Yimie Yong

A diverse range of parties have submitted applications for the digital bank licence, ranging from banks, industry conglomerates, technology firms, e-commerce operators, FinTech players, cooperatives and state governments.

BigPay's consortium will be joining a crowded field for digital bank licences on offer. Malaysia central bank said it would issue up to five licenses by early 2022.

The new capital will be used to fund strategic investments and acquisitions, product development, and licenses for popular intellectual properties.

The Race for the five digital banking licenses heats up further as more consortiums and companies announced their application, including ride-hailing giant Grab-Singtel consortium, which bagged a digital full-bank license in Singapore last year. These consortiums also include overseas investors and technology partners from Singapore, Japan, and China.

The funding will go towards scaling their team in Singapore, relocating their new headquarters, focus on growth in Southeast Asia and increased support for cross chain interoperable Digital ID applications.

Besides Taiwan, 3 SQUARE is looking to expand into Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Japan.

KLAR plans to use the funding for four business goals including R&D development to achieve economies of scale and treatment optimization, expand the company's talent base, enhance branding, and venture into complementary product offerings

Following the fundraise, WeMaintain also announced the opening of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

Eligible users will be able to split purchases over three equal, interest-free installments. Repayments will be automatically drawn every month, with no fees charged for on-time payments. In addition, customers will earn up to 10 percent cashback with every purchase.