Western Union customers will now be able to have their money transfers to China accounts be paid out in real-time to majority of bank account holders — this is thanks to a partnership between Western Union, Du Xiaoman Financial and its network of bank partners. With this, more than 150 million Du Xiaoman Financial app users can have account payout directed via their app, which they can use to route money transfers from any across the world into their bank accounts and receive funds in real-time. Western Union said in a media statement that the expansion of account payouts in…

Ping An’s announced a collaboration between its technology arm Ping An Technology and Intel to establish a joint laboratory where they will collaborate on developing new products and technologies. The two companies will form a joint project team in areas of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, cloud, network, storage, and security. In a statement to the media, Ping An Technology’s CEO, Ericson Chan said that partnering Intel will provide them an edge to boost their cloud technologies and supercharge their AI-based services and solution.

Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading international financial centers, has a burgeoning fintech ecosystem with more than 600 companies, a large pool of investors and acceleration programs, and a supportive government that has committed to establishing a favorable environment for the industry to flourish. In 2019, Hong Kong’s fintech industry continued to grow and mature on the back of the launch of initiatives such as the Faster Payment System (FPS), the Hong Kong Common QR Code, and the trade finance blockchain in 2018. In the first half of 2019, Hong Kong fintech companies raised US$152 million, up 561% from…

Tencent’s WeChat team today celebrated WeChat Mini Programs’ 3rd Anniversary by revealing that total transaction value generated on Mini Programs has exceeded 800 billion RMB in 2019, an increase of 160% year-on-year and a clear demonstration of the platform’s tremendous business value. The announcement took place at the 2020 WeChat Open Class PRO event in Guangzhou, the flagship conference for business partners and developers where Tencent shares successful business cases and technological upgrades across the WeChat smart lifestyle ecosystem. WeChat Mini Programs, which give users instant access to enterprise services were pioneered by WeChat in 2017 and today attracts over…

Alibaba’s Singles Day, M-Pesa, Alexa, the Belt and Road Initiative, Bitcoin and E-Estonia are amongst the most impactful projects of the last 50 years, according to a new ranking from the Project Management Institute (PMI). The list, called Most Influential Projects, recognizes the top 50 notable and influential projects that have transformed their respective sectors and the entire business landscape over the past 50 years. The list aims to provide an inspirational reflection on how these projects have created our present. Noteworthy projects that made the list At the 6th position, PMI names Alibaba’s annual Singles Day, recognizing it…

Ever since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) dished out 8 virtual banking licenses much of Asia and perhaps even the world has been watching the space with great interest. Most of the players, including WeLab were aiming to launch their services by the end of 2019 however with the prolonged protest continuing well into December — many of the new licensed virtual bank delayed their launch to 2020. Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of HKMA announced on Wednesday that the first virtual bank has already started their trial run within HKMA’s Fintech Supervisory Sandbox. This announcement follows hints from Arthur…

Blockchain has become a national priority for China both in the public and private sector. This is further accelerated thanks in part to president Xi Jinping who recently proclaimed the technology as an important breakthrough. Efforts to launch a central bank digital currency and the deployment of regional blockchain initiatives are just a few examples showcasing that China sees the technology as an issue of national importance, according to a new report by Forkast.Insights. In a paper titled China Blockchain Report: Blockchain Is Not China’s Future – It’s The Present, the company explores the country’s booming blockchain industry, highlighting the…

Blockchain solution provider Diginex and the Internationa Organisation for Migration announced the launch of a blockchain based tool developed to prevent the exploitation of migrant domestic helpers in Hong Kong. The tool called IRIS-SAFER, which is an acronym for the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS)- Self-Assessment for Ethical Recruitment (SAFER), is initially being designed for use by representatives from the approximately 1,500 Hong Kong-based migrant domestic worker recruitment agencies as well as select associated agencies in worker-sending countries. Agencies invited to use the tool – to assess their current level of adherence to global ethical recruitment principles as set forth…

Vanguard, the $5.9 trillion U.S.-based asset manager, and Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba’s fintech arm, announced a partnership to bring a new streamlined and broadly-available investment advisory service to retail consumers in China. Combining Alipay’s technology and Vanguard’s expertise in investment management and advisory services, the two companies’ joint venture will provide a fund investment advisory service, as approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), to Chinese individual investors. “Since opening our Shanghai office in 2017, we have been dedicated to bringing Vanguard’s way of investing to Chinese investors,” said Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley. “This venture marries Vanguard’s time-tested…

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) is home to 43 unicorns valued at a combined US$1.1 trillion. These unicorn focus on five key industries: e-commerce, healthtech, robotics, fintech and biotech, according to a new whitepaper by WHub, Hong Kong’s startup platform and community. In the paper, WHub sheds light on the tech and startup ecosystem in the GBA, highlighting the area’s most successful startups as well as the rising stars. The GBA’s most successful startups According to the report, WeBank (US$18.5 billion), China’s first digital bank backed by Tencent, is the GBA’s third highest valued startup and the…

WeLab, one of the 8 companies granted license from the HKMA to operate a virtual bank announced today that it has raised US$ 156 million ( HK$ 1.2 billion) of Series C strategic financing, which makes it one of the largest fintech fundraising rounds in Greater China. This round drew the backing of new investors as well as five existing investors, including Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and China Construction Bank (International) amongst others, who made follow-on investments, validating WeLab’s accomplishments and demonstrating confidence in WeLab’s future prospects. “This financing will be used to further develop and broaden our…

gini, the Hong Kong based data-driven banking solutions provider reveals a recent survey on Open APIs readiness among Asian fintech industry professionals. Only 20% of bankers saw themselves as the winners from Open APIs, even though 70% said sharing customer data is the future of their business. Unclear regulation and cybersecurity concerns were cited by a majority of bankers as the biggest obstacles they will face when adopting the new Open APIs technologies. Conducted by gini enterprise, gini’s B2B arm, the survey questioned over 300 fintech-industry professionals during the fintech events in Singapore and Hong Kong in November 2019. “Open…

The FSC announced measures to promote fintech scale-ups on December 4, which includes 24 key tasks in 8 different policy areas. The government has been promoting the fintech industry as part of its innovation-led growth strategy amid digital transformation and the 4th industrial revolution. To this end, the government has introduced a financial regulatory sandbox, open banking, regulatory reforms and budget earmarks for fintech. In order to further develop Korea’s fintech industry and its ecosystem, the government plans to implement the following fintech scale-up strategy, which builds upon the progress made so far. Key Measures Improving The Current Regulatory Sandbox…

Every peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in China must become small loan providers within two years, according to an official notice issued by China’s Internet Financial Risk Special Rectification Work Leadership Team Office. It also states that all outstanding loans must be cleared within the next year, though the grace period can be extended by up to two years for firms managing more than 5 billion yuan (US$710 million) in outstanding longer-maturity loans. The notice, seen by Reuters last week, details a transition plan that began at the end of November aimed at curbing China’s P2P lending industry. The goal, it…

KPMG in China, Australia and Japan today launched KPMG Origins, a blockchain-based “track and trace” platform to support industries including agriculture, resources, manufacturing and financial services. The platform has been developed to enable global trade. It brings together a number of emerging technologies including blockchain, internet of things sensors (IoT), as well as data and analytics tools to provide transparency and traceability to trading partners across complex industries. KPMG Origins allows these trading partners to communicate unique product information across their supply chains, and in particular to end users, while reducing operational complexities. Laszlo Peter, KPMG Head of Blockchain Services…

Fintech funding topped US$8.9 billion in Q3’2019, driven by 19 mega-rounds of US$100 million+. This brings the total amount raised by fintech companies to US$24.6 billion this year, as of Q3’19, according to CB Insights’ Global Fintech Report Q3 2019. So far, 2019 saw a record of 59 mega-rounds totaling US$11.5 billion. North America took the most deals with 36 investments, followed by Europe with 10, Asia with eight, South America with three and Australia with 2. Fintech funding in Asia Fintech funding reached new highs in Southeast Asia, with an annual record of US$701 million raised across 87…

DBS Hong Kong has launched the first fully virtual wealth management account opening solution, allowing new customers to set up a multi-currency savings and wealth management account completely digitally, on their smartphone. The solution leverages technologies including instant identity verification, biometric recognition and digital security to offer a full digital experience to new customers, and is integrated into iWealth, a mobile app by the bank that allows customers to manage their investments and financial needs. In a media release, Sebastian Paredes, CEO of DBS Hong Kong, called the solution a “breakthrough” and a “great leapfrog in the nascent virtual banking landscape”…

Fresh off securing virtual banking license in Hong Kong, Ant Financial confirms that they are actively looking into pursuing virtual banking license in Singapore. Previously, Ping An’s One Connect and AMTD Group have also voiced similar ambitions, making this the third instance where an entity that has secured the license in Hong Kong announced their interest to pursue the same in Singapore. It was previously announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore that it will be issuing up to 5 digital banking licenses; two of which being full digital licenses and three wholesale licenses. It was not disclosed whether which…

Deloitte has announced its selection of this year’s winners of the Hong Kong Technology Fast and Rising Star Program, which recognizes the fastest-growing and most promising technology companies in Hong Kong, as well as the two winners of the Hong Kong Tech Fast Female. Among the 28 winning companies, eight of them are fintechs. 2019 Deloitte Hong Kong Tech Leadership award Klook, a travel activities and services booking platform with a growth rate of 729%, was named as the 2019 Deloitte Hong Kong Tech Leadership. The Tech Leadership is an award that recognizes one tech company with revenue of more…

Tandem, a full-service digital bank in the UK, announced that they have appointed ex HSBC banker Kunal Malani as their Chief Growth Officer. This news follows their earlier announcement that targetting to launch their digital financial services in Hong Kong by the end of 2019. Kunal will spearhead Tandem’s international expansion into Hong Kong this year and other potential new markets in 2020, in addition to driving Tandem’s domestic growth agenda here in the UK. The newly appointed executive, has over 20 years of experience in product and commercial management spread over multiple regions include the UK, US, India and…