers deliver digital experiences that keep them top‑of‑wallet.” Enhanced Subscription Manager will be available to North American issuers in summer 2026, followed by expansion to Latin America and the Caribbean. Further updates to its subscription-related offerings are planned throughout 2026.   The post Visa Offers In-App Subscription Management Tool for Card Issuers appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sumsub has partnered with ComplyAdvantage to strengthen anti-money laundering screening across its compliance platform. The partnership brings ComplyAdvantage’s Mesh risk intelligence technology into Sumsub’s AML screening tools across Know Your Customer, Know Your Business and transaction monitoring. It is aimed at helping compliance teams manage sanctions checks, politically exposed person screenings and watchlist monitoring more accurately within one system. Sumsub said the integration is designed to improve screening accuracy and give compliance teams more flexibility to tailor workflows based on their risk appetite and regulatory requirements. The company is also introducing a Bring Your Own Key option, allowing customers to connect their own ComplyAdvantage Mesh API credentials directly to the platform. For ComplyAdvantage, the partnership gives existing Mesh customers access to Sumsub’s review tools and case management while continuing to use Mesh as their screening intelligence source. Andrew Novoselsky “Compliance teams don’t need more tools—they need one powerful system that does it all. With ComplyAdvantage Mesh fully embedded into our platform, we’re not just enhancing AML screening—we’re redefining how compliance operates. Sumsub brings together verification, screening, monitoring, and intelligent decisioning into a single environment, giving teams complete control, real-time intelligence, and the ability to scale with confidence in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.” said Andrew Novoselsky, Chief Product Officer at Sumsub. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by MH Stock via Freepik The post Sumsub Taps ComplyAdvantage to Expand AML Screening Capabilities appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Mastercard is considering a sale of the account-to-account payments business it picked up from Nets in 2019, the Financial Times reported. The company declined to comment. A sale would put Mastercard’s largest acquisition to date back in play, after the company bought the business for about US$3.2 billion as part of its push beyond traditional card payments. According to the report, Mastercard has appointed bankers to explore a sale of the unit, which could draw interest from private equity firms. People familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the company is unlikely to recover the price it originally paid. The business, which supports real-time payments between bank accounts in Europe, is said to generate about US$370 million in annual revenue and roughly US$100 million in EBITDA. Mastercard bought the asset from Denmark’s Nets Group in 2019 to expand its presence in account-to-account payments and broaden its offering beyond its core card business. The reported sale comes shortly after Mastercard announced a deal to acquire stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to US$1.8 billion, as it continues to expand into newer areas of payments infrastructure. Nets itself was acquired by Italian payments group Nexi in 2020 in a deal valued at €7.2 billion, helping create one of Europe’s largest payments operators.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik The post Mastercard Weighs Sale of Nets Payments Unit Acquired in US$3.2 Billion Deal appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Xero is teaming up with Anthropic in a multi-year deal that will enable small businesses to use Claude for financial analysis and workflow tasks. The partnership will bring Claude into Xero’s platform while also making Xero’s financial data and tools available through Claude.ai. This is intended to help small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors get real-time insights and act on them more easily. Within Xero, Claude will support automation across accounting, payroll and payments. Customers will also be able to use Xero financial data and insights in Claude.ai for analysis and planning, including scenario testing and follow-up actions. Any financial information shared between the two services will only be used for the user’s specific session and will not be used to train Anthropic’s AI models. As part of the agreement, Xero’s engineering teams will also use Claude Code and Cowork to support product development. Claude-powered insights in Xero and the Claude.ai integration are expected to become available in the coming months. Diya Jolly Diya Jolly, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Xero said, “Small businesses and advisors don’t just need data; they need a digital partner that acts on it. Integrating Claude moves Xero into agentic workflows, where Xero’s AI superagent, JAX (Just Ask Xero), does the heavy lifting, from predicting cash flow gaps to executing complex financial tasks. Crucially, this trusted intelligence isn’t locked into one platform; it follows the user securely wherever they choose to work, empowering advisor collaboration. By shifting the admin burden to a team of agents orchestrated by JAX, we’re giving our customers time back and providing them with clarity so they can make informed decisions and focus on the future.” Chris Ciauri Chris Ciauri, Managing Director of International, Anthropic, said, “Claude brings a reasoning layer to that foundation. Now, instead of spending hours trying to make sense of their financials on top of everything else it takes to run a business, customers get clear answers and recommended actions in real time. This provides small businesses and their advisors with the kind of financial intelligence that used to require a dedicated analyst or CFO.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user4894991 via Freepik   The post Xero Users to Get Access to Claude for Real-Time Financial Analysis, Planning appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Revolut plans to take its India workforce to 5,500 by the end of 2026 under a five-year £500 million investment plan, Reuters reported. The expansion will add 1,600 roles across product development, support and financial services functions such as payment processing and fraud investigations. The move will deepen Revolut’s global capability centre in India, which is separate from its local consumer business. India already handles about a third of Revolut’s processes, including transaction monitoring and AI-led alert systems. The company has also used tools developed there, such as video KYC capabilities, to improve onboarding in other markets. Revolut currently employs about 12,000 people worldwide, meaning India is set to make up a much larger share of its global workforce by the end of next year. The company said group revenue rose 46% to US$6.0 billion in 2025 from US$4.0 billion a year earlier, while its Singapore operation remained net profitable for a second straight year in 2025. Revolut’s local unit holds a Reserve Bank of India licence to issue prepaid payment instruments and already has permissions to offer certain foreign exchange services. The company is targeting a product launch next quarter and has said it aims to reach 20 million customers in India by 2030. Founded in 2015, Revolut was valued at US$75 billion. The £500 million India commitment also sits within a wider US$13 billion, five-year global investment plan announced by the company last year.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mabrouksamira25 via Freepik   The post Revolut Targets 5,500 India Staff by End-2026 Under £500 Million Investment appeared first on Fintech Singapore.