Airwallex has announced the launch of its global payments services in Canada, enabling local businesses to access its key offerings. This includes local currency accounts in over 12 currencies, a multi currency wallet in 44 currencies and payouts to 150 countries with its proprietary local payment network. The full suite of Airwallex’s global products, including multi-currency cards, spend management and online payments will be progressively rolled out in the market. The cross border payments firm is licensed as a Money Services Business with Revenu Québec, and is registered as a Money Services Business with FINTRAC, the national financial intelligence agency…

Manulife Hong Kong announced the appointments of Thaddeus Yu as Chief Strategy Officer and Alice Li as Chief Communications Officer, for its Hong Kong and Macau operations. Yu, as Chief Strategy Officer, succeeds Carrie Tong, who was recently appointed as Chief Operations Officer for Hong Kong and Macau. In his new role, Yu is responsible for setting the overall strategic priorities of the Hong Kong and Macau business as well as assessing necessary and effective changes to the company’s business model. A qualified actuary with over 15 years of experience in various local and regional positions at Cigna, AIA, and…

HashKey Group, a Hong Kong-based digital asset management and blockchain solutions provider, announced that it has appointed Livio Weng as its Group Chief Operating Officer (COO). He was the CEO of crypto exchange Huobi Global from 2018 to 2021. The group is one of the two firms in Hong Kong licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform. HashKey also holds a license from the Financial Services Agency of Japan and has been granted an exemption from holding a license under the Payment Services Act to provide digital payment token (DPT) services from the Monetary…

Hong Kong’s virtual bank ZA has announced its plan to become the go-to bank for the Web3.0 ecosystem, providing essential banking services to these enterprises. ZA Bank said that it is now fully equipped to serve as the settlement bank for regulated Web3.0 entities in Hong Kong, and is prepared to facilitate licensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) like Hash Blockchain Limited to process and settle transactions in a timely fashion. Recently, ZA Bank has also started offering online account opening for local SMEs and startups from the Web3.0 community with a streamlined and efficient account opening process to allow…

The Edgeof, a newly formed ecosystem builder and venture capital entity in Singapore, has agreed to acquire SoftBank Ventures Asia (SBVA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group (SBG). The acquisition is contingent upon regulatory approval and is expected to be completed this year. Following the acquisition, SBVA will undergo a rebranding exercise with the aim to support, develop, and expand startups spanning from Singapore to the greater Pan-Asian market. To support the full lifecycle of these startups, multiple funds will be established, ranging from early to growth stages. The Edgeof added that building strong relationships with LP investors and corporate…

Being at the crossroads of being a global innovation hub as well as a strategic connector to the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong has long been a gateway for business and urban transformation. The coastal city-state is also a known hotbed for fostering innovation to spur the digital economy, hosting thought-provoking gatherings of leading minds in their fields. “93% of Hong Kong respondents reflected they use financial services at least once per month and 90% of respondents from the rest of developed Asia have the same answer,” noted Ricky Yeung, the Chief Operation Officer of Hong Kong-based investment platform Eddid…

The Transport Department (TD) issued a reminder to those who have received a vehicle tag but not yet opened an HKeToll account to do so. They will need to open an account and set up their payment option so that they can pay tunnel tolls through the HKeToll service. Commercial vehicle owners and rental drivers can split the tolls by using the HKeToll mobile app, monthly statement or two-piece device (i.e. driver card and card holder). TD said that more than 610,000 vehicle tags have been issued as of 3 April, of which over 62 percent of vehicle owners had opened…

In Asia, increased digitalization across industries is fueling the growth of the venture capital (VC) landscape. In 2022, though the region was not immune to the global tech funding pullback, the tech sector remained a dominant theme for private capital investors, securing a total of US$145.7 billion in investments, data from the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) show. The sum represents a 28% decrease from 2021 but is on part with pre-COVID-19 levels, showcasing that investors remain confident in the prospect of the region’s tech sector. In a new report titled 2023 Emerging Tech Trends in Asia, the industry trade…

Visa announced the appointment of payments veteran Paulina Leong as its General Manager for Hong Kong and Macau, effective immediately. In her new role, Paulina will be responsible for leading Visa’s business growth and operations for these markets. Paulina has over 18 years of experience working in the payments industry and was most recently Visa’s Head of Client Relationship Management for Hong Kong and Macau. She was leading the business development team to drive client engagement efforts, and the development and execution of Visa’s market strategy. Since joining Visa in 2007, Paulina has held a number of roles including Business…

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has been pushed to the forefront of the global economic conversation over the past decade and remained at the top of the agenda of the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) concluded on 11-12 January 2023 in Hong Kong. Heavyweight speakers convened at the AFF to share their insights on relevant topics such as ESG standard setting, sustainable investing, green finance and energy transition. The increasing awareness for ESG, tightened regulatory requirements, and recognised benefits of ESG-driven transformation have led to a surge of ESG and sustainability startups globally. Among the 120+ local and international financial institutions,…

Hang Seng Bank, a principal member of the HSBC Group, has partnered with global insurer Chubb to provide its Hong Kong customers with a comprehensive range of personal and commercial general insurance products and solutions. The 15-year distribution agreement will leverage Hang Seng’s digital capabilities and seamless omni-channel distribution network to provide customers with tailored insurance services. Hang Seng said that its customers will also benefit from Chubb’s global insurance expertise, local market presence, deep product offering, digital distribution capabilities and claims service. Details of the general insurance products and solutions to be offered to customers will be announced closer…

Financial inclusion and credit access are essential for driving economic growth and improving livelihoods in numerous emerging markets, including South Asia. However, extending credit to underbanked and unbanked populations comes with inherent risks, especially when dealing with new-to-credit customers who lack a credit history. Addressing Lenders’ Challenges in Emerging Markets In order to provide quick and trustworthy lending decisions while minimizing risk, lenders need to explore alternative approaches to enhance their understanding of new-to-credit applicants and optimize loan decisions without jeopardizing overall defaults. This is where LendBetter, a Mobilewalla solution, becomes a crucial tool. Mobilewalla LendBetter offers over 200 highly…

Fusion Bank has announced the launch of its investment service to enable its users to invest in global funds with subscription thresholds as low as HK$10 (US$1). The bank said that its customers can activate the investment service in five minutes and start investing in funds with five simple steps. Fusion Bank’s dedicated investment research team also monitors the market closely and provides professional and comprehensive investment analysis reports and market commentary featuring market insights and a wide range of products. From now until 30 June 2023, customers who have successfully signed up for the investment service will have an…

Cross-border payments company E9Pay announced that it has partnered with South Korea’s Shinhan Bank for overseas remittance and payment services. Through this partnership, E9Pay and Shinhan Bank will collaborate to develop a payment system that will allow foreigners residing in Korea to pay merchants from global online marketplaces. E9Pay said that this will offer a convenient and efficient payment system for foreign workers and businesses, promoting cross-border trade and facilitating transactions between Korea and other countries. The partnership will also promote joint projects to strengthen fintech-bank synergy, such as providing API-based real-time FX trading service between the two companies. This will…

Hong Kong has established itself as a leading hub for startups in recent years, with a thriving ecosystem that encourages innovation, agility and diversity. According to InvestHK’s Startup Survey 2022, Hong Kong is the home to over 3,900 startups with the fintech sector retaining the most dominant spot. The Asian Financial Forum, which concluded in January 2023, had housed over 120 local and international financial institutions, tech companies and startups under key exhibition zones – Fintech Showcase, InnoVenture Salon and FintechHK Start-up Salon to showcase various cutting-edge solutions and innovations. Here are five home-grown fintech startups which exhibited at the…

Japan’s Rakuten Bank will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on 21 April which will place its value at approximately 305 billion yen (US$2.31 billion), according to a Reuters report. Rakuten is looking to is looking to sell off 53.95 million existing shares of its digital banking arm which makes up more than 30% of its share holdings for 106.8 billion yen (US$807 million). The regulatory filings also indicated that Rakuten Bank plans to issue 5.55 million new shares. This paves the way for it to potentially become one of Japan’s largest listings in the past five years following…

Fusion Bank has launched Business Banking Services for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them with their digitisation plans. The offering includes diversified banking services including multi-currency savings accounts, time deposits, local transfers via the Faster Payment System (FPS) and CHATS, and telegraphic transfers (TT) cross-border remittance services covering countries and regions around the world. SMEs can now submit Fusion Bank Business Account opening application though its website and receive the approval in one day. There is no minimum deposit requirement to set up an account. The bank has also adopted eKYC identity authentication technology that it had jointly…

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has appointed Baroness Rona Fairhead and Megan Greene for an initial term of three years to its international advisory council. Established in 2019, the council comprises experts in economics, business, technology and finance from around the world who act as advisors to the HKEX Board of Directors. The council contributes to HKEX’s understanding of the global environment, including knowledge of developments in other major financial centers, advancements in technology and global policy and regulatory initiatives. Baroness Fairhead previously served as Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the UK Department…

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…