Six FinTech startups from across Asia and around the world kicked off DBS Accelerator in Hong Kong this year, seeking to shape the future of finance with innovative solutions in enhancing the customer’s digital journey, data analytics, as well as compliance transformation and more. The six startups are CUBE, cyberProductivity, DOV-E, Fractal Labs, Hyper Anna, and Privé Technologies. This brings the total number of DBS Accelerator participants to over 30 since the DBS Bank (Hong Kong) programme’s launch in 2015. CUBE is a powerful RegTech solution that delivers unprecedented cuts in regulatory costs, and minimizes your risk of…

“Bigtechs,” or Internet-based platform companies such as Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook and Tencent, are making inroads into the finance and banking business, threatening incumbent banks that are not responding fast enough to the digitalization of the industry, according to a new report by Citi. In a report titled “Bank of the Future, the ABCs of Digital Disruption in Finance” , Citi GPS examines digital trends including artificial intelligence (AI), bigtech, core banking and cloud, and digital assets, and identifies how incumbent banks can adopt these disruptive factors to move their businesses forward. Notably, the emergence of the bigtechs is threating banks as…

South Korea’s financial regulator is planning to launch a regulatory sandbox to allow fintech startups to introduce new products and services without the need to comply with existing regulations. The move is intended to boost fintech development and came in response to criticism over the government’s so-called “restrictive fintech policies.” Under the new initiative, which was unveiled last week, fintech startups will be exempted from regulations for two years if their apps or services are determined to be “innovative” by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), officials said. If a product unexpectedly hurts consumers’ interest, the FSC could order the firm…

When talking about fintech in China, it is common to hear mentions of hubs such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, but the lesser known city of Hangzhou is quickly catching up with its counterparts. Hangzhou, a startup hub Hangzhou is the fourth largest city by Internet company numbers, and according to the New York Times, it hosts more than 1,000 startups. The city’s most notable tech firm is China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba. The e-commerce giant got its start in Hangzhou and has maintained its headquarters there, as did Chinese conglomerates like Geely, the parent company of…

FintechNews has put together a list of top Fintech books you must read. This Top Fintech Books list tailors for both beginners and experts who want to get a deeper look into Digital Finance. From financial services, mobile banking, blockchain, bitcoin and cybermoney, wealth management to insurtech trends and more, you’ll find various Fintech topics covered by popular Digital Finance and Fintech experts such as Brett King, Jonathan McMillan or Michael J. Casey, Chris Skinner in the list below. Chris Skinner just released a new book called “Digital Human” and we are also waiting for Brett Kings new Book Bank…

With the surge in popularity of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, hundreds of events and conferences are being organized around the world to sensitize top executives and decision makers on the potential of these technologies. Here are 12 must-attend events focusing on blockchain and cryptocurrencies taking place in the coming months: Token2049 March 20-21, 2018 Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong Token2049 promises to be the largest digital asset event in Asia where experts explore in-depth the growing crypto ecosystem. The event will shine a light on the global developments of this new asset class, while taking a unique and widening perspective on the…

The Hong Kong government will be allocating HK$500 million over the next five years to support its financial services industry, including the development of fintech, Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan said on February 28. In his annual budget speech, Chan pledged to support technology and innovation, recognizing IT as “an economic driver in the new era.” “Hong Kong must optimize its resources by focusing on developing its areas of strength, namely biotechnology, artificial intelligence, smart city and fintech, and forge ahead according to the eight major directions set out by the chief executive,” Chan said. HK$500 million will go…

Here are the Winner of the Hong Kong Fintech Awards 2017. Congrats to all! FinTech Awards 2017 in Banking Outstanding Smart Personal Banking Outstanding Social Platform Flow to Pay Outstanding Digital Wealth Management Platform Distinguished Living Ecology Platform Outstanding Smart Help Outstanding Mobility Money Fingerprint Authentication Service Outstanding Smart Digital Branch Outstanding SME banking services FinTech Awards 2017 in Insurance Outstanding Comprehensive Insurance Services Platform Outstanding Driving Analysis Mobile App Outstanding Financial Technology Social Media Applications Outstanding Consumer Online Insurance Service Outstanding Insurance Product Decoder Outstanding Blockchain Platform in Insurance FinTech Awards 2017 in Lending Outstanding SME…

Traditional financial centers such as London and New York are witnessing increasing pressure from Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen which are quickly becoming front runners in the fintech race. By many measures, China can already be considered the world leader in the fintech industry, counting 500 million fintech users and an overall market size exceeding RMB 12 trillion (US$1.87 trillion) by the end of 2015. The rise of fintech in China has been fueled by the government’s supportive policies and loose regulatory environment, the country’s unique technology ecosystem, and the large pool of individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)…

Hong Kong, a leading international financial center, is quickly emerging as a global fintech hub and a favored location to host regional fintech events. 2017 saw a number of large fintech gatherings taking place in Hong Kong, which brought together some of the world’s top thought leaders, fintech entrepreneurs and financial institutions to discuss the future of finance and banking. This year promises to be even more exciting with already a number of must-attend conferences being scheduled. Here are some of the top fintech events and conferences taking place this year in Hong Kong: Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme 2.0 – Information…

In recent years, crowdfunding has emerged as a popular way for individuals, startups and businesses to raise funding from a global audience of investors. Crowdfunding refers to the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people. Crowdfunding includes peer-to-peer lending, crowdinvesting, reward-based crowdfunding and crowddonating, as well as invoice trading. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), peer-to-peer lending and overall alternative financing has become a way for those with difficulty accessing credit from conventional banks to keep their businesses afloat. To boost crowdfunding, most jurisdictions around the world have enacted specific legislations…

Standard Chartered and SuperCharger, a Fintech accelerator based in Hong Kong and Malaysia, revealed 10 finalists for its third programme in Hong Kong at the Fintech Finals 2018. SuperCharger pooled 277 applications from 43 countries, a record number that reflects the appeal of Hong Kong as a base for Fintech companies. Of the application pool, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most popular technology sub-sector, followed by Regulatory Technology (RegTech). The majority of the cohort are revenue-generating, mature-stage companies seeking to expand into Asia. Standard Chartered, the Main Partner of SuperCharger who has supported the programme since its founding, welcomes the…

Despite being a global financial center with a thriving fintech sector, Hong Kong has lagged behind in the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending space. Experts and industry observers have argued that the lack of clear guidance and regulatory framework has hampered the growth of the practice in Hong Kong. Peer-to-peer lending is a form of crowdfunding used to raise loans (personal and business) from the crowd. An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), notably in developing countries, are relying on the method to raise capital. Several foreign players have started operating in Hong Kong, including Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Indian…

Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, met in Bern to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of financial markets and to exchange views on international financial and tax matters. Authorities and private sector representatives from Hong Kong and Switzerland signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) during the meeting. During their meeting, Switzerland’s Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam discussed topics including the further development of the two financial centres, the opportunities arising from the opening-up of the financial markets in Mainland of the People’s Republic of…

While China strictly banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency exchanges platforms and Macau’s monetary regulator barred local firms from providing ICO-related financial services, Hong Kong has emerged as something as an ICO hub. Hong Kong has witnessed several token sales taking place in its city. Although it hasn’t had noble campaigns like Switzerland or Singapore, the number of local startups opting for the novel fundraising method is on the rise. Hong Kong-based Simple Token conducted an ICO which attracted nearly 7,000 unique purchasers, raising approximately US$21 million in OST. Simple Token, founded by serial entrepreneur Jason Goldberg, enables any…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a consultation on Open API framework, setting out the HKMA’s intended approach to Open Application Programming Interfaces (API) for the banking industry in Hong Kong. The HKMA now invites relevant parties in the industry to provide comments on the consultation paper. The formulation of the Open API framework is one of the seven initiatives announced by the HKMA in September 2017 to prepare Hong Kong to move into a New Era of Smart Banking. Open API allows better and easier system and service integration between banks and other industries such as lifestyle, healthcare…

In Hong Kong, banks, entrepreneurs and the government itself have joined hands to make the city a hotbed for fintech innovation and a pioneer in digital finance. The fintech industry has significantly grown in recent years aided by initiatives from the government and particularly the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which has committed to developing a healthy and sustainable fintech ecosystem. Hong Kong, a finance center Hong Kong has a large financial services sector which contributes 18% of its GDP and employs some 220,000 people or 6% of the workforce. The city’s advanced financial sector, strong business culture, sophisticated…

Onalytica analysed over 631K posts from 1st January – 20th November 2017 looking at social influence as well as authority by analysing how much influencers are referenced in online media, forums, blogs and YouTube content. These influencers were then added to our Influencer Relationship Management software and this word cloud was created by measuring all the frequencies of all the keywords used in order to provide an accurate gauge of the conversation. The most frequently mentioned topics by the top women in tech influencers were: Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Blockchain, BigData, IoT, EdTech, MarTech, InsurTech, Virtual Reality, Cyber Security. We decided to…

Hong Kong had a great year 2017 filled with exciting new projects and initiatives, numerous local startups gaining international recognition and a thriving domestic fintech ecosystem. As year 2018 begins, we have compiled some of Hong Kong’s rising fintech stars that you should be watching closely this year. Here’s our pick of the top eight startups from Hong Kong that you should be keeping an eye on in 2018: EMQ EMQ is building a financial network across Asia with a focus on remittances. The company partners with financial institutions and other strategic partners in various countries to enable and settle cross-border…

The fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong is rapidly growing with now some 130 startups in the space, according to Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK). Year 2017 saw many developments in the space. In particular, the year was marked by numerous collaborations and initiatives being launched to foster fintech, some by the government itself, notably the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), others by the private sector. The HKMA, the city’s central bank and banking regulator, has committed to developing a healthy and sustainable fintech ecosystem with industry players, and in this regard, the authority initiated numerous ambitious projects. Here are some of…