OCBC has launched a securities financing unit for institutional investors as demand grows for liquidity and balance sheet efficiency, according to The Business Times. The unit sits within the bank’s global markets division and is designed to mobilise lendable securities held by institutional clients across the OCBC group. This includes assets held with OCBC and its subsidiaries OCBC Securities, Bank of Singapore and Great Eastern. The platform will cover both equities and fixed-income instruments. Institutional clients can earn additional fee income and improve capital utilisation by lending out securities that are not actively deployed. OCBC said interest in securities financing has increased as institutional investors place greater emphasis on liquidity access and efficient capital deployment, particularly amid ongoing market volatility. Jansen Chua The securities financing unit will be led by Jansen Chua, who joined the bank earlier this month as Head of Securities Finance. He reports to Kenneth Lai, Head of Global Markets at OCBC. Chua was previously Senior Managing Director and Head of Financing Solutions for Asia-Pacific at State Street Bank and Trust Company. He brings more than 25 years of experience across securities services, securities finance and prime brokerage, with roles spanning the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. OCBC said the new unit reflects evolving institutional client needs as they seek more flexible funding tools and greater balance sheet efficiency in a challenging market environment.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Freepik The post OCBC Forms New Unit to Meet Institutional Demand for Securities Financing appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

HSBC has launched a pilot with Harvey AI to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into its Global Legal function. The pilot reflects a new strategic partnership as HSBC broadens its use of AI across the group. It forms part of the bank’s wider effort to improve internal efficiency, speed up execution, and better support business teams and customers. Harvey AI provides a legal-focused platform designed for in-house legal teams, enabling them to respond more quickly to business needs while operating within enterprise-grade security controls and regulatory requirements. Bob Hoyt HSBC Group Chief Legal Officer Bob Hoyt said, “This is a significant step forward in how we deliver legal support across HSBC. This isn’t just about deploying new technology – it’s about reimagining how an in-house legal function can operate by combining the speed and efficiency of AI with the expertise and judgement of our legal professionals. It is an investment in a future where our lawyers can spend more time on strategic, high-value work to benefit our business colleagues and the customers they serve.” Winston Weinberg Harvey AI’s Chief Executive Officer Winston Weinberg said, “HSBC has a customer-centric mindset and a clear plan to become an AI fluent organisation. As part of this ambition, the Legal team is moving towards a more AI-enabled operating model that will help them deliver for the business – and by extension their customers – by becoming more data-driven, efficient and effective.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik The post HSBC Taps Harvey to Pilot AI Tools for Legal Teams appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Wise served close to 11 million active customers in the third quarter, helping lift cross-border volumes to £47.4 billion, up 25 percent year-on-year. The company said its active customer base grew 20 percent compared with a year earlier, while balances held on Wise accounts rose 34 percent to £27.5 billion, reflecting continued growth in the use of Wise accounts. Kristo Käärmann “We served nearly 11 million active customers this quarter, helping more people and businesses around the world with more of their financial needs,” said Kristo Käärmann, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wise. Wise said card and other revenue increased 30 percent year-on-year, contributing to a more diversified income mix beyond cross-border transfers. Instant transfers accounted for 74 percent of payments, up from 65 percent in the same quarter last year, following further investment in infrastructure and direct integrations with domestic payment systems. “We delivered 74% of payments instantly, up nine percentage points year-on-year. This is a clear benefit of our continued focus on infrastructure – our licences, integrations, technology and operations,” added Käärmann. During the quarter, Wise launched its travel card in India, where more than 75,000 customers joined the waiting list within a month. It also introduced Google Pay for customers in the Philippines as the first non-bank to do so, secured conditional licence approval in South Africa, marking its first licence in Africa, and went live with a direct integration to Japan’s Zengin payment system. The company said this brought its total number of direct domestic payment system integrations to eight. Wise Business also continued to expand, with active customers rising 25 percent year-on-year to 542,000, while business volumes grew 37 percent over the same period. The results were reported as Wise continues preparations for a proposed dual listing of its shares in the US and the UK, which the company expects to complete in the first half of 2026. “Our financial performance in Q3 and throughout FY26 has been strong and we remain on track to meet our guidance. We expect to complete our dual listing in the first half of 2026, which will further increase our profile in the US as we remain focused on accelerating global growth and becoming the network for the world’s money,” Käärmann said. Wise said it now expects its underlying profit before tax margin for FY26 to be towards the upper end of its medium-term target range of 13 to 16 percent, including costs related to the planned dual listing.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by AveDiana via Freepik   The post Wise Serves Nearly 11 Million Users, Plans 2026 Dual Listing appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Airwallex has completed the acquisition of Paynuri, gaining the licences required to enter the South Korean market. Paynuri holds Payment Gateway and Prepaid Electronic Payment Instrument licences, as well as a Foreign Exchange Business registration. The acquisition allows Airwallex to operate regulated payment and foreign exchange services locally, serving Korean companies expanding overseas and international firms operating in Korea. Airwallex plans to launch global business accounts and payment acquiring services first, with additional products scheduled for rollout in 2026. The company said the move will give Korean businesses access to tools for managing cross-border payments, multi-currency accounts and international transfers through a single platform. South Korea becomes the latest addition to Airwallex’s licensed footprint in Asia, which already includes Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. The acquisition follows Airwallex’s recent Series G fundraising, which valued the company at US$8 billion. The company said the capital is being used to support licensing and market expansion efforts across Asia. Arnold Chan Arnold Chan, General Manager, APAC at Airwallex, said, “This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone for Airwallex as we expand the global reach of our financial platform. Korea’s fast-growing ecommerce, creative and entertainment sectors present immense opportunities for Korean businesses on the global stage. Our goal is to support these businesses with a more efficient solution to expand beyond borders.” Lee, Jihyung Lee, Jihyung, President & CEO of Invest Seoul, said, “We are excited by this significant investment by Airwallex into the Korean market. We believe Airwallex’s entry will strengthen the financial operating environment for both Korean and global companies in the market. Invest Seoul will continue to collaborate closely with Airwallex to accelerate the digital transformation journey for Korean businesses, and to support more global companies in entering Seoul and operating their businesses successfully.” Airwallex reported continued growth in Asia Pacific in 2025, with revenue and transaction volumes rising year on year. The company plans to expand its local operations in Korea, targeting a team of around 20 employees by the end of 2026.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by digitizesc via Freepik The post Airwallex Completes Paynuri Acquisition to Enter South Korea appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In this interview, Fintech News Network Chief Editor, Vincent Fong sits down with Roger Wang (Huawei) and Wizard Hee (Netis Technologies) to uncover how the Huawei RongHai Program is helping banks skip years of development time. From the “Gandalf” project in Singapore to migrating core banking systems in less than 10 months, we explore why over 150 fintech partners have joined forces with Huawei to build the future of banking infrastructure. The post Uncovering RongHai: Huawei’s 150-Partner Secret Sauce for Intelligent Finance appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Agoda and Mastercard have partnered to update travel loyalty programmes for cardholders across the Asia Pacific region. The collaboration connects Agoda’s global inventory of flights and accommodation with Mastercard’s Global Redemption Suite, allowing banks to offer direct, real-time travel redemptions to customers. Banks connected to Mastercard’s rewards ecosystem can integrate a modular Agoda-powered travel redemption solution into their existing loyalty programmes. This allows cardholders to redeem points instantly and apply them directly to bookings across Agoda’s global inventory, while banks retain control over the branding and structure of their loyalty offerings. Matthew Driver “By enabling effortless redemption with Agoda, we’re creating a connected ecosystem that delivers convenience and meaningful value at every touchpoint. Together, we’re shaping a future where loyalty is dynamic, data-driven, and seamlessly integrated into the moments that matter most,” said Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific. The partnership reflects a broader shift toward more personalised and experience-led loyalty programmes, as banks look to make rewards easier to use and more relevant to different customer lifestyles. Travel-related benefits are increasingly being prioritised as institutions seek to improve engagement and encourage more frequent redemption. Damien Pfirsch “Across the industry, many loyalty points still go unused because customers don’t see enough real value or flexibility in how they redeem. By joining forces with Mastercard, we’re helping banks close that value gap with travel rewards that are immediate, intuitive, and genuinely useful. By embedding Agoda’s interfaces, technology, and global inventory into Mastercard’s solution, cardholders can use their points the way they want, on their timelines, while banks gain a simple, scalable way to modernise loyalty and drive deeper engagement,” said Damien Pfirsch, Chief Commercial Officer at Agoda. By linking banks to Agoda’s travel inventory through Mastercard’s network, the collaboration is positioned to support both greater flexibility for customers and measurable outcomes for banks, including higher redemption frequency and increased active card usage.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Trend2023 via Freepik The post Agoda and Mastercard Link Travel Redemptions to Bank Loyalty Programmes appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Juniper Group has acquired Singapore-based digital banking software firm Tagit Singapore, adding another fintech company to its portfolio. The financial details were not disclosed. Juniper Group operates under Vela Software, which is part of Canada-listed Constellation Software. Under the transaction, Tagit will become part of the TSI Group, a Juniper Group division headquartered in Chennai, India. The deal marks TSI Group’s third acquisition since joining Juniper Group in 2020 and its second in the Indian market, where it already operates alongside subsidiaries including SysArc. Based in Singapore, Tagit develops the Mobeix digital banking platform, a cloud-native system built on open APIs. The platform supports functions such as retail and corporate banking, family banking and digital onboarding, and is used by banks to deploy digital services across different customer segments. According to the company, Tagit’s software processes more than US$100 billion in transactions each year and enables banks to launch digital products more quickly without relying on large in-house development teams. Sandeep Bagaria “We are pleased to join the Juniper Group and enter the next phase of Tagit’s growth. This milestone reflects our shared commitment to innovation and customer success. As part of the Juniper Group, we are well positioned to accelerate our product roadmap, expand our market reach, and deliver greater long-term value to our customers and partners worldwide.” said Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit. Karthik Doraiswamy “We are extremely excited to welcome Tagit to Juniper Group. Tagit’s talented team and high performing technology stack are a fantastic addition to our portfolio of financial technology software companies. Together, we can deliver more comprehensive solutions and meet the full range of technology needs for our customers and partners.” said Karthik Doraiswamy, CEO of TSI Group.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Tagit  The post Juniper Group Acquires Digital Banking Software Firm Tagit appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Trust Bank has launched fractional trading for US stocks and exchange-traded funds, allowing customers in Singapore to invest with smaller amounts of capital. The feature lets users buy portions of shares, with investments starting from US$10. Through a partnership with Saxo Singapore, customers can access more than 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs directly within the Trust App. The service was initially offered to customers on a waitlist in November 2025. Since then, around 10,000 customers have opened trading accounts. Trust Bank said about 45 percent of customers who traded during this period made fractional trades. The bank is offering zero commission on trades until 30 June 2026, with no custody, platform, or settlement fees during this period. Customers who make a first trade of at least US$1,000 may also receive a free fractional stock worth up to US$500 under a promotion that runs until 31 March 2026. The trading feature is integrated within the Trust App, allowing customers to fund investments directly from their savings accounts without transferring money to an external brokerage platform. Trust said account opening typically takes less than one minute. Dwaipayan Sadhu Dwaipayan Sadhu, CEO of Trust Bank, said, “At Trust, we believe investing should be simple, transparent, and accessible to everyone. With TrustInvest, customers can now trade US stocks and ETFs right from the Trust App, backed by Saxo’s world-class platform. This is just the beginning of our journey to make wealth-building easier and more rewarding for all.” Mahesh Sethuraman Mahesh Sethuraman, Singapore CEO of Saxo, said, “Our purpose at Saxo is simple: get curious people invested in the world. Long-term participation in financial markets remains the surest path to securing one’s future, and we’ve helped make that possible in Singapore for over two decades. Together with Trust Bank, we’re proud to open the investing landscape even wider and deliver a positive impact at scale.” Trust Bank said it is the first banking app in Singapore to offer fractional trading of US stocks and ETFs.     Featured image: (From left) Ivan Chang, APAC Regional Manager, Institutional Business, Saxo; Dwaipayan Sadhu, CEO of Trust Bank; Mahesh Sethuraman, Singapore CEO of Saxo; Aditya Gupta, Chief Product Officer, Trust Bank   The post Trust Bank Launches Fractional Trading for US Stocks, ETFs From US$10 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Osome, the Singapore-based business management platform, has appointed Eugenio Ferrante as CEO. Ferrante takes on the role after advising the company for the past 16 months, formalising a leadership transition that began when he joined in an advisory capacity. He succeeds founder Victor Lysenko, who stepped down in 2025 after growing the platform to more than 30,000 customers. Prior to joining Osome, Ferrante led Casa Mia Coliving to a successful exit and founded ColivHQ, a software platform for co-living and rental housing operators. He previously served as Chief of Staff at Acronis and held senior regional and operational roles at Parallels and Bain & Company. The appointment comes as Osome reported two record months for revenue from new customers, which rose 100 percent year on year in November 2025 and 85 percent in December. Annual recurring revenue increased 22 percent from a year earlier, while average revenue per user grew 25 percent. The company said the growth followed a rebuild of its commercial strategy over the past 16 months, with a sharper focus on predictable revenue and service delivery rather than rapid expansion. Eugenio Ferrante “We stopped trying to be everything to everyone. We asked ourselves: what do global founders coming to Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates actually need? The answer was simple—remove the administrative chaos so they can focus on building their businesses.” says Ferrante. Looking ahead, the company said it will make targeted investments while maintaining operational discipline. It will continue developing its platform to provide clearer financial visibility, more automated and predictable month-end processes, and decision support based on continuously updated insights. This marks a shift away from compliance-led accounting towards a more integrated operating platform.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by anonto1458 via Freepik The post Eugenio Ferrante Takes Over as CEO of Osome appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Aspire is adding Deel’s Employer of Record services to its platform as more founders turn to international hiring to scale their teams. The move reflects growing demand for simpler cross-border employment tools as startups expand beyond their home markets. Aspire data shows that 63 percent of businesses already hire internationally or plan to do so, often starting with small overseas teams of one to three employees before expanding across multiple markets. Through the integration, Aspire customers can access Deel’s Employer of Record infrastructure within the platform, allowing them to hire employees abroad while managing payroll and compliance alongside their financial operations. The offering aims to reduce the complexity of navigating local labour laws, tax requirements and regulatory obligations across jurisdictions. Aspire continues to provide business accounts, treasury, foreign exchange and cross-border payments, while Deel handles employment and compliance services. The integrated Employer of Record service is now available to Aspire customers. Andrea Baronchelli “We chose Deel for the strength of its infrastructure and its demonstrated ability to operate consistently across complex regulatory environments at global scale. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to giving founders the solid foundations they need to expand confidently into new markets.” said Andrea Baronchelli, CEO and Co-Founder of Aspire. Ryan Freeman “Too often, companies are forced to manage global hiring and financial operations as separate systems. By connecting our employment and compliance infrastructure with Aspire’s financial platform, founders gain a clearer understanding of how hiring decisions translate into financial impact. This partnership moves global teams toward a more transparent, controlled, and sustainable model for international growth.” said Ryan Freeman, Global Head of Partnerships at Deel.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by smartmalik6384 via Freepik The post Aspire Taps Deel to Support International Hiring for Startups appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

HSBC’s market value could climb beyond £300 billion as the bank builds on a strong rally in its shares, according to comments from a senior executive. The view was shared during a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Michael Roberts Michael Roberts, who leads HSBC’s corporate and investment banking business, said the lender’s earnings outlook supports a higher valuation despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. HSBC recently crossed the £200 billion mark for the first time and is now valued at about £210 billion. The share price gains have cemented HSBC’s position as Europe’s largest bank by market capitalisation, ahead of rivals including Banco Santander, UBS Group and BNP Paribas. The comments come as HSBC moves beyond a year of restructuring under Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery. The overhaul involved job cuts, business consolidation and selected exits as the bank sought to simplify operations and lower costs. Roberts said that phase is largely complete, with the focus shifting to growth. Technology is expected to play a key role in that next phase. Roberts said artificial intelligence should help improve productivity rather than drive mass layoffs, while reducing administrative work and allowing bankers to spend more time with clients. He also pointed to the growing role of digital assets and tokenisation in trading activity. HSBC has been testing advanced technologies, including quantum computing, within its trading business. The bank disclosed last year that early trials showed potential to improve the pricing of financial assets, highlighting how emerging tools could reshape markets over time.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ilygraphic via Freepik The post HSBC May Reach £300 Billion Valuation After Major Restructuring appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore bank branches and off-premise automated teller machines have fallen by an average of about 2 percent a year over the past decade. Banks have been rationalising their physical networks as customers increasingly shift to online banking and cashless payments. The figures were disclosed by Gan Kim Yong, who is also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in a written parliamentary reply. He said the three local banks currently operate more than 150 retail branches and over 1,600 off-premise ATMs across Singapore, with more than 1,200 of these located within Housing & Development Board towns. Gan said MAS monitors ATM and branch coverage and engages banks to ensure customers continue to have reasonable access to banking services. When siting ATMs and branches, banks consider factors including footfall, transaction volume, population density and proximity to public transport, typically prioritising locations central to daily activities such as heartland malls and food centres. Banks also review the Urban Redevelopment Authority master plan and government tenders to identify suitable locations in new and existing housing estates. As part of efforts to offset the reduction in physical locations, banks have expanded the use of multi-function ATMs and partnered retail outlets including 7-Eleven, Giant and Sheng Siong to allow customers to withdraw cash when making purchases. MAS said it will continue working with banks to maintain access to cash services while encouraging greater use of digital banking channels.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user33154880 via Freepik The post Singapore Bank Branches, ATMs Fall Around 2% a Year as Digital Use Rises appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Private banking arm Bank of Singapore has appointed Collins Chin as its Group Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect, according to a report by The Edge. Collins Chin Chin will join the bank’s Global Management Committee and report to Chief Executive Officer Jason Moo. He moves into the role from parent group OCBC, where he held senior finance and investor relations responsibilities. Chin joined OCBC in 2009 as Head of Group Financial and Management Reporting and was appointed Head of Investor Relations in 2013, working closely with the investment community and supporting the group’s capital market activities and corporate transactions. Prior to joining OCBC, Chin was Head of Investor Relations at Singapore Exchange. Bank of Singapore said his background in financial management and investor engagement will support the bank’s strategic priorities and reflects the OCBC group’s focus on developing senior leadership internally.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by HobieArt via Freepik The post Bank of Singapore Taps Collins Chin for Group CFO Role appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Payments software provider ACI Worldwide has appointed JP Krishnamoorthy as Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. JP Krishnamoorthy Krishnamoorthy joined the company in December 2025 and has assumed leadership of ACI’s Global Technology and Innovation organisation. In the role, he will be responsible for advancing ACI’s technology strategy to support faster product delivery and more scalable payments services for banking, biller and merchant customers that process trillions of dollars in transactions each year. Tom Warsop Tom Warsop, CEO of ACI Worldwide, said, “We are in a critical modernisation phase, and we need a technology leader who understands how to drive innovation and build smarter capabilities into our platforms while maintaining the 24/7 reliability our customers require. JP has that rare combination of experience in payments systems at scale, successful product innovation and leadership, and AI implementation. He’s exactly the right leader to accelerate our technology evolution. He is a recognised force in today’s rapidly-changing software industry, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the ACI team.” Before joining ACI, Krishnamoorthy served as Executive Vice President of Engineering, AI, Cloud Operations and Cybersecurity at Coupa Software. In that role, he led platform modernisation initiatives and helped develop Community.ai, which uses machine learning to extract operational intelligence from customer transaction data at scale. He previously held senior roles at Oracle and Portal Software. The appointment follows the planned departure of Abe Kuruvilla, who has served as Chief Technology Officer since 2023. During his tenure, ACI brought products including ACI Connetic and Speedpay One to general availability, implemented Fed ISO 20022 and SWIFT Hybrid Address regulatory requirements, and strengthened its technology leadership team.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by smth.design via Freepik The post ACI Worldwide Appoints JP Krishnamoorthy as Tech and Innovation Chief appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore’s Sea Ltd has increased its investment in MariBank with a S$75 million capital injection, lifting the digital bank’s paid-up capital to about US$639 million. The funding was disclosed in regulatory filings and first reported by DealStreetAsia. The top-up comes after another shareholder injection in May 2025, when Sea added about US$78 million to MariBank’s capital base as the lender continued to expand its operations. Singapore’s digital banks are required to raise capital progressively as they grow under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s licensing framework. The latest funding comes as digital lenders across the region place greater emphasis on improving profitability and strengthening customer engagement, following an initial phase of rapid deposit growth. MariBank has broadened its business beyond core savings and payments, moving into areas such as small and medium-sized enterprise lending and gold-linked investment products. These offerings are intended to deepen usage across its customer base and support more sustainable economics. Financial disclosures show that MariBank’s revenue increased sharply in 2024, even as costs remained elevated. Total income rose to S$24.4 million from S$10.1 million a year earlier, supported by higher interest-related income as lending activity expanded. Operating expenses climbed to S$71.4 million from S$62 million as the bank continued to build out its operations. After setting aside S$4.4 million for expected credit losses, MariBank recorded a loss after tax of S$51.3 million for the year, compared with S$52.2 million in 2023. The bank reported a total comprehensive loss of S$51 million for 2024, little changed from the previous year. Speaking at DealStreetAsia’s Asia PE-VC Summit 2025 in Singapore, MariBank’s Chief Financial Officer said the bank measures performance by how frequently customers use its services rather than by transaction volumes alone, as it works towards long-term sustainability. MariBank launched in March 2023 and has since introduced features such as fee-free remittances, savings accounts with daily interest crediting, and investment products that allow instant withdrawals.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik The post Sea Injects Another S$75 Million Into MariBank Amid Revenue Growth appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Fujitsu Limited and SC Ventures have announced the launch of Qubitra Technologies. It is a joint venture aimed at advancing quantum computing applications and building a global quantum ecosystem. Previously incubated as Project Quanta in September 2025, Qubitra will operate from the UK. The company will focus on high-performance applications and a marketplace platform for quantum software and hardware providers. Vishal Shete, CEO of Qubitra, said: Vishal Shete “Our mission at Qubitra is to turn quantum innovation into business impact by combining high-performance applications with a collaborative ecosystem that advances the industry.” Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, added: Alex Manson “Qubitra, with access to Fujitsu’s quantum software and hardware, will leverage quantum technology across a number of use cases to rewire the DNA in banking and beyond.” Qubitra plans to develop proprietary applications in areas such as fraud detection, derivatives pricing, and financial markets trading, using quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms alongside machine learning methods. Initial implementations with financial institutions, hedge funds, and family offices are underway, with the first go-live expected in early 2026. The venture is also creating a marketplace platform that connects quantum software and hardware providers with end users. The platform will integrate multiple technologies, including Fujitsu’s quantum hardware, Digital Annealer, and proprietary applications, supporting experimentation and deployment across the quantum stack. It will include both Qubitra’s and third-party offerings, with a usage-based model to encourage participation. A pilot group of users is expected in 2026, with a full launch to follow. The founding leadership team combines expertise in finance, frontier technologies, and fintech venture-building. Vishal Shete leads as CEO, Daniel Wynne serves as COO, bringing experience in banking and capital markets, and Kugendran Naidoo is CSO, specialising in quantum algorithms and machine learning. This neutral summary outlines Qubitra’s focus on delivering practical quantum applications and building a collaborative ecosystem for the quantum community.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Amax Photo via Freepik This article first appeared on Fintech News Hong Kong The post Fujitsu and SC Ventures Launch Qubitra to Advance Quantum Computing appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Leadership changes are under way at GXS Bank, with Geraldine Wong and Vishal Shah scheduled to leave at the end of February 2026, according to an internal email seen by Fintech News Singapore. Geraldine Wong Geraldine, Chief Data Officer at GXS Bank and one of the digital bank’s early employees, has spent the past five years leading the bank’s data and artificial intelligence strategy. Her work included building data partnerships across the group and developing AI capabilities used internally and by customers. During her tenure, GXS took part in Project Mindforge, an industry taskforce led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore that examines the responsible use of generative AI. Vishal Shah Vishal, who served as Group Head of Business Banking, led the rollout of business banking services in Singapore and Malaysia and oversaw the acquisition and integration of GXS Capital. The internal email said the loan book at GXS Capital doubled over the past eight months under his leadership. From 2 March 2026, Caroline Chong, Head of Data at GX Bank in Malaysia, will oversee the data team at GXS Bank on an interim basis. GXS Group CEO Pei-Si Lai will work more closely with the business banking team while the group finalises a replacement for the Group Head of Business Banking role. Insurance and finance emerge as key focus for Grab and GXS The departures come as GXS and Grab continue to align their financial services operations more closely. Jenn Ong, Group Head of Retail, will oversee the consumer business for GrabFin and GXS Group, while the MSME business will be led by a future Group Head of Business Banking once appointed. Julianne Heng will lead payments strategy for the combined financial services ecosystem. Risk, legal and marketing functions are also being aligned across the group. Credit risk, collections and fraud risk for the banks will be led by Grab executives Rupa Mukherjee and Farrah Harriet Ratnaike, reporting to Vincent Mok, Group Chief Risk Officer. Legal matters for GXS Bank and GX Bank will be handled by Grab country legal heads Joan Xue and Cindy Sim, subject to regulatory approvals. Pamela Chia will lead marketing across the unified financial services operations. The internal email said GXS and Grab will also deepen collaboration in areas such as insurance and finance to support regional scale. In the coming months, customer experience, data, engineering, people and product teams across GXS Group and Grab are expected to work more closely together, with further details to be shared later. The post C-Level Departures at GXS Bank as Geraldine Wong and Vishal Shah Exit appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Bill Deng, Founder and CEO of XTransfer, watched multinational corporations move billions across borders with relative ease, while SMEs were left navigating a maze of fragmented ledgers, opaque fees, and the ever-present risk of having accounts frozen without warning. That imbalance, Deng argues, was reinforced by the industry’s growing reliance on de-risking. This was a compliance-driven retreat that pushed smaller businesses to the fringes of the formal financial system, as they were deemed not very profitable yet high in risk exposure. And for many SMEs, a single flagged transaction could mean days without access to working capital, payroll disruptions, or even bankruptcy. Deng believes the root of the problem was never SMEs, but the outdated tools used to assess them. Now processing over US$12 billion in transactions each month for more than 800,000 enterprises globally, XTransfer is building an alternative financial infrastructure catered to cross-border trade at scale. From Fragmented Ledgers to a Common Language Traditional cross-border payments still operate like a relay race between private ledgers. Funds move between sending banks, correspondent banks and finally to the receiving bank, with each step requiring reconciliation between ledgers that were never designed to work seamlessly together. As Deng explains, Bill Deng “The ledgers have to ‘talk’ to one another, so the interoperability is not smooth. The other thing is that each player has a different database about AML. AML is all about data, which they can’t share directly.” Deng views stablecoins as a structural solution to this fragmentation. By moving trade onto a “common ledger” (blockchain), the industry can bypass the chain of private ledgers entirely, eliminating many of the reconciliation and settlement delays that plague traditional banking. At the same time, new infrastructure players are addressing the compliance bottleneck. Startups such as Notabene are developing ways for stablecoin issuers and receivers to securely exchange KYC information, allowing compliance data to travel alongside value. Deng is optimistic about stablecoins, sharing, “In the next three years, when every stablecoin company will be regulated, they will become the only way to convert to fiat currency. They will also apply all AML-related work in a new way. This will bring in a lot of new corridors, new bridges, and a lot of benefits to the customers.” X-NET, The AI-Powered Bridge While blockchain may define the future, the immediate pain point for SMEs remains compliance friction today. Deng traces the origins of XTransfer back to 2017, when banks increasingly withdrew services from SMEs because the cost of manual AML checks outweighed the commercial upside. “It was an existential crisis for some of them (SMEs). So we decided that there needs to be a platform that makes money movement easier.” That platform became X-NET. Designed as a scheme-like layer between banks and businesses, X-NET sits between senders and receivers to perform two core functions: simplifying money movement and automating compliance. The secret to its speed? AI-supported automation. Source: X-Net Whitepaper, XTransfer “We digitalised and automated everything about AML from the beginning with the power of AI. As most of the information is unstructured, the large language model was masterful in converting the data into structured ones, which was very helpful.” By automating onboarding, transaction monitoring, and risk analysis, XTransfer has reduced compliance costs to less than 5% of what traditional banks typically spend. Just as importantly, the automation dramatically improves speed and consistency. @fintechnewsnetwork They’ve landed over 100 banking partners. Xtransfer now processes over 12 billion USD every month for SMEs around the world. #fintech #b2bpqyments #crossborderpayments #SME #banking ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network What once took weeks, such as account openings, can now happen in hours. With a quick speed to market, XTransfer’s efficiency allows an exporter in Shanghai to be onboarded in 24 hours, providing them with a local bank account in countries like Singapore quickly. Making Cross-Border Feel Local The ambition behind X-NET is simple but far-reaching: to make a cross-border transaction feel like a domestic one. In the past, a Chinese exporter selling to Singapore would wait days for a USD wire transfer. Today, they can offer their buyer a way to pay in Singapore Dollars (SGD), which XTransfer receives and clears in minutes. This strategy is expanding rapidly. Deng recently announced major partnerships with KBank, Maybank, and is looking into the top 30 countries to build their local bank partnerships in. “These bank partners in local markets will be able to help us collect money locally and convert it into Chinese yuan or USD. We’ll be able to sweep all the funds into our treasury hub, and if our clients need us to send it (funds) to Vietnam or China, we can do it in minutes.” In 2025 alone, Deng shared that the company secured over 100 new bank partnerships. The Race for Validity in an AI Era As the industry moves into 2026, the conversation around SME cross-border payments is shifting. What XTransfer is ultimately competing on is credibility. The ability to prove that a transaction represents real trade, real goods, and real economic activity. By using AI to verify the genuineness of trade, from analysing website data and logistics trails to scanning digital footprints, the platform is helping SMEs build something they have historically lacked: a financial identity banks can trust. The bigger implication is structural. As platforms like X-NET succeed, the traditional hierarchy of global finance begins to flatten. A small exporter in a developing market no longer has to be treated as inherently higher risk simply because of size or geography. They can be assessed, priced, and trusted based on data. That is one shift underway, which is best understood in Deng’s own words. To hear Bill Deng explain how his experience in cross-border payments shaped XTransfer’s approach to stablecoins, AI-driven compliance and more with our Chief Editor Vincent Fong, watch the full conversation in the YouTube video below: Featured image by Fintech News Singapore The post Bill Deng Built XTransfer Because the System Was Failing SMEs appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Merchants in Southeast Asia will soon gain wider access to overseas payment routes, including in the European Union and the US, following a tie-up between Primer and HitPay. HitPay serves as merchant of record for businesses in Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, handling payment processing, compliance and settlement for companies selling to customers in the US and Europe. Under the partnership, HitPay will use Primer’s unified infrastructure to connect with local acquirers in key international markets, extending multi-currency card acceptance beyond the region while maintaining high-performing, locally optimised payment flows. Aditya Haripurkar Aditya Haripurkar, Co-founder and CEO of HitPay said, “Our merchants have evolved from serving primarily local customers to selling globally – from Southeast Asian exporters reaching the US, to travel and hospitality businesses attracting European customers. Accelerated access to new markets and local-level payment performance will be transformative for our fast-growing merchants. The integration was fast, with minimal engineering – but the impact has been immediate, especially in fast-growing segments like travel.” Gabriel Le Roux Gabriel Le Roux, Co-founder and CEO of Primer said, “Enabling merchants to scale internationally is still one of the hardest problems in payments. By partnering with HitPay, we’re opening new markets for their merchants and laying the foundation for long-term global expansion. This partnership shows how open, unified payments infrastructure can drive real growth for fintechs and the millions of businesses they power.” HitPay will integrate into Primer through the Primer for Partners programme, which was launched last month. The programme allows payment and alternative payment providers to connect directly to the Primer platform. As a result, Primer merchants will gain access to more than 700 local payer options across Southeast Asia without additional integrations.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by digitizesc via Freepik The post Primer, HitPay Expand Cross-Border Payments for Southeast Asia Merchants appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Digital banking in Asia was supposed to change the world. Five years later, did it live up to the hype? In this in-depth retrospective, Vincent Fong (Chief Editor, Fintech News Network) sits down with David Becker (Managing Director, Head of APAC Sales, Mambu) to unpack the last five years of the digital banking boom. They discuss why the predicted “death of traditional banks” never happened, how incumbents managed to adapt so quickly, and why the real revolution is happening in rural financial inclusion rather than just glossy apps. From the technical challenges of cloud-native infrastructure to the “boring but important” reality of AI in banking, this conversation covers the state of play in 2026 and what the next generation of banks will look like. Key Topics Covered: The 5-Year Report Card: Why the market is more balanced between new players and incumbents than anyone expected. Speed is Survival: Why launching in 3 to 4 months is the new standard for success. The AI Reality Check: Moving beyond the hype to discuss governance, credit scoring, and data analysis. Financial Inclusion: How digital credit is creating real-world jobs and lifting communities out of poverty in Indonesia and the Philippines. Future Trends: The rise of Islamic Banking and ESG in the digital space. The post Why Cross Border Payments Fail SMEs And How XTransfer Fixes It appeared first on Fintech Singapore.