Global money movement firm TerraPay has announced the launch of Xend, a new network designed to improve interoperability between digital wallets, banks and cards. TerraPay said Xend functions as an infrastructure layer that lets wallet users transact with more than 11,500 banks through the Swift network and make payments at about 150 million merchant locations worldwide. These services can be accessed through existing wallet apps without requiring complex bilateral connections. The company said Xend is already live with more than 200 million wallet users and is able to scale across 3.7 billion wallet endpoints. The network is intended to support real-time access to banks, merchants and other wallets globally. The launch event in Dubai brought together payment firms, mobile money providers and wallet operators. TerraPay said Xend is designed to connect domestic wallets to the formal financial system by extending their international reach. According to the company, the network also aims to give wallet providers the ability to offer instant and compliant payment services across banks, cards and wallets. Ambar Sur “In mobile networks, roaming transformed how people connected, it made communication borderless. With Xend, we’re bringing that same freedom to money movement. We want every wallet to roam globally, just like mobile phones do, to pay, receive, and spend anywhere, without friction or boundaries. By partnering with Swift, we’re building a truly open and interoperable financial fabric that connects the digital economy to the formal financial system – at scale.” said Ambar Sur, Founder & CEO, TerraPay. “Swift has long championed interoperability as a cornerstone of global financial connectivity. Working with TerraPay aligns with our mission to enable instant, secure, and inclusive cross-border transactions, bringing the power of the Swift network to millions of wallet users worldwide.” said Juan Martinez, Global Head of Payments Services, Swift.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Freepik   The post TerraPay Launches Xend Network Connecting Digital Wallets, Banks and Cards appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Global neobank Revolut disclosed that a recently completed share sale has valued the company at US$75 billion. The company did not disclose the transaction size or the stake sold. The round drew both new and existing investors. Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer and Fidelity Management & Research Company led the deal, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Franklin Templeton and T. Rowe Price Associates. NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, also invested, deepening Revolut’s collaboration with the firm in areas that include AI. Revolut said employees were able to sell shares as part of the process, marking the fifth such opportunity it has offered. The firm added that the valuation reflects recent financial performance. Revenue rose 72 percent in 2024 to US$4.0 billion, while profit before tax increased 149 percent to US$1.4 billion. Growth has continued in 2025, with the retail customer base surpassing 65 million and Revolut Business exceeding US$1 billion in annualised revenue. The company has also expanded its footprint, securing banking approval in Mexico ahead of its planned launch, obtaining a banking incorporation licence in Colombia and preparing to begin operations in India. Nik Storonsky Nik Storonsky, CEO & Co-founder of Revolut, said, “This milestone reflects the remarkable progress we have made in the last twelve months towards our vision of building the first truly global bank, serving 100 million customers across 100 countries. I’d like to thank our team for their determination and energy, and for believing that it is possible to build a global financial and technology leader from Europe.” Victor Stinga Victor Stinga, CFO of Revolut, added, “The level of investor interest and our new valuation reflect the strength of our business model, which is delivering both rapid growth and strong profitability. We welcome onboard a series of world-class investors and look forward to working with them for the next stage in Revolut’s evolution.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ismode via Freepik   The post Revolut Confirms US$75 Billion Valuation on the Back of Strong Growth appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Trust Bank has launched a new Visa-powered instalment feature that lets credit card users split eligible purchases into monthly payments at checkout. The service allows customers to spread payments when they check out at participating merchants, including Courts, iStudio, selected Samsung Experience Stores and the Samsung Online Store. It is available only on main Trust credit cards and applies to transactions of at least S$100 or the minimum set by the retailer. Debit card and supplementary credit card transactions are not eligible, and Link cards must be paired to a Trust credit card account. The feature builds on Trust’s existing lending products, which include Instant Loan, Balance Transfer and Split Purchase. Instant Loan, launched in 2023, offers a quick application process in the Trust app, while the other products continue to support customers seeking short-term repayment options. Customers may receive S$80 off for every S$1,000 spent using the instalment option at Courts, iStudio and selected Samsung Experience Stores or the Samsung Online Store until 31 December 2025, subject to merchant conditions. Customers can select the instalment plan online when the Visa option appears at checkout or choose it in store after tapping their Trust credit card at the payment terminal. Confirmations are sent through the Trust app. Dwaipayan Sadhu, CEO of Trust Bank, said, Dwaipayan Sadhu “Our collaboration with Visa to introduce Trust Visa Instalments is a big step forward in delivering flexibility and simplicity at checkout, whether in-store or online. With zero fees, interest-free payments, and the ability to spread costs over 3, 6, 9, or 12 months at leading retailers, we’re empowering customers to enjoy the things that matter most without compromising on financial control.” Adeline Kim Adeline Kim, Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei at Visa, said, “In the past year, we have seen total spend on Visa Instalment Solutions across Asia Pacific triple, and total transactions more than double – a testament that more shoppers want to pay using this solution. Our partnership with Trust Bank marks an exciting expansion of this solution, making seamless instalment payments more accessible to our consumers.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Freepik   The post Trust Bank Launches Visa-Powered Instalment Option for Credit Card Users appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In a country known for its world-class financial system, it can be surprising to learn that only around a quarter of Singapore’s small and medium enterprises have access to bank financing. The remaining businesses are left to patch together funds from personal savings, family, or tedious, inflexible options. These are the same SMEs that power daily life, the ones Singapore depends on for its restaurants, clinics, retailers, logistics operators and everything in between. That gap has created room for a different kind of lender to step in, one that is less concerned with rigid credit checklists and more focused on practical business reality. Bizcap entered Singapore earlier this year with a simple mission. The company wants to help good businesses get the capital they need, even when they do not look perfect on paper. Bizcap’s Managing Partner for Asia, Joseph Lim, reflected on what he has learned since launching locally, and how non-bank lenders can build a healthier financing ecosystem alongside traditional financial institutions. The story he paints is not one of disruption for the sake of disruption. He painted a narrative about giving entrepreneurs a fair shot, using technology without abandoning human judgment, and building a model of lending that holds up even during tough economic cycles. A Different Approach to Saying Yes When Joseph talks about Bizcap, one concept keeps coming up. The idea of finding a way to say yes. He sees this as the cultural foundation that separates Bizcap from traditional lenders that rely heavily on checklists and strict pass-or-fail criteria. Most banks begin with the question of whether a borrower meets predetermined conditions. Bizcap starts somewhere else. Joseph Lim “We look for a way to say yes. The DNA and the culture is where it [the company] starts,” he says. The point is not that banks are doing anything wrong. It is that their model simply does not match the way many small businesses operate today. A new restaurant may have strong demand but limited collateral. A retailer may have a temporary dip in revenue because of supply chain delays. A logistics operator may have uneven cash flow but excellent receivables. These nuances often do not fit neatly into a scorecard. Bizcap considers broader data points instead of leaning on a single threshold. Joseph highlights a scenario that many entrepreneurs know too well. He gave an example, let’s say that a business needs to have a credit score of 400 in order to be ticked green for a loan. “What’s to say that a business with a credit score of 300 plus is not still a very strong business? If their cash flows and receivables are really strong, we shouldn’t be deciding on [that] one number.” It is the kind of thinking that feels intuitive to business owners but rarely appears in traditional lending. That difference is partly why Bizcap has gained traction quickly since arriving in Singapore. The Value of Speed in an SME’s Life And money is only useful if it arrives when it is needed. That is where Bizcap has built one of its most important advantages. Joseph explains that Bizcap typically makes a decision in three hours. Most banks take days or weeks. If the SME is dealing with a supplier issue, a burst pipe, a sudden opportunity, or preparations for seasonal demand, every hour matters. It is the kind of line that does not require embellishment. This speed comes from a mix of open banking technology, data aggregation, automated checks and internal processes designed specifically for SMEs. Plus, with the company recently announcing its acquisition of 8fig, a firm with strong experience in embedded lending, it brings future possibilities for pre-approvals, ecosystem integrations and new product experiences. Joseph, however, is cautious about overselling the short-term impact but sees clear long-term potential. For now, the message he gave is rather simple. He hopes that the technology that 8fig will provide will help Bizcap move faster than most competitors while also maintaining a real view of business health. Lending Through Good Times and Bad A common concern with non-bank lenders is how they behave during economic downturns. We have seen the pandemic, and during that time, many alternative lenders tend to tighten credit or pull back altogether when uncertainty hits. Bizcap’s experience has been different. The company was founded in Australia in 2019, right as COVID-19 began shaking global markets, and that period shaped much of its identity. While many lenders drastically reduced their exposure and the flow of capital to SMEs slowed to a trickle, Bizcap continued lending. Its ability to do so comes from its funding structure. Bizcap operates on private capital rather than institutional funding, which means it is not bound by the covenants or restrictions that typically constrain lenders during volatile periods. This structure gives Bizcap more room to make decisions based on business fundamentals, even when conditions are unstable. The result is a lending model that remains active through both good times and bad, and that resilience has become a defining part of Bizcap’s reputation. As Joseph puts it “In a downturn, we still have the ability to say yes.” Why Bizcap Still Believes in Human Conversations The idea of a lending engine that approves or rejects applications with zero human involvement is appealing, especially in a world obsessed with efficiency. Joseph’s view is different, as to his belief, lending is still a human relationship, especially when the amounts are meaningful and the stakes are high. “When it comes to lending money, the business owner has a need, and you need to understand that,” he says. He describes how business owners often want the option of speaking to someone if they feel uncertain or if something goes wrong. That reassurance cannot be replaced by an FAQ page or chatbot. Trust, according to him, is built through people. “You can automate the front end. But if no one can answer the phone when something goes wrong, you lose all of that trust.” In addition, Bizcap also uses AI, but most of it is behind the scenes. The company utilises AI to handle internal efficiencies and improve parts of the operational flow. But Joseph iterates that the use of AI within its operations is not to replace human assessment in the customer experience. In his view, AI should assist people, not overrule them. It is a refreshing stance in a year filled with conversations about black-box decision-making and fairness in AI. Building a Line of Credit Designed for Singapore Businesses One of Bizcap’s newest offerings is its Line of Credit product, which launched in Singapore only six weeks ago. The product was shaped through months of feedback from both customers and partners. Instead of releasing a generic solution, Bizcap built something that matched the way local SMEs actually run their operations. “We designed and built it specifically for the Singapore market,” Joseph explains. The Line of Credit allows businesses to draw only what they need, when they need it, and pay interest only on the portion used. It also lets SMEs keep unused capital available for a rainy day. Such flexibility is valuable for businesses with fluctuating revenue. Joseph points to a Singapore dental clinic that tapped the Line of Credit to expand. The owner needed capital, but not all at once. Being able to draw down in stages made the funding more manageable. Several other sectors have already shown strong interest. Retail, construction, e-commerce and particularly food and beverage operators have been early adopters. Joseph speaks with a surprising amount of affection when he describes F&B businesses. “We love F&B clients. High cash flow, high turnover, trading that goes up and down. A line of credit is perfect for that,” he added. Lessons From Singapore and What Comes Next for Asia Bizcap is now preparing to expand into other Asian markets, using Singapore as its regional entry point. Joseph is candid about the learning process. He assumed that his experience working in Singapore over the years would make the launch straightforward. It did not. “Never assume,” he says with a laugh. That is his first lesson. The second lesson is that partnerships take time, even in markets known for speed. Trust needs to be built through repeated interactions, not quick deals. Or in his own words: “All good partnership relationships take time.” He also believes that operating in Singapore requires being physically present and spending time on the ground. It is not enough to understand the market academically. Joseph pointed out the fact that one actually needs to be here for a period of time to see how the market really resonates. The Future Is Not Banks vs Non-Banks It is tempting to paint the SME financing landscape as a battle between fintechs and traditional banks. Joseph rejects that framing. “Banks are an incredibly important part of the economy. That’s a no-brainer,” he says. He believes both sides serve essential roles and that SMEs benefit most when the entire ecosystem works together. He sees collaboration becoming more important, especially in areas like open banking. Singapore is still developing its approach compared to markets like the UK and Australia, and progress will require banks and fintechs to align on shared standards. “The opportunity is in building the ecosystem stronger, not competing over a single SME,” Joseph says. It is a long-term view of the industry that fits well with Bizcap’s philosophy. A More Inclusive Future for Singapore’s SMEs While Bizcap is still new in Singapore, its approach is already resonating with entrepreneurs who want quicker decisions, tailored products and lenders willing to understand the realities of business life. At its core, Bizcap is building around flexibility, trust and human connection, supported by smart technology but not defined by it. Joseph’s message is that many SMEs are not looking for shortcuts. They are simply looking for someone willing to see the full story. Sometimes, the only real difference between a rejection and a lifeline is a lender willing to ask the right questions and pick up the phone. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images Freepik and Bizcap. The post Bizcap is Finding New Ways of Saying Yes for SME Lending in Singapore appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Vietcombank, Military Bank (MB), and Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) remain the top three banks in Vietnam for the mass affluent and the affluent segments, ranking highest by high-value banking customers, according to a study by market research agency Decision Lab. The 2025 Decision Lab Best Future Wealth Bank Ranking, which uses the YouGov BrandIndex Score to reflect overall brand health based on impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommendation, and reputation, identifies Vietnam’s mass affluent as those with a net personal income from VND 15 million (US$569) to VND 50 million (US$1,900) per month, or total investable assets between VND 100 million (US$3,800) and below VND 1 billion (US$37,900). The affluent are defined as those earning VND 50 million or more per month, or holding total investable assets of VND 1 billion or above. The study shows that Vietcombank, MB, and Techcombank continue to lead these affluent segments, with scores of 59.5, 55.7, and 48.8, respectively. Overall, this year’s ranking reveals that the top six banks among these demographics have remained unchanged since 2024. Top 10 Index Score, Decision Lab Best Future Wealth Bank Ranking 2025, Source: Decision Lab, Oct 2025 Notably, Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) made the most significant comeback, jumping four places to 9th after a 5.7 point increase. In contrast, Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) recorded the slight pullback, slipping one place after a modest 0.2 point increase. Trio also tops customer-satisfaction ranking In addition to the Index Score, the Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score reflects how customer perception translates into real experiences, capturing satisfaction with daily interactions, service quality, and value delivered. Like the Index Score, Vietcombank leads the 2025 CSAT ranking with a score of 87.6, rising 4 points to overtake Techcombank, which ranks second with a score of 87.3 after a 2.3 point increase. MB, scoring 87.2, maintains its third position. This reinforces the trio’s stronghold among Vietnam’s affluent customers, underscoring their market edge in customer trust, innovation, and quality of service. Top 10 CSAT Score, Decision Lab Best Future Wealth Bank Ranking 2025, Source: Decision Lab, Oct 2025 The study also reveals that Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) and Sacombank posted the strongest gains in 2025, each rising three places to fourth and seventh, respectively, with increases in their CSAT scores of 11.7 and 14.1 points. Vietnam’s soaring affluence Vietnam has seen significant growth in affluent households in recent years, fueled by sustained economic growth, increasing incomes, and the rise of a sizable middle class. In 2024, there were 15.8 million households, or 56% of the total, with a monthly income above VND 15 million (about US$592 at the time), which is classified as the ABCD economic class. This equates to 56.2 million people, according to Ho Chi Minh City-based market research company Cimigo. Vietnam had 1,470 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), with over US$30 million, up 2% from 2023, and 66,901 millionaires, up 2.2%. The number of households with US$1,000 monthly income grew by 1.5% year-over-year (YoY) to 6.18 million. 2024 economic class household distribution, Source: Cimigo, Nov 2024 According to McKinsey, the rate of Vietnam’s personal financial assets (PFA) growth has outpaced that of other Asian countries, posting an annual growth rate of 15% from 2011 to 2021, surpassing the regional average of 7%. Vietnam’s growth in personal financial assets, Source: McKinsey, Sep 2023 By 2027, Vietnam’s PFA market is projected to reach approximately US$600 billion, growing at an annual rate of 11% from a baseline PFA of about US$360 billion as of year-end 2022. The share of managed wealth assets as part of overall PFA is expected to increase. Among affluent customers, professionally managed assets are set to grow by about 5.5 times by 2027, and among HNWIs, by about 2 times in the same period. This will translate into an estimated additional US$65 billion to US$75 billion of managed wealth assets in the industry for institutions to capture. The revenue pools for managed assets are projected to have equal contribution across affluent and HNWI segments. Onshore liquid personal financial assets by wealth band, US$ billion, Source: McKinsey, Sep 2023   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user6702303 via Freepik The post Vietcombank, MB, and Techcombank Remain Vietnam’s Top Banks for Affluent Customers appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore police stepped up their inquiry into the alleged Prince-linked scam network after searching a car loan company that borrowed from a firm tied to Chen Zhi. People familiar with the case told Bloomberg that officers raided SRS Auto Holdings last week and arrested its sole proprietor, Tan Yew Kiat. The Singapore Police Force confirmed it is investigating Chen and related companies and said one person has been detained for suspected money laundering, without naming the individual or firm. SRS and Tan did not respond to queries. Chen, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, was indicted in the US last month for allegedly directing a transnational scam and cyber fraud operation. The US and UK also sanctioned him, his associates and connected entities, accusing them of defrauding victims globally and moving billions of dollars. Records show SRS received an uncommitted revolving loan facility in 2017 from Skyline Investment Management, a company later sanctioned by the US for its links to Chen. SRS was then known as TS-Wheelers Holdings. Filings also list Tan as a director of TGC Cambodia, another sanctioned firm. A lawyer for Skyline declined to comment. The loan agreement indicated SRS held accounts with United Overseas Bank and Maybank. UOB said it could not discuss client matters. Maybank did not reply. Investigations across Asia have widened since the coordinated US and UK actions. Singapore police seized more than 150 million Singapore dollars in assets they say are linked to Chen and Prince, including properties, vehicles and bank deposits. Prince Holding Group has denied any wrongdoing. Several sanctioned entities connected to Chen are seeking partial access to frozen funds held with Maybank and Revolut, saying the freeze has affected their ability to meet expenses.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by EyeEm via Freepik   The post Singapore Probe Into Prince Group Widens With Raid and Arrest at Car Loan Firm appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

OCBC is adding in-app calling to its digital banking apps, with access for retail customers rolling out progressively from November 2025 after an earlier launch for corporate users in June 2025. The feature lets customers call the bank directly within the OCBC and OCBC Business apps and is intended to improve security by reducing reliance on SMS one-time passwords and security questions. OCBC is among the first banks in Singapore to introduce this capability. The bank said the function will be particularly helpful for customers who need urgent assistance overseas, including those dealing with suspected card fraud or account security issues. OCBC receives more than 8,000 overseas calls each month, and in-app calls will not incur international direct dial charges. SMS OTPs and security questions are becoming more vulnerable as scammers use advanced phishing methods and tap publicly available personal information. In-app calls take place in a secure, authenticated space where customers must log in using biometrics or credentials paired with a digital or hard token. Security questions will only apply when a customer requests a high-risk transaction during the call. Outbound in-app calls will begin from the first half of 2026 and will be used by OCBC’s retail and business contact centres and its anti-fraud team. Because these calls appear within the app, they are harder for scammers to imitate and make it easier for customers to confirm that the call is genuine. Sunny Quek Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC, said, “Calls remain a vital channel of communication between banks and customers, especially in urgent situations. Yet, we recognise that trust in phone calls has eroded. This is perfectly understandable as scam calls have become common, and their tactics have become more sophisticated. In-app calling capabilities are therefore powerful as it helps restore confidence by ensuring that calls happen in a secure, authenticated space. It is also intuitive and more convenient for customers to make calls from within the app.” Melvyn Low Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking, OCBC, said, “With in-app calls, we’re making it safer and easier for businesses to connect with us. This adds another layer of security to our digital banking experience. It not only helps safeguard against fraud and scams, but also empowers our customers to focus on what matters most: running and growing their business, and managing their banking needs and transactions with peace of mind.” Impersonation scams remain a concern in Singapore, with cases rising to 1,762 in the first half of 2025, nearly triple the number from a year earlier.     Featured image: In-app calls take place within the OCBC (left) and OCBC Business (right) apps’ secure environments    The post OCBC Brings In-App Calls to Retail Users to Curb Impersonation Scams appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Singapore takes illicit financial flows seriously and will act quickly to protect its position as a trusted business and financial centre. Lawrence Wong During a discussion on recent money laundering cases and US accusations involving an Asian crime figure, the moderator cited a remark from one of Wong’s ministers that “when we open the windows, some flies may also enter.” Wong responded that “sometimes we get more than flies” and added that “We do have quite a big fly swatter.” He said illicit flows are not unique to Singapore and occur across all major financial centres. Wong noted that incidents are unavoidable, but the key test is how authorities respond. He said Singapore acts swiftly, works through intelligence sharing and cooperation with other countries and is determined to safeguard its reputation. He also addressed the rise of global wealth coming into Singapore, including the growth of family offices managing funds from abroad. Wong said these entities create jobs and economic activity but acknowledged that frictions can arise when displays of wealth are ostentatious. He added that newcomers are often reminded that Singapore is an egalitarian society with its own social norms, and “for the most part, they do” understand and adapt. On inequality, Wong said Singapore continues adjusting policies to support lower-income groups. He highlighted the country’s public housing model, noting that widespread home ownership provides housing equity that boosts the net assets of many households, including those in the bottom 20 percent. He also pointed to the Central Provident Fund as a core retirement system that receives periodic top-ups. When asked whether Singapore might consider capital gains or broader wealth taxes, Wong did not commit to any specific measure. He said Singapore’s policy tools are “not limited to tax alone,” noting that the government also uses wealth transfers and other mechanisms to support lower-income households.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Prime Minister’s Office   The post PM Wong Defends Singapore’s Financial Hub, Cites “Stringent” Money Laundering Response appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

India’s payment landscape has undergone a profound transformation over the past years, marked by government-led infrastructure modernization, the rise of digital payments, and the rapid expansion of the fintech sector. A new report by PwC and Global Fintech Fest provides an overview of India’s evolving payments landscape, emphasizing the simultaneous rise of digital payments, especially the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and the persistent use of cash. It also looks at the emergence of the ecosystem-based business models, and identifies areas of future growth, including credit cards, artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and new UPI use cases, all the while warning of the new risks accompanying these trends. Cash in circulation continues to grow Despite rapid growth of digital payments, cash remains widely used and continues to grow. In 2025, cash in circulation totaled INR 37.2 trillion (US$420 billion) in value and 292 billion in volume. These figures mark a 19% year-over-year (YoY) increase in value, and a 5% YoY increase in volume, extending an upward trend observed over the past decade. Currency in circulation in India, Source: The Indian Payments Handbook 2025-2030, PwC and Global Fintech Fest, Oct 2025 Certain segments, including micro merchants, rural consumers, and older generations, are leading this trend, with states like Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, and Bihar seeing particularly high usage. Cash also remains popular within the formal economy, where digital payments are more common, largely due to higher levels of trust. Merchants, in particular, favor the payment method to avoid costs associated with digital payments, including merchant discount rate (MDR), and device rental fees. The MDR fee, collected by the merchant bank and shared with the bank that issued the card, the payment network, and the point-of-sale (POS) provider, typically ranges between 1% to 3% of the transaction amount. Furthermore, cash remains a preferred payment mode in certain sectors like jewelry, where over 60% of transactions are in cash, despite regulations requiring purchases above INR 200,000 (US$2,259) to quote the buyer’s permanent account number (PAN). As India’s payment landscape continues to evolve, the report predicts that while cash may “no longer be the sole ‘king’”, its utility will persist alongside growing digital methods like UPI. A balanced coexistence is expected, with cash continuing to serve specific transactional needs like savings, while digital payments rise in prominence owing to its convenience and efficiency. A need for investments in AI in payments and fraud prevention UPI transactions have increased considerably over the past years. In the past year alone, these transactions have seen a 42% increase in volume and 30% increase in transaction value. UPI now leads retail payments, accounting for 85% of all digital transactions in India. Its ecosystem spans nearly 700 banks and serves 491 million individuals and 65 million merchants, making it one of the world’s largest real-time payment systems in terms of volume. With innovations such as biometric authentication, Internet-of-Things (IoT) enabled payments and cross-border remittances, UPI is well on track to clock 1 billion transactions per day by 2028, totaling 118.8 billion transactions that year and an estimated INR 342.6 trillion (US$3.9 trillion) in annual value, the report says. UPI transactions, volume and value, Source: The Indian Payments Handbook 2025-2030, PwC and Global Fintech Fest, Oct 2025 The growth of UPI, coupled with increasing digital payment adoption and rising penetration of credit cards, has made the sector attractive to investors. According to the report, AI-driven payments and fraud prevention are poised to become the next major growth drivers, propelling India’s payment industry into its next phase in an increasingly mature and competitive market. The payment vertical has been consistently among the top three recipients of fintech funding in India since at least 2021, with the exception of 2023 and 2024. In H1 2025, it led deal activity, accounting for about 35% of funding, or US$520 million, according to data from KPMG. Fintech funding in India by vertical, Source: KPMG and Global Fintech Festival 2025, Oct 2025 Payment emerges as a strategic tool Once dominated by banks and technology firms, India’s payment sector is now attracting players from diverse fields, including retail, telecommunications, fintech, and e-commerce. Payment capabilities are increasingly viewed as a strategic tool to attract new customers, revenue expansion, and customer retention. Telcos are launching payment services and mobile wallets, leveraging their vast subscriber bases and distribution networks to bring financial services to underserved populations. E-commerce platforms are building in-app payment systems, offering digital wallets, buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements, and co-branded credit cards to simplify checkout and foster loyalty. Finally, social and messaging apps are integrating peer-to-peer (P2P) and merchant UPI payments directly within their platforms, leveraging their high user engagement to turn communication channels into financial channels. This cross-industry participation is accelerating financial inclusion, expanding merchant acceptance, and driving digital adoption in smaller cities. It’s creating a more dynamic, user-centric and interconnected payments ecosystem in India, where the boundaries between commerce, communication and finance are increasingly blurred, spurring innovation and improving accessibility. However, heightened competition is also putting pressure on industry players. Over the long term, pure-play payment players will need to differentiate themselves through innovative products, add useful features, expansion into underserved customer segments, and partner with others to reach more customers, the report says. Credit services, UPI use cases, AI among top growth areas As part of the report, PwC surveyed more than 170 individuals in the Indian payments and fintech space. It revealed that industry stakeholders believe that the next wave of payment transformation in India will be spearheaded by credit cards, with 65% of respondents ranking them as the top growth mode. The influence of AI is another dominant theme, as 73% of respondents expect generative AI and agentic AI to significantly impact the payments landscape. UPI will also remain central to the Indian payment landscape, with new use cases emerging. 22% of participants identified cross-border transactions as a pivotal new use case. This is supported by a favorable regulatory environment, where 70% of respondents believe that tokenization and the RuPay-UPI linkage are top enablers. In 2022, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) along with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched UPI payments via credit cards on RuPay, India’s card payment network, expanding acceptance to millions of merchants at low cost. Credit-based services are also seen as major opportunities for UPI, with 17% of respondents citing micro-credit and buy now, pay later (BNPL) on instant payment rail as a key pivotal use case. These services would allow consumers underserved by the traditional banking sector to make purchases, and manage cash flow more flexibly. For merchants, they would open new revenue streams and enable low-cost, high-volume credit distribution through a trusted, widely used platform. Emerging trends on UPI, Source- The Indian Payments Handbook 2025-2030, Source: PwC and Global Fintech Fest, Oct 2025 Rising fraud risks The rise in digital payments in India has been accompanied by an increase in fraud. Fraudulent transactions reached 2.4 million in 2025, marking a 20% increase from 2 million in 2024. Several initiatives have been launched to address this issue. RBI has mandated that financial institutions offering real-time gross settlement (RTGS) and national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) services adopt a beneficiary account name verification system by April 01, 2025. In parallel, RBI is preparing the launch of the Digital Payments Intelligence Platform (DPIP), a system which leverages AI to flag risky transactions and enhance real-time fraud risk management. The platform analyzes data from multiple sources to issue pre-transaction alerts, helping banks and customers decide whether to proceed. Finally, RBI’s MuleHunter.ai is an AI and machine learning (ML) powered tool designed to identify mule accounts more effectively. The tool uses 19 distinct behavioral patterns associated with mule accounts to spot suspicious activities in real time.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by freepik and surajbhujel via Freepik The post Top Payment Trends in India appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sumsub has announced two initiatives at its inaugural What The Fraud Summit (WTF Summit) in Singapore. These include the launch of its integration services with Singpass, Singapore’s national digital identity platform, and a Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) with Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) under Sumsub’s AI Academic Program. The research will focus on developing human-imperceptible watermarks for personal images to prevent deepfake fraud, the first such initiative in the Asia-Pacific region. Singpass Integration for Document-Free Verification The Singpass integration allows businesses in Singapore and international companies operating locally to authenticate citizens and residents without manual documents. Sumsub acts as an aggregator, enabling clients to access verified identity and address data through government databases such as Myinfo. The process, which requires user consent via QR code and biometrics or passcode, can be completed in as little as 4.5 seconds, compared with around 30 seconds for document-based methods. Companies using the service must be registered in Singapore with a UEN number. Sumsub plans to expand the integration to cover further Singpass features for full digital onboarding and agreement signing. Research Collaboration with NTU Singapore Under the RCA, Sumsub and NTU Singapore will explore advanced protections against deepfake fraud using imperceptible watermarks embedded in personal images. Deepfake incidents in Singapore rose by 158% year-on-year in 2025. The research aims to deter misuse of personal images on social media and strengthen digital trust. Professor Lam Kwok Yan, Associate Vice President (Strategy & Partnerships) and Executive Director of Digital Trust Centre, NTU, said: Professor Lam Kwok Yan “Deepfake technologies are advancing rapidly, and their misuse poses growing risks to individuals, businesses and society. Through this collaboration, we are advancing watermarking techniques that can help enhance trust by safeguarding personal identities before misuse occurs.” Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI and Machine Learning at Sumsub, added: Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin “Our research collaboration with NTU comes at a critical moment for Singapore and the wider APAC, where deepfake fraud and identity threats are escalating. By combining pioneering research with practical anti-fraud expertise, we aim to equip individuals and organisations with effective defences against synthetic fraud.” The WTF Summit, held on 19-20 November 2025 at Andaz Singapore, brought together over 500 leaders from finance, compliance, technology and regulation. It included panels, fireside chats, debates and workshops focused on AI-driven fraud, digital identity, and compliance.   Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by WTF Summit via LinkedIn The post Sumsub Unveils Singpass Integration and Deepfake Research at WTF Summit appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is taking a cautious stance on cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Thursday, 20 November. Sanjay Malhotra “Stablecoins, cryptos, they have a huge risk, and so we are adopting a very cautious approach towards it,” he noted in a memorial lecture at the Delhi School of Economics. “But at the same time, when it comes to digital innovations like UPI (unified payments interface) or digital lending, our stance has been very accommodative and very enabling.” Reuters reported that the growing popularity of US dollar-backed stablecoins is expected to be a key trend next year and may pose challenges for global monetary policy, according to Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran. Malhotra recently said at an International Monetary Fund and World Bank event that the RBI aims to promote its central bank digital currency ahead of stablecoins or cryptocurrencies. He added that the government will make the final decision on whether cryptocurrencies should be regulated. “The government has to take a final view. There is a working group that was set up earlier, and they will take a final call as to how, if at all, crypto is to be handled in our country,” he said. India is leaning towards refraining from introducing specific legislation to regulate crypto and may instead maintain partial oversight, due to concerns that integrating such assets into the mainstream financial system could create systemic risks, Reuters reported in September. Global crypto exchanges can currently operate in India by registering with a government agency responsible for due diligence and anti–money laundering checks. Gains from cryptocurrencies are subject to punitive taxes, while the RBI has repeatedly warned of the risks associated with engaging with such assets, contributing to a near standstill in trading between the formal financial system and crypto platforms.   Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by lifeforstock via Freepik and Wikimedia Commons The post India’s Central Bank Maintains Cautious Stance on Crypto appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Yubi has raised Rs 411 crore (US$46.4 million) in fresh capital to accelerate its international expansion and strengthen its artificial intelligence driven credit products. According to a report by YourStory, the Chennai-based fintech secured the funding through a mix of long term structured debt and founder equity. A large share of the capital comes from EvolutionX Debt Capital, which is providing up to Rs 336 crore (US$37.9 million). Founder and CEO Gaurav Kumar is contributing Rs 75 crore (US$8.5 million), bringing his total personal investment to more than Rs 330 crore (US$37.2 million). Yubi plans to channel the funding into expanding across Southeast Asia, the United States and the Middle East. It will also direct investment toward upgrades to its debt marketplace, collections infrastructure and AI capabilities. Yubi reports that it has facilitated over Rs 3.2 lakh crore (US$36.2 billion) in financing, connecting around 17,000 enterprises with nearly 6,200 lenders and investors. It also said its technology enables a 57 percent reduction in collections related costs. Yubi’s investors include Peak XV, Lightspeed, Lightrock, TVS Capital Funds, B Capital Group, Dragoneer Investment Group and Insight Partners. The company offers a suite of products covering the full debt lifecycle, from origination and underwriting to monitoring and collections. For FY25, Yubi recorded a net loss of Rs 416.1 crore (US$47 million), a five percent increase from the previous year. Operating revenue rose 36 percent to Rs 660.1 crore (US$74.6 million), while adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to Rs 69 crore (US$7.8 million) from Rs 155 crore (US$17.5 million) in FY24.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Freepik The post Indian Fintech Yubi Bags US$46.4 Million Funding to Drive Global Expansion appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has opened a new support hub in Dubai to guide Singapore companies entering the Middle East. The Business Times reported that the Singapore Enterprise Centre is the federation’s first in the region and the fifth in its GlobalConnect network. The new centre will act as a launchpad for businesses exploring opportunities in the Gulf. It will offer market advisory services, business matching, networking sessions, workshops and sector-focused roundtables. Existing centres under the initiative are located in Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Bengaluru. Interest in the Middle East has grown sharply. According to SBF, enquiries about setting up in the region have increased more than fivefold over the past two years. Its National Business Survey 2024 also showed stronger expansion plans for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. SBF said the rising demand points to Dubai’s role as a practical landing point for firms moving into the wider Gulf market and highlights the need for an on-ground presence to support them. Enterprise Singapore said the new centre complements efforts to deepen economic engagement with partners in the Middle East and create longer-term growth pathways for companies. To mark the launch, SBF led a business mission covering Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Eighteen delegates from 13 companies across seven sectors took part in the three-day programme, which connected them with local agencies and established corporates to understand market entry requirements and regional business networks.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user13560167 via Freepik   The post Singapore Enterprise Centre in Dubai to Guide Local Firms into Gulf Markets appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In the last decade or so, almost every financial interaction we make has moved from big physical branches to a small, tiny screen. Be it your own phone or laptop, you can really do anything and everything. You can open a bank account, sign up for a lender, send money to a friend, or pay for a delivery on that screen of yours. Now, your entire financial journey happens through a digital front door. But the same door that customers usually walk through also happens to be the very door criminals use, too, often at the same moment. That is the backdrop behind SEON’s philosophy, and it is also where the company’s President of GTM, Matt DeLauro, begins when he talks about the problem with how most institutions are set up today. The issue, he says, is structural. It has nothing to do with budgets or software. According to Matt, it comes down to the long-standing split between fraud teams and anti-money laundering teams. A split that made perfect sense when banks lived in the physical world, but now creates something much worse than inefficiency. It creates blind spots. “Fraud is actually a predicate crime. There’s no money laundering without fraud,” he explains. “[Hence], if you have two different teams looking at the same problem from different angles, they miss a lot of the context.” What Matt is trying to say is that criminals do not think in silos. But institutions, well, they still do. Why Splitting Fraud and AML No Longer Works In the old model, people walked into a branch with physical documents. Fraud and money laundering were separated because the risks occurred in different parts of the customer journey. Digital environments, however, are a bit different and do not necessarily work that way. Everyone enters through the same website or app, and every criminal uses the same devices, IP addresses, and behavioural tricks to impersonate or manipulate the system. AML teams traditionally monitor the flow of funds, while fraud teams monitor intent, behaviour, and the legitimacy of someone trying to create or access an account. Those two worlds should inform each other, but in reality, they usually sit in different reporting lines, use different tools, and view different datasets. Matt puts it bluntly. Matt DeLauro “AML teams rarely have access to the signals fraud teams see. Location, IP, device, email, phone. Even when they do, they have to [kind of] beg, borrow, and steal for that data.” That disconnect is exactly where criminals operate, and rather efficiently, I must say. Synthetic identities slip through gaps between teams. Transaction monitoring flags alerts that fraud analysts have context for, but AML officers, they never seem to see them. The outcome is predictable. More work, less certainty, and long investigation queues that stretch for months. For SEON, the fix begins with unifying the intelligence layer. And increasingly, that means turning to AI. But not the kind of AI that creates a new black box. The Industry Has Enough Black Boxes AI has become one of the most overused words in financial services. Every pitch deck, conference booth, and vendor website puts it front and centre. Yet most institutions still struggle to understand how their AI systems make decisions. That is now a regulatory issue, especially in markets with strict reporting obligations. Regulators expect financial institutions to justify why they made or did not make a report. That means knowing how the model evaluated a case, what factors influenced the outcome, and whether bias or error might have contributed. Matt breaks down the problem in a way most compliance teams recognise. Models that promise accuracy often require months of training before they deliver value. And secondly, models that deliver day one value often cannot adapt quickly enough to new fraud patterns. Neither solves the real-world pressure that banks and fintechs face. Matt stresses that either the AML or the fraud team has the capacity to wait ten months just to set up a solution. Their job is to stop fraud on day one, ASAP. “[So], that’s why we built both, the rules for immediate protection, and the algorithms for long-term precision,” he said. The hybrid approach is the key feature of SEON’s platform. The company offers a white-box rules engine that teams can configure instantly, combined with algorithms that learn subtle patterns across millions of data points. To make this usable, SEON recently introduced a natural language rule builder. Analysts can write a sentence the way they would explain a risk scenario to a colleague, and the system turns it into a rule. It gives investigators a clear view into how decisions are made, while also increasing the speed at which new threats can be mitigated. APAC’s Synthetic Identity Crisis Needs a Different Kind of Intelligence One of the clearest examples of why traditional tools fall short is synthetic identity fraud, and the problem is particularly severe across APAC. Here, it is harder to detect, harder to trace, and harder to prevent through legacy checks that rely heavily on government databases. Matt does not sugarcoat it. “Your government ID numbers are already out there on the dark web. Definitely mine, probably yours,” he said in a jokingly manner. Fraudsters have learned that the fastest way into a financial system is to pair a valid identification number with completely new digital credentials. A fresh email address. A temporary phone number. A device that cannot be traced back to an earlier account. Matt explains that a typical synthetic identity scheme involves taking a legitimate ID and pairing it with a fresh email or disposable phone number. By doing so, it gives the fraudster full control while the system assumes the identity belongs to the real person. And to make things a tad bit worrying is that traditional KYC systems validate just the ID itself, not the digital behaviour around it. What this means is that if the number is real, the document looks legitimate, and the face matches, the system typically allows the onboarding to continue. But the identifiers that criminals create are often too new or too shallow to be real. This is where SEON’s approach to digital footprints starts to matter. Rather than asking whether a phone number simply exists in a static database, the system looks for signs of life across the broader digital world. It checks whether an email or mobile number has been active on everyday platforms such as Grab, WeChat, or WhatsApp, and whether its activity resembles the natural patterns of a real user rather than something freshly created for a crime. As Matt puts it, it would be unusual for someone to apply for a digital bank account yet have no presence on apps that are practically essential in the region. That wider footprint has become one of the most reliable early markers of synthetic identity fraud, especially in APAC’s mobile-first markets. It also shows why institutions need tighter and smarter security controls in the first place. Stopping Fraud Without Stopping Growth But the problem is that tighter controls usually mean more friction for legitimate customers. Security controls often come at the expense of user experience. The safer an onboarding flow becomes, the more hoops a customer has to jump through. That is the trade-off most companies assume they must accept. Matt, however, argues the opposite. “Legacy tools introduce a lot of friction. What we offer is a frictionless surface.” His point is that most risks can be evaluated without interrupting a user. SEON’s SDK and APIs collect behavioural biometric signals as the user interacts with the app. The system captures typing patterns, device orientation, IP address consistency, whether the device is jailbroken, and whether it is hiding behind a residential proxy. All of this happens in the background, with no additional steps for the customer. The risk engine then decides whether to escalate, flag, or green-light the onboarding. In a region as diverse as APAC, where a user in Jakarta behaves very differently from a user in Sydney, this passive, contextual approach is often far more accurate than rigid verification steps. It also avoids the pitfall of rejecting genuine customers simply because they behave differently from a predefined “normal.” Regulators Are Moving Faster Than Systems Can Keep Up The pressure on compliance teams has increased sharply. One example is Singapore’s MAS rule that gives institutions only five days to file a suspicious activity report from the moment they detect something suspicious. Anyone who has ever written a SAR knows this is tight. “Timing is the most difficult part of running a compliance team,” Matt says. “A lot of teams are six or eight months behind on investigations.” Most of that delay comes from narrative creation. A SAR is not a checkbox but is more of a detailed report that describes the behaviour, the transactions, the risks, and the rationale behind the suspicion. Investigators often spend hours drafting a narrative, pulling together evidence, and formatting the final submission. SEON now uses large language models to take on most of that heavy lifting. Instead of starting from a blank page, the system produces a near-complete draft that the investigator only needs to review and refine, cutting the workload down dramatically. Matt says that the efficiency gains are huge. “A five-month backlog can be reduced to 30 days,” he said. For teams that face regulatory deadlines, this kind of workflow automation is the difference between staying compliant and drowning under case volume. One Command Centre, Not a Spaghetti Bowl With so many fraud, KYC, and AML vendors in the market, it is reasonable to ask what truly distinguishes SEON. When Matt explains how clients describe their setup, the answer becomes clear. “Most clients today live in a spaghetti mess of silos and disconnected systems,” he says. “We offer a unified command centre. A single source of truth. And we can be integrated in one to two weeks.” The appeal is obvious. Instead of juggling five or six systems across different parts of the customer journey, institutions get one place where fraud and AML signals converge. One dashboard. One policy layer. One investigation flow. This is the platform approach many banks are now trying to build internally, but rarely manage to stitch together effectively. SEON began life as the disruptor to slow, legacy systems. The company is now larger, better funded, and operating with enterprise-level clients. So how does a company evolve without losing its original agility? Matt believes the answer is simple. “The crown jewels of SEON are that we’re easy to work with and easy to integrate. We think of ourselves as the Stripe of fraud and compliance.” To protect that identity, SEON’s leadership team spends a surprising amount of time speaking directly to new customers, asking about their onboarding experience and where friction still exists. “A lot of companies become successful and forget what got them there,” he says. By anchoring the company culture around developer experience, transparency, and speed, SEON hopes to avoid becoming the legacy system it once sought to replace. The Fight Needs Both Hands Matt ends the interview with a simple observation. Banks and fintechs cannot afford to fight financial crime with one hand tied behind their backs. They need to remember that fraud and money laundering are deeply connected. Teams, tools, and workflows that treat them as separate will always be slower than the criminals they are trying to stop. SEON’s bet is that unifying these systems is not just more efficient. It is necessary. And in a region as diverse and fast-moving as APAC, where synthetic identities are growing more sophisticated and regulatory timelines are tightening, that unified approach may become the new baseline rather than the exception. The digital economy is expanding at a pace no one can fully track. And fraud, well, they are evolving just as quickly. What companies build today will define how they protect customers tomorrow. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images by ismode via Freepik and SEON. The post You Can’t Fight Digital Fraud with One Hand Tied Behind Your Back appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

OCBC users in Singapore can now transfer funds directly to eight major digital wallets across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. This brings the bank’s pay-to-wallet feature to ten wallets, following last year’s addition of Weixin Pay and Alipay. The expansion is part of OCBC’s partnership with Visa, which began in 2024 to enhance cross-border payments. Transfers to the new wallets are near instant and fee free. Supported services include Coins, GCash and PayMaya in the Philippines, GoPay, LinkAja and Ovo in Indonesia, MoMo in Vietnam and Touch ’n Go in Malaysia. Together with the two Chinese wallets, these platforms serve up to 2.72 billion users. The service is powered by Visa Direct, which connects to nearly 11 billion endpoints worldwide. Sunny Quek Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC said, “When we launched pay-to-wallet transfers last year, we promised to go beyond China and we have since delivered. By connecting OCBC accounts to eight of Southeast Asia’s most popular wallets, we are removing friction from cross-border payments and making remittances faster, cheaper and more inclusive. We’re not stopping here – our long-term goal is to connect customers to 50 digital wallets worldwide, giving them the most comprehensive wallet access of any banking app.” OCBC said the expanded coverage aims to improve the speed, cost and accessibility of remittances, particularly for Singapore’s 1.6 million foreign workers, many of whom still rely on slower or costlier channels. With pay-to-wallet transfers, senders or employers can move money directly to a recipient’s digital wallet without needing a bank account or a branch visit. Adeline Kim Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei, said, “Our latest Visa International Remittances report shows that nearly six in ten Singaporean remittance users plan to maintain or increase the amount they send overseas this year—a testament to the resilience and digital maturity of Singapore’s financial landscape. Our expanded partnership with OCBC enables us to connect additional digital wallets across Southeast Asia, empowering customers to send money quickly, securely, and conveniently. We look forward to extending our reach to more wallet partners in the near future.” Since launching transfers to Chinese wallets last year, OCBC has processed more than S$60 million through the service. The bank said transfers to China have grown fourfold and that many users have not visited a branch recently, with working professionals making up most early adopters. The post OCBC Users Can Now Send Money Directly to Eight Digital Wallets in Southeast Asia appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore announced plans to create a dual listing bridge between the Singapore Exchange and Nasdaq to support cross-border listings, concluding a review aimed at strengthening the equities market. The proposed platform will target Asian growth companies valued at least S$2 billion and would allow issuers to use a single set of offering documents to raise capital in both Singapore and the United States. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects the initiative to launch around mid-2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Chee Hong Tat National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat, who chaired the review group, said the effort “takes an entire ecosystem, the regulator, exchange, intermediaries, investors and listed companies themselves.” The review also introduced a S$30 million Value Unlock programme, supported by the Equip and Elevate grants, to help listed companies improve corporate strategy, capital management and investor relations. The package will be paired with initiatives to strengthen outreach, communications and research coverage for eligible firms. Liquidity, Custody and Connectivity Take Focus in Latest Reforms To boost demand for Singapore equities, MAS appointed six more managers under the S$5 billion Equity Market Development Programme, allocating S$2.85 billion to BlackRock, Amova Asset Management, AR Capital, Eastspring Investments, Lion Global Investors and Manulife Investment Management. Total deployment now stands at S$3.95 billion, and the managers may participate in cornerstone allocations for new listings. SGX will strengthen market making for newly listed and small to mid-cap stocks outside the Straits Times Index, consult on adopting broker custody accounts to modernise post-trade processes, and cut board lot sizes for shares priced above S$10 from 100 units to 10 units. Connectivity measures will expand to include S$40,000 in grant support for each depository receipt issuance and higher funding for primary-listed and cross-listed ETFs. The reforms include a 20 percent corporate income tax rebate for new primary listings and a 10 percent rebate for secondary listings. Newly listed fund managers will qualify for a 5 percent concessional tax rate, while funds that invest at least 30 percent of their assets in Singapore equities will receive income tax exemptions. Changes to the Global Investor Programme will require eligible Single Family Offices to deploy at least S$50 million into Singapore equities. Chee said the reforms will help companies “articulate compelling value propositions and build a continuing partnership with investors focused on sustainable growth.” Regulatory updates include removing the financial watch-list and replacing it with a requirement for issuers to disclose when they record three consecutive years of pre-tax losses. MAS will also co-fund meritorious civil actions and allow designated representatives to bring action on behalf of investors in misconduct cases. Market Activity Shows Signs of Rebound Average daily trading value rose 16 percent year-on-year in the third quarter to S$1.53 billion, the highest since early 2021, while small and mid-cap turnover increased 88 percent quarter-on-quarter. IPOs have raised more than S$2 billion so far this year. MAS will form an implementation committee co-chaired by MAS managing director Chia Der Jiun and SGX chief executive Loh Boon Chye to oversee execution of the measures. More details are expected in the first quarter of 2026. The post SGX–Nasdaq Bridge, Tax Incentives Featured in Singapore’s Completed Equities Review appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

EdenX Group, an Australian and Singapore-based fintech platform providing end-to-end solutions for franchise and SME growth, capital raising and business exits, has launched a US$5 million funding round to expand its regulated capital markets infrastructure and develop a platform for transacting in businesses. The round is being led by SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered Bank, and has attracted interest from both existing and new investors. Formed through the integration of Eden Exchange, Franchise Ready, Franchise New Zealand Media and edenX Capital, EdenX Group has relationships with over 250 franchise brands and more than 120,000 users across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. EdenX integrates strategy, marketplaces, marketing and capital raising into a single platform, offering franchise development, investor matching and regulated capital issuance. Dhanush Ganglani, Co-Founder and CEO of EdenX Group, said, Dhanush Ganglani “This raise gives us the firepower we need to take a major step forward in delivering the capital markets infrastructure that SMEs have long lacked. With dual licenses from MAS in Singapore and an AFSL in Australia, we are now in a position to offer compliant, cross-border capital raising, with tokenised issuance and secondary liquidity tools launching in 2026.” The EdenX platform includes business sales and deal distribution through Eden Exchange, capital raising and tokenisation via edenX Capital, franchise strategy through Franchise Ready, and media services via Franchise New Zealand Media. In the past year, EdenX has completed two acquisitions, launched in Singapore, secured regional partnerships and built an AI-powered deal qualification engine to match investors, sellers and franchisees.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by rawpixel.com via Freepik The post EdenX Raises US$5M to Expand Platform in Australia and Singapore appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

OneConnect highlighted its latest AI-driven solutions at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025, which ran from 12 to 14 November and marked the event’s 10th anniversary. The festival attracted more than 65,000 participants from 130 countries, including regulators, financial institutions, and technology firms. The company first entered Singapore in 2018 and returned this year to present its “AI in ALL” suite, positioning it as part of its broader international expansion. Matthew Chen Matthew Chen, CEO of OneConnect International, spoke on a panel alongside representatives from Tencent Cloud and Bank of China. The discussion explored how Chinese firms are using AI to improve efficiency and broaden financial services. Chen outlined Ping An Group’s integrated finance strategy and highlighted use cases in areas such as healthcare, robotics, and large language models. He said rising data availability is enabling more scenario-based applications and supporting the rollout of new technologies. As Ping An’s platform for exporting fintech capabilities, OneConnect plans to continue strengthening its global footprint. Chen also visited the Philippines Pavilion for a session hosted by Fintech Alliance Philippines, where he discussed regtech, fintech, and digital inclusion efforts in the country. He shared updates on OneConnect’s projects in the Philippines, a market where the Alliance represents more than 140 members and accounts for most digital retail financial transactions. At its booth, OneConnect demonstrated systems covering core banking, smart lending, AI vision tools, wealth management, and insurtech. The company said the level of engagement from visitors reaffirmed its focus on delivering its technology and financial solutions to institutions in overseas markets.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Singapore Fintech Festival via flickr The post OneConnect Highlights AI Solutions and Global Strategy at SFF 2025 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

CIMB Singapore has taken the lead in forming the SME Resilience Circle with CrediLinq, KPay and Singlife to expand access to smarter, more flexible working capital for SMEs in Singapore and across the region. The Circle aims to help SMEs build resilience, support growth and improve long term sustainability while managing rising costs, digital disruption and evolving customer behaviour. The initiative was formalised through separate MOUs between CIMB Singapore and each partner. CrediLinq contributes AI driven credit underwriting to support more accurate risk assessment, while KPay connects merchant payment data to financing to help smaller businesses access credit more easily. Singlife adds protection and business continuity solutions to strengthen the wider support ecosystem for SMEs. The collaboration will enable at least 30,000 existing retailers within the partners’ networks to access data driven, performance linked financing solutions. The Circle also plans to bring in additional ecosystem partners over time to broaden available support. A key feature of the partnership is CIMB FlexiPay, an innovative pay as you earn loan launched in August 2025 that links repayments to a company’s daily revenue. Repayments are automatically deducted from daily deposits based on a selected holdback rate, which determines the portion of revenue allocated to the loan. Businesses pay a single upfront fee, repay only on days they earn and pay nothing on days they do not. There are no interest charges, late fees or prepayment penalties, and the entire process is fully digital. Benjamin Tan “CIMB Singapore is proud to lead the SME Resilience Circle as part of our continued commitment to advance customers and society. Through financial solutions like CIMB FlexiPay, we aim to make it simpler and faster for SMEs to manage their cashflow and reinvest in growth, supporting not just business continuity, but competitiveness for the future,” said Benjamin Tan, Head of Commercial & Transaction Banking, CIMB Singapore. Sandeep Nair “SME resilience is more than financing. It’s about building the confidence to take risks, grow sustainably, and safeguard what matters. Singlife is proud to partner with CIMB Singapore to support a more holistic ecosystem for business continuity and protection. When SMEs are financially secure and supported, the entire economy becomes stronger,” said Sandeep Nair, Head of Sales, Singlife.     Featured image: [From left] Vikram Kotibhaskar, Co-Founder, CredilLinq.ai; Adam Lim, Head of Commercial Banking Product and Strategy, CIMB Singapore; Mervyn Ng, Head of Bancassurance Partnerships & Sales, Singlife; and Christopher Yu, President and Chief Financial Officer, KPay The post CIMB Singapore, CrediLinq, KPay and Singlife Unite for Flexible SME Financing appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Embedded finance, artificial intelligence (AI), and stablecoins are emerging as key drivers of Southeast Asia’s next digital growth wave, shaping opportunities across agentic commerce, instant cross-border payments, and hyper-personalization, according to a new study by HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI). The survey, conducted between December 2024 and May 2025, polled more than 2,400 respondents across six of Southeast Asia’s biggest countries to identify the major trends transforming how businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers create and exchange value across the region. Embedded finance becomes mainstream The research highlights several trends shaping the future of the region’s digital economy, emphasizing the surge of embedded finance, with demand continuing to grow. According to the study, 77% of consumers in Southeast Asia use embedded finance via wallets, buy now, pay later (BNPL), or in-app loans, reflecting the strong appeal of these capabilities. Additionally, 75% see embedded finance as “very important” or “useful”, underscoring its convenience, and alignment with current consumer expectations. Usage of embedded finance by Southeast Asian consumers, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Consumers also identified embedded finance products as critical to enhancing their digital banking experience. When asked which features would improve their experience with digital banking apps, consumers expressed strong interest in embedded services, ranking integration with social media as the number two feature that would improve their experience. In addition, one in three consumers want financial services messaging apps, and one in four want these services in gig platforms and other everyday apps. Features that would improve consumers’ experience with digital banking or payment apps, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Demand for embedded credit on the rise Within embedded finance, BNPL is seeing the strongest demand. 66% of the consumers polled for the study want to see BNPL more often when making purchases and 48% want to see instant loans. Embedded financial services that users want most, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Looking more closely at the profile of BNPL adopters in Southeast Asia, the study found that, contrary to conventional assumptions, BNPL users tend to be higher-income individuals rather than lower-income, financially underserved demographics seeking alternative sources of credit. In fact, 61% of BNPL users are in the top two income quartiles. Moreover, these people tend to rank considerably higher than the average for credit card ownership, at 69% versus 45%. They are also much more digitally-savvy, with 75% using digital platforms to make transactions daily. These findings suggest that higher-income, digitally confident consumers are driving BNPL growth in Southeast Asia, leveraging these solutions as a way to optimize spending and extend purchasing power. This points to significant growth potential across discretionary and premium categories, such as luxury goods, high-end electronics, travel, and lifestyle services. Southeast Asia BNPL users, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 A fertile ground for agentic commerce AI is another key trend highlighted in the report, with rapid advances in the technology paving the way for agentic commerce. Agentic commerce refers to the use of autonomous AI agents that can act on behalf of customers or businesses. These AI agents can find, compare, and potentially make purchases for customers based on their needs and preferences, aiming to enhance customer experience, convenience, and efficiency. Results from the study show that Southeast Asia offers fertile ground for agentic commerce, as many consumers are comfortable trusting AI with their personal data. In fact, 73% of surveyed trust AI with their personal data, or at minimum do not mistrust it. Furthermore, governments and organizations across the region are actively preparing businesses to adopt autonomous AI systems. In Singapore, for example, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) released in October Securing Agentic AI: an Addendum to the Guidelines and Companion Guide on Securing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems, providing practical guidance for system owners to secure agentic AI systems. Research from SS&C Blue Prism estimates that over a third of Singaporean organizations plan to deploy agentic AI by 2026. A study by IDC found that about 70% of Asia Pacific (APAS) organizations expect agentic AI to disrupt business models by year-end 2026. The HSBC, Google Cloud, and PCMI report expects stablecoins to accelerate the shift towards agentic AI, enabling the advent of “always-on commerce” with bots creating fully autonomous commerce flows. AI agents will decide what to buy, sell, invest, or pay for, while stablecoins will ensure the transactions are executed exactly as intended, following preset conditions such as amount, merchant type, and payment method. AI-personalization as a new standard In Southeast Asia, AI personalization has become common practice. This trend, which first emerged in e-commerce, has since expanded into finance. Today, 88% of Southeast Asian consumers are accustomed to personalization in financial services. Personalization has even become an expectation for most, with 84% of respondents saying that they are willing or would consider switching to a bank or payment provider that offers more personalized services. Respondents identified budgeting intelligence (53%) as the most desired AI-personalized financial feature, followed by investment advice (48%) and spending insights (43%). Personalized banking services valued most by users, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Instant payments surge, but gaps remain Across Southeast Asia, instant payments have become ubiquitous, driven by payment modernization efforts and faster payment rails. Digital payments through e-wallets and account-to-account (A2A) are now overtaking credit cards in transaction value, accounting for 58% of cashless transactions. E-wallet and account-to-account (A2A) GTV (US$B), Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Despite the rise of real-time payments, several industry vertical remain underserved. Across the region, 32% of consumers reported experiencing slow processing times and 42% of business owners reported slow payments as a challenge in their business. That figure is even higher in Malaysia and Vietnam, at 50% and 52%, respectively. Southeast Asian consumers cited refunds for returns, alongside insurance payouts, and cross-border payments, as the most under-performing verticals for fast-payments. Consumer prioritization for fast payments versus their experience with slow payments, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Real-time cross-border payments take center stage Another key trend highlighted in the HSBC, Google Cloud, and PCMI report is the increased focus on delivering instant cross-border payments. In this topic, two major developments are emphasized: Project Nexus, and the proliferation of stablecoins. Project Nexus, led by the Bank for International Settlements, focuses on linking domestic instant payment systems across countries for faster and lower-cost cross-border payments. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the Eurosystem, are among those part of the initiative. According to the report, the implications for Project Nexus are vast. For e-commerce platforms and retailers, the technology is poised to expand the size of their addressable market by increasing the use of QR code payments and mobile wallets, boosting conversion rates. For money remitters, it’s poised to make payout simpler and more uniform across the region. Update on Project Nexus, Source: HSBC, Google Cloud, and Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) Consumer Survey, Nov 2025 Stablecoins pick up steam Alongside Project Nexus, digital currencies are seeing increased adoption. 12% of Southeast Asian respondents in PCMI’s survey use digital currencies weekly. In Singapore, the SGD-pegged stablecoin, XSGD, is showing strong traction, recording over 8 billion in transaction volume as of mid-2025. Regulatory clarity is further accelerating adoption. For example, Singapore launched a stablecoin regulatory framework in 2023 to ensure a high degree of value stability for stablecoins regulated in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is currently working on legislative amendments to formalize the framework. This clarity has prompted global players like Circle and Ripple to expand operations in Singapore to support enterprise use cases, illustrating that the region is well-positioned for institutional adoption.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by pikisuperstar via Freepik The post Embedded Finance, AI, and Stablecoins Emerge as Top Digital Trends Shaping Southeast Asia appeared first on Fintech Singapore.