Companies seeking dual listings on both SGX and Nasdaq could go through a more streamlined IPO process under proposed rule changes by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). MAS has issued its response to a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures Act 2001 to support dual listings on the Singapore Exchange. The changes support the planned Global Listing Board, a partnership between SGX and Nasdaq announced in November 2025, and are intended to facilitate similar collaborations in future. Under the proposed MAS dual listings framework, eligible issuers on the Global Listing Board may use a single set of offering documents for a simultaneous listing on SGX and Nasdaq. They will also be allowed to conduct pre-marketing outreach with accredited and institutional investors in Singapore before lodging a preliminary prospectus, subject to safeguards. MAS noted that this would help issuers gauge investor interest earlier in the IPO process. Single Set of Documents for SGX-Nasdaq Listings For concurrent offerings on the Global Listing Board, the Singapore prospectus would only need to include information aligned with what is already required for a US listing. Issuers would also be able to register their prospectus in Singapore any time after lodging the preliminary prospectus, without observing the current minimum seven-day public exposure period before registration. The proposed framework will introduce safe harbours for certain activities by Global Listing Board issuers, including forward-looking statements, share repurchases and pre-determined trades. These safe harbours may be used as a defence against specified market misconduct provisions under the Securities and Futures Act for trading activities in both markets. MAS confirmed that Singapore authorities will retain full discretion to enforce against disclosure breaches or market misconduct that occur in Singapore. Singapore investors will also be able to seek compensation for losses arising from such breaches under existing investor recourse provisions. Respondents supported the aim of streamlining the IPO process for dual listings. They also suggested further alignment in investor outreach, prospectus registration and post-listing activities in Singapore. The regulator incorporated these suggestions where feasible. MAS will proceed with proposed amendments that apply to all offers made in conjunction with an SGX listing, including those on the Global Listing Board. For the Global Listing Board, the framework will be implemented through regulations if the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2026 is passed in Parliament. SGX RegCo has separately issued its response to its consultation on the listing rule book for the Global Listing Board.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by MDROTONALI via Magnific The post MAS Sets Out Framework for SGX-Nasdaq Dual Listings After Consultation appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

When Dwaipayan Sadhu spoke to Fintech News Singapore last year, the Trust Bank CEO shared that said the bank was actively working towards profitability. @fintechnewsnetwork Trust Bank just announced that they are the first digital bank to be profitable in Singapore. Last year their CEO Dwai said Fintech News Network that they anticipate to be profitable this year. fintech digitalbanking #Banking ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network That target has now materialised. Trust Bank hit profitability in Singapore for the first time in March 2026, just over three years after its launch in September 2022, becoming the first of Singapore’s five digital banks to announce the milestone. But the more important story is how it got there. Backed by Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group, Trust Bank credits the milestone to three drivers: stronger customer engagement, a broader product suite, and greater operating efficiency through AI and automation. How Trust Bank Reached Profitability Trust Bank’s path to profitability appears to have come from increasing usage across more parts of the customer’s financial life, rather than relying on customer acquisition alone. The first driver, to that end, is customer engagement. “We are also built on customer advocacy, with 70+% of new clients coming in as references from other clients,” Dwaipayan shared. Trust credit cards are now used about 25 times every month on average. In 2025, the bank also disbursed over S$900 million in loans as 50,000+ customers kicked off their investment journey with the bank. The second driver was product expansion. Trust Bank has developed an ecosystem spanning saving, spending, budgeting, borrowing, insurance and investing, giving customers more reasons to use it beyond a single bank product. This expansive product suite has helped deepen multi-product relationships and strengthen customer engagement, which the bank refers to as a “true all-in-one digital bank.” Trust Bank shares that its third driver is AI and automation. Since 2023, Trust Bank’s customer base has grown by more than 1.5 times, while card transactions have increased by almost 2.5 times in spite of costs declining. In 2025, revenues grew 39% YoY while costs fell by 7%. The bank attributed its efficiency gains to extensive automation and early adoption of AI. The bank also shares that it is the first to introduce a fully integrated Gen-AI-enabled customer service chatbot, delivering real-time handoffs to human agents. Nearly half of all customer chats today are handled by the Trust AI chatbot from start to finish. The success behind this lies in how the interaction is designed. Unlike traditional chatbots that run on rigid scripts, Trust AI allows customers to interact naturally. Should human intervention become necessary, the conversation is transferred within the same chat. This allows the human agent to pick up where the AI left off without customers having to repeat themselves. AI is also applied to shift from reactive complaint handling to proactive complaint prevention, as Trust’s AI solution conducts sentiment analysis of every customer interaction in real time. In doing so, Trust Bank is able to intervene more swiftly than regular conventional processes, which only surfaces an issue once a formal complaint is in. Trust Bank Profitability in Singapore: Numbers at a Glance Trust Bank reports that over 170,000 customers now use Trust as their primary financial institution, while 240,000 Savings Pots are being used by customers to fund their financial goals. The bank’s Trust card spending also captured about 22% of the market share for total Visa foreign exchange spending. Source: Trust Bank Salary crediting now accounts for about a third of the bank’s total deposit balances. In 2025, Trust Bank disbursed about S$900 million in loans. The digital bank also sold over 75,000 insurance policies and saw around 50,000 customers open TrustInvest accounts. One Key Milestone in a Bigger, Customer-Led Journey In an exclusive interview with Fintech News Network today,  Dwaipayan went deeper into that journey, sharing how Trust Bank has been steadily improving its operating losses every quarter. Those gains have gradually compounded into the bank’s current profitability milestone in March 2026. Dwaipayan Sadhu “For example, last year, we grew revenue by 39%, which has, at the same time, been accompanied by efficiency gains, reduced costs by 7%, as well as our strong risk management discipline.” This is no small feat. Looking back, Dwaipayan said that Trust Bank has been “quite fortunate” to have crossed several vital milestones, from reaching 1 million clients in Singapore and becoming the 4th largest bank here by customer numbers. But for him, financial sustainability is only one part of the story. A realist at heart and one firmly focused on the customer, he shared more insights, “The real milestone that matters is to make sure we are the best bank that customers love, and the fact that we are rated the #1 app in the App store gives me a lot of confidence and happiness. We are also built on customer advocacy, with 70+% of new clients coming in as references from other clients.” His next ambition is for Trust Bank to become Singapore’s most loved bank. If the bank can achieve that, he believes sustainable growth will follow. Trust Bank intends to continue zeroing in on the consumer segment, where its strength lies. Its proposition, anchored by NTUC FairPrice, gives the bank a clear avenue to create everyday value for customers. “You can expect us to bring new innovations to the market. We will build new cards and lending propositions, and new product innovations in digital wealth. We started Trust Invest last year, but we are just scratching the surface. As a digital-native bank, we believe we have an opportunity to create something really differentiated.” Keen to know what else is on the table post the Trust Bank profitability Singapore announcement today? Watch the YouTube video for a deeper picture of Dwaipayan Sadhu’s vision. Featured image by Trust Bank The post How Trust Bank Became Singapore’s First Digital Bank to Reach Profitability appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Stripe is pushing deeper into AI commerce with 288 new products and features covering agent payments, fraud controls, stablecoin micropayments and business banking tools. The announcements were made at Stripe Sessions, the company’s annual customer conference. Google Partnership Expands AI Commerce Stripe is partnering Google to allow businesses to sell to consumers inside AI Mode and the Gemini app. The partnership adds Google support to Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Suite, which lets businesses sell inside AI applications through a single integration. The suite is already being used by businesses including Kate Spade, Best Buy and Coach. Stripe said Quince, Fanatics and JD Sports are coming soon. Stripe has also announced similar partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta, and is bringing the suite to platforms such as Wix, BigCommerce and WooCommerce. The company also launched Link wallets for agents, allowing users to authorise AI agents to make payments on their behalf. Stripe said real payment details will not be exposed, with a one-time-use card issued for each task and user approval required for each payment. Stripe Targets Token Billing and AI Fraud Stripe also introduced streaming payments for AI businesses that need to charge for token usage in real time. The feature combines usage tracking from Metronome with stablecoin micropayments on the Tempo blockchain. Stripe said it allows businesses to collect payment for each token as it is used. Stripe has also expanded Radar to cover token theft and free trial abuse. The company reported that one in six attempted sign-ups across AI services running on Stripe is made by a bad actor, while free trial abuse has more than doubled in the past six months. For eight AI businesses, Radar blocked more than 3.3 million risky sign-ups in the past month. Treasury Expansion Adds Business Banking Tools Stripe also introduced a new version of Stripe Treasury, a global business account that allows companies to hold funds in 15 currencies and move money around the clock. Transfers between US businesses on Stripe will now be free and instant. Businesses will also be able to operate Treasury through AI services such as ChatGPT, earn rewards on fiat and stablecoin balances, receive 2 percent cashback on card payments, and pay out recipients in 100 countries using fiat and 160 countries using stablecoins. Stripe and Privy also launched digital asset accounts, giving fintech companies a single API to build stablecoin-based financial products. Ramp, Deel and DoorDash are among the companies building on the product. Stripe Projects, which allows developers and AI agents to sign up for, buy and integrate services needed to deploy products, is now available to all users. Stripe also added 14 new partners to Projects, including Render, Twilio, Sentry, WorkOS, Browserbase, GitLab and ElevenLabs, bringing the total number of providers to 32. Patrick Collison “AI is the biggest platform shift for the economy since the internet, and in the not-too-distant future agents will account for most transactions online. The enterprises and startups behind this wave are overwhelmingly building on Stripe. No matter what sector you’re in, the AI transformation requires new economic infrastructure, primitives, and abstractions. That’s the animating theme behind the 288 products and features we announced today,” said Patrick Collison, CEO and cofounder of Stripe.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on a screengrab from Stripe Sessions via YouTube The post Stripe Expands AI Commerce Push With 288 Launches and Google Deal appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Visa has added five blockchains to its stablecoin settlement pilot as the programme reaches a US$7 billion annualised run rate. The new additions are Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon and Tempo. They join Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar, bringing the total number of supported blockchains to nine. Visa said the expansion broadens the settlement networks available to issuers and acquirers as stablecoins move further into payment flows. The pilot’s annualised stablecoin settlement run rate has grown 50 percent from the previous quarter. Rubail Birwadker Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa, said, Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality. Expanding our stablecoin settlement pilot program to more blockchains means our partners can choose the networks that best fit their needs, while relying on Visa to provide a common settlement layer across all of them.” The pilot builds on earlier stablecoin settlement work across Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Visa has also expanded USDC settlement to U.S. banks and supports more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programmes in over 50 countries. The move reflects the wider spread of stablecoin activity across different blockchain networks, with settlement infrastructure evolving to support more choice for partners.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by nmrahim1257 and ttonaorh via Magnific The post Visa Adds Five Blockchains to Stablecoin Settlement Pilot appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Stablecoin is having its moment, or as described by some, a “stablecoin summer”. On-chain transactions have climbed from US$27.6 trillion to US$33 trillion. In Singapore alone, US$150 million flowed into four stablecoin startups in a single month. And on 10 April 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority handed its first two stablecoin issuer licences to HSBC and a Standard Chartered-led joint venture, Anchorpoint Financial. With so many developments happening in tandem, there’s a lot to discuss about what these developments mean to the industry. This set the tone for “Why Stablecoins May Become The Backbone of 24/7 Global Trade“, a webinar moderated by Fintech News Network’s Chief Editor Vincent Fong. The panel brought together Dan Sleep, Head of Business Solutions APAC at Fireblocks; Hassan Ahmed, Country Director Singapore at Coinbase; Naveen Gupta, Head of Business Development for Payments, APJ Leader, at Amazon Web Services; and Zach Yang, Co-Founder of FOMO Pay. The conversation spanned infrastructure, exchange, cloud, and merchant viewpoints. One core discussion took place: stablecoin adoption in Asia Pacific has cleared the regulatory and proof-of-concept stages in some markets, so what does the production phase actually look like? Hong Kong’s Bank-Led Licences Set the Regional Benchmark The webinar opened with the month’s biggest news, as Vincent explored the reasoning behind Hong Kong’s choices for its first batch of licensed stablecoin issuers. Sleep shared that the HKMA’s decision to award its first two stablecoin licences to note-issuing banks was the panel’s starting point. Of 36 applications submitted under the Stablecoins Ordinance that took effect in August 2025, only two cleared. That is roughly a 5% approval rate, a number Sleep described as deliberate rather than restrictive. He shares that this wasn’t a coincidence that these are essentially two out of the three note-issuing banks in Hong Kong. “It comes with the institutional reality, on whether it relates to the tooling, the technology, the infrastructure they’re using themselves, or the standards they bring around AML, KYC, and whitelisting that are quietly embedded into the way HKMA has rolled out their rules.” Sleep added that trust is a huge factor for these early movers. Hassan agreed, placing Hong Kong’s move within a broader regulatory wave sweeping major jurisdictions. He described what’s happening as a stablecoin summer, and pointed to the US GENIUS Act as the catalyst, with Singapore’s single-currency stablecoin framework now progressing and similar conversations underway across the UAE, Japan, and Australia. “Pretty much every major jurisdiction is about this: how do we get stablecoins to be a much more recognised form of money, how do we make sure that it’s in lit venues and there’s adequate consumer safeguards.” Hasan added that this regulatory harmonisation would help scale up business models from startups and corporates, not only from banks. Where Are Stablecoins Being Actively Used Today? On the demand side, the panel identified three immediate use-case clusters: cross-border treasury, B2B payouts, and merchant cross-border acceptance. Velocity and On-Demand Liquidity Sleep opened by stripping the conversation back to its core. From Fireblocks’ vantage point, which spans crypto-native participants through to institutional players, the dominant theme across use cases is velocity. He pointed to the depth and variety of payment platforms across Asia Pacific jurisdictions, each carrying its own frictions, and singled out correspondent banking as a prime example of legacy drag. Moving money between two Southeast Asian markets through a large US bank can still take two to three days, a delay long accepted as simply part of how cross-border payments work. Dan Sleep “Once you can solve for those aspects, you remove that friction. The cost is less of a play, because there are still embedded costs in operating on-chain and using stablecoins.” Sleep added that the real prize is float, not cost reduction. The elapsed time during which money sits in transit creates a performance drag that disappears once settlement accelerates, freeing treasury and transaction banking teams to deploy what he called on-demand liquidity and put assets to work in a more capital-efficient manner. Sleep pointed to Fireblocks’ newly released Financial Grid Report, a survey of 600+ executives across financial services globally. Of APAC institutions surveyed, 62% have already committed budget to digital assets this year, with stablecoins accounting for the lion’s share. A further 43% identified non-bank competitors such as PSPs and fintechs as the critical driver behind that shift, forcing incumbent banks to move faster to defend wallet share while accessing new markets. Source: Financial Grid Report, Fireblocks Sleep added that C-suite executives are increasingly owning and driving stablecoin strategy directly, rather than delegating to innovation teams. He described it as a quantum shift in how urgency around the issue is being perceived. FOMO Pay On Volkswagen and Invisible Payments Yang offered one of the clearest case studies of the session, pointing to a payment solution FOMO Pay launched for the Volkswagen Group Singapore months ago, enabling the carmaker to accept stablecoins as a payment instrument for vehicle purchases and related services. He broke down the existing payment landscape merchants currently navigate, from bank transfers and cheques to Visa and Mastercard rails, each with its own friction. Credit cards carry high merchant discount rates, while local rails are fast but capped by transaction limits. Telegraphic transfers, meanwhile, remain exposed to correspondent banking delays of T+1 or T+2. “Stablecoin is born as a global instrument, so it happens to solve the current problem statement from the client space.” Yang explained that the consumer experience is designed to be invisible. A buyer holding USDC simply pays in stablecoin, while the merchant receives settled local currency on the back end for reconciliation, with no operational change required. The best payment experience, he encapsulates, is no payment experience at all. Coinbase On Stablecoin Cards and the B2B/B2C Convergence Hassan broadened the lens from Coinbase’s viewpoint, distinguishing B2C and B2B flows, each with their own demand drivers. On the consumer side, he flagged stablecoin-issued cards as the hottest trend in the space right now, citing rapid growth at players like RedotPay, Rain, and Kast, several of which Coinbase Ventures has backed. “You want to open up the acceptance leg so you can make these stablecoins more useful and add utility for being able to pay for everyday goods and services, but you want to be able to fund that card with something that has higher velocity and more access.” AWS Gives A Clear View Across the Payment Value Chain Naveen brought the infrastructure perspective, mapping demand patterns across AWS’s customer base in APJ, which spans large financial institutions, PSPs and online payment gateways, and the mobile wallet operators that have expanded rapidly to reach unbanked populations across Southeast Asia and India. He observed that B2B and B2C use cases are increasingly converging. Within banking, he noted a stronger appetite for speedier and more efficient cross-border payments that cut through correspondent banking frictions, alongside growing interest in automated treasury and working capital management tooling for B2B clients. On the PSP side, he pointed to merchant demand to accept stablecoins as a consumer payment option and the potential for stablecoins to serve as a stable source of value for cross-border merchants seeking to isolate themselves from currency risk. “From an AWS standpoint, the core value proposition we take to our customers is how we can help them build a resilient, scalable, and secure stablecoin platform, and the underlying tooling behind that remains the same.” In a way, he closes, it’s more a question of how deliberate it is in pulling everything together to build a platform for tomorrow. Where Does Stablecoin Adoption in Asia Pacific Go From Here? The panel converged on a near-term outlook. Sleep expects the global stablecoin market cap, which sits around US$315 billion today, to potentially double again over the next six months. Real-world asset tokenisation is poised to scale on the back of stablecoin-enabled delivery-versus-payment settlement. More than half of the surveyed financial institutions are still in the pilot or planning stage, and only 16% have reached production. Closing that gap will depend on businesses making the right infrastructure decisions, the right architecture choices, and finding the right entry points. Hassan expects non-USD stablecoins to take a measurable share of on-chain FX volume, with agentic payments, where AI agents settle micro-transactions in stablecoins, emerging as an early but credible adjacent market. For banks, fintechs, regulators, and merchants, the immediate question is no longer whether stablecoins belong in the payments stack for stablecoin adoption in Asia Pacific. It is which corridors, currencies, and customer segments to anchor first. Keen to know more about how leading payment providers are implementing stablecoin adoption in Asia Pacific and their evolving utility as they move towards real-world payment flows? Watch the full webinar replay on YouTube: Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on image by mehaniq on Freepik The post Stablecoin Adoption in Asia Pacific Is Past The Pilot Stage. What Happens Next? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

PayPal is restructuring its business into three divisions and appointing new leaders across key growth areas. The company will move to an operating model focused on Checkout Solutions & PayPal, Consumer Financial Services & Venmo, and Payment Services & Crypto. Checkout Solutions & PayPal will bring together the company’s consumer and merchant ecosystems under one strategy. Consumer Financial Services & Venmo will focus on expanding Venmo into a broader consumer financial services platform. The Payment Services & Crypto division will combine PayPal’s processing and platform capabilities, including Braintree, small business processing, value-added services and crypto offerings such as PYUSD. PayPal also announced several leadership changes amid the restructuring. Frank Keller has been appointed President of Checkout Solutions & PayPal, while Alexis Sowa will serve as interim lead for Consumer Financial Services & Venmo. Jeff Pomeroy has been appointed interim lead for Payment Services & Crypto. Antonio Lucio will join PayPal as Chief Marketing & Corporate Affairs Officer, while Anshu Bhardwaj has been appointed Chief AI Transformation & Simplification Officer. Enrique Lores Enrique Lores, President and CEO of PayPal, said, “To accelerate growth and unlock our full potential, we need to recommit to our fundamentals—getting much closer to the consumer, aligning the company around three strong businesses, simplifying how we work, sharpening accountability, and prioritising operational excellence. By aligning our structure with our strategy in this simplified approach, we will be better equipped to drive sustainable growth and value creation for PayPal, our customers, and our shareholders.” Diego Scotti, EVP and General Manager of PayPal’s Consumer Group, will leave the company. PayPal credited him with helping to accelerate Venmo’s growth and monetisation, as well as supporting the launch of PayPal Everywhere, PayPal+ and PayPal Ads. Michelle Gill, EVP and General Manager of the Small Business & Financial Services Group, will also depart. PayPal noted her work in strengthening its small business and financial services capabilities, expanding buy now, pay later (BNPL) options and supporting its move into AI-driven payment experiences. The company will share more details on the new operating model during its earnings call on 5 May.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by agilimam107 via Magnific   The post PayPal Restructuring Creates Three Units Around Checkout, Venmo and Crypto appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Visa has launched its Agentic Ready programme in Singapore with 13 issuers to help banks and fintech firms prepare for payments initiated by AI agents. The programme allows issuers to test and validate agent-initiated transactions in a controlled, production-grade environment, with consumer controls built into the process. Visa Agentic Ready is supported by Visa’s trust layer, which includes tokenisation, identity, risk management and payment controls. The first phase will focus on issuer readiness before wider use cases are scaled. The Singapore partners include Bank of China Singapore, CIMB Singapore, DBS Bank, DCS, GXS Bank, HSBC Singapore, Maybank Singapore, OCBC, Standard Chartered, StraitsX, Trust Bank, UQPay and UOB. Visa expects more partners to join this year. Adeline Kim Adeline Kim, Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei at Visa, said, “Singapore is an innovation hub where ideas move quickly from concept to real-world impact, making it the ideal market to progress agentic commerce. A Visa-commissioned study underscores strong consumer readiness, where close to 77 per cent of Singapore residents already use generative AI tools in their daily lives, and eight in 10 rely on AI assistance when shopping online. We want to ensure that in this early phase, we work with as many partners as possible to ensure they have the right technology to prepare for this next phase of commerce, where AI agents can discover, decide and pay on behalf of consumers.” The launch follows Visa’s March pilot with DBS, which focused on everyday use cases for agentic commerce. Visa Agentic Ready is part of Visa Intelligent Commerce, a wider set of initiatives for AI-driven shopping and payments. The payment giant is also working with merchants and ecosystem partners to identify consumer use cases for agentic commerce. Visa recently introduced Intelligent Commerce Connect globally to help merchants connect to agentic commerce through the Visa Acceptance Platform. The solution supports payment initiation, tokenisation, authentication and spend controls, while helping merchants make their catalogues discoverable in AI shopping experiences.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user6724086 via Magnific   The post Visa Launches Agentic Ready Programme in Singapore with 13 Partners appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

What does it take to launch a full digital bank in under a year and have it outperform 70 physical branches? Bank Muamalat’s Atlas did exactly that. Built in just 9 months, it onboarded 61% new-to-bank customers in its first six months and delivers the same customer acquisition power as 70 physical branches from a single app. Vincent Fong sits down with Hazrizal Hasan, Head of Digital Banking at Bank Muamalat Malaysia, and Chirag Amla, Principal Solutions Architect for APAC at Mambu, to unpack how they pulled it off and what comes next for Islamic banking. In this episode: How Atlas was built in 9 months with Mambu’s cloud-native core Why 85% of Atlas users are under 45 — including non-Muslim customers Serving the underserved: gig workers, freelancers & the new economy The hyper-personalisation push shaping Islamic banking’s next 5 years Why Islamic finance is going through a revolution — and who’s leading it Islamic banking makes up 46.6% of Malaysia’s banking sector. The modernisation race is on. The post In 9 Months, Bank Muamalat Built a Digital Bank That Outperformed 70 Branches appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Ant International now connects more than 150 million merchants globally with over 2 billion user accounts, as it expands its payment and financial technology network across more markets. Its global payment services now support more than 300 payment methods across over 220 markets. These include major card schemes, 50 mobile payment partners and more than 10 national QR systems, such as Singapore’s SGQR, Malaysia’s DuitNow, Thailand’s PromptPay and Indonesia’s QRIS. The company said its payment network processes more than 20 million transactions a day on average. Peng Yang Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International, said, “New models of financial interoperability and AI commerce give us powerful tools to help global giants as well as mom-and-pop shops to increase resilience and expand revenue streams. A broader and deeper network means we can work with more partners on more levels to deliver more innovative, trusted, and high ROI fintech solutions in the world’s fastest growing markets.” Ant International has also added new e-wallet and bank app partners, including iFAST Global Bank in the UK, KBank and SCB in Thailand, barq in Saudi Arabia and ShopeePay in Southeast Asia. Its recent expansion includes cross-border QR payment work with NAPAS and Vietcombank in Vietnam, as well as a partnership with Mexican fintech R2 to support SME lending in Latin America. In Saudi Arabia, Ant International is working with the Saudi Central Bank and national payment network mada, with plans to introduce Alipay+ cross-border QR payments in 2026. The company said its strategy will bring together Alipay+, Antom, Bettr and WorldFirst to support global payments, global account services, embedded financing, credit and treasury services. Ant International also recently introduced Agentic Mobile Protocol, an open-source framework designed to support AI-driven payment connections across mobile wallets, banking apps, super apps and other mobile services. It also highlighted AI tools used across its business, including GenAI Cockpit for partner services, AI SHIELD for risk management, Falcon TST for foreign exchange forecasting, EPOS360 for SMEs and Antom Copilot for merchant payment operations. Ant International launched its Digital Business Center in Kuala Lumpur in 2024.     The post Ant International Links 150 Million Merchants to Over 2 Billion User Accounts appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Endava, a provider of next-gen technology services, is helping design the architecture behind Nexus cross-border payments as Asia moves to link domestic real-time payment systems. The word “Nexus” comes from the latin noun nexus – meaning binding together, or a connection. It was a particularly apt name for the Bank for International Settlements initiative that sought to connect the real time payment systems of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and India. But it wasn’t until recently that it quite struck us just how appropriate that image of the bringing together of disparate things actually is. Interoperability is Key to Payment Adoption at Scale Successful payment systems have always shared a common theme: interoperability. Medieval gold and silver achieved this through intrinsic value. In the 15th century, bills of exchange enabled merchants to settle trade across Europe, while more recently, domestic account-to-account transfers and card networks have defined interoperable convenience. Throughout history, technical innovation has driven step changes in payments. From the printing press to the EMV chip, technology has consistently enabled greater convenience for consumers and merchants. Endava’s Role in the Evolution of Payments In recent decades, Endava has played a key role in the rapid evolution in payments technology, supporting initiatives such as cheque image clearing and open banking in the UK, Romania’s first NFC wallet, connections to The Clearing House and FedNow in the US, and payment gateway development in MENA. This year, working in close collaboration with NETS in Singapore and PayNet in Malaysia, Endava has been tasked with designing the architecture and delivering the next step-change in account-to-account payments. Nexus Global Payments – the interlinking of domestic real time payment systems, will make cross border payments as convenient as domestic account to account transfers. Endava’s work on Nexus focuses on designing the architecture and building the cross-border switch software that connects domestic rails. Why Nexus Is Reaching Its Moment Now in Cross Border Payments In a recent conversation on this topic, I was asked “Why now? What makes this the right moment for such a step change?” The answer lies not in a single breakthrough, but in the convergence of several developments. Harmonisation of ISO20022 Messaging The first of these is progress on the harmonisation of ISO20022 messaging. In recent years, the payments industry has made a huge effort to minimise implementation specific inconsistencies in the message format used to communicate payment related data. Globally, banks, payment companies and corporates are gravitating towards the global financial message standard. Despite this progress, a recent report published by the Payment Interoperability and Extension (PIE) Taskforce found that adoption remained uneven. The report also highlights that ISO20022 will remain a living standard, subject to regular updates – so some complexity remains. Scale and Infrastructure Are Changing the Economics The second is speed to value. A common challenge for new payment infrastructure is reaching a sustainable critical mass of transactions needed to cover the up-front investment. Nexus bridges the gap thanks to three underlying developments: Organic growth of existing real-time payment systems Collectively, PayNow (Singapore), DuitNow (Malaysia), PromptPay (Thailand), UPI (India) and InstaPay (Philippines) have amassed over 700 million prospective Nexus users, with the potential to expand on this through the addition of other countries like Indonesia. Advancements in Software Engineering Techniques and Artificial Intelligence Endava has developed Dava Flow – an AI native engagement and delivery lifecycle that leverages the power of AI whilst maintaining human oversight. Whilst the complexity of delivering a project of this nature remains, skilled technicians, who understand the domain, working with proven tools and techniques, are able to iterate faster, providing improved time to value while maintaining appropriate levels of governance. Increasing Confidence in Cloud-based Financial Infrastructure Banks and payment operators, traditionally risk-averse, are now running mission-critical workloads in the cloud. This shift enables faster innovation without the upfront cost of physical infrastructure. (Noting that Nexus Global Payments retains the ability to support on-prem where required). Political Will Has Helped Set the Stage The final ingredient that makes Nexus Global Payments timely is political will. Back in 2020 the G20 launched a roadmap to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and inclusive. The Bank for International Settlements explored the possibilities with a proof of concept that connected TIPS (Europe), DuitNow (Malaysia) and PayNow/Fast (Singapore). Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India became involved later. The shared ambition of these countries has set the scene for the next step change in payments evolution under Nexus Global Payments. What Nexus Could Mean for Everyday Users Perhaps more important than how we got here is the benefit the 700+ million prospective users will reap. Andrew McCormack Andrew McCormack, CEO, Nexus Global Payments explains this succinctly: “Countries like India, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand have enthusiastically embraced real time payments – including various bilateral links with each other. The multi-lateral architecture implemented by Nexus not only removes the complexity associated with managing multiple bilateral links, but it also provides an extensible platform that will give real-time payment users greater reach than they have ever had before.” So, in the future, when you make that payment to a friend’s mobile number overseas using your everyday payment app, or you find yourself on holiday, wanting to try the local delicacies at a hawker market that only accepts payments via the local account to account rails, you might pause for a moment to reflect on Nexus Global Payments. A project that not only connects domestic payment systems, but also represents a moment in time where the convergence of messaging standards, AI accelerated software engineering and the collective ambition of a group of nations came together to make your payment experience more convenient.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by noob via Freepik The post Endava Works With NETS and PayNet on Nexus’ Cross-Border Payments Architecture appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore’s banking sector is moving to sharpen its cyber defences as advanced AI models raise fresh concerns over how quickly software vulnerabilities could be found and exploited, Reuters reported. Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), shared in a written response that the industry body is helping banks compare threat signals and shape sector-wide safeguards. Individual banks have also upgraded their cyber operations to shorten the window between detecting a threat and resolving it. The concerns centre on Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview, a general-purpose AI model whose ability to identify vulnerabilities in complex software systems has led the company to limit access. Anthropic announced the model in April and launched Project Glasswing, a limited-access cybersecurity programme that gives selected partners access to Claude Mythos Preview for defensive security work. MAS has also been coordinating with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to support critical infrastructure operators. The regulator also called on financial institutions to review their systems, close known gaps quickly and maintain strong cyber hygiene. Asian financial regulators had already signalled concern the week prior, with several indicating that they were assessing the implications of Mythos and monitoring potential risks.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Golden-Mock via Magnific The post Singapore Banks Coordinate Threat Monitoring Amid Concerns Over Mythos AI Risks appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Coda has released a new video extending its Guard Your Game anti-scam campaign to gamers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The video brings back Codee, the campaign mascot, to help players spot common fraud tactics. These include unsolicited reward notifications, phishing links and websites impersonating Codashop, Coda’s digital content marketplace. It is available in English and Bahasa Indonesia across Codashop’s Instagram channels in all four markets. The Coda anti-scam campaign launched in February 2026 with consumer education resources endorsed by Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy (EKRAF), including a localised Anti-Scam Booklet and Coda’s Online Safety URL Checker. The tool allows gamers to verify whether a site is legitimate before transacting. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s State of Scams in Indonesia 2025 report, scam losses in Indonesia were estimated at IDR 49 trillion, or about US$3.3 billion, over the past 12 months. The report found that 66 percent of Indonesian adults encountered scam attempts, while 35 percent fell victim. Liz Adam Liz Adam, VP of Corporate Affairs at Coda, said, “Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics, and we must do the same in how we educate and protect consumers. This video is a deliberate step to reach gamers where they are and instil ongoing vigilance against bad actors. We want every player across to transact with confidence, and to know exactly what to do when something does not look right.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Magnific The post Coda Expands Anti-Scam Campaign for Gamers Across Southeast Asia appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) will remove the PayNow nickname feature for retail customers from 6 June 2026 to reduce the risk of impersonation scams. Instead of user-created nicknames, payers will see selected letters of the recipient’s registered account name before completing a transfer. ABS said the change will make it harder for scammers to use names that resemble trusted individuals or established entities to mislead victims into sending money to fraudulent accounts. The feature has been available since PayNow launched in 2017, introduced for users who did not want their full registered account names shown when receiving payments through their mobile number or NRIC number. Source: ABS Retail PayNow display names will be automatically updated from 6 June 2026 and customers do not need to take any action. All other PayNow transfer and receiving functions remain unchanged. Businesses receiving PayNow payments through their UEN are not affected, as they do not have access to the nickname feature or the ability to modify their registered account names. Ong-Ang Ai Boon Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director of ABS, said, “Safeguarding consumers against scams is a top priority for the industry. While PayNow has made everyday payments more convenient, it is equally important that users can transact with confidence. Discontinuing the nickname feature removes an avenue that scammers can exploit while safeguarding customer privacy. This enhancement will help ensure that PayNow users continue to enjoy a secure and trusted payments experience.” Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Magnific The post PayNow to Remove Nickname Feature for Retail Users from 6 June appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

OKX, BlackRock and Standard Chartered have launched a framework that allows eligible institutional clients to use BUIDL as collateral for trading. The framework lets OKX VIP and institutional clients post BUIDL as off-exchange collateral held in custody at Standard Chartered while trading on OKX Middle East without moving assets onto the exchange. BUIDL can also be deposited on-exchange and used as yield-bearing collateral for margin trading, keeping collateral productive while trading. The companies describe it as the first off-exchange tokenised collateral framework backed by a G-SIB custodian. BUIDL, tokenised by Securitize and issued on a public blockchain, invests in cash, US Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, with yield distributed on-chain. Client collateral is held separately from OKX’s own assets, providing exchange default protection. Bringing tokenised treasuries into trading infrastructure Haider Rafique, Global Managing Partner at OKX, described the framework as a way to improve capital efficiency for institutions while showing how tokenised real-world assets can be used in digital markets. Samara Cohen Samara Cohen, Global Head of Market Development at BlackRock, said, “BUIDL was designed to bring the benefits of tokenisation to short term treasury exposure, allowing qualified investors to earn US dollar yields on blockchain rails. The framework with OKX and Standard Chartered allows qualified investors to unlock new opportunities in how they deploy collateral.” Margaret Harwood-Jones Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, said, “Our role as custodian in this initiative reflects our commitment to delivering trusted and innovative solutions for clients as the financial ecosystem evolves. By providing secure custody of BUIDL for this collateral use case, we are helping to ensure clients can access digital asset opportunities with the high standards of protection and compliance.” The framework follows extensive institutional testing and integration between the three companies. It is intended to expand the use of tokenised real-world assets in institutional trading, margining and liquidity management.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by chocolarte via Magnific The post OKX Lets Institutional Clients Use BlackRock’s BUIDL as Trading Collateral appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Money20/20 Asia returned to Bangkok from April 21 to 23, 2026 to explore how the next wave of financial innovation is delivering tangible outcomes across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The conference examined the region’s rapid financial innovation, characterized by enhanced cross-border interoperability and strengthened digital infrastructure. It also explored Thailand’s push for open finance, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services, and the transition of stablecoins from niche crypto assets to foundational payment rails. Marking its third year in the Thai capital, Money20/20 Asia 2026 welcomed over 4,500 attendees, representing a 40% increase from the previous year. More than 1,400 companies were represented, and the number of sponsors rose from 105 to 150. Over 360 speakers delivered more than 100 hours of content across four stages, while the bustling Money Hall show floor connected delegates, sponsors and exhibitors from 90 countries. Companies reported a surge in commercial activity, with hundreds of partnership meetings, product demos, and investor conversations driving tangible deal flow throughout the three days. Thailand moves towards open finance Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor, Strategy and Special Projects Division, Bank of Thailand, at Money20/20 Asia 2026, Source: Bank of Thailand, Apr 2026 On the first day of the main conference, Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor of the Strategy and Special Projects Division at Bank of Thailand (BOT), discussed the country’s progress in establishing a safe and inclusive digital finance infrastructure, highlighting two established layers of digital public infrastructure. Digital identity systems, like the National Digital Identity (NDID), a decentralized cross-bank platform, and government-led initiatives like ThaiID, are now serving almost 30 million. Additionally, Thailand’s instant payment system PromptPay boasts over 92 million registered accounts and processes an average of over 80 million transactions daily. Despite these achievements, Saeju identified the critical remaining challenge as breaking down the “data islands” where financial information still sits in silos across banks, telcos, and e-commerce platforms. This fragmentation creates gaps in financial inclusion and weakens fraud detection, she said. To address this, BOT is building the rails for open finance through initiatives like YourData and Digital-RD, in collaboration with the Revenue Department. With YourData, the government will be establishing national standards for a consent-based ecosystem, giving citizens a “digital remote control” to port their data wherever they see fit. Concurrently, Digital-RD will allow users to utilize their verified tax history as a secure, instant digital credential, replacing paper documentation. Thailand’s overarching vision is a regulated “data highway” where individuals control their data and are able to port it to the institutions they choose, expanding access to credit, and accelerating innovation, Saeju said. Ant Digital Technologies’ Southeast Asian push Garry Sien, Chief Innovation and Solutions Office of International Business at Ant Digital Technologies, at Money20/20 Asia 2026, Source: Ant Digital Technologies, Apr 2026 Later during the day, Garry Sien, Chief Innovation and Solutions Office of International Business at Ant Digital Technologies, delivered a keynote titled “Beyond the Super-App: The AI-Driven Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Model for Global Finance.” He discussed the accelerating adoption of AI in the financial services industry, driven by agentic AI and innovative applications that create value for financial institutions and their customers. Sien also shared how Ant Digital Technologies is working on democratizing access to the underlying technology of super-apps, including mini-programs, risk engines, and AI development toolkits like Agentar. These modular, AI-native solutions allows institutions to innovate rapidly, enhance user experience, and compete with big tech, without needing to build everything from scratch. Ant Digital Technologies, an independent business unit for technology commercialization under Ant Group, launched an operation center in Malaysia earlier this year, and initiated a recruitment drive across Southeast Asia. Across Asia, Ant Digital Technologies has cooperated with partners and clients including Touch ’n Go, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (KIBB), Bank CenterCredit, and FPT software. The company’s global network encompasses over 300 partners, serving more than 10,000 enterprise customers worldwide. Cross-border transactions surge FXC Intelligence and Money20/20 presented new findings from their New Era of Asia’s Cross-Border Payments report, underscoring Asia’s rapid growth, rising interoperability, and the convergence of key technologies shaping cross-border finance. The report revealed that in 2025 outbound cross-border payments from the APAC region totaled US$13.5 trillion, representing 31% of outflows globally. They are set to grow faster than global averages to reach US$24 trillion, representing a 36% share, by 2033. APAC and global outbound cross-border payments volume, 2025 and 2033, Source: Money20/20 and FXC Intelligence, Apr 2026 Growth in Southeast Asia is set to be particularly critical to this, with ongoing digitization driving business-to-business (B2B) volume while increased tourism and online retail are expected to help boost consumer-to-business (C2B). System interoperability and bilateral partnerships are key enablers of this growth, exemplified by initiatives like the Bank of International Settlements (BIS)’s Project Nexus, which seeks to connect different countries’ domestic instant payment systems. Blockchain technologies, along with AI, are also seeing increased interest to support growing payments interoperability and broader infrastructure enhancements. Though Asia is notable for being a region with highly diverse financial systems and capabilities, the continent is now on a trajectory towards unprecedented interoperability, positioning it to capitalize on future cross-border growth. EBANX accelerates ASEAN expansion EBANX at Money20/20 Asia 2026, Source: EBANX, via LinkedIn EBANX, a leading payment technology firm from Brazil, announced at Money20/20 Asia 2026 the expansion of its recurring alternative payment method (APM) offerings to six more countries across Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, namely the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Colombia, and Peru. The rollout includes recurring capabilities for digital wallets in Southeast Asia, such as Maya and GCash in the Philippines, OVO and DANA in Indonesia, and TrueMoney in Thailand. They will be available to merchants in Q2, Q3, and Q4 this year. The announcement followed EBANX’s recent entry into Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, and Vietnam, with the latter two scheduled to go live in Q3 2026. These operations will be supported by EBANX’s new APAC headquarters in Singapore, inaugurated in March 2026. “We are seeing a strong expansion movement of APAC merchants into emerging markets, especially in Latin America and Africa,” said João Del Valle, CEO and Co-founder of EBANX. “In the current global landscape, companies are searching for new growth opportunities, strengthening South-South ties and building diversified and resilient global partnerships.” At Money20/20 2026, EBANX spoke in two key sessions. In the panel “Ecosystem Readiness: Turning Isolated Progress into Coordinated Scale”, Eduardo de Abreu, Chief Product Officer at EBANX and Regional CEO of EBANX Singapore, joined other industry leaders from Nium, Boku, and Bitpace to discuss how fragmented advancements across regulation, infrastructure, and market demand can be aligned to drive scalable ecosystem growth. @fintechnewsnetworkWith its latest expansion, EBANX is building a recurring payment infrastructure beyond cards across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. #fintech #payments #Money2020 #Money2020Asia ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network In the session “Innovation Without Borders”, Vladimira Artopé, Regional Director for Southeast Asia at EBANX, explored the transformative impact of fintech and education solutions for underserved women in Asia, particularly in maternal and financial health. The panel highlighted how technology can support greater financial inclusion in resource-constrained environments. Policy20: sovereign intelligence and collaboration Policy20 at Money20/20 Asia 2026, Source: Money20/20 Policy20 at Money20/20 Asia 2026 delivered a premier regulatory summit convening more than 80 of Asia’s top policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders to address the rapid convergence of technology, finance, and regulation, and the urgent need for collaborative approaches to navigate this evolving landscape. A key highlight of the program was a closed-door Governors’ and Chairs’ Strategic Roundtable on “sovereign intelligence,” where senior policy leaders met under Chatham House Rule to address the challenge of maintaining national policy autonomy in an era of AI and digital finance. The session reached consensus on three strategic pillars: protecting national policy autonomy through proactive participation in global standards; building cross-border financial rails on shared governance protocols that respect national priorities; and shifting to “intelligence-led governance” by leveraging AI and real-time data tools for oversight. A dominant theme emerging from Policy20 was the industry-wide shift from traditional regulatory models toward co-creation, with regulators increasingly positioning themselves as enablers rather than enforcers, working alongside the private sector to design frameworks that evolve in real time with technological advancements. Experts also highlighted that innovation without usability is problematic. Discussion points centered on the idea that true financial inclusion in Asia depends on intelligent infrastructure and systems that are not just accessible, but also intuitive and affordable enough to remove friction for underserved populations at scale. Stablecoins take center stage Stablecoins were a key topic at Money20/20 Asia 2026. During the closing day of the three-day conference, four industry leaders from Ripple, Paxos Labs, Yellow Card, and Capitalixe convened in the “Money’s Next Evolution, Stablecoins, CBDCs and the New Payment Stack” panel to debate the role of stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and tokenized deposits in the future of finance. These experts emphasized that stablecoins have moved beyond cryptocurrency trading to become foundational infrastructure for the next global payment stack, with Rahul Advani, Global Co-Head of Policy at Ripple, noting that while CBDCs remain experimental, stablecoins are already production-ready across multiple use cases, the Nation reports. The panel agreed that the future of finance will not be defined by any single form of digital money, but by how well these instruments work together. They shared concrete real-world applications where stablecoins are already solving existing problems, including enabling cheaper remittances between the US and Bolivia, enabling crop insurance in Africa to be settled in stablecoins, and supporting cross-border payments for businesses that struggle to access the SWIFT network. Looking ahead, the panel identified AI and machine-to-machine transactions as a potentially transformative future trend, where autonomous agents manage payments, treasury operations, and capital allocation without human intervention. However, they identified the lack of mutual recognition of regulatory regimes as a critical gap, warning that siloed licensing frameworks could recreate the inefficiencies plaguing traditional finance. Other corporate announcements and winning startups Beyond presentations and panels, several corporate announcements underscored the momentum in stablecoins. Nium, a real-time payment specialist co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, announced a partnership with Coinbase to enable USDC stablecoin payments across its platform. The integration allows Nium’s clients to send and receive stablecoins and convert stablecoin to fiat for payouts. @fintechnewsnetwork With Nium and @dlocal.payments ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network Additionally, dLocal, an Uruguayan cross-border payments firm, launched Stablecoin Full, a solution enabling global merchants to accept and send payments in stablecoins, fund and settle transactions in digital assets, and optimize their treasury operations across more than 40 emerging markets through a single API. Money20/20 Asia also spotlighted five startups redefining the future of money. These startups, which are Boost Capital, TrustPlus AI, Continuum, Eazy Digital, and zkMe, were showcased during Money20/20 Asia’s Startup Media Panel. Boost Capital is building a document intelligence layer for underwriting in Southeast Asia. Its VerifyIQ platform uses AI agents to read, cross-check, and fraud-screen bank statements, pay slips, identification documents (IDs), and merchant documents in real time delivering structured, trusted data to banks and e-wallets. TrustPlus AI transforms enterprise credit risk management through an AI-powered workflow platform built by and for credit risk experts. Continuum is a tech platform focused on enabling seamless infrastructure and connectivity across digital and financial ecosystems, helping organizations streamline data, services, and operations in one unified layer. Eazy Digital is an insurance technology company helping insurers and managing general agents (MGAs) digitize and streamline their operations, replacing manual, paper-heavy workflows with automated tools that improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance customer experience. zkMe, a decentralized identity protocol, was named this year’s Startup Competition winner. zkMe uses zero-knowledge proofs to let users verify personal or financial information without revealing the underlying data. It enables privacy-preserving know-your-customer (KYC) and credential verification for Web3 and digital finance applications.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Money20/20 The post Top Trends from Money20/20 Asia 2026 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singlife has revamped its digital investment platform Singlife dollarDEX, targeting self-directed retail investors with a streamlined interface and a zero-fee model. The upgraded platform provides access to over 1,500 funds across various asset classes and geographies without platform fees or sales charges. The company states the redesign focuses on simplifying account opening, fund discovery, and trading processes. Singlife plans to introduce additional features to the platform progressively. These upcoming additions include an interest-bearing cash account and a consolidated view of users’ insurance and investment portfolios. Aditya Sood “We have listened closely to feedback, and have evolved the platform for today’s retail investor,” said Aditya Sood, Chief Operating Officer, GROW with Singlife. GROW with Singlife, the company’s investment distribution arm, manages both the digital platform and its adviser-focused counterpart GROW. The unit reported a compounded annual growth rate of 27% in assets under administration from the 2022 to 2025 financial years, reaching over S$4.5 billion. Farooq Lone “We are continually strengthening both our platforms to meet these distinct needs, with GROW empowering advisers to better serve their clients, and dollarDEX catering to self-directed consumers,” said Farooq Lone, Chief Executive Officer, GROW with Singlife. Singlife launched the platform in 1999 as one of Singapore’s earliest online fund investment portals. It allows users to invest using cash, Central Provident Fund, and Supplementary Retirement Scheme funds. To mark the relaunch, Singlife dollarDEX is running a promotion until 17 July 2026. It offers bonus units for qualifying investments as well as for successful referrals.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user23413193 via Freepik The post Singlife dollarDEX Revamp Offers Zero-Fee Fund Access appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Western Union is preparing to launch a US dollar-backed stablecoin in May, positioning the token as a faster alternative to the SWIFT network for cross-border agent settlements. The company confirmed the timeline for the Solana-based token, called USDPT, during its first-quarter earnings call on 24 April, as reported by The Block. Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan told analysts that USDPT will initially function as a business-to-business settlement tool rather than a consumer product. By moving agent settlements on-chain, the company aims to process transactions outside of traditional banking hours and public holidays. Bridging crypto wallets and retail cash Alongside the Western Union stablecoin, the company is rolling out a Digital Asset Network. This infrastructure connects cryptocurrency wallets to Western Union’s existing retail network. The system allows wallet users to convert digital assets into fiat currency at physical agent locations, creating a new off-ramp for digital assets. The first network partner is expected to go live this week. To extend the network directly to consumers, Western Union plans to introduce a US dollar stablecoin card later this year. The card is designed for users in inflation-heavy markets who want to hold and spend dollar-denominated assets globally. Q1 revenue and market reaction The digital asset push comes as Western Union reported US$983 million in first-quarter revenue. While this marks a 1% year-on-year decline, the company noted it was a 400-basis-point improvement from the previous quarter. Following the earnings release, its New York-listed stock fell 4.6% to close at US$8.90.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ismode via Freepik The post Western Union to Launch B2B Stablecoin for Agent Settlements in May appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Jumio has appointed software and cybersecurity veteran Mark Lorion as its new Chief Executive Officer to lead the identity verification provider’s defence against AI-driven fraud. Incoming Jumio CEO Mark Lorion succeeds Bala Kumar, who has served as interim Chief Executive since early 2026. Kumar will continue his role as President and Chief Product and Technology Officer. Lorion joins from Tempo Software, where he was Chief Executive and oversaw significant revenue growth. His background also includes leadership positions at cybersecurity software firms Digital.ai and Arxan Technologies. He currently serves as a board director for intelligence firm Team Cymru. The leadership change comes as financial institutions and fintechs face rising threats from automated impersonation tactics and deepfakes. Jumio uses an identity graph and biometric authentication to verify individuals for clients seeking to automate know your customer and anti-money laundering compliance. Bala Kumar “Mark brings a strong combination of operational discipline and customer focus that will be important as Jumio enters its next phase of growth,” Kumar said. “As the identity industry faces immense pressure from AI-driven deepfake fraud, agentic AI identity threats, and expanding global regulations, I’m excited to partner with Mark to advance the Jumio platform and expand our leadership in AI-powered identity intelligence with our best-in-class technology.” Jumio operates globally across APAC, North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, processing more than a million transactions daily.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user23413193 via Freepik The post Jumio Names Mark Lorion as CEO to Strengthen Fraud Defences appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Bank of Singapore is expanding its family office and wealth advisory leadership team as demand grows for succession planning, legacy management and wealth transfer solutions among ultra-high-net-worth clients. The private banking subsidiary of OCBC Group has appointed Elvin Ho as Head of Family Office and Structuring Solutions, effective 4 May 2026. He will lead the competency and solutions centre, focusing on wealth structures and philanthropy. Ho joins from JPMorgan Private Bank, where he advised Southeast Asian clients on multi-jurisdictional taxation and succession planning. He previously spent 19 years at UBS in various senior wealth planning roles. In a related move, Jiawen Guo takes on the newly created role of Head of Family Office and Wealth Advisory for Singapore. She will oversee the wealth advisory team based in the city state. The bank also named Harry Ng as Senior Wealth Advisor, managing key client relationships for the Singapore and Malaysian markets. Christine Wong and Yasmine Omari will continue to lead the regional teams in Hong Kong and Dubai respectively. All five executives report to Paul Chua, the bank’s Head of Family Office and Wealth Advisory. Paul Chua “We have taken the opportunity to optimise our global team structure for future growth with strong leadership to support initiatives out of our Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai hubs,” said Paul Chua, Head of Family Office and Wealth Advisory, Bank of Singapore. The leadership expansion aligns with OCBC Group’s Whole-of-Wealth strategy. The team will provide clients with access to solutions involving OCBC Bank and Great Eastern Holdings.     Featured image credit: Bank of Singapore press release The post Bank of Singapore Family Office Adds Senior Hires for Wealth Push appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has ordered Meta Platforms to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus, according to a Bloomberg report, in one of Beijing’s most far-reaching interventions into a completed cross-border tech deal involving a US company. The directive was issued on Monday (27 April), four months after the transaction closed in December 2025, and requires all parties to withdraw from the agreement. The ruling also prohibits foreign investment in Manus, escalating regulatory scrutiny over Chinese-founded AI firms operating abroad. From Beijing to Singapore Manus had redomiciled to Singapore in mid-2025, relocating its headquarters and key staff from Beijing as part of a broader trend of Chinese AI startups shifting to the city-state to access global capital and markets while operating outside China’s domestic regulatory perimeter. By March 2026, around 100 employees had already moved into Meta’s Singapore offices, with the startup’s leadership integrated into Meta’s AI division. The company was founded in 2022 by Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao and Tao Zhang under Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology. It was previously backed by investors including Tencent Holdings and HongShan Capital Group, and had reached an annualised revenue run rate of more than US$125 million prior to the acquisition, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meta’s purchase of Manus was part of its broader push into agentic AI systems, designed to autonomously perform complex multi-step tasks such as research, planning and analysis, as it competes with rivals including Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. What the ruling means for Singapore-based AI firms The NDRC’s intervention is particularly notable because Meta has minimal commercial presence in China, making this a rare case in which Beijing is exercising regulatory authority over a deal between a US technology firm and a Singapore-incorporated company with no active China operations. Ke Yan “The Manus block is a clarifying moment,” Ke Yan, a technology analyst at DZT Research in Singapore told Bloomberg. “Manus was Singapore-incorporated with founders based here, and it still got pulled back. Beijing’s signal is that what matters isn’t where the legal entity sits.” The ruling also underscores a broader tightening of controls on capital flows and technology transfers in the AI sector. Chinese regulators have reportedly instructed firms including Moonshot AI and Stepfun to avoid US-origin funding unless explicitly approved, while ByteDance faces similar scrutiny. In parallel, Manus co-founders were reportedly subject to exit restrictions following meetings with Chinese authorities earlier this year. Alfredo Montufar-Helu, managing director at Ankura China Advisors, said to Bloomberg that the move reflects the strategic importance Beijing places on AI in its competition with the US. Alfredo Montufar-Helu “In the same way that the US has tried to prevent China’s access to advanced semiconductors, China is now moving to constrain American access to AI tech,” he said. Meta said the transaction “complied fully with applicable law” and that it expects an “appropriate resolution” to the matter, without providing further details. Singapore’s position as a neutral ground is now in question For Singapore, the decision carries wider implications beyond the fate of a single deal. The city-state has positioned itself as a neutral hub for global AI talent and capital, particularly for Chinese-founded firms seeking international expansion. The NDRC’s willingness to intervene in a transaction involving a Singapore-incorporated company raises questions over how much regulatory insulation redomiciliation actually provides. The ruling also introduces new uncertainty for investors and acquirers in the region. Deals involving Chinese-founded technology companies may now face heightened risk of review by Beijing, regardless of where firms are incorporated or operationally based. The decision comes just weeks before a scheduled summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where technology competition, investment flows and AI governance are expected to feature prominently.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user6393596 via Freepik The post China Orders Meta to Reverse US$2B Singapore-Based Manus Acquisition appeared first on Fintech Singapore.