FinTech

OpenSys Technologies Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of OpenSys (M) Bhd, has on Monday introduced PalmWav, an innovation prototype exploring the use of palm-recognition technology for seamless, device-free payments in Malaysia.

The Vietnam Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Vietnam), established by the World Economic Forum and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, and Ant International have on last Thursday announced a strategic partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance Vietnam’s digital economy, foster innovation, and support Ho Chi…

FS Capital, direct lending arm of Funding Societies, one of Southeast Asia’s largest digital financing platforms for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), has officially become a member of the National Credit Bureau (NCB), Thailand.

Talino Venture Studios, Chemonics International, Kadan Capital, Tenco Capital, and 1982 Ventures have closed Higala’s seed funding round to $4 million, amplifying its abilities to digitally transform rural banks and other microfinance institutions in underserved communities.

Against the backdrop of an increasingly fragmented payments landscape in Asia-Pacific, where digital wallets, local schemes, and situational payment preferences all coexist, Primer's Theo Spyrides shares how merchants can better align their payment flows with rapidly evolving consumer expectations. He notes that shoppers today are not only looking for their…

BENEFIT, the Bahraini fintech firm, and Ant International, a digital payment firm headquartered in Singapore, have partnered to launch cross-border QR payments between Bahrain’s BENEFIT QR payment scheme and Ant International’s global wallet gateway, Alipay+, during 2026 to support the transition to toward a more inclusive digital payments ecosystem.

Technologies like AI, machine learning, and tokenization are already transforming fraud prevention, and their impact is only set to grow. Beyond these, behavioral analytics, biometrics, and blockchain technology are emerging as complementary tools in the fight against fraud.

In the first half of 2025 alone, ASEAN cross-border QR payments surged, reaching 12.9 million transactions, Malaysian Central Bank's governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said Wednesday.

TransferMate, the Ireland-based business to business (B2B) payments infrastructure as a service (IaaS) firm, has on Tuesday announced that it has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to add account issuance, domestic money transfers, and e-money issuance services in Singapore under its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license.

Thunes, a Singapore-based payment firm, announced Tuesday that First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Global bank, has chosen Thunes as its provider to enable global mobile wallet payouts through its Direct Global Network.