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.