Endowus has introduced WealthHERWay to support women investors in Hong Kong and Singapore through research and investment education. The programme was announced ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March and aims to address the investment gap as women take on a growing share of financial responsibility. Data from Endowus suggests women are highly engaged investors on the platform. Female users in Singapore spend 34 percent more time per session on the Endowus app than men and make their first investment faster, with a median time of 8.5 hours compared with 10 hours. Sheryl Choong Sheryl Choong, Head of Client Advisory at Endowus, said, “For women, taking control of their finances is not just about securing the future, but also creating the life they aspire to today – whether that means starting a business or supporting their families. Financial journeys are not linear, and advice must adapt to life transitions. We believe that being able to invest confidently, with the right advice and tools, is both financially and personally empowering.” Women are also 25 percent less likely to redeem their investments, though the scale of investment remains smaller. Women start with about 20 percent lower initial investment amounts on average and contribute around 21 percent less each month. A larger share also hold cash positions, at 66 percent compared with 55 percent of men. Endowus will launch the programme with a panel discussion titled WealthHERWay – Define Your Future with Clarity. The firm will also host educational seminars and community engagements across Hong Kong and Singapore with partners including Capital Group and Love, Bonito. Endowus and Capital Group will collaborate on research and educational content examining investment trends among women, including wealth transfer and attitudes towards financial advice.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by rawpixel.com via Freepik The post Endowus Introduces WealthHERWay to Support Women Investors appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singaporean travellers will be able to use ShopeePay to make QR code payments at more than 150 million merchants across over 100 markets through an integration with Alipay+. ShopeePay said the partnership marks its first cross-border payments offering. The feature allows users to scan merchant QR codes overseas and pay directly through the ShopeePay app without the need for physical cash or currency exchange. The service is currently available in 28 countries and regions, including Malaysia, South Korea and Australia, as well as several markets across Europe and the Americas. List of countries where Singapore users can now make cross-border payments with ShopeePay Additional markets are expected to be rolled out in the coming months. Through the Alipay+ ecosystem, ShopeePay users in Singapore can pay at merchants connected to national payment systems such as DuitNow in Malaysia and ZeroPay in South Korea, as well as other local acquiring partners. Users will continue to receive transparent exchange rates and cashback rewards when making payments overseas. Benjamin Tan, Head of ShopeePay Singapore, said, “When overseas QR acceptance is fragmented, consumers often fall back on cards that may not be widely accepted by smaller merchants and can come with unclear foreign exchange costs. By enabling cross-border QR payments, we are closing that gap: bringing the simplicity, transparency, and accessibility users value at home to their journeys abroad.” Pan Yan Pan Yan, Head of the Strategic Partnership Office for Alipay+ at Ant International, added, “We’re proud to bring cross-border payment capabilities to ShopeePay, extending their reach beyond local payments, and giving Singaporeans more choices when travelling abroad. We will also continue to support ShopeePay users across Southeast Asia to enjoy this convenient and seamless feature.” ShopeePay said the feature is also expected to expand to users in other regional markets over time. The launch comes as cross-border QR payment connectivity gains traction across the region. In Singapore, digital wallet transactions are projected to account for 44 percent of in-store payment value by 2030.   The post ShopeePay Enables Overseas QR Payments for Singapore Travellers With Alipay+ appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Maybank has joined DBS and UOB in offering additional support to junior employees, with more than 800 staff in its Singapore operations set to receive a one-off payout, according to a report by The Business Times. The package includes S$1,250 for about 200 unionised executives and a quarter-month bonus for more than 600 other junior employees, a Maybank Singapore spokesperson said. The bank employs more than 2,000 staff in Singapore. Maybank Singapore said the payment recognises employees’ contributions and aims to help staff cope with rising living costs. Its head of human capital noted that the payout is more than double the S$500 given in earlier years. DBS announced in February a S$1,000 one-time bonus for more than 23,000 junior employees globally, while UOB said it would give a half-month base salary payout to over 6,000 junior staff. The move comes after Maybank reported stronger earnings. The group posted a 5.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit to RM2.7 billion for the three months ended 31 December 2025. Full-year net profit increased 4.2 percent to RM10.5 billion. In Singapore, profit before tax rose 1.3 percent to S$711.3 million, supported by higher net fund-based income despite slower non-interest income, higher overheads and lower impairment write-backs.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Ahmed Abouelleil via Unsplash The post Maybank Singapore Joins DBS, UOB With One-Time Bonus for Junior Staff appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Standard Chartered has appointed Naveen Mallela as Global Head of Payments as it integrates its clearing, collections and payments teams into one unit. Naveen Mallela Effective 4 May 2026, Mallela will lead the bank’s unified payments organisation. The unit will develop payment capabilities across the full transaction lifecycle, covering both traditional rails and tokenised and on-chain payment flows. Mallela will be based in Singapore and report to Mahesh Kini, Global Head of Cash Management at the bank. He brings more than 25 years of experience in transaction banking and payments, with a focus on modernising payment infrastructure and developing next-generation solutions. Mallela joins Standard Chartered from JPMorgan Chase, where he served as Global Co-Head of Kinexys, formerly known as Onyx. Kinexys is JPMorgan’s permissioned blockchain unit that supports real-time cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. Roberto Hoornweg “As client needs evolve and payments increasingly integrate traditional and on-chain settlement models, Naveen’s experience in leading payments innovation will be pivotal as we scale our next phase of growth by combining clearing and digital assets capabilities in a client-centric way,” said Roberto Hoornweg, CEO, Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Chartered. The move forms part of Standard Chartered’s broader efforts to modernise its cash management business through technology investments, process redesign and partnerships aimed at meeting evolving cross-border payment needs.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by smth.design via Freepik The post StanChart Taps Naveen Mallela to Lead Unified Global Payments Unit appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

“People have been hearing all sorts of things about computers during the past ten years through the media. Supposedly, computers have been controlling various aspects of their lives. Yet in spite of that, most adults have no idea of what a computer really is, of what it can or can’t do.” Steve Jobs said this decades ago, captured in Make Something Wonderful, a book of his own words. Sure, he was talking about computers back then. But read it again today, and the misunderstanding he described hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s just wearing a different name. Swap out the word computers for agentic AI, and you have a near-perfect portrait of where fintech discourse sits right now. Autonomous systems that go beyond answering questions to take actions, make decisions and execute end-to-end tasks with little to no human intervention. Agentic AI talk is everywhere, and the expectations for it are enormous. But underneath it all, the same problem Jobs identified persists: whether you’re engaging with agentic AI, building it, buying it, or regulating it, the real and present question is whether anyone truly understands what it is, what it can do, and where it breaks. With agentic AI, the stakes of not knowing are categorically different. Systems no longer produce outputs alone; they also initiate actions. The shift from passive to active is precisely where the exposure begins. In financial services and in fintech, that exposure has a name. When agentic AI in fintech is embedded into credit decisions, forex comparisons, wealth recommendations and customer experiences, it becomes a risk vector, touching credit risk models, compliance frameworks, customer outcomes and institutional reputation—all at once. The industry is moving fast towards AI-first and AI-native operations. The harder question is whether clarity is keeping pace. How Singapore’s Banks Turn Agentic AI From Hype to Value Gartner predicts that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by the end of 2027. Most are being driven by hype into early-stage experiments and proof of concepts that were never fully grounded in clear operational intent to begin with. Institutions that succeed in extracting real value from this technology are going to be the ones that stop looking for a shortcut. They will start building the foundation with human oversight designed in, and where autonomy never replaces accountability. In Southeast Asia, Singapore offers one of the clearest views of how financial institutions are attempting to close in on clarity. Bank of Singapore, for instance, deployed an agentic AI tool called the Source of Wealth Assistant (SOWA). The tool automates an integral part of the KYC due diligence process, ensuring the legitimacy of clients’ wealth and transactions. KYC for high-net-worth clients requires establishing the legitimacy of a client’s wealth and transactions against a dense body of regulatory expectations. SOWA automates the core of the process, cutting the time it takes for relationship managers to produce a Source of Wealth report from 10 days to an hour, while still ensuring these align with regulatory standards. Relationship managers review and refine the AI-generated draft before it moves to internal review teams for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing assessments. The SOWA-processed data remains hosted on the bank’s private cloud. Kam Chin Wong, Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Bank of Singapore, has said: Kam Chin Wong “With AI integrated into the source of wealth reporting process, relationship managers can shift their focus from manual documentation to meaningful client engagement and risk assessment. This not only strengthens client relationships but also maintains high standards of regulatory compliance while delivering greater value.” In a broader context, OCBC has taken that same philosophy and embedded it across how it touches the bank’s operations. Over six million decisions are AI-powered daily, spanning revenue growth, risk mitigation and productivity. Every in-house tool is built against the FEAT principles of Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency, with regular reviews to test for accuracy and screen for bias across gender, nationality and other dimensions. DBS, meanwhile, has pushed into newer and more consequential territory as the first bank in the Asia Pacific to pilot AI-powered agent payments via Visa’s Intelligent Commerce. The pilot actively tests how agent-initiated transactions can move through existing card network infrastructure under issuer-controlled, secure processes. The exercise will assess how AI-driven transactions can be integrated into existing systems while maintaining regulatory, operational and security standards. The bank is simultaneously stress-testing the authentication architecture that agent-led payments will depend on, with controls sitting at both the issuer and network level. T.R. Ramachandran, Head of Products & Solutions, Asia Pacific at Visa, shared, T.R. Ramachandran “Through Visa Intelligent Commerce and Trusted Agent Protocol, we’re building the foundation that will make agentic commerce safe, secure and scalable — from AI‑ready credentials to advanced authentication. This sets the stage for how trusted, AI‑powered experiences will come to life for consumers and partners across the region.” By January 2026, DBS reported that its AI initiatives had generated S$1 billion in economic value in 2025, compared to S$750 million the year prior, a figure derived from comparing the outcomes between AI-enabled customers and control groups. The common thread across these use cases is clarity, applied comprehensively around agentic AI deployment. Closing the Clarity Gap If the history of computing has taught us anything, it is the fact that the most powerful tools are also the ones that are most prone to being misunderstood. As agentic AI moves from generating text to executing financial tasks, the “understanding gap” scenario Steve Jobs identified decades ago resurfaces and compounds. Every layer of autonomy added without sufficient comprehension is another layer of exposure accumulating until something makes it a visible problem. To bridge this gap, financial institutions must stop looking for a quick fix and build a foundation that allows for human-in-the-loop oversight, ensuring autonomy never outpaces accountability. The differentiator is clarity on the end goal. In fintech, the future will be shaped by businesses that master the discipline of knowing precisely when to keep humans in command. If you want to understand more about how Southeast Asia’s leading banks and fintechs are operationalising agentic AI, watch the full webinar on Beyond the Bot: Agentic AI’s Evolving Role in Financial Services. The post The Agentic AI Gold Rush in Fintech Has One Dangerous Blind Spot appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Mastercard has completed its first live AI agent-initiated payment transaction in Singapore with DBS and UOB. In the demonstration, an AI agent booked a ride to Singapore Changi Airport through global mobility provider hoppa using CardInfoLink’s AI agent, which connects to hoppa’s taxi and airport limousine network. The payment was processed using Mastercard’s Agent Pay framework. Each transaction uses a unique agentic token and Mastercard Payment Passkeys to capture consent and verify the payment. Mastercard said the test shows how AI agents could complete everyday tasks such as transport and lifestyle bookings while maintaining strong authentication and security safeguards. Minsook Cho Minsook Cho, Country Manager for Singapore at Mastercard, said, “As the nation advances its AI agenda, Mastercard’s first live agentic transaction shows how innovation can be brought into everyday services responsibly and securely with Agent Pay. Together with likeminded partners like DBS and UOB, Mastercard is supporting the vision for AI‑powered commerce by building trusted foundations.” Mastercard said it plans to expand authenticated agentic transactions into sectors including transportation, travel, entertainment and retail. The development comes as the company prepares to establish a regional AI Center of Excellence in Singapore, which it said will become its largest innovation space in the region and support both innovation and governance for AI-enabled transactions. The company is also deploying dedicated agentic commerce teams across Asia Pacific to support financial institutions and merchants adopting AI-led payment experiences. The Singapore deployment follows earlier authenticated agentic transactions completed by Mastercard in Australia, New Zealand and India.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Freepik   The post Mastercard Completes First Live AI Agent Payment in Singapore With DBS, UOB appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore is working with banks including JPMorgan, UBS and ICBC Standard Bank to develop a regional hub for physical gold trading and storage, Bloomberg reported. Authorities are exploring ways to expand the city-state’s bullion market as demand for gold grows across Asia and financial centres compete to attract trading and storage activity. According to people familiar with the matter, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been consulting global bullion dealers and banks alongside local lenders DBS Group, UOB and OCBC. The initiative is expected to focus largely on institutional participants such as central banks and family offices. The discussions remain at an early stage and the scope could still change. Singapore has previously taken steps to support the bullion market. The government removed goods and services tax on investment-grade precious metals in 2012 in an effort to encourage trading activity. Market infrastructure is also being reviewed. Singapore Exchange is assessing whether industry demand could support a new gold contract after its Kilobar Gold Contract, introduced in 2014, was discontinued in 2018 following weak trading volumes. MAS said it has been engaging market participants since last year and will provide further details on potential initiatives in due course. Among domestic lenders, UOB remains the only Singapore bank offering retail customers physical gold purchases together with vault storage services. OCBC has said it is exploring custody services for physical gold aimed at institutional and affluent clients.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by wtmn via Freepik   The post Singapore Explores Regional Physical Gold Trading Hub With Global Banks appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Transaction Network Services (TNS) has named Levent Mehmet as Managing Director for Asia Pacific for its financial markets business. Based in Singapore, he will oversee strategy, sales and client engagement across the region. Mehmet brings more than 25 years of experience in financial market data and infrastructure. Prior to joining TNS, he spent 17 years at ICE Data Services, helping drive the company’s expansion across Asia Pacific. He has also held roles at SIX and Bloomberg in Europe and the Middle East. In his new role, Mehmet will lead TNS teams in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore while supporting clients across China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Levent Mehmet “Asia is a key center for trading innovation, and TNS is playing an increasingly important role in helping firms connect and grow in these markets. With new market data connectivity, a proven network infrastructure and strong relationships across global exchanges, including additional exchange coverage added recently, we’re helping clients to trade smarter and faster.” said Levent Mehmet, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, TNS Financial Markets. TNS provides connectivity and infrastructure services for financial markets, linking more than 5,000 financial community endpoints through a global network with 125 points of presence. Its Infrastructure as a Service portfolio includes connectivity, colocation, cloud, market data and VPN services used by financial market participants worldwide.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by viktorfilm via Freepik The post TNS Appoints Levent Mehmet to Lead APAC Financial Markets Business appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Ripple is expanding its payments platform with stablecoin capabilities as fintechs and banks look to improve cross-border liquidity and settlement. The updates strengthen Ripple Payments by allowing businesses to collect, hold, exchange and send funds using both fiat currencies and stablecoins through a single platform. The expansion follows Ripple’s acquisitions of custody provider Palisade and virtual accounts platform Rail, enabling businesses to create named virtual accounts and wallets to receive payments, convert funds and settle them into operational accounts. Ripple said the integrated setup is designed to simplify cross-border payments by reducing the need for multiple providers and fragmented systems. Monica Long “For the global financial system to evolve, fintechs and financial institutions need infrastructure that treats digital assets with the same rigor as traditional finance. Success in this space requires enterprise-grade infrastructure, extensive licensing, and deep liquidity — capabilities few can match. Ripple has built the blueprint for blockchain-based enterprise solutions designed to operate at global scale for regulated finance.” said Monica Long, President at Ripple. Ripple Payments is currently live in more than 60 markets and has processed over US$100 billion in transaction volume, according to the company. alfred, AltPayNet, AMINA Bank, Banco Genial, CambioReal, Corpay, ECIB and MassPay are among fintechs and financial institutions using Ripple Payments to support cross-border transfers, liquidity management and stablecoin-enabled payouts. Ripple said it holds more than 75 regulatory licences and registrations globally, including Money Transmitter Licenses in the United States and a Trust Company Charter from the New York Department of Financial Services. The company said this regulatory framework allows it to work directly with banks and payment providers while supporting money movement across regulated financial systems.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Pixelid via Freepik The post Ripple Expands Payments Platform With Stablecoin Capabilities appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Southeast Asia is showing stronger momentum than the global average. A new McKinsey study, which polled more than 2,000 respondents from companies worldwide, found that nearly half (46%) of Southeast Asian firms have moved beyond AI pilots, compared with 35% globally. According to the firm, this momentum stems from the region’s mobile-first consumer base, skilled talent, and local solution providers, which are creating fertile ground for rapid AI scaling. The study, conducted in collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Tech in Asia, also revealed that 8% of Southeast Asian companies have fully scaled AI initiatives, surpassing the global average of 6% and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) average, outside China and India, of just 2%. However, the US remains ahead with 13% of firms fully scaling AI. This reflects the US’s advanced stage of AI deployment and its position as a pioneer in adopting cutting-edge technologies. Adoption of AI across regions, % of respondents, Source: AI in Southeast Asia: An era of opportunity, McKinsey, EDB Singapore, and Tech in Asia, Feb 2026 Singapore and Indonesia lead AI adoption In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Indonesia are standing out as leaders in AI adoption, with 56% and 51% of respondents, respectively, reporting progress toward scaled adoption. These countries benefit from a robust ecosystems of AI centers of excellences (CoEs), incubators and accelerators that nurture a growing pool of AI startups. Their national economic-development strategies further reinforce this momentum. Singapore alone hosts more than 60 AI CoEs, including those of Alibaba Cloud, IBM, NVIDIA, and Oracle. SGInnovate, a government-owned innovation platform centered on the development of deeptech, develops deep tech talent, assists startups, and has invested in over 100 business-to-business (B2B) AI companies in industries ranging from marketing to healthcare. Furthermore, the country’s National AI Strategy aims to develop and deploy AI solutions that deliver meaningful benefits to businesses, citizens, and for public good. A cornerstone of this strategy is the development of a pipeline of local AI talent across creators, practitioners, and users. Indonesia, meanwhile, is driving AI adoption through a broader push toward industry digitalization via AI roadmaps and technology investments. A vibrant startup scene and a fast‑expanding digital economy, particularly in e-commerce, fintech, and software-as-a-service (SaaS), are further providing fertile ground for AI solutions that enhance customer experience and analytics. According to some estimates, Indonesia accounts for about 20% of all of tech startups in ASEAN with nearly 1,800 startups, second only to Singapore, which holds around 44%, or more than 3,800 startups. Drivers of the AI momentum in Southeast Asia The McKinsey study highlights a number of factors driving the AI momentum in Southeast Asia. Firstly, more than half of the Southeast Asian executives polled cited the large, mobile-first consumer base, competitive costs for skilled AI talent, and the availability of regional AI solution providers as key drivers of adoption. In contrast, only about one in five respondents pointed to government incentives or fewer legacy system constraints as primary enablers. Collectively, these factors are creating a fertile environment for early AI scaling. Furthermore, about half of Southeast Asian respondents believe that their use of AI is on par with or ahead of their global headquarters. This signals growing confidence and capability among regional teams. Additionally, the report notes that lighter legacy burdens in Southeast Asia reduce the complexity and cost of upgrading core systems. With fewer entrenched legacy constraints, Southeast Asian organizations can modernize quicker, and deploy new technologies, including AI, with greater agility. Large enterprises dominate AI usage Although the use of AI in Southeast Asia spans companies of all sizes, larger enterprises lead AI maturity. Among companies with annual revenues above US$250 million, more than half (56%) reported being at the scaling or fully scaled stage, compared with 47% of medium-size firms, and 42% of smaller companies. These findings show that larger firms have structural advantages when it comes to AI deployment, benefiting from greater data availability, more established digital infrastructure, and more resources to invest in scaling AI initiatives. Adoption of AI across companies in Southeast Asia, by revenues, % of respondents, Source: AI in Southeast Asia: An era of opportunity, McKinsey, EDB Singapore, and Tech in Asia, Feb 2026 Industry-wise, technology, media, and telecommunications, and advanced industries dominate AI usage, with roughly six in ten (62%) companies in these sectors reporting scaling or having fully scaled their deployments. Other digitally intensive sectors, such as energy and materials, also show strong progress, with half of companies reporting AI application scaling. In contrast, public sector, healthcare, and service-oriented industries remain in the early stages of usage. Nearly seven in ten companies (69%) in these sectors are still piloting or experimenting AI applications. This slower is likely due to more complex data environments, regulatory constraints, and limited access to AI-ready talent or infrastructure. Adoption of AI in Southeast Asia across industries, % of respondents, Source: AI in Southeast Asia: An era of opportunity, McKinsey, EDB Singapore, and Tech in Asia, Feb 2026 A booming AI ecosystem Southeast Asia’s AI ecosystem has grown remarkably over the past years, now counting over 2,000 AI startups, according to a 2024 report by tech advisory firm Access Partnership. The figure positions the region competitively against other major AI markets including Germany with 2,508 AI startups, Japan with 2,216, and South Korea with 1,819. Singapore, the region’s major business hub, ranks third in the Global AI Index 2024, a benchmark of national performance in the worldwide AI landscape. The city state is performing particularly well on AI development, research, infrastructure, and commercial deployment. Top 4 on the Global Artificial Intelligence Index 2024, Source: Tortoise, 2024   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by End.ru99 and utaem2022 via Freepik The post McKinsey: AI Adoption in Southeast Asia Surpasses Global Average appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Visa and Bridge are expanding their partnership to scale stablecoin-linked cards to more than 100 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year. The cards are currently live in 18 countries. The companies first unveiled the global card issuance product in 2025. Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure platform owned by Stripe, enables businesses and fintech developers to issue Visa cards that allow users to spend stablecoin balances at more than 175 million merchant locations worldwide. Businesses can also launch their own stablecoins that integrate with these card programs. Crypto platforms including Phantom and MetaMask are already using the cards to enable millions of customers to spend stablecoins. Cuy Sheffield “Expanding our work with Bridge gives us one more way to bring the speed, transparency and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement process. This milestone gives our partners greater choice in how they move value, and it reinforces Visa’s role as a trusted network connecting stablecoins and the global payments ecosystem.” said Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto, Visa. Through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, card transactions can also be settled onchain with Visa as part of the company’s stablecoin settlement pilot. Bridge provides the infrastructure behind Lead Bank’s participation in the pilot. The pilot is evaluating how stablecoin settlement could expand options for issuers and program managers, improve efficiency through on-chain reconciliation and enable faster fund movement. Zach Abrams “We’re on a multiyear journey to help businesses own their own financial stack. This expansion of our work with Visa will enable businesses launching their own custom stablecoins to use them seamlessly within their card programs.” said Zach Abrams, CEO and cofounder of Bridge. Visa is also assessing potential support for Bridge-issued assets in future payment flows as it explores new settlement pathways within its network.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by brukoik via Freepik The post Visa and Bridge to Expand Stablecoin Card Program to Over 100 Countries appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

SoFi and Mastercard have partnered to explore using SoFiUSD to settle transactions across the company’s global payments network. The companies will examine how card issuers and acquirers could settle card transactions using SoFiUSD, SoFi’s fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin, enabling faster settlement for use cases such as cross-border remittances and business-to-business payments. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered and insured deposit bank in the United States. The stablecoin is backed one-to-one by cash and issued on a public blockchain with immediate redemption capability. The token is also expected to be supported on Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network, a platform designed to connect traditional financial systems with digital assets. The integration aims to enable interoperability between fiat currencies, stablecoins and tokenised deposits. SoFi Bank is expected to settle its own credit and debit transactions processed on the network using SoFiUSD. Galileo, SoFi’s technology platform, is also expected to be among the first to offer its payment card clients and issuing banks the option to settle transactions using the stablecoin. Anthony Noto Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, said, “With SoFiUSD as a settlement currency across Mastercard’s network, card issuers and acquirers can more easily enable the millions of businesses they serve around the globe to instantly settle transactions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is only the beginning of our efforts to bring SoFi’s bank-grade infrastructure to digital commerce.” Sherri Haymond Sherri Haymond, Global Head of Digital Commercialisation at Mastercard, said, “Bringing stablecoin settlement on our network will connect regulated stablecoins with the reliability, security, and reach that consumers, businesses and financial institutions expect. And this effort expands choice and flexibility across the payments ecosystem in how people pay or get paid.” SoFi and Mastercard said they will explore additional use cases across stablecoins, fiat currencies and tokenised assets, including programmable treasury applications and other money movement and payout scenarios, subject to regulatory requirements and network rules.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by SoFi The post SoFi and Mastercard to Explore SoFiUSD Stablecoin Settlement appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

DBS China can now act as lead underwriter for non-financial corporate bonds in the China Interbank Bond Market after receiving a principal underwriting licence. The licence, granted by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, allows DBS China to manage underwriting syndicates for non-financial corporate bond issuances in the interbank market. With this and its existing mandates, DBS said it is now the only Singapore-headquartered bank licensed to play a leading role across all onshore corporate bond issuances in the China Interbank Bond Market. Data from Wind Information shows Panda bond issuances in the interbank market grew at a 26 percent compound annual rate over the past five years, rising from RMB 54.5 billion in 2020 to RMB 173.3 billion last year. Panda bonds are renminbi-denominated bonds issued in China by non-Chinese companies, governments and organisations. In 2025, DBS China participated in RMB 65.8 billion of Panda bond issuances in the interbank market, accounting for a 38 percent market share. Ginger Cheng Ginger Cheng, CEO of DBS Bank China, said, “This licence is a recognition of our long-term commitment to the Chinese financial market and enables DBS to be a crucial lever for serving cross-border capital flows. We will seize this opportunity to attract more high-quality international issuers to issue Panda bonds, while simultaneously helping overseas investors allocate RMB assets more efficiently and conveniently.” DBS Singapore was appointed an RMB clearing bank in 2025 and admitted as an overseas direct participant of China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, adding to DBS China’s direct participation since 2015. Last year, DBS Singapore received approval to operate in China’s onshore over-the-counter bond market and completed its first pilot trade, facilitating the sale of an RMB 100 million bond to its Korea branch. Clifford Lee Clifford Lee, Global Head of Investment Banking at DBS, said, “As the only Asia-headquartered investment bank operating across the region in all asset classes, DBS has been actively developing this market. This includes acting as the joint lead underwriter of all Panda bond issuances by European financial institutions since 2024 and working with Middle Eastern financial institutions to explore their inaugural Panda bond issuances. This licence accelerates DBS’ efforts to open Asia’s capital markets to the world.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by DBS The post DBS China Secures Underwriting Licence to Expand Bond Market Role appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore residents will soon be able to receive recycling refunds directly through DBS PayLah! starting 1 April 2026. This allows consumers to receive a 10-cent refund for each eligible beverage container returned at Return Right Reverse Vending Machines across the island. The initiative is a collaboration between DBS and Beverage Container Return Scheme Ltd. to provide a digital refund option within the national recycling scheme. To claim a refund, users select DBS PayLah! on the machine and scan the personal QR code generated under the “My QR” section in the app. The refund is credited to the wallet, with a push notification sent to the user and the transaction reflected in the app’s history. DBS PayLah! is open to users in Singapore. Singapore citizens and permanent residents can sign up without holding a DBS or POSB bank account, and funds in the wallet can be transferred to other local bank accounts. The partnership is intended to make recycling more practical by embedding refunds into an existing mobile payment platform. Chan Sow Han Chan Sow Han, Head of Payments and Unsecured Lending, Consumer Banking Group, DBS Singapore, said, “With more than three million users, DBS PayLah! is Singapore’s most widely adopted mobile wallet, embedded in how users make everyday payments and enjoy deals and rewards. Its reach and convenience also help support initiatives aimed at creating positive impact. We are pleased to provide consumers with a familiar digital option, demonstrating how supporting sustainability can be as easy and seamless as paying for hawker meals.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by DBS   The post DBS PayLah! Now a Refund Option Under Singapore’s Container Return Scheme appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Everyone’s been jumping on the stablecoins’ wagon over the past couple of months (myself included), but one of the more fascinating discoveries for me was that stablecoins have actually been around for a little over a decade now. To top it off, McKinsey also predicted that the value of issued stablecoins could reach as high as $2 trillion by 2028. Yet according to dtcpay’s Chief Operating Officer, Sam Lin, the reality may dwarf even that figure. @fintechnewsnetwork The $2 Trillion Stablecoin Explosion The stablecoin market is hitting $2 trillion in three years, yet industry leaders say that’s the conservative estimate. Visa and other giants are already moving in fast, because stablecoins are doing what SWIFT never could: be faster and more decentralised. @dtcpay #fintech #payments #stablecoin #AI ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network In an interview with Vincent Fong, Chief Editor of Fintech News Network captured during Singapore Fintech Week 2025, Sam dug into the key factors driving stablecoin advancement and adoption, particularly across Asia and ASEAN. Why Did Stablecoins Go Mainstream in 2025? If you want to understand why stablecoins were on a different gear altogether in 2025, Sam divulges that you have to go back to where it all started. “If you look at how the technology reshaped the payment itself, when the blockchain came into the picture 10 years ago, there was already something formed to optimise the existing payment infrastructure. But there was always back and forth. Resistance came from many areas, and the concern was always on compliance.” The TradFi industry wasn’t ready for this change, he says. For years on end, the technology outpaced the appetite for change, and so it played the waiting game. Then, in 2025, the US passed the GENIUS Act, and something finally shifted. Sam describes that it was less of a revolution but more of a release. The gates were opened, and the flood came through. The water, possibly years of dormant capital, sidelined institutions, and technology that had been waiting to prove its mettle, had been pressing against the gates long enough. It just needed someone to open the gates. “If you ask me, I think the technology itself is the main reason.” Asia is the Natural Habitat for Stablecoin Innovation Next, Sam was questioned on what makes Asia conducive and why dtcpay opted to build its platform out of here. To that, Sam spoke about innovation and diversity. Sam believes Asia has always been the more natural home for this kind of innovation, and in his opinion, it comes down to diversity. ASEAN, for instance, he says, spans many races, regions, and cultures. That friction of diversity is precisely what makes it fertile. Different people in different countries think differently, and yet coexist, collaborate and build alongside one another in peace. “They know how to work with each other, which is why innovation has come out from such diversified environments, encouraging them to try new stuff. ASEAN, in the multipolar wars now, is one of the most important pillars there. Together with China and East Asia, they’ve already built quite a lot of innovative technologies, with use cases and the respective populations, too.” To reiterate, ASEAN, he says, has something rare: the use cases, the demand, and the people to bring it to life. It’s also the precise environment dtcpay was built for. As a Singapore-based platform licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, it sits at the heart of a region that lives on the need for borderless, multi-currency payments, every single day. What Does Stablecoin Tech Really Look Like Underneath? One of the most clarifying moments in the conversation comes when Sam breaks down what stablecoins are actually doing, which is two very distinct jobs at once. The first, he says, is settlements. Blockchain’s speed and decentralised architecture make stablecoin settlement faster than traditional networks like SWIFT. But most people will never lay their eyes on it. It runs efficiently in the background, pretty much the same way nobody thinks about acquiring banks when they tap their Visa card. You don’t need to understand the plumbing for the water to run, right? The second half is the payment layer itself, Sam shares, like B2B transactions and cross-border wholesale settlements in commodities. This is where businesses watch funds move in real time, and wonder why it never worked any other way before. “People can’t feel it, but it makes all the organisation and different entities and departments work more efficiently and slowly transform your daily life. You will feel the cost-cutting. You will feel your life become easier.” As more people understand how to use stablecoins, and as the blockchain makes currency truly programmable and accessible, the innovations that follow will be difficult to predict and harder to stop. The $2 trillion figure McKinsey projected? Sam thinks it’s a floor (not a ceiling), and given that the estimate predates developments like Project Bloom, Hong Kong’s stablecoin ordinance, and a wave of other new regulatory frameworks, he may well be right. Catch the full conversation between Vincent Fong and Sam Lin below, and decide for yourself whether $2 trillion is a milestone or just the beginning. The post Stablecoins is the $2 Trillion Market That’s Been Ready for Years appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Over the past two years, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market in India has gone from being a fast-growing fintech trend to a more structured and regulated part of the financial system. When BNPL first boomed, many fintech platforms and digital players leveraged it to allow consumers to make a purchase instantly and defer payment for a short period, often without interest if repaid on time. This helped bridge the financing gap for users who lacked traditional credit cards, and was embedded in e-commerce and mobile app checkouts as a convenient credit alternative to boost sales and conversion rates. But as adoption accelerated, regulatory scrutiny intensified. In May 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released digital lending directions, consolidating earlier guidelines to create a more accountable and secure framework. The rules strengthen oversight of relationships between regulated entities and lending service providers, enhance borrower protections, and impose stricter standards for data handling, technology use, and digital lending app governance. One of notable developments in the BNPL landscape in 2025 was the RBI’s action against Simpl, a prominent BNPL fintech company in India. In September 2025, the central bank ordered Simpl to halt all activities involving payment, clearing, and settlement functions, citing lack of authorization under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007. This intervention paused the company’s BNPL business and led to significant operational disruptions, including layoffs and restructuring. Alongside these enforcement actions, other BNPL players and broader digital lenders adjusted their business models, pivoting towards more regulated credit formates, such as structured equated monthly installments (EMI) plans linked to banks or non-banking financial company (NBFC) partners. The sector also saw exits and product discontinuations for offerings that couldn’t easily fit into the stricter compliance environment. For example, MobiKwik’s BNPL offering was discontinued during 2025 challenging economics and tighter rules. Given these shifts, we are revisiting our previous 2021 and 2024 lists of the Top BNPL Players in India to present an updated overview of the leading BNPL brands and companies in the Indian market for 2026. Top 5 BNPL Solutions in India LazyPay LazyPay app, Source: LazyPay LazyPay is a digital credit service launched by PayU in 2017. With 6 million consumers in India, LazyPay is one of the most popular checkout options across an expansive network of more than 60,000 merchants. LazyPay’s core offering is a “pay‑later” product that provides users with a free credit limit of up to INR 10,000 (US$109), which can be used for purchases across a wide range of merchants, including food‑delivery services, fashion retailers, and quick‑commerce platforms, and repaid in a single bill every 15 or 30 days without interest or hidden fees. Users who complete a quick know-your-customer (KYC) can increase their limit to as much as INR 500,000 (US$5,500) and enjoy a longer 30‑day repayment window. Those who need additional flexibility may convert the balance into EMI plans. Beyond BNPL arrangements, LazyPay includes several ancillary services, including the BillPay feature which lets users settle utility bills, mobile recharges, and other recurring payments using the same credit line, the Auto360 module, which serves as an all-in-one vehicle management hub, and the XpressLoan product, which offers instant personal loans ranging from INR 3,000 (US$33) to INR 500,000 (US$5,500) with an annual repayment period from three to 60 months. LazyPay’s owner PayU is a non-banking financial company that aims to create a full-stack digital financial services platform to serve all tapped and untapped financial needs of merchants, banks, and consumers through technology. The company offers over 100 local digital payment methods, value-added data insight solutions, and affordability solutions across offline and online channels, empowering more than 450,000 merchants in India and processing payments for nearly 60% of e-commerce businesses in the country. PayU’s recent expansions have broadened LazyPay’s merchant network to encompass major quick commerce platforms such as Zepto, Flipkart, Instamart, and BigBasket, as well as travel, education, health, and insurance providers. ZestMoney ZestMoney platform, Source: ZestMoney Established in 2015, ZestMoney positions itself as the country’s first online EMI provider. The company’s mission is to bring affordable digital finance to the estimated 300 million Indian households that lack access to credit cards or formal financing due to thin credit histories, leveraging mobile technology, digital banking, and artificial intelligence (AI) to match consumers with lending partners and manage repayments on their behalf. ZestMoney’s BNPL solution allows customers to split purchases into installments of three, six, nine, or twelve months without needing a traditional credit card. The platform analyzes spending patterns, financial status, and other behavioral data, to deliver real‑time credit decisions, aiming to provide “short‑term transactional credit” at checkout. With availability in cloud and a 24/7 presence, it leverages APIs that connect with e-commerce websites and APIs that connects directly with banks and lenders. It also provides credit on popular wallets including Paytm and Mobikwik wallet. ZestMoney claims its credit facilities are accepted at more than 10,000 online merchants and 75,000 physical retail locations. Users benefit from a three‑step approval process that requires no paperwork or joining fees, and the platform advertises personalized credit limits up to INR 200,000 (US$2,200). The company claims more than 17 million registered users, making it one of India’s most prominent BNPL and online EMI provider. Paytm Postpaid Paytm Postpaid promo illustration, Source: Paytm Postpaid Paytm Postpaid is a short‑term credit line launched in September 2025 in partnership with Suryodaya Small Finance Bank. The offering, which operates on the UPI platform, provides users with an interest‑free credit limit of up to INR 60,000 (US$654) for a maximum of 30 days. Users activate the line by selecting the credit source in the Paytm app, scanning a merchant’s QR code, entering the amount, and confirming with their UPI PIN. Repayment occurs at the end of the billing cycle, and timely payments can help build the borrower’s credit profile. Paytm Postpaid is being rolled out selectively to customers deemed likely to use the credit, with broader expansion planned. It marks the reintroduction of the company’s BNPL product, which was halted in 2024 because of a broader decline in asset quality across the industry. At the time, Paytm said it would not resume the business until the credit cycle played out. The recasting of the product also comes at a time when Paytm has turned profitable. Founded in 2010, Paytm is an Indian fintech company that provides digital payments and financial services, including mobile payments, UPI transfers, and bill payments. It runs one of the country’s biggest financial services platforms, with more than 300 million users. Amazon Pay Later Amazon Pay Later video presentation, Source: Amazon Pay Later Amazon Pay Later is a BNPL and personal loan service that operates within the Amazon ecosystem in India.  It offers consumers the ability to split purchases into interest‑free “buy now, pay next month” installments or into EMI plans of three, six, nine, or 12 months. When a shopper selects Amazon Pay Later at checkout, the applicable tenure, minimum and maximum purchase amounts, and any interest charges (if EMI is chosen) are displayed on the payment page. Two lending partners supply the credit: Axio and IDFC First Bank. Under Axio, a one‑month “buy now, pay next month” option is available with no minimum purchase amount, while three‑month EMI starts at INR 1,500 (US$16), six‑month at INR 3,000 (US$33), nine‑month at INR 6,000 (US$65), and 12‑month at INR 9,000 (US$98), with the upper limit varying per customer. IDFC First Bank offers similar EMI tenures, beginning at INR 3,000 (US$33) for three months and scaling upward, with caps of INR 30,000 (US$327) for three‑month, INR 60,000 (US$654) for six‑month, and no upper limit for nine‑ and 12‑month plans. Amazon acquired Bengaluru‑based non‑bank lender Axio in 2025 in a deal valued at a reported US$200 million. This acquisition built upon an over six-year partnership during which Axio powered BNPL services for Amazon Pay, serving more than 10 million customers in India. Founded in 2013, Axio is an Indian consumer finance company that offers BNPL, credit, personal finance management services. It claims more than 15 million customers served, and over 3,000 merchants part of its network. ePayLater ePayLater promo banner, Source: ePayLater Founded in December 2015 and based in Mumbai, ePayLater is a zero cost credit solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) for purchasing their supplies. The platform allows retailers to obtain instant credit limits ranging from INR 25,000 (US$273) to INR 2.5 million (US$27,000), enabling them to purchase inventory across a wide array of product categories without the usual constraints of traditional financing. The service operates through a simple, user‑friendly mobile app. After downloading the app and submitting the required details, users receive an immediate credit approval. They can then draw on their approved limit to pay partner merchants anywhere in India, either for everyday stock purchases or for larger invoice‑financing needs. Credit is offered at 0% interest for a period of 14 to 30 days, with no processing fees, and the limit is replenished once the repayment is made. Beyond its credit facility, ePayLater offers additional products such as purchase finance, equated daily installments (EDI), and revenue‑based financing, each designed to address specific cashflow challenges faced by MSMEs. The platform integrates with partner merchants’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and provides dashboards for NBFCs and anchor partners, delivering real‑time approvals, credit‑limit management, and customer engagement tools. ePayLater’s network is supported by several registered NBFCs. The company reports a substantial impact on its anchor partners, claiming a 2.7‑fold increase in purchases from MSMEs. ePayLater’s reach extends across India, with integration points that include popular payment ecosystems such as Google Pay and Pine Labs. Although exact user numbers are not officially disclosed, the ePayLater app has amassed over one million downloads on Google Play, positioning it as a leading BNPL provider in the Indian embedded‑finance landscape.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by kkhaosai via Freepik The post Top BNPL Solutions in India in 2026 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Dyna.Ai has raised an undisclosed eight-figure Series A funding round to scale its agentic AI deployments in regulated industries, including banking. The round was led by Lion X Ventures, a Singapore venture capital fund advised by OCBC Bank’s Mezzanine Capital Unit. Other investors include Taiwan-listed technology company ADATA, a Korean financial institution and several finance industry veterans. Dyna.Ai said the funding will support the expansion of its agent-based systems, which are designed to help organisations move from proof-of-concept initiatives to production use. The technology enables enterprises to automate defined tasks within structured workflows while operating within compliance and governance requirements, particularly in regulated industries. The company said its solutions are already in use by global and regional banks as well as enterprises across Asia, the Americas and the Middle East to streamline operations and improve employee workflows. Founded in 2024, Dyna.Ai focuses on helping large organisations address operational bottlenecks as they transition from pilot projects to full-scale AI implementation. Tomas Skoumal “While much of the industry was focused on how broadly AI could be applied, we doubled down early on a specific, pressing problem and built with outcomes in mind. That focus continues to guide how we work with enterprises today and has built trust with C-suite leaders across institutions around the world.” said Tomas Skoumal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Dyna.Ai.     The post Dyna.Ai Raises Eight-Figure Series A Funding to Scale Agentic AI appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Consumers in select overseas markets will soon be able to spend stablecoins through a Pine Labs prepaid card, with launches scheduled by the end of April. The company’s CEO Amrish Rau shared the plans with Reuters. The Temasek and Peak XV-backed fintech is preparing the rollout in nine countries across the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. Pine Labs will not introduce the product in India or China, where digital asset regulation remains restrictive. China has tightened oversight of virtual currencies and moved against unauthorised offshore issuance of yuan-linked stablecoins. India does not prohibit stablecoins, but the Reserve Bank of India has warned that privately issued tokens could pose risks to monetary stability. Domestic payment platforms such as PhonePe and Paytm do not currently provide stablecoin-backed payment options. The prepaid card will be funded using stablecoins held in customers’ digital wallets. At the point of sale, balances will be converted into local currency, allowing merchants to receive fiat while customers transact using digital tokens. The initiative places Pine Labs among global payment firms exploring stablecoin-enabled infrastructure for cross-border transfers. Companies such as Stripe and PayPal have been integrating stablecoins into payment flows as adoption increases. The stablecoin market is valued at more than US$310 billion, led largely by U.S. dollar-pegged tokens including Tether and USDC. Rau said the company views stablecoin rails as part of a broader technology-led expansion. The move follows Pine Labs’ recent collaboration with OpenAI to develop agentic commerce capabilities, highlighting its focus on AI-driven payment solutions. Headquartered in India’s National Capital Region, Pine Labs provides merchant payment technology including point-of-sale systems. It operates in about 20 countries, with overseas markets contributing roughly 17 percent of revenue. The company said it will continue prioritising AI applications, cross-border growth and digital asset initiatives as part of its next phase of expansion.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Freepik The post Pine Labs Targets End-April Launch for Stablecoin Card in Nine Countries appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Twitter Co-Founder and current CEO of Block, Jack Dorsey, just announced in his 600-word+ X post that Block would cut roughly 4,000 roles, close to 40% of its workforce, reportedly, all because of none other than artificial intelligence. In his post, Jack pointed to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and the company’s push to “functionalise” its structure.  He said: Jack Dorsey “We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company.” Though the company’s stock appeared to have risen due to the unfortunate news, the public has made sure that the company knows what they’re feeling. In shorter words, what he’s trying to say is that AI + Few People = Block moves faster. But despite his explanation, outside the earnings call, the public was raising a more sceptical conversation.  Is it really about AI? Or are you just giving an excuse to downsize? AI, Structure, and Hard Choices, According to Jack To answer that, let’s take a look back at Jack’s post on X where his argument, rested on two pillars.  First, he mentioned that AI models have become significantly more capable and it has since, opened the door to automation across a wider swathe of the business.  Second, his company, Block, had effectively been operating as two companies, with Square and Cash App running parallel structures which, according to him, created duplication. Thus, he believes that bringing the organisation under a single functional model, exposed those overlaps and created the confidence to make that decisive cut. A 23% surge in share price suggest initial market satisfaction, but we’re not entirely sure about that. Is It Really About AI or Is Just AI Washing? The public, and myself included, remain unconvinced by a strategy we view as ‘narrative substitution’. Some news even go as far as to say that this move is more about “the business being bloated for so long than it is about AI”. Block says smarter tools and a flatter organisation allow them to do more with fewer people. But that does seem like a reach. The media has increasingly used the term ‘AI washing’ to describe what is actually happening at Block. And it does not serve justice on Block’s case as the numbers give sceptics like me, something to point to.  The company’s headcount expanded sharply during the pandemic, which saw them rise from under 4,000 employees in 2019 to well above 10,000 within a few years.  Thus the scale of the cuts happening right now seems to confirm my hypothesis that this is far more about right-sizing a bloated organisation rather than just “harnessing intelligence tools”. It looks more like a convenient scapegoat and pure corporate theatre for the ‘sins’ of unchecked expansion during the COVID boom years. Feeling the Ripple Across Southeast Asia Block’s layoffs are happening in the US, but the story echoes far beyond. Around the world, companies are grappling with the same question. Are these cuts really about AI, or is AI just being used as a convenient story? AI is taking over routine tasks at Allianz in Germany, prompting the company to cut up to 1,800 call centre jobs. In Australia, WiseTech Global is letting go of 2,000 employees while pivoting to AI-driven software. Klarna has also already halved its workforce in the past few years and expects to shrink further as automation lets smaller teams handle more. In all these cases, people are actually losing their jobs because software is now doing work humans used to do. And Southeast Asia is not escaping this as DBS in Singapore also plans to phase out around 4,000 contract and temporary roles over three years. We could say that the pattern is mixed where some companies are trimming excess from an era of easy capital. Others are adjusting because certain tasks genuinely require fewer people than before. But Block seems to sit somewhere in between. Part of the reset reflects expansion that went too far. Part of it reflects a push to operate with fewer layers and more automated support. We for sure do not know whether every layoff is AI-washing, but companies will need to be honest about which is which. The harder question now is how much of today’s cuts come from smarter systems, and how much is just cleaning up after yesterday’s growth sprees. The Policy Response Is Already Taking Shape Not only that, due to such issues, governments in the region are clearly watching the shift closely. Speaking during the February Budget debate, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong moved to calm concerns, saying Singapore would avoid what he described as jobless growth even as AI becomes more deeply embedded in the economy.  The focus, he stressed, is on using AI to raise productivity while creating better jobs and wages. Such reassurance matters because this anxiety is real and it is felt by almost everyone.  Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an images by Wikimedia Commons and thanyakij-12 via Freepik. The post What Could Block’s 40% Job Layoff Signal for Southeast Asia? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

SEON has released the second edition of its AI Reality Check: 2026 Fraud & AML Leaders Report. Based on a global survey of 1,010 fraud, risk, and compliance leaders across payments, fintech, financial services, retail, eCommerce, and gaming, the report highlights that while AI adoption is nearly universal, operational challenges are increasing. The survey found that 98% of organisations now integrate AI into daily fraud and AML workflows, with 95% confident it works, including 52% who are very confident. AI/ML for transaction monitoring was the most common use case, cited by 30% of respondents. Despite automation, organisations are expanding teams and budgets: 94% plan to add at least one full-time hire, up from 88% in 2025, 85% plan to add a vendor, and 49% intend to replace an existing one. 83% expect budgets to rise in 2026. Fragmentation remains a significant bottleneck, with only 47% running fully integrated workflows and 95% reporting partial integration between fraud and AML systems. 80% find achieving a unified view of data challenging. Implementation times vary, with just 10% going live in under two weeks, 38% taking 1-3 months, and 24% requiring four months or more, contributing to higher costs (52%) and prolonged fraud exposure (47%). Top threats included account takeovers (26%), promo/discount abuse (18%), and return fraud (18%). Tamas Kadar “Fraud and financial crime were supposed to become more manageable as AI matured,” said Tamas Kadar, CEO and co-founder of SEON. “Instead, 2026 is the year leaders are confronting a more complicated reality. The bottleneck is no longer whether AI works. It’s disconnected data, siloed teams, and slow implementations.” Looking ahead, 78% of respondents expect decentralised digital identity to become central to fraud and AML, while 33% highlight data privacy regulations and 25% cite criminals’ advanced AI techniques as shaping future risk strategies.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by RSplaneta via Freepik The post AI Adoption Soars, but 94% of Firms Still Plan to Grow Fraud and AML Teams appeared first on Fintech Singapore.