CIMB Group has appointed Mak Joon Nien as CEO of Growth Markets and CEO of CIMB Singapore, subject to regulatory approval. Mak will be based in Singapore and will join the CIMB Group Executive Committee. In his role as CEO of Growth Markets, he will lead CIMB Singapore and oversee CIMB Thailand and CIMB Cambodia. His focus will be on accelerating business growth, strengthening cross-border connectivity and advancing regional opportunities. Novan Amirudin Novan Amirudin, Group CEO of CIMB Group, said, “Growth Markets is a key pillar of CIMB’s ASEAN strategy, and Mak’s deep regional experience, strong execution track record and client relationships will accelerate the group’s ambition in cross-border banking, regional wealth management and investment advisory. We look forward to working together to further strengthen CIMB’s ASEAN franchise and position the Group as top-of-mind ASEAN bank by 2030.” Mak has nearly three decades of international banking experience. He began his career at Standard Chartered in 1997 and spent 15 years in Singapore, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance. Mak later served as Managing Director responsible for private equity client coverage, before returning to Malaysia in 2017 to lead Standard Chartered’s Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking business. In 2022, he was appointed the first homegrown CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Magnific The post CIMB Names Mak Joon Nien as Singapore CEO After Nearly Three Decades at StanChart appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Crypto.com has launched Crypto.com Travel, an in-app booking service powered by Bookit that gives eligible users another way to earn crypto rewards. The service is available through the Crypto.com App for Level Up subscribers in eligible jurisdictions, expanding the company’s benefits programme into travel and entertainment bookings. Crypto.com Travel gives users access to more than one million global travel listings, including hotels, flights, cruises, car rentals and experiences, as well as 20 million tickets. Level Up subscribers can earn up to 35% back in Crypto.com’s native CRO token on eligible bookings, depending on their tier, booking type and applicable terms. Basic Tier users can receive up to a 5% rebate. Rewards are issued after booking confirmation, although timing may vary by booking type and policy. Users may also earn up to an additional 6% back in CRO when paying with Crypto.com Pay, the Crypto.com Prepaid Visa Card or the Crypto.com Visa Signature Credit Card, where available and depending on tier. Eric Anziani Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com, said, “This new initiative adds to what is already the most comprehensive rewards program in crypto and with additional benefits available through CRO, the cryptocurrency used in the Cronos ecosystem. By partnering with Bookit, we are delivering a seamless booking experience while enabling our users to turn everyday travel into meaningful crypto-based rewards.” Lin Dai Bookit CEO Lin Dai said, “Bookit is dedicated to helping major institutions launch travel and commerce platforms that pair world-class booking infrastructure with rewards designed for a new generation of consumers, as tokenisation reshapes consumer spending. Through our partnership with Crypto.com, we are enabling millions of users to earn CRO through everyday travel and experiences while bringing tokenised rewards and digital assets into mainstream commerce.” Crypto.com Travel also includes flexible booking options, such as refundable and pay-at-stay options, depending on availability. Rewards vary by Level Up tier, booking type and region, and are subject to terms and conditions.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by MD.Laik alom mollik via Magnific, and Crypto.com The post Crypto.com Brings Travel, Entertainment Bookings to Its App appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Temenos has launched two composable solutions that allow banks to modernise retail deposits and lending without replacing their full core systems. Temenos Composable Retail Deposits and Temenos Composable Retail Lending are cloud-native, standalone capabilities that connect to existing banking systems through APIs and event-driven integrations. The solutions are aimed at banks still running on legacy platforms that are costly to upgrade and difficult to integrate with newer technologies. Temenos said each capability has clear functional boundaries and its own deployment and upgrade cycle, helping banks make changes without affecting other systems. Barb Morgan Barb Morgan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Temenos, said, “Banks need to modernise from legacy systems to stay competitive, but they cannot afford disruption. Our Composable Retail Deposits and Composable Retail Lending enable banks to upgrade critical core domains progressively without destabilising existing operations. It is a clear step forward in our composability strategy, focused on delivery, flexibility and customer value.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Magnific   The post Temenos Launches Composable Solutions for Retail Deposits and Lending appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Anchorage Digital has launched Agentic Banking to help institutions control how AI agents access and move money. The company is also expanding its partnership with Google Cloud, combining Google’s AI and MPC key management infrastructure with Anchorage Digital’s regulated financial rails. The companies said Google’s Gemini models will support reasoning for agentic commerce decisions, while Anchorage Digital provides the regulated settlement layer. Agentic Banking lets institutions set spending policies, Know Your Agent identity standards and compliance checks before an AI agent completes a transaction. The platform supports settlement through stablecoins, fiat rails or tokenised credentials. Nathan McCauley Nathan McCauley, Co-Founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, said, “We’re entering a world where agents don’t just inform decisions, they make them, and act on them. But for that to work in the real economy, agents need more than intelligence, they need regulated access to capital. Agentic Banking is the bridge between those two worlds: a system that brings trust, governance, and real financial rails to autonomous systems.” The partnership will also support cloud-based crypto key management and transaction infrastructure for institutional digital asset services. The companies are focusing on a B2B2C stack covering wallets, balance and transaction governance, trading, staking and operational workflows. It is designed to support stablecoins and digital assets such as BTC, ETH and SOL. Rich Widmann Rich Widmann, Head of Strategy, Web3 at Google Cloud, said, “As global financial institutions increasingly adopt digital assets, they require secure, scalable, and compliant infrastructure to build on. By pairing Anchorage Digital’s regulated digital asset capabilities with our scalable infrastructure, we’re helping to unlock the next wave of institutional adoption.” Anchorage Digital said the collaboration is aimed at helping institutions embed digital asset services into existing systems and prepare for agentic commerce.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user850788 via Magnific The post Anchorage Digital Launches Agentic Banking With Google Cloud Partnership appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore has received a strong assessment from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for its financial crime controls, even as the watchdog flagged areas to strengthen in foreign legal structures and some proliferation financing risks. The FATF published its latest mutual evaluation report on Singapore on 6 May 2026. The review assessed Singapore’s compliance with FATF standards and the effectiveness of its measures to counter money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. Singapore was placed on Regular Follow-up, the monitoring process for FATF members that have performed well. The latest assessment also marks an improvement from Singapore’s previous evaluation in 2016, even though FATF standards have since been strengthened. The FATF highlighted Singapore’s governance structures, legal framework, risk understanding, supervision of obligated entities and law enforcement system supporting investigations and prosecutions. FATF Report Points to Areas for Further Strengthening in Singapore The report also identified areas for improvement. It noted that Singapore has a reasonably sound understanding of risks linked to legal persons and legal arrangements, and that law enforcement agencies can obtain beneficial ownership information in a timely manner. Building on this, the FATF said Singapore could further strengthen risk mitigation measures for foreign legal persons and foreign legal arrangements. The report also found that while financial institutions and virtual asset service providers generally understand their proliferation financing risks and obligations, awareness could improve in some sectors not traditionally subject to FATF requirements, such as representation offices of foreign flag States. Singapore’s authorities said they will study the FATF’s recommendations and assess how they can be adopted in a risk-proportionate way. They also plan to expand COSMIC, a platform launched in April 2024 that allows financial institutions to share information on customers showing red flags linked to potential financial crime. COSMIC will be expanded to allow information sharing in significant cases and include other major banks. The platform currently involves DBS, OCBC, UOB, Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC, and focuses on the misuse of legal persons, misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes and proliferation financing. Singapore said it remains committed to maintaining an effective financial crime regime while staying open to legitimate businesses and investors.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by jcomp via Magnific The post FATF Report Shows Singapore’s Financial Crime Controls Have Strengthened appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Crossfin is expanding its investment focus beyond South Africa as it looks for fintech opportunities in other emerging markets. The shift follows several exits in recent years, including Retail Capital’s sale to TymeBank in 2022, Adumo’s sale to Lesaka Technologies in 2024 and iKhokha’s sale to Nedbank in 2025. Since November 2021, Crossfin has returned more than R2 billion to shareholders and completed three exits. Founded in 2017 by Anton Gaylard and Dean Sparrow, Crossfin invests in high-growth and cash-generative fintech businesses that support access to financial services. Its portfolio focus includes payments, funding, banking, software and embedded finance. Anton Gaylard Anton Gaylard, Co-founder and Chief Exponential Officer at Crossfin, said fintech is entering a more mature phase. “Throughout Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, fintechs are expanding financial inclusion, reducing reliance on cash, and building payment systems that are increasingly sovereign and digitally native.” He added that the company’s recent exits have shaped its next phase of growth. “Our recent exits prove our ability to create and realise value,” says Gaylard. “Our next chapter is about building on that foundation: expanding from Africa into other high-growth emerging markets, backing exceptional teams, and creating fintech platforms that can endure.” Crossfin’s Expansion Into Emerging Markets Crossfin remains focused on Africa, where it continues to invest in businesses with strong teams, complementary capabilities and potential synergies. The group has also established a presence in Mauritius, where it has backed three businesses. In 2025, it launched a Singapore investment vehicle focused on Southeast Asia, the Middle East and beyond. “These markets share many of the structural characteristics that have shaped our approach – and subsequent success – in South Africa: fragmented financial services, large, underserved consumer and merchant segments, rapid digital adoption, and the need for better payments, funding, banking and insurance solutions,” explains Gaylard. “An important observation is that companies are often still trying to solve the same problems they were solving 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. What has changed is the technology available to solve those problems, and the scale those solutions now need to reach.” Over the past decade, Crossfin has focused mainly on financial inclusion. That remains a priority in markets where consumers and businesses still lack meaningful access to formal financial services. In maturing markets such as South Africa, the company sees a growing need for products that are more relevant to customers at different stages of financial adoption. “Crossfin’s model is built on partnership, including with banks, which remain critical stakeholders in scaling many fintech solutions responsibly and effectively. It’s also why our investment approach is evolving. Our track record has been built through a highly successful buy, optimise and exit model. Our next phase places greater emphasis on buy-and-build: taking a longer-term view of quality businesses, supporting founders through growth, and holding assets where the strategic value can compound over time.” says Gaylard. Building for the long term The company said this reflects a move from transactional value creation to platform value creation as it nears its tenth year in business. “Many founders are looking for investors who understand their market, respect what they have built, and can help them scale without forcing premature outcomes. For investors, it’s vital to note that emerging-market fintech still offers significant growth potential, but the strongest returns are likely to come from platforms that can combine disciplined capital allocation with practical operating experience and deep regional insight. This will form the basis of our investment philosophy as we enter our second decade in business.” Gaylard added that fintech investors are now looking beyond fast growth alone. “Today, a better question is: how defensible, scalable, and repeatable is the value being created?” Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by brilian via Magnific The post Crossfin Expands Investment Push Into Emerging Markets appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Digital banking in Southeast Asia was once built on speed. For quite some time, they held on to the formula of launch first, refine later, and it did work, especially during their early stages when their volumes were much lower, and regulators were still patching and adapting to digital models. But the stale recipe seems to show cracks as these banking institutions grow, particularly when artificial intelligence moves from experimentation into their core operations. That pressure is especially visible in larger ASEAN markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, where things such as digital wallets and QR payments are becoming part of everyday financial activity rather than niche digital channels. For instance, in the Philippines, BSP data showed that InstaPay and PESONet processed a combined US$401.8 billion (PHP24.74 trillion) in 2025, up 42.02% from 2024, while InstaPay transaction volume surged to 4.66 billion transactions. In Indonesia, QRIS had reached 57 million users and 39.3 million merchants by the first half of 2025, with transactions hitting US$33.2 billion (IDR579 trillion), while fintech P2P lending outstanding financing grew 31.06% year-on-year to US$4.6 billion (IDR80.07 trillion) as of February 2025. This is where the regional growth story becomes more complicated. More customers means more products and more products leads to more digital touchpoints which is a good thing as it creates new opportunities, but they also place more pressure on the systems underneath. Thus, there’s no surprise when investment in AI shoots up, with spending by BFSIs in general expected to reach nearly US$97 billion by 2027. The reason could also be that financial institutions that fully embrace AI could realise a 15-percentage-point improvement in their efficiency ratios, as per research by PwC suggests. And yet, despite being in the 6th year after AI burst onto the scene, many of these initiatives are not making it past controlled environments. With spendings reaching the billion-dollar mark, it does not make sense to say that the issue revolves around the lack of ambition. No, the root of the problem sits deeper. When examined closely, it all boils down to how the systems are struggling to keep up. And a gap now slowly forms. Institutions are now stuck between what they are trying to deploy and what their infrastructure can reliably support. Growth is still happening, but it is bringing a different set of problems with it. The test now is not only whether digital financial institutions can grow, but whether they can manage that growth under tighter scrutiny and rising operational complexity. AI Is Moving Fast. Execution Is Not Across the region, banks are actively exploring artificial intelligence, particularly in areas like credit, risk, fraud detection and customer engagement. The early results can be encouraging where institutions can see that their models performing well in controlled environments, where data is clean and conditions are predictable. However, the difficulties usually appear when those same models are pushed into production. This is where many initiatives stall, often described within the industry as “pilot purgatory” which means that the limitation tends to sit in the surrounding environment rather than the models themselves. The gap is showing up globally as seen in BCG’s 2025 research which found that only 5% of companies are achieving AI value at scale, while 60% are seeing little or no material value despite investment. The finding is especially relevant for banks and fintech players in Southeast Asia, where AI ambitions often run into fragmented data, brittle workflows and systems that were never designed for real-time decisioning. While models can be developed within a few months, it can take much longer for frontline staff to trust them, understand their outputs and integrate them into daily workflows. Even when the technology is ready, organisational readiness often lags behind. In practice, AI only works when the underlying environment can support it, something many institutions are still working towards. When those conditions are not in place, performance becomes unreliable. In that sense, AI is acting less as a silver bullet and more as a diagnostic tool. It exposes weaknesses that were previously easier to work around. Despite these hurdles, leading institutions are beginning to demonstrate the financial upside of moving beyond experimentation. For example, DBS Bank reported generating approximately US$565 million in 2024 from more than 350 specific AI use cases deployed across its operations. Within wealth management, JP Morgan said that AI-powered coaching tools have helped advisors improve productivity, contributing to double-digit sales growth by reducing research time and enabling faster client engagement. More broadly, generative AI-driven personalisation is starting to translate into measurable financial impact, with some institutions reporting modest gains in revenue and improvements in return on equity as adoption scales. Where the Real Friction Sits Much of that friction can be traced back to how systems have evolved. Over the past decade, many institutions focused on improving what customers interact with, which has resulted to why most interactions we have today, feel faster and easier. Underneath those improvements, complexity has been gently accumulating. Much of the infrastructure still runs in silos, often disjointed and not fully connected, with each system maintaining its own version of the same information. Plus, in order to keep them aligned requires constant reconciliation, which most certainly takes time and introduces risk. Some technology leaders refer to this as an “integration tax”, a not-so a one-off issue that time and again accumulates as systems expand. This is where technical debt begins to crowd out innovation. Accenture estimates that banks can spend around 70% of their IT budgets on maintaining legacy systems, leaving a much smaller portion for new products, data infrastructure and AI enablement. Integrating just 200 legacy services can cost a bank US$480,000 in upfront expenses alone. This process consumes up to 1,000 developer days and commits the institution to an additional US$100,000 in yearly maintenance costs. Over time, banks slide into what some describe as “technical bankruptcy”, where maintenance work begins to paralyse innovation. The strain becomes more visible when AI is introduced. Legacy infrastructure, especially those built around batch processing, struggles to keep up with continuous data flows, and over time the results become harder to trust. What once felt manageable starts to limit how far an institution can go. True core banking modernisation tackles the problem at its starting point by replacing aging systems with a cloud-native, API-first platform. A modern core communicates seamlessly with AI models, but only if a governed data layer provides a real-time, read-only replica of the production database. Without this, AI risks drawing on poor-quality data, producing biased or inaccurate predictions. Regulation Is Tightening the Boundaries At the same time, regulators across Southeast Asia are raising expectations. Authorities including the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Indonesia’s Otoritas Jasa Keuangan, and Bank Negara Malaysia are placing greater weight on how institutions manage their systems under stress, not just how quickly they innovate. Technology now has migrated away from the back office directly onto the balance sheet. Driven by recent enforcement actions, the perception of system failures has shifted from isolated incidents to material risks that carry direct consequences for capital requirements. The banking industry now treats system fragility as a tangible financial risk with a measurable impact on the balance sheet. The regulatory response to repeated service disruptions at DBS Bank illustrates this change in posture. Following a series of outages, the Monetary Authority of Singapore required the bank to hold additional US$ 1.2 billion in capital by increasing its operational risk-weighted assets. Similar signals are emerging across the region. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia imposed significant administrative monetary penalties in 2025 after several institutions failed to maintain high availability for critical systems. Bank Simpanan Nasional was fined US$251,000 (RM995,000), while Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia faced a penalty of US$719,000 (RM2.85 million) after repeated unplanned downtimes exceeded regulatory thresholds. In Indonesia, new rules introduced for 2025 require financial aggregators and digital service providers to maintain data and recovery centres within the country, with potential fines of up to US$57,000 (IDR1 billion) for non-compliance. The move made it clear that system fragility can directly affect a bank’s ability to deploy capital and expand. This changes how institutions approach compliance. It becomes embedded in day-to-day operations. Every change leaves a trace, every decision must be explainable, and if needed, reversible. That level of visibility is becoming part of the operating baseline. For Oradian, this is where the conversation around core banking modernisation becomes more urgent. The issue is no longer whether financial institutions can launch digital services quickly, but whether they can keep those services consistent, explainable and resilient as volumes rise. Antonio Separovic “Across Southeast Asia, we’re seeing a new phase of growth in digital financial services, one where institutions are moving from experimentation to building truly scalable, intelligent operations. AI is accelerating this shift, but it also highlights the importance of having the right foundation in place. At Oradian, we see that the institutions making the most progress are those investing in modern, cloud-native cores that act as a single source of truth, connecting data, operations, and compliance in real time. This foundation gives them the confidence to innovate faster, scale sustainably, and operate reliably as they grow,” said Antonio Separovic, CEO of Oradian. Why Growth Now Requires More Discipline Earlier phases of digital banking rewarded speed. Today, speed without control introduces a different kind of risk. As institutions scale, small inconsistencies can compound quickly. What works at a smaller volume can become unstable under pressure thus, fixing those issues later is rarely straightforward. Consequently, the strategic priority for core systems has shifted from rapid deployment to structural integrity. Rather than treating them as background infrastructure, there is a growing recognition that the core acts as the control centre of the organisation. It has become the definitive environment for operational integrity, ensuring that data, logic, and compliance are inseparable. Ultimately, the core system must serve as the primary site of institutional control. A stable foundation simplifies change management, and institutions that strike this balance prove their resilience by thriving under pressure. A More Deliberate Architecture Is Taking Shape Taken together, these pressures point to the same conclusion. AI needs trusted, real-time data. Scale requires systems that do not fracture as volumes rise. Regulation demands traceability, resilience and control. Core modernisation sits at the centre of all three because it determines whether innovation can move safely from experiment to production. In response, a clearer structure is starting to emerge. Core systems are increasingly being treated as the control layer of the institution, keeping records consistent while giving banks the auditability regulators now expect. Around that core, banks can build more flexible layers for customer engagement and decisioning without putting critical records or compliance processes at risk. The separation is deliberate. It allows teams to iterate on products and models without placing critical records or compliance processes at risk. Changes can happen, but within defined boundaries. This approach follows broader shifts toward API-driven, composable architectures, enabling different components to interact without tight coupling. It may sound subtle, but in practice, it changes how a bank operates under growth. Infrastructure Is Becoming a Strategic Question Decisions about infrastructure now also carry weight beyond technology teams. These choices effectively set the ceiling for a bank’s growth. Not only that, it can aid in determining its ability to pivot when the market shifts without compromising on safety. Cloud-native, API-based platforms let banks deploy and scale systems with greater flexibility, driving their growing adoption. They allow institutions to handle fluctuations in demand and introduce updates without extended downtime. Furthermore, access to data is just as important. Older workflows often depend on manual extraction or scheduled transfers, which slows things down and increases the chance of errors. Newer approaches can help provide controlled access to live data environments. It will allow teams to work with current information without compromising stability. Sustainable growth now hinges on basic feasibility rather than minor optimisations. The Next Phase Will Favour Those Who Can Operate Under Pressure All of this is contributing to a broader shift in how core banking is understood, as it is no longer seen merely as a system of record. Most institutions now treat their core as a complete operating model that defines how the bank actually functions while it grows. Using the core as a blueprint ensures that data stays accurate and different systems work together properly as the business expands. Performance still matters, but the focus has shifted toward long-term stability. A new category of platforms is now emerging to help banks scale under heavy regulation without losing control of their daily work. These providers such as Oradian go beyond just replacing old software. They can help create a reliable environment where banks can safely launch new tools like AI without the risk of system failures. The framing now becomes different because the problem has changed. As the global digital banking market is forecast to reach US$87.8 billion by 2034, the institutions that thrive will be those that view unified data and cloud-native architecture as their strategic core. The future of banking is no longer a question of digital presence, but of digital intelligence. And that intelligence is only as strong as the core that powers it. Banks that handle this shift well often move forward with fewer surprises. Those remaining institutions who don’t, may find that the shortcuts they once relied on become harder to ignore as they grow. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images by 21ST, rawpixel.com and Who is Danny via Freepik. The post Why Digital Banks in Southeast Asia Are Rethinking Core Banking for the AI Era appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore is outperforming traditional economic powerhouses like the US and European nations in AI adoption, underscoring that implementing specific strategies is essential to boost AI usage and implementation, according to the Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) 2026 AI Index report. In H2 2025, AI adoption in Singapore stood at 61%, making the country the biggest adopter of AI in Asia-Pacific and the second-largest in the world after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 64%. In comparison, European and North American averages reached approximately 27% and 22%, respectively, with most high-income economies clustered between 25% and 45% adoption. This disproportionately high usage in Singapore, relative to its economic output, indicates that while AI adoption correlates with GDP per capita, government initiatives are critical to accelerating uptake AI diffusion by top 30 geographic areas, first vs second half 2025, Source: 2026 Artificial Intelligence Index Report, Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Apr 2026 AI initiatives in Singapore Since at least 2019, Singapore has launched initiatives to boost AI development. In 2019, the government launched the National AI Strategy, presenting the first comprehensive AI plan to transform the economy and position the nation as a global AI hub. In 2023, it released an updated and expanded version of the strategy, outlining three key priorities: repositioning AI as a necessity rather than an opportunity, shifting from a local context to a global outlook, and moving from individual projects to the development of a wide-scale infrastructure and foundation for AI. 2024 was especially prolific with the establishment of the Singapore AI Safety Institute (AISI) with an annual budget of SGD 10 million to cover core research areas on frontier AI models, including red-team evaluation, alignment research, and traceability testing; as well as a SGD 120 million (US$94 million) commitment from the government to the “AI for Science” initiative focusing on the development and adoption of AI methods and tools, while funding collaboration between AI researchers and scientific domain experts in fields of strategic interest, such as advanced materials and biomedical sciences. Building on this momentum, new initiatives were launched in 2026, including an additional investment of over SGD 1 billion over five years under the National AI Research and Development (NAIRD) Plan to strengthen Singapore’s public AI research capabilities focusing on three key areas: fundamental AI research, applied AI research, and talent development. Singapore leads AI job postings High adoption of AI in Singapore is fueling demand for AI talent. Across the countries tracked by Lightcast, demand for AI-related talent continued to increase in 2025, with jobs requiring AI skills making up an increasingly large share of total postings, and Singapore taking the lead. Singapore topped the rankings in 2025, with 4.69% of all job postings requiring AI skills. It was followed by Hong Kong at 3.5%, Luxembourg at 3.4%, and Spain at 3.3%. The US reached 2.6%, followed by Chile at 2.4% and the UK at 1.9%. AI job postings (% of all job postings) by select geographic areas, 2014-2025, Source: 2026 Artificial Intelligence Index Report, Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Apr 2026 This year, AI talent remains scarce and in high demand. According to ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey released in February 2026, AI skills have become Singapore’s hardest-to-fill capabilities, even as overall talent scarcity eases. In 2026, 71% of employers in Singapore reported difficulty hiring skilled talent, down from 83% in 2025 and slightly below the global average of 72%. This also represents the lowest level recorded locally since 2021. For the first time, AI model and application development (26%) and AI literacy (25%) topped the list of hardest-to-find skills in Singapore. IT and data, which ranked first in 2025, dropped to seventh at 17% in 2026. The Singapore talent shortage over time, Source: ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey, Feb 2026 This shortage persists despite Singapore boasting one of the largest pools of AI talent globally. The HAI research analyzed LinkedIn’s measures on the concentration of AI talent within countries and the movement of that talent across borders. It found that Singapore had the second-highest concentration of AI talent among LinkedIn members at 1.8%, trialing only Israel at 2.1%. Luxembourg followed in third place with 1.6%. AI talent concentration by geographic area, 2025, Source: LinkedIn 2025, via 2026 Artificial Intelligence Index Report, Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Apr 2026 AI adoption among Singapore enterprises soars Booming adoption of AI in Singapore is being driven by a surge in enterprise usage. According to Singapore’s Infocomm Media and Development Authority (IMDA), AI adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tripled in one year, with 14.5% of SMEs adopting AI in 2024, up from 4.3% in 2023. Among non-SMEs, the AI adoption rate also jumped from 44% to 62.5%. Those who adopt AI reported tangible gains. Specifically, SMEs tapping AI-enabled solutions under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), which provides financial support for businesses to adopt pre-scoped IT solutions, equipment and consultancy services to boost efficiency, achieved an average cost savings of 52% in 2024. Returns were even higher for AI-enhanced security measures. SMEs that adopted AI-powered cybersecurity solutions under PSG achieved even higher average cost savings of 71%.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by DC Studio via Magnific The post Singapore Surpasses Traditional Economic Powerhouses in AI Adoption appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Advance Intelligence Group has made a fresh US$149 million capital injection into its subsidiary Atome Financial, months after the consumer finance business secured an upsized debt facility. The capital was injected through a share subscription, DealStreetAsia reported, citing regulatory filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Advance Intelligence subscribed to about 38 million ordinary shares in Atome Financial at US$3.90 per share, according to the filings. Atome Financial operates the group’s consumer finance business, including the buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Atome. The capital injection follows Atome’s renewed and upsized US$345 million syndicated debt facility announced in January. The facility was larger than Atome’s US$200 million debt package from 2024. Atome Financial reported its first full-year profit in 2024, with operating income rising 63% year-on-year to US$236 million. Gross merchandise volume exceeded US$2 billion, up 50% from 2023. Advance Intelligence Group’s wider business spans consumer finance, digital lending, credit scoring, fraud detection and enterprise AI solutions. Its investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar Group and EDBI. DealStreetAsia reported in October that Advance Intelligence was considering a new equity fundraising of more than US$200 million at a possible valuation of about US$3 billion. In 2021, Advance Intelligence raised more than US$400 million from investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus, valuing the group at more than US$2 billion. It later secured US$80 million in 2023 from a consortium led by Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by wahyu_t via Magnific The post Atome Financial Secures US$149 Million Capital Injection From Advance Intelligence appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

KAST has launched USD stablecoin cashback, allowing users to earn up to 3% cashback on card spending. The feature sits alongside KAST’s existing points-based rewards and comes as stablecoins are being used beyond crypto trading. Cashback rates vary by membership tier. Standard users can earn 1.5% cashback on the first US$2,000 of monthly card spend. Premium members can earn 2% cashback on up to US$10,000 in monthly spend, along with 1% in KAST Points on eligible transactions. Private members can earn 3% cashback on monthly spend of up to US$40,000. They also receive 2% in KAST Points on eligible card transactions and access to a gold card. Rewards are subject to terms and conditions. Premium and Private members also receive a Visa Infinite card, which includes travel accident insurance of up to US$1.5 million, 180-day purchase protection, 30-day price protection and access to more than 1,200 airport lounges worldwide through the Visa Airport Companion app. Raagulan Pathy Raagulan Pathy, Founder and CEO of KAST, said,  “We know users want rewards to feel like real money, not something you have to manage over time. Stablecoin cashback is a step in that direction – what you earn is what you get, and you can use it on your KAST card along with your typical spend. Over time, that’s where rewards are heading.” The launch follows KAST’s US$80 million Series A funding round last month, co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital. KAST also plans to introduce savings products, credit and KAST Business later this year.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by KAST The post KAST Launches Up to 3% Stablecoin Cashback on Card Spend appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Chocolate Finance is wrapping up The Chocolate Games today with more than 7 million HeyMax Miles unlocked by players. More than 8,000 participants have taken part, completing over 88,000 games. The total is equivalent to more than 10 round trips to Tokyo, along with flights to Hong Kong and Bali, and travel and hotel vouchers. For the final 24 hours, Chocolate Finance has doubled referral rewards to 400 miles when a referred friend signs up and plays their first game. Walter de Oude Walter de Oude, Founder of Chocolate Finance, said, “This experience grew bigger than we expected, not just in scale but in how naturally people have made it part of their day. What stood out was not only how many people played, but how often they came back. This behaviour tells us that the experience struck the right balance between being simple enough to jump into, competitive enough to stay interesting, and rewarding enough to keep people coming back. With less than 24 hours left, there’s still plenty to play for.” Referrals have contributed more than 250,000 miles. Chocolate Finance has also introduced Walter’s Challenge for the final stretch, with Walter playing both the Blink Game and Tap Game at the same time and inviting users to beat his high score. The first 50 new users to do so will receive an additional 500 miles each. The campaign will close on 6 May at midnight. The top players will compete in the in-person finals on 10 May for the title of Chocolate Games champion and 250,000 HeyMax Miles.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by freepik via Magnific The post Chocolate Games Crosses 7 Million HeyMax Miles as Campaign Nears Close appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Coinbase layoffs will cut about 14% of the crypto exchange’s workforce as the company lowers costs in a down market and reorganises around AI. The cuts were announced in a blog post by CEO Brian Armstrong, who linked the move to market volatility and changes in how teams work with AI. Armstrong noted that Coinbase remains well-capitalised, but its business is still exposed to quarter-to-quarter swings. The company is now adjusting its cost base as it navigates a down market. Coinbase also plans to flatten its organisation to a maximum of five layers below the CEO and COO. Leaders will be expected to manage larger teams while remaining active contributors. The company will focus more on smaller AI-native teams, including experiments with one-person teams that combine product, design and engineering responsibilities. Affected employees will lose access to Coinbase systems on the day of the announcement, a step Armstrong described as necessary to protect customer information. US-based employees will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay, plus two weeks for each year of service, their next equity vest and six months of COBRA health coverage. Employees on work visas will receive additional transition support, while staff outside the US will receive support based on local factors and consultation requirements. Coinbase will provide more details on its expense outlook during its Q1 earnings call on Thursday.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by tahantanha10 via Magnific The post Coinbase CEO Says Layoffs Will Affect 14% of Workforce Amid AI Shift appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In today’s AI landscape, most platforms still compete on isolated improvements – faster inference, better benchmarks, incremental gains. Agnes AI is a Singapore-based company that has developed and trained its own multimodal AI models in-house, positioning itself as a locally built player in the global AI ecosystem. Agnes AI is taking a different approach. With its model suite now available on Zenmux through API token access, Agnes AI is expanding developer access to its proprietary models while separately launching Agnes Token Plans through its official website. Together, these moves reflect a broader strategy: making full-stack AI more accessible, predictable, and practical for real-world usage. From Models to Systems The shift Agnes is betting on is simple: developers no longer need better models in isolation – they need systems that work in practice. Most AI workflows today are fragmented. One tool for reasoning, another for generation, another for execution. Integration becomes the real bottleneck. Agnes addresses this by packaging its capabilities into a single environment where reasoning, generation, and action are tightly connected. The result is less about model selection and more about workflow execution. This approach reflects the company’s core principles – AI neutrality, parity, and inclusion – now applied at the infrastructure level. Instead of limiting access through pricing or ecosystem lock-in, the platform is designed to be accessible, cost-efficient, and globally deployable. From API Access to Subscription-Based AI Usage Through Zenmux, developers can access Agnes’s model suite using API token access, enabling integration into external products, workflows, and developer environments. Separately, Agnes has launched Agnes Token Plans through its official website. Starting at US$4 per month, the subscription structure is designed for high-frequency, lightweight workloads, while also supporting more advanced professional use cases. This pricing model reflects a strong focus on cost efficiency, making multimodal AI more accessible without the cost barriers that have historically limited adoption across similar platforms. The key shift is not only economic, but practical: AI becomes something users can integrate into ongoing workflows with more predictable costs. The platform supports high-throughput processing, access across Agnes’s text, image, and video models, OpenAI API compatibility, and scalable usage from everyday productivity to more complex production workflows. The Zenmux Launch and Early Developer Traction The Zenmux launch includes access to Agnes’s agent-based models and multimodal generation capabilities, forming a pipeline across text, image, and video. What stands out is not just the coverage, but the adoption signal. Within the first week, API usage surged beyond several comparable model providers, suggesting that demand is shifting toward integrated systems rather than standalone models. This aligns with a broader market movement: developers are optimising less for theoretical performance and more for how quickly systems can be deployed and used. New Applications Powered by Proprietary Models: Pavo and Echo Beyond infrastructure, Agnes is extending its capabilities into the application layer with two new products: Echo and Pavo, both powered by its proprietary multimodal models. Echo is positioned as an immersive AI character interaction platform, where users can create digital personas and engage in narrative-driven experiences. The system generates synchronised video and voice in real time, enabling interactive storytelling and personalised, cinematic interactions. Pavo focuses on AI-powered image and video creation for creators and businesses. Built on Agnes’s proprietary models, it enables fast generation of cinematic content from simple inputs, supporting workflows such as marketing asset creation, social media production, and rapid prototyping. Together, these applications demonstrate how Agnes’s model ecosystem extends beyond infrastructure into real user-facing experiences. A Shift Already Underway The Zenmux release and the official Token Plans launch reflect a structural shift in AI adoption. As model capabilities converge, differentiation is moving toward usability, integration speed, and cost efficiency. Agnes positions itself directly in this transition. Instead of competing model-by-model, it is building an environment where AI becomes part of a working system – one that developers can deploy, extend, and scale without rebuilding infrastructure around it. At the same time, the company has reached approximately US$20 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), signaling commercial traction as it expands its global developer and application ecosystem. Developed, trained, and deployed in Singapore, Agnes also reflects the growing capability of locally built AI technologies to compete on a global stage.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Agnes The post Agnes AI Opens Zenmux API Access, Launches Token Plans for Developers appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Temenos is expanding its SaaS offering on AWS beyond core banking to include digital banking and payments. Banks can now deploy Temenos’ core banking, digital banking and payments capabilities as a SaaS offering on AWS. The offering is designed for retail, business and corporate banking. Banks can adopt individual components, use an end-to-end service, combine both approaches, or integrate Temenos with their existing systems. Temenos can also provide a pre-configured and pre-integrated deployment. The company said the SaaS model can help banks launch products faster and reduce the need to manage underlying technology infrastructure. AWS infrastructure supports regulated and sensitive workloads, with security standards and certifications used across regulated industries. Barb Morgan Barb Morgan, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Temenos, said, “We’re delighted to expand our Temenos SaaS offering on AWS, further strengthening our SaaS capabilities and giving banks greater flexibility in deploying Temenos solutions as SaaS in line with their technology strategy and market requirements.” Scott Mullins Scott Mullins, Managing Director, Worldwide Financial Services at AWS, said, “Expanding Temenos Digital Banking and Payments on AWS enables institutions to adopt new capabilities at their own pace. Whether modernising incrementally or going end-to-end, Temenos SaaS on AWS meets banks where they are — with the security, scalability and regulatory alignment that financial services demands.” Temenos and AWS have worked together since 2019. Banks that have deployed Temenos solutions on AWS include MidWestOne Bank in the US, Credem in Italy, WeLab Bank in Hong Kong and Bank ABC’s Ila Bank in Bahrain. AWS’ geographical coverage also helps banks address local data residency requirements and support high availability within their chosen regions.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ganzevayna1 via Magnific The post Temenos Adds Digital Banking and Payments to SaaS Offering on AWS appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Grab Q1 2026 results showed accelerating momentum across its lending business, as the company’s financial services arm disbursed more than $1 billion in loans in a single quarter for the first time. Source: Alex Hungate, LinkedIn Alex Hungate, Grab’s President and COO, shared on LinkedIn that this has been a strong quarter financially in an otherwise “usually seasonally quieter period.” Grab now has 52 million monthly transacting users, up both YoY and QoQ. He explained more about Grab’s financial services performance, saying, Alex Hungate “The power of AI is reshaping Financial Services. AI underwriting is unlocking formal credit to more driver- and merchant-partners, responsibly. We were able to lend over $1 billion in a single quarter for the first time, even while improving credit quality YoY.” According to the Grab unaudited Q1 2026 results announcement, its financial services segment posted revenue growth of 43% YoY to US$107 million in Q1 2026, driven by increased contributions from lending across GrabFin and Grab’s Digibanks. Segment adjusted EBITDA also improved by US$13 million YoY to negative US$17 million in Q1 2026, narrowing from negative US$30 million in the prior year period, on the back of stronger lending revenue contributions. Source: Grab Total loans disbursed, meanwhile, grew by 67% YoY, hitting an all-time high of US$1.1 billion for the quarter. Grab’s gross loan portfolio grew 130% YoY to US$1.438 billion in Q1 2026, up from US$625 million a year earlier, reflecting robust credit demand across GrabFin and its Digibanks. Combined customer deposits across GXS Bank (Singapore) and GX Bank (Malaysia) remained broadly stable QoQ at US$1.630 billion as of the end of Q1 2026. AI-Driven Gains for Drivers, Merchants, and Users Source: Alex Hungate LinkedIn Grab recently showcased 13 AI-powered experiences at GrabX 2026, pushed by plans to “empower millions across SEA to live smarter, travel with less friction, and grow their businesses.” These products, ranging from a Driver AI Assistant that offers real-time guidance to help drivers improve efficiency and grow daily earnings to a Virtual Store Manager for merchants and GrabMaps for Consumers, are powered by the Grab Intelligence Layer, the company’s AI infrastructure built on insights from 20 billion rides and orders. Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab, shared, Anthony Tan “As we look ahead to the rest of the year, we remain committed to delivering durable, profitable growth while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our communities — leaning deeply into AI to outserve our users with hyper-personalised experiences, while simultaneously unlocking more sustainable earnings opportunities for our ecosystem partners.” The Grab Q1 2026 results came just days after Grab received the first Cross-Border Ride-Hail Service Operator Licence on 30 April 2026 under the enhanced Cross-Border Taxi Scheme jointly announced by Singapore and Malaysia. This would allow the company to pilot a door-to-door taxi booking service between Singapore and select areas in Johor from 4 May 2026. Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by Grab The post Grab’s Loanbook Exceeds US$1 Billion in Single Quarter for The First Time appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Money20/20 Asia 2026 concluded its third Bangkok edition with more than 4,500 attendees, up 40% from last year. The event was held from 21 to 23 April 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, bringing together delegates, sponsors and exhibitors from 90 countries. The programme featured more than 360 speakers and over 100 hours of content across four stages, covering AI, cross-border payments, digital banking, stablecoins, tokenisation and central bank digital currencies. Danny Levy Danny Levy, EVP and MD for Money20/20 Asia and Middle East, said, “Money20/20 Asia is where Asia does business. The record attendance we’re seeing, combined with our relentless focus on quality – of audience, conversations, content, and experience – is translating into real partnerships and outcomes for the leaders shaping the future of financial services in the region. It’s why we are firmly established as Asia’s #1 quality fintech show.” Sessions also examined how banks, fintechs and regulators are responding to shifts in financial services, from AI in banking to interoperable payment systems and digital asset adoption. The event featured senior executives from KASIKORNBANK, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Citi and DBS Bank. Money20/20 and FXC Intelligence also presented findings from The New Era of Asia’s Cross Border Payments, which looked at Asia’s growth in cross-border finance and payment interoperability. The event highlighted five startups, Boost Capital, TrustPlus AI, Continuum, Eazy Digital and zkMe, during its Startup Media Panel. It also hosted a Startup and Investor Park, where APAC startups met global investors and competed for a Golden Ticket to the 2026 Startupbootcamp Sustainability Singapore Accelerator. Policy20, held as part of Money20/20 Asia 2026, brought together more than 80 policymakers, regulators and industry leaders to discuss sovereign intelligence in global finance. Money20/20 Asia 2027 will return from 27 to 29 April, with the event set to take place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Money 20/20 Asia  The post Money20/20 Asia 2026 Draws 4,500 Attendees as Stablecoins, AI Top the Agenda appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Western Union has tapped Fireblocks to support USDPT as the company prepares to settle with agents using its first stablecoin this year. USDPT is Western Union’s U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. Fireblocks will provide the wallet, settlement and financial operations infrastructure, with support from Dynamic’s embedded wallet technology and TRES’ financial platform. Dynamic and TRES were both recently acquired by Fireblocks. Western Union plans to roll out USDPT operations on Fireblocks first in the Philippines and Bolivia, before expanding across its global network through 2026. The company said USDPT will allow customers in selected markets to hold value in U.S. dollars, convert funds into local currency, and use the balances for spending and transfers through Western Union’s network. Fireblocks will support USDPT treasury operations, custody, policy controls, issuance and movement through its Payments Engine. Its network connects to more than 2,400 institutional counterparties across more than 100 countries for liquidity and settlement. Dynamic will provide non-custodial embedded wallets for Western Union’s agents, while TRES will convert on-chain data from USDPT operations into SWIFT MT940 and MT942 bank statement formats used by Western Union’s treasury and finance systems. Malcolm Clarke, Global Head of Digital Assets at Western Union, said, “Stablecoins are the foundation of how we deliver the next generation of settlement and consumer services in an evolving digital ecosystem. It puts a programmable dollar into our vast ecosystem and provides Western Union a platform from where we can continue to deliver customer utility and value. Working with Fireblocks, Dynamic and TRES provide a key part of our infrastructure enabling us to operationalise safely and securely at scale from day one.” Michael Shaulov Michael Shaulov, CEO and Co-Founder of Fireblocks, said, “Every major shift in financial services requires infrastructure that can keep pace. Western Union has operated the rails of global money movement for more than 170 years. Building USDPT on Fireblocks represents a generational modernisation of that infrastructure, and we’re proud to be the platform they’ve chosen to build it on.” The rollout is part of Western Union’s broader plan to modernise settlement infrastructure as the payments industry moves on-chain.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by noob via Magnific The post Western Union Taps Fireblocks to Support USDPT Stablecoin Rollout appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

MariBank Singapore Private Limited and its subsidiary reported total assets of S$4.23 billion in FY2025, as the Group pushed deeper into lending and recorded sharp growth in deposits, loans and income. The consolidated results include MariBank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank), which was listed as the Group’s subsidiary in the audited accounts. The balance sheet grew at speed, supported by higher customer deposit balances and a much larger loan book, while income rose as more assets were deployed into interest-earning activities. The pace of expansion also brought a heavier risk bill, with credit loss allowances rising sharply as lending accelerated. Despite stronger revenue momentum, MariBank remained in the red. The results show MariBank using its growing deposit base more actively, with the Group putting more capital into loans and absorbing the provisioning costs that follow when a young lender scales quickly. Balance Sheet Growth Reflects Expanding Lending Activity MariBank’s consolidated balance sheet expanded significantly in 2025 as deposits rose and the loan book grew much faster. Total assets increased by more than 80% year-on-year, from S$2.33 billion in 2024 to S$4.23 billion in 2025, based on the comparative figures presented in the audited accounts. Loans to customers increased more than eightfold, from S$103.7 million in 2024 to S$896.7 million on a consolidated basis in 2025, making lending the clearest driver of MariBank’s asset growth. The increase gives MariBank a more conventional banking profile, with credit now carrying a larger share of its earnings potential. MariBank Group Balance Sheet Comparison (2025 vs 2024) Customer deposits rose more than 80% to S$2.82 billion on a consolidated basis, giving MariBank a deeper pool of funding as its loan book expanded. The larger deposit base should also help the bank support lending growth with customer balances, rather than relying too heavily on wholesale or external funding. Income Surges as Interest Earnings Rise The larger loan book flowed through to the Group’s income statement in 2025, with interest earnings rising sharply as more of the balance sheet was deployed into credit. MariBank Group Profit and Loss Summary (2025 vs 2024) Total income rose more than sevenfold between 2024 and 2025, while net interest income climbed particularly quickly as loans became a larger part of the Group’s asset mix. For a bank still building scale, that marks an important change in the quality of revenue, since more income is now coming from core lending activity. Expenses also increased, but at a much slower pace than revenue. The heavier drag came from credit provisions, which rose far faster than day-to-day operating costs and absorbed much of the benefit from stronger income. Credit Provisions Increase Alongside Loan Growth MariBank’s rapid consolidated loan growth came with a much heavier provisioning charge, as credit loss allowances rose sharply to cover potential future losses. Allowances for Credit Losses Credit loss allowances rose from S$4.4 million in 2024 to S$133.4 million in 2025, putting credit risk at the centre of MariBank’s performance for the year. A jump of that size is significant, but it needs to be read against the pace at which the loan book expanded. Rapid loan growth usually forces a bank to recognise more expected credit losses early, particularly when the portfolio is still young. The increase does not, on its own, show that asset quality has weakened. It points instead to the heavier risk cost that comes with scaling credit quickly. Funding Base Strengthens With Continued Deposit Growth Customer deposits remained MariBank’s main source of funding in 2025, with higher balances giving the Group more room to support loan growth. Customer Deposits Growth Deposits rose from S$1.54 billion in 2024 to S$2.82 billion in 2025, deepening the bank’s funding base as lending activity accelerated. Deposit depth matters even more for a digital bank trying to build a larger loan book, since customer balances are usually a steadier source of funding than wholesale or market borrowing. The stronger deposit base gives MariBank more flexibility as it expands credit, although funding costs will remain an important factor as the balance sheet grows. Capital Remains Strong Despite Rapid Asset Growth MariBank Group’s capital position remained strong in 2025, although the expansion of risk-weighted assets pulled its capital adequacy ratio lower. Capital Ratio and Risk Metrics Risk-weighted assets grew more than fivefold as the bank expanded lending, bringing the capital adequacy ratio down from 170.84% in 2024 to 43.41% in 2025. The fall was steep, but it came from a very high base and coincided with an increase in eligible total capital. Even after the decline, the ratio remained well above regulatory minimum requirements, leaving MariBank with room to support further growth. Cost Structure Shows Early Signs of Operating Scale Operating expenses rose in 2025, though nowhere near the pace of income growth. Operating Expenses Breakdown Staff costs were broadly stable year-on-year, suggesting MariBank expanded its balance sheet without a corresponding jump in personnel costs. Other operating expenses climbed more sharply, likely as the bank spent more on the systems and controls needed to support a bigger lending business. The cost profile points to a bank stretching its operating base while still investing for scale. Revenue is beginning to move faster than expenses, but profitability remains constrained by the sharp rise in credit provisions. Losses Narrow Slightly Despite Higher Risk Costs MariBank remained loss-making in 2025, although its net loss narrowed as stronger income began to absorb part of the increase in expenses and provisions. Net Loss Trend Net loss fell from S$51.3 million in 2024 to S$46.6 million in 2025, even after credit loss allowances rose sharply during the year. The improvement shows how much the bank’s earnings profile has changed. Revenue is growing at a much faster pace, but credit costs are still taking a large share of that progress. Trust Bank’s profitability milestone in March 2026 adds pressure to Singapore’s digital banking market. MariBank has shown that lending income can scale quickly, but its next challenge is to keep that momentum from being eroded by credit costs as the loan book matures. Understanding the MariBank 2025 Financial Results in Context MariBank’s 2025 consolidated financial statements show a Group becoming more credit-led, with lending now shaping both revenue growth and risk costs. The clearest evidence is the loan portfolio, which increased more than eightfold year-on-year. Net interest income rose alongside it, showing how quickly lending has begun to reshape the bank’s earnings mix. Credit loss allowances also rose sharply as the loan book expanded, making risk costs the main counterweight to MariBank’s stronger income. Such a provisioning build-up is common when a young loan portfolio grows quickly, although the size of the charge makes credit quality a key area to watch. MariBank still ended the year with a strong capital position, even after risk-weighted assets increased significantly. The results leave the Group with a larger balance sheet, a stronger income base and a more demanding credit-risk profile, which is the trade-off that now defines its next stage of growth. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images by wahyu_t and lifeforstock via Magnific. The post MariBank Group Assets Cross S$4 Billion in 2025 Financial Results appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

GSR has brought in SC Ventures as its first external strategic shareholder to build infrastructure for institutional digital asset markets. The companies did not disclose the size of the investment. SC Ventures, the fintech arm of Standard Chartered, made the strategic investment in GSR as part of a wider partnership to connect traditional finance with crypto markets and expand access to tokenisation. The investment marks the first time GSR has taken on an external strategic shareholder since the crypto capital markets firm was founded in 2013. GSR provides market making, advisory, liquidity and asset management services to crypto-native companies and financial institutions. Xin Song Xin Song, CEO of GSR, said, “Institutional digital asset markets are maturing rapidly, and the firms best positioned to lead will be those that combine deep capital markets expertise with trusted banking infrastructure. This partnership brings those strengths together, with tokenisation as a key starting point.” Alex Manson Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, said, “The next phase of the digital asset evolution will be defined by the strength of infrastructure. Our investment in GSR reinforces our focus on building institutional ecosystems that can support deeper liquidity and more resilient market activity.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Pixelid via Magnific The post GSR Adds SC Ventures as Shareholder for Digital Asset Infrastructure Push appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Less than 1% of transactions are agentic today. Trulioo’s CPO believes that could reach 75% within a year, and most of the industry has no trust framework in place. Zach Cohen is the Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, a global identity verification platform that helps financial services companies verify identities and govern transactions across international markets. He leads product strategy at the intersection of AI governance, fraud prevention, and digital identity, and joins FNN to explain what the financial industry is missing as agentic commerce moves from theory to live deployment. In this episode: Why agentic commerce could jump from under 1% to the majority of transactions within a year, and why the industry is not moving fast enough to meet it Why the trust gap in agentic commerce is a governance problem, not a features problem Know Your Agent (KYA): how verifying a non-human actor differs from KYC and KYB, and what it actually involves in practice The new attack surface that agents create, from prompt injection to fraud rings operating at machine speed Singapore’s IMDA agentic AI governance framework and where the gap between regulation and current practice sits Why Zach’s advice to every company getting started is to build the governance framework before touching the product The post Agentic Commerce: Who Do We Trust When AI Moves Money? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.