Fintech Angel Operators to fund and bring on-the-ground expertise to early-stage FinTech startups [Q&A]
On June 24, 2021, senior executives from the largest FinTechs in Southeast Asia announced that they have banded together to launch Fintech Angel Operators (FAO), a network of up to 100 angel investors bringing their on-the-ground expertise to early-stage startups.
The FAO network includes individuals who hold senior appointments at top-tier FinTechs, including Grab Financial, PayPal, Stripe,…
YouTrip adopts hyper-localized strategies to differentiate from other multi-currency providers [ORIGIN Innovation Awards Q&A]
Editor's note: This interview is part of a Q&A series with winners of the ORIGIN Innovation Awards 2020. Caecilia Chu is a winner in the category Movers & Shakers Awards - Promising Female Founder.
What started as an intention to save costs from transactions fees and markups on exchange rates during traveling has prompted Caecilia Chu, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of…
Malaysia’s Carsome announces strategic investment in Indonesia’s car auction firm PT Universal Collection
Southeast Asia’s online used car platform, Carsome, has acquired an equity stake in Jakarta-based offline car and motorcycle auction service firm PT Universal Collection (PT UC) to expand its car auction business.
The amount and other details of the transaction were not disclosed.
PT UC transacted close to 30,000 vehicles in 2020. Outside of Jakarta, PT UC has branches in South Tangerang,…
29 Applicants to bid for 5 digital banking licenses in Malaysia, with national cooperatives group joining in
Malaysia central bank Bank Negara Malaysia announced on Friday that it has received 29 applications for a digital bank license under the Financial Services Act 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013, following a 6-month application period, which ended on Wednesday (June 30).
A diverse range of parties have submitted applications for the digital bank license, ranging from banks,…
AirAsia’s BigPay teams up with state-linked MIDF, PE firm Ikhlas Capital for digital banking license in Malaysia
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd’s FinTech arm BigPay has submitted its application for a digital banking licence to the country's central bank Bank Negara Malaysia.
BigPay has put together a consortium of strategic partners to support its application: Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF), a unit of the country’s largest asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd, private…
Recognizing startups in the second edition of ORIGIN Innovation Awards
Nominations for the second edition of ORIGIN Innovation Awards, APAC’s accolade for tech innovations, are now open. Organized by TechNode Global, the Awards is established with the goal of celebrating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship by providing recognition to companies that have shown breakthroughs in technology or have influenced the growth of the APAC tech community.
Submit…
7 Little changes that will make a big difference with your ‘phygital’ customer experience
During the pre-digital transformation, customers had to visit the brick-and-mortar showrooms for shopping physically. However, when internet services graduated from 1G to 5G, there has been an explosion in its complexity and advancement in its application. It has brought about a paradigm shift across a broad spectrum of the world's economy and transformed our lives drastically.
It has made it…
Fave offers ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service in Singapore and Malaysia
Southeast Asian loyalty and cashback platform Fave has launched its "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) service in Singapore and Malaysia.
The service is available on the Fave app for iOS users on Monday, followed by an Android release in July 2021, Fave said in a statement.
Eligible users will be able to split purchases over three equal, interest-free installments. Repayments will be automatically…
Innovation Partnerships: China & Singapore [Event highlights]
On June 10th, SGInnovate and TechNode Global presented a panel to discuss how the rapid rise of China’s technology sector can lead to the development of local deep tech capabilities, alongside its various stakeholders. SGInnovate is a Singapore government-backed Deep Tech investor and company builder that helps entrepreneurial scientists and tech startups that are looking to innovate in areas…
$360M Series C funding makes online car marketplace Carro Singapore’s newest unicorn
Carro, Singapore’s “Alibaba of Cars,” has breached the $1 billion valuation mark after obtaining a $360 million Series C funding. This makes the company the seventh unicorn based or founded in the city-state and the first automotive marketplace unicorn in Southeast Asia.
The latest capital injection was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the venture capital fund of the SoftBank Group of Japan.…