China, a world leader in blockchain, is entering the next stage of the industry’s development with blockchain being now increasingly integrated with other emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), a new report by Blockchain Business Bridge, a non-profit outfit focusing on facilitating business collaboration and knowledge exchange between China, Denmark and the rest of the world, says. The China’s Blockchain Ecosystem report, released earlier this year, explores blockchain’s increasingly deep integration into Chinese business and society, and shares forecasts on what’s to come for the industry. According to the report, no other…

After more than two years with its borders closed, Hong Kong has finally loosened its pandemic-related restrictions, first, by reopening to non-residents May 1, 2022, and then, in September 2022, by removing quarantines for arrivals. Most recently, Hong Kong and mainland China opened their borders to one another and scrapped all COVID-19 restrictions. With all major requirements now lifted, a number of fintech events are being scheduled to take place in the city in the coming months, seeking to attract the global business community, showcase the local fintech scene and help industry stakeholders connect with their peers. For the fintech…

Financial services firms across the Asia Pacific are facing an ever-increasing array of data and technology challenges stemming from both the growth in the volume of customer and business data being generated and the proliferation of data siloes across different applications and platforms.  This has led to an urgent need for financial organisations to access, manage, and leverage their data effectively to improve operational efficiency, enhance decision-making, and, ultimately, better serve their customers. In a recent survey by InterSystems, a provider of data management solutions involving 176 leaders in the APAC region, several vital data and technology challenges were identified…

Cross border payments firm Airwallex has secured a payment business license in China, following the successful acquisition of a 100% stake in Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology, an information and online payment services company. Shang Wu Tong Network Technology has a license for online payment services. The acquisition received approval and endorsement from all relevant China regulatory authorities. This latest approval adds to Airwallex’s existing licenses across major markets around the world, including Australia, the European single market, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. With this license, Airwallex is now a third-party payment…

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will be opening an office in London in the first half of 2023 to extend its international reach beyond its existing offices in Beijing, New York, Shanghai and Singapore. Preparatory work to open the London office is ongoing. The new office will be overseen by Head of EMEA Business Development, Raymond Wong, who will report to Kevin Rideout, HKEX Co-Head of Sales and Marketing. HKEX said in a statement that the new office will promote “its international equities franchise, exclusive connectivity with Mainland China’s capital markets and its rapidly expanding derivatives product suite”.…

HSBC announced that its Visa credit card customers can now opt for “Visa Instalments” to pay at selected online stores of designated merchants. They can pay by dividing the spending amount into smaller equal payments under instalment plans that offer zero interest and handling fee, with no new credit checks or additional lending. In the first phase, HSBC and Visa collaborated with various merchants to roll out the solution on the e-commerce platforms of Catalog, Marathon Sports, Go Wild, Columbia, Arena, Cath Kidston, Chevignon, Crocs, Havaianas, Teva and UGG, with more to be introduced later this year. From now to…

HashKey Group, a Hong Kong-based digital asset management and blockchain solutions provider, has secured approval from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its subsidiary Hash Blockchain Limited (HBL) to conduct off-platform virtual asset trading business. HBL can act as the intermediary to facilitate trades between two parties, even if they wish to trade tokens that are not listed on the exchange’s order book. The subsidiary operates the HashKey PRO exchange, one of the two licensed virtual asset exchanges in Hong Kong to provide services to professional investors. The HashKey Group has previously received approval from the SFC to operate…

Consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion has partnered with a Baihang Credit, Chinese licensed personal credit reference agency, to promote financial inclusion in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). This partnership will enable mainland consumers to have efficient and convenient access to credit and other financial services from Hong Kong financial institutions and vice versa for the Hong Kong consumers. Additionally, the collaboration will also support credit providers in preventing fraud and making holistic lending decisions powered by TransUnion’s solutions. Marie Claire Lim Moore, Asia-Pacific regional president and Hong Kong CEO at TransUnion said, “The strategic cooperation with Baihang Credit will see…

Prudential announced that Anil Wadhwani will be succeeding Mark FitzPatrick as its Chief Executive and join the board as an Executive Director on 25 February 2023. FitzPatrick will remain available as an adviser for an unspecified period. Anil will also join the Board of Prudential Corporation Asia Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential. He has more than 30 years’ financial services experience, predominantly in Asia where he most recently served as CEO of Manulife’s Asia region. During his five year tenure in the role, he successfully grew its multi-channel business and transformed its highly diversified business with significant market share gains…

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has released its consultation paper on proposed regulatory requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) before the new licensing regime takes effect on June 2023. Under the new licensing regime, all centralised virtual asset trading platforms carrying on business in Hong Kong or actively marketing to Hong Kong investors will need to be licensed by the SFC. As part of the consultation, the SFC is seeking views particularly on whether to allow licensed platform operators to serve retail investors, and if so, the measures to be implemented in addition to the proposed range…

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced that it will launch its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot programme in April this year to test the use of a digital yen. The central bank said that it will complete its Proof of Concept (PoC) in March 2023 as per schedule before its embarks on the pilot programme a month later. During the pilot programme, BOJ will develop a system for experiments, in which a central system, intermediary network systems, intermediary systems, and endpoint devices are configured in an integrated manner. BOJ will also establish a CBDC Forum to discuss and explore…

Hong Kong is being overshadowed by Western countries and Singapore in online insurance, a lag that can be partly explained by the Hong Kong insurance industry’s heavy reliance on physical agents, a new report by French consultancy Sia Partners says. The report, draws on a study of digital platforms of 85 global insurers in seven markets. It gives each of these platforms a score between 0 and 100 based on criteria including information availability, quoted prices, sales claims, and overall user experience. With an average score of 51.1, Hong Kong ranked fifth, behind the Netherlands (62.4), Ireland (61.3), the US…

In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are confident in the growth prospects of the region, an optimism that’s evidenced by their plans to invest in capital expenditures and expand their business, a new study conducted by management consulting company Bain & Company found. These findings, revealed in a report released in January 2023, were drawn from a survey of leaders from more than 460 SMEs in the GBA. The study sought to understand businesses’ views on the region’s economic potential as well as their financial needs, attitudes, and preferences related to cross-boundary financial…

In Hong Kong, COVID-19, the advent of virtual banks and changing customers’ expectations are transforming the retail banking landscape, prompting customers to increase their usage of online channels and embrace digital financial products, a new survey by Bain and Company shows. The study, which polled 1,400 retail banking customers in Hong Kong in September 2022, revealed key customers’ expectations, outlining the features and functionalities they find most appealing. In particular, results from the research uncovered four major themes surrounding customer experience, revealing that today’s customers are demanding mobile-centricity, digital wealth management services, rewards and compelling offers. Mobile-centricity and the evolution…

PPRO, a digital payments infrastructure provider, has expanded into the South Korean market by integrating local cards and e-wallet Toss Pay onto its platform. The addition of local cards and Toss Pay opens up a gateway for PPRO’s global partners, payment service providers and their merchants, to reach millions of South Korean consumers. Toss, which is operated by Viva Republica, has 24 million users as of February this year. PPRO said that its data revealed that cards make up 66% of usage in South Korea with digital wallets standing at 22%. Tristan Chiappini, VP and Head of Partnerships APAC at PPRO…

Huawei has launched a beta version of its wallet app which will allow its users to test an early version of the virtual medical insurance card. The virtual medical insurance card feature is jointly developed by Huawei Wallet, the National Government Service platform, and the National Medical Security Administration of China. The feature is designed for one-to-one use cases and is uniquely mapped to the physical social security card. This service is issued by the national social security card platform and managed by the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The electronic social security card is unified and…

Interactive Brokers, an automated global electronic broker, has is now offering Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency trading in Hong Kong. Eligible clients including individuals with over HKD 8 million in investable assets or institutions with assets greater than HKD 40 million who are residents of Hong Kong, can now trade cryptocurrency alongside other asset classes available on the platform. The crypto trading services offered by Interactive Brokers Hong Kong is powered by OSL Digital Securities. OSL Digital Securities is a Type 1 and 7 Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital asset brokerage and trading platform for professional investors. “Investor…

Hong Kong’s digital insurer Blue has partnered with software company Adobe for its cloud platform to create engaging and personalised experiences for its customers. Blue will leverage Adobe Experience Cloud, including Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RT-CDP) and Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) for a a holistic view of its potential and existing customers. The RT-CDP and CJA brings together data from multiple sources including its website and mobile applications. This creates unified customer profiles to provide personalised experiences across multiple channels and touchpoints in real time. Through this partnership, Blue said that it will be able to run effective digital marketing…

Valued at over US$ 1 Trillion the payments in South East Asia is a hotbed for innovation. What are some biggest trends shaping payments in the region and where is the industry headed? Special thanks to the following thought leaders for sharing their views: Alain Yee, Head of ShopeePay Malaysia Praful Morar, Global Expansion Officer, Nuvei Hiroko Michishita, Managing Director, JCB International Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Andrew McCormack, Centre, Head BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre

DBS Group Holdings plans to apply for a license to that will allow it to expand its crypto trading services to its Hong Kong customers in the future. “We are planning to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that the bank could sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers,” said Sebastian Paredes, CEO of DBS Bank Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg. The announcement is timely as Hong Kong has been vocal about its ambitions to be a virtual assets hub again recently with the government seeking feedback on enabling crypto trading for retail investors as well as…