Deloitte has appointed Robert Hillard as APAC CEO for a four-year term, succeeding David Hill, whose term ended on 31 May 2026. The appointment was endorsed by Deloitte partners across APAC. Hillard was most recently Deloitte APAC’s Consulting Businesses Leader, where he worked on AI-powered client solutions and alliances with technology firms. He has also advised clients across the region on strategic and operational challenges. Robert Hillard “Asia Pacific is where the most consequential economic and technological decisions are now being made. Home to over 40 percent of the world’s Fortune Global 500 companies and driving the majority of projected global economic growth and prosperity, this is where the future of business is being shaped. The convergence of AI and the region’s growth creates an opportunity to serve clients with a level of precision, speed and scale not previously possible,” Hillard said. David Hill Outgoing CEO David Hill said, “Rob is one of the most capable technology and transformation leaders in professional services. He understands how AI and emerging technologies will reshape how clients are served and has spent his career building the skills, relationships and credibility to lead through that change. Deloitte Asia Pacific will be well served by his leadership.” Deloitte said Asia Pacific grew to become the largest professional services firm in the region under Hill’s leadership. Deloitte has also appointed Haruko Nagayama as Asia Pacific Chair, effective 1 June 2026. She will oversee governance of the member firm alongside the Deloitte Asia Pacific Board. Nagayama previously served as Chair of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group in Japan and has been a Deloitte Asia Pacific Board member since 2022. She has more than 30 years of experience at Deloitte, including audit work with large public global companies. She succeeds Dennis Chow, who has stepped down as Chair.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Magnific The post Deloitte Appoints Robert Hillard as APAC CEO appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Apple is preparing to bring receipt scanning into group payments, with a planned iPhone feature that could make shared bills easier to split, Bloomberg reported. The tool would add another consumer finance feature to Apple’s ecosystem by linking bill-splitting to Apple Cash, its peer-to-peer payments service. According to the report, users would be able to scan a receipt, select who ordered which items and send payment requests from their iPhone. The feature is also expected to account for tax and tip when calculating each person’s share. Apple could introduce the feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins on 8 June 2026. The tool is expected to be included in iOS 27, Apple’s next major iPhone software update due later this year. The feature is expected to work through the Wallet app and Messages, while Apple Watch users would be able to approve payment requests from their wrist. Bill Splitting Adds to Apple’s Payments Play The planned service could reduce the need for separate bill-splitting apps such as Splitwise, Tab and Settle Up. It would also give Apple Cash a more practical role in everyday group payments, an area where apps such as Venmo and Cash App are widely used. Apple has expanded steadily into payments and consumer finance since launching Apple Pay in 2014. Its financial services now include Apple Card, Apple Cash, a savings account linked to Apple Card and Tap to Pay on iPhone, which lets businesses accept contactless payments using an iPhone. The expansion has not been without setbacks. Apple discontinued Apple Pay Later in 2024, about a year after introducing the buy now, pay later service. Apple and Chase also announced in January 2026 that Chase would become the new issuer of Apple Card, replacing Goldman Sachs over an expected transition period of about 24 months. Bloomberg also reported that Apple is working on a separate Wallet feature that would allow users to generate their own passes for gyms, events and other venues that do not yet offer native Wallet support. The Wallet updates are expected to be part of Apple’s broader fall software release, alongside artificial intelligence features, Siri upgrades and performance improvements.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by freepik via Magnific   The post Apple Reportedly Plans iPhone Bill Splitting Through Receipt Scans appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Wise is facing a Belgian investigation over money laundering control concerns as prosecutors examine whether its European accounts may have been used to move illicit funds, the BBC reported. The probe focuses on Wise Europe, the company’s Belgium-based entity serving customers across the European Economic Area. Wise’s UK business is not directly part of the investigation. Belgian prosecutors told AFP the investigation is nearing completion. The case follows reporting by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which first reported that authorities were examining around €500 million in suspicious transactions linked to Wise accounts across more than 30 European countries. Wise accounts reportedly appeared in hundreds of cross-border judicial assistance requests across Europe. Prosecutors are looking at whether Wise accounts were used for criminal purposes and whether the company complied with anti-money laundering rules. Their concerns include alleged failures to identify customers and understand their activities. Wise Faces Fresh Compliance Scrutiny Wise has maintained that it is cooperating with the Brussels prosecutor’s office and has not received any specific findings or allegations so far. The company framed such requests as a routine part of financial services operations rather than evidence of wrongdoing. Wise has more than 19 million customers globally and processes about 4.7 million transactions a day. Its shares fell sharply after the investigation was reported, dropping as much as 19 percent at one point in London trading. The latest scrutiny follows earlier regulatory action against the company. In 2024, the Financial Times reported that the National Bank of Belgium, which supervises Wise in Europe, had placed the company under a formal remediation plan following a 2022 review that found it lacked proof of address for hundreds of thousands of customers. That plan reportedly required Wise to contact affected customers and freeze accounts where the required documents were not provided. Wise was also ordered to pay US$4.2 million under a 2025 settlement with six US states over anti-money laundering compliance issues. The settlement also required the company to strengthen parts of its compliance programme. In 2022, Wise was fined US$360,000 by Abu Dhabi’s financial services regulator. The company maintained that it had addressed regulators’ concerns in those cases. The investigation comes shortly after Wise moved its primary stock market listing to Nasdaq while retaining a listing in London.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by pe_jo via Magnific The post Wise Faces Belgium Probe Over Money Laundering Control Concerns appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Bizcap has raised its Singapore SME lending limit to S$1 million, one year after the alternative lender entered the market. The move comes amid growing demand from small and medium-sized businesses seeking faster and more flexible funding options outside the traditional banking sector, according to Bizcap’s Singapore leadership team. Since entering Singapore in early 2025, the lender says it has facilitated more than S$40 million in funding for local SMEs and built a network of more than 300 broker and referral partners. Over the same period, the company has expanded its local workforce from one employee to seven and introduced four new products to the market, including a line of credit offering and a caveat loan product. Joseph Lim, Bizcap’s Managing Partner for Asia Joseph Lim, Bizcap’s Managing Partner for Asia, said the increase in lending capacity reflects the company’s confidence in the Singapore market and the evolving funding needs of local businesses. “When we launched, we had a vision to become Singapore’s most open-minded lender and I truly believe we’ve brought that vision to life over the past year,” Lim said. “More SMEs and brokers are looking for funding partners that can move quickly and provide solutions tailored to their business needs. Increasing our lending limit to S$1 million allows us to support larger funding requirements while maintaining the speed and responsiveness we are known for.” Alternative lenders gain traction as SMEs seek fast, flexible funding The non-bank lender positions itself as an alternative to traditional financial institutions, offering approvals in principle within three hours. It says this turnaround time has helped drive adoption among businesses looking for quick access to working capital. Tony Truong, Bizcap’s Chief Credit Officer for APAC Bizcap’s Chief Credit Officer for APAC, Tony Truong, said the higher lending threshold would enable the company to support SMEs looking to expand operations, improve liquidity and manage ongoing market uncertainty. “At Bizcap, we are focused on making funding more accessible to Singapore SMEs by providing fast and flexible finance solutions that support real business outcomes,” Truong said. “By lifting our lending limit to S$1 million, we can now support larger deal sizes and help more businesses access the capital they require through flexible facility structures.” The announcement was made during a recent partner event in Singapore attended by more than 150 business partners, where the company also unveiled its Bizcap Frequent Funders (BFF) loyalty program. The initiative is designed to reward referral partners with tiered incentives tied to funding milestones. Bizcap also used the event to recognise several high-performing brokers who achieved Platinum Partner status in 2025 and announced the promotion of Gareth Tan to General Manager in Singapore. Bizcap targets S$100 million in SME lending across Singapore Globally, Bizcap has expanded rapidly in recent years as demand for alternative finance solutions continues to grow among SMEs facing tighter lending conditions from traditional banks. The company’s Global Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Zalman Blachman, said the Singapore operation had exceeded expectations in its first year. “To see the Singapore business grow from a standing start to such a strong position in just one year is a testament to the team on the ground and the demand for a more flexible approach to lending,” Blachman said. Looking ahead, Bizcap Singapore is targeting more than S$100 million in funding facilitated over the next 12 months as it continues to scale its presence in the local market. Brokers can become a Bizcap partner online, while businesses can apply for loans through the company’s website. The post Bizcap Lifts Singapore SME Lending Cap to S$1 Million appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Across Asia, digital regulations are mitigating risks affiliated with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), safeguarding data, and strengthening cybersecurity. However, a new study by Oxford Economics, commissioned by Digital Prosperity Asia, found that these regulations are also driving up compliance costs and diverting key resources away from innovation, with younger startups bearing the brunt of these pressures. The research, which combined a survey of 1,550 ecosystem participants, expert interviews, and quantitative modeling across India, Malaysia, and South Korea, reveals the key channels through which digital regulation influences startups, emphasizing compliance costs, innovation, and trust effects. The burden of compliance Across the three countries studied, 88% of startups report that complying with digital regulations imposes operational constraints, with 28% describing these effects as major or severe, and 74% reporting an increase in compliance-related costs. This financial burden is substantial, with 71% of startups spending at least 5% of their operating costs on complying with such regulations, and among these, 42% allocating over 15% of their budget to these activities. Compliance is also driving deep structural changes, requiring startups to reorganize their operations. 72% have already taken steps to strengthen internal compliance processes, including building new compliance processes (57%), transitioning to compliant cloud infrastructure (44%), and seeking legal advisory services (36%). Startups’ measures taken in response to current or anticipated digital regulations, Source: Digital Regulations and the Startup Ecosystem in Asia, Oxford Economics and Digital Prosperity Asia, May 2026 These obligations aren’t limited to technology investments and require organizations to embed compliance as an ongoing specialized function rather than a one-time adjustment. Startups identified internal spending on compliance-related talent as the largest component of these costs on average (43%), followed by expenditure on external legal and advisory services (25%). When asked to identify their greatest digital regulatory concern, 38% of respondents cited data governance, followed by AI regulations, ranked second at 26%, and cybersecurity, ranked third at 23%. Impact on costs, talent retention, innovation Delving deeper into the impact of digital regulations, the study found that 90% of startups are seeing an impact on workforce costs or management. In particular, 64% of the startups report higher human capital costs, particularly for expertise in cybersecurity, compliance, and data governance, and 47% agree that attracting and retaining local expertise has become more challenging as competition for talent intensifies. These cost pressures disproportionately affect younger ventures. 77% of no- or pre- revenue startups experience such strains, compared with 58% of startups with over US$50 million in annual revenue. Beyond costs, digital regulations also introduce frictions into the innovation process as financial resources get reallocated away from research and development (R&D), slowing innovation cycles. 83% of startups report some impact on innovation activity, with 66% shifting funds towards compliance-related activities. This trend is corroborated by ecosystem stakeholders with 65% of venture capital (VC) firms and 68% of incubators confirming that digital regulations divert startups’ financial resources away from innovation. This diversion of resources is accompanied by delays in product development and longer time to-market. 56% of startups report observing this effect, while a similar share of VCs, 59%, also agree that innovation momentum slows with longer time-to market for new product innovations and upgrades. These effects on innovation are more pronounced among younger startups, which typically operate with leaner teams and limited financial buffers, making them more vulnerable to delays in product development while navigating compliance. 67% of startups in their first year of operations agree that digital regulations contribute to innovation delays, compared with around 48% of startups that have been operating for more than 10 years. Investor sentiment and capital allocation For investors, regulatory shifts are actively informing capital allocation, risk appetite, and growth expectations. 63% of VCs report that compliance readiness and regulatory considerations are now important factors or primary drivers of investment decisions. More restrictive regulations dampen the investment outlook. Under scenarios of regulatory tightening, VC caution increases, with only 39% expecting to increase investments, down from 54%. This shift results in a reallocation of resources. 30% of VCs report that they are likely to reduce exposure to high-risk startups and 28% say they would require greater compliance efforts from portfolio companies. Similarly, 44% of incubators also indicate that they may allocate additional program time and resources to compliance capability-building, while 26% say they would adjust their selection criteria to favor startups that are better prepared to meet regulatory requirements. Uncertainty and trust Anticipated regulatory shifts also shape investment behavior and fundraising abilities. 61% of startups say that regulatory uncertainty makes it more difficult to raise capital, while 67% of VCs agree that stringent digital regulations increase uncertainty around expected returns, a concern most acute in data governance (75%) and cybersecurity (66%). Share of respondents that agree or strongly agree that digital regulations increase the uncertainty on returns from investments, Source: Digital Regulations and the Startup Ecosystem in Asia, Oxford Economics and Digital Prosperity Asia, May 2026 In response, 67% of investors are taking a more cautious approach, translating to 65% requiring enhanced compliance processes or documentation in portfolio companies, 59% conducting regulatory risk assessments, and 46% adjusting their investment covenants accordingly. Despite these challenges, the research found that digital regulations can also generate trust benefits. 47% of startups agree that digital regulations increase customer trust in their products and services, an impact that’s more pronounced for more mature startups with 56% of startups that have at least 10 years of operations realizing such benefits, compared with 33% of those with less than one year of operations. This suggests that regulation-enabled trust disproportionality benefits established companies with existing reputations, customer bases, and operational scale. Younger companies, on the other hand, struggle to translate digital regulations into tangible trust advantages, while still needing to build credibility. The digital regulatory landscape of India, Malaysia and South Korea The report analyzes the distinct regulatory environments of key markets. India is highlighted as a digital regulatory landscape that’s broadly supportive of the startup ecosystem with a digital restrictiveness score of 0.34 out of 1, classifying it as “Enabling”. India employs a risk-tiered approach that balances open data flows with security requirements. While the country generally permits cross-border data transfers, it enforces selective data localization and operational obligations for sensitive sectors such as finance and telecommunications. In the realm of cybersecurity, India adopts a proactive stance aligned with international standards, emphasizing strict operational compliance. Similarly, Malaysia is categorized as an “Enabling” jurisdiction with a digital restrictiveness score of 0.34 as well. Malaysia takes a pragmatic, sector-targeted approach to digital regulation that blends safeguards with openness to digital trade and innovation. In data governance, Malaysia has imposed stricter data residency and access requirements for regulated industries and highly sensitive workloads. Conversely, commercial cross-border data transfers are generally permitted where destination jurisdictions provide protections substantially similar to Malaysia’s personal data protection requirements or where equivalent safeguards are in place. On cybersecurity, obligations are stringent for National Critical Information Infrastructure but more flexible for other firms. Finally, South Korea presents a more stringent digital regulatory landscape with a digital restrictiveness score of 0.51 out of 1, placing it in the “Restrictive” group. South Korea’s digital regulatory framework is characterized by strong safeguards for privacy, security, and national interests. Data protection rules are highly prescriptive and rigorously enforced with a scope and level of oversight comparable to the EU’s GDPR. Cybersecurity regulations are similarly stringent. Data localisation practices are relatively restrictive, but there are emerging policy efforts to facilitate cloud adoption and cross-border digital services. Digital restrictiveness scores across Asia and other major economies, Source: Digital Regulations and the Startup Ecosystem in Asia, Oxford Economics and Digital Prosperity Asia, May 2026   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by roypankaj via Magnific The post Digital Regulations in Asia Drive up Costs for Startups, Divert Resources Away from Innovation appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Recent talks around the block have made it clear that banks do want AI, but the latest news has now asked them, should we? In May 2026, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery said generative AI will “destroy certain jobs” and create new ones, while urging employees not to fight the change. Standard Chartered has gone further, saying it plans to cut 15% of its corporate function roles by 2030 as it uses AI and automation to slim operations, improve productivity and lift returns. But those examples of how AI is affecting companies do not necessarily mean banks in Southeast Asia will follow the same path overnight. They do, however, make the trust question harder to avoid. If AI is powerful enough to change how banks hire and structure their teams, it also needs to be reliable enough to sit inside real financial operations. Like many other companies, banks and fintechs also want the upside of artificial intelligence. AI has proven that it could help with faster onboarding, better fraud detection, lower operating costs and more personalised customer experiences, all of those shiny things. But what they usually missed out on is at the flipside of the coin, where the question of knowing whether the systems behind those gains can be monitored and defended when something goes wrong. Leo Li, President of International Business at Ant Digital Technologies, sees that hesitation clearly. “From my observation, the two biggest concerns are ROI and risk,” he said. Those two words capture why many banks remain cautious. AI can be useful, but usefulness alone is not enough in a sector where every new system must answer to compliance, audit and customer trust. Banks Are Starting at the Edges Leo Li “Most banks are carefully evaluating AI adoption from the outside in,” Leo said. What Leo meant by this is that he views AI adoption in banking as a gradual movement from the outer parts of the organisation toward the core. On the one hand, things like customer service, marketing, onboarding and operational support tend to come first because the risks are easier to manage. Core banking on the other, sit much closer to the institution’s risk centre, where mistakes are harder to explain and more expensive to fix. Across the market, this creates a strange mix of momentum and caution. Banks are already testing AI assistants, chatbots, fraud tools and even internal productivity systems, while still keeping a tighter grip on use cases with heavier financial or regulatory consequences. A pilot can show that something works under controlled conditions but daily use requires more confidence because the bank must be able to explain the system’s role when a decision is questioned. Leo said banks usually approach AI with a practical question in mind: “Does it create enough value to justify the risk?” he asks. The Accountability Problem Has Not Gone Away That is where Leo draws a clear line between capability and responsibility. “AI is a tool. It cannot take responsibility. In the end, humans and institutions still carry that responsibility,” he said. The distinction matters because AI-supported decisions can affect access to a lot things. A faster model may improve efficiency, and a sharper system may reduce some risks, but the institution still answers to customers, regulators and its own board. Banks and financial regulators especially within Southeast Asia are also moving closer to the issue that AI poses. Bank Negara Malaysia for instance published a discussion paper in 2025 to gather feedback on its regulatory and developmental approach to AI in the financial sector. Neighbouring country, Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore has set out FEAT principles covering fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency in the use of AI and data analytics in financial services. Leo’s framework for financial AI sits in that same territory. He said AI used in finance must be explainable, auditable and traceable. “When we deploy AI in the financial industry, AI must be explainable, auditable and traceable,” he said. A bank needs to know why a customer was rejected, why a transaction was flagged, how a model reached a recommendation and whether the process can be reconstructed later. Without that discipline, AI risks becoming another opaque layer inside an already complex system. SMEs May Feel the Impact Differently The same accountability question becomes more interesting when AI moves beyond the bank itself and begins to shape how financial institutions understand smaller businesses. Leo sees that shift playing out not only inside banks, but also among the SMEs they serve. In Southeast Asia, that is not a small market. ASEAN estimates that the region has around 70 million MSMEs, which account for between 97.2% and 99.9% of total establishments across member states. UNDP has also noted that MSMEs make up about 85% of ASEAN’s labour force and 45% of regional GDP. Leo pointed to the rise of what he called OPCs, or one-person companies, as one signal of how AI could change business formation. In China, he said, some individuals are already using AI agents and tools to manage work that previously required several people. “One person can utilise agents and AI tools to build the whole system for one company,” he said. Southeast Asia’s SMEs will not all move in that direction. Many still face familiar constraints around financing, digitisation and resilience. Still, AI could give smaller teams more capacity to manage operations, reach customers and generate clearer signals of how their businesses are performing. That matters for banks and fintech lenders because smaller businesses may not look the same as they did before. If AI changes how these firms operate, financial institutions may need to rethink what a small business looks like in the first place, while also still keeping the accountability standards expected in regulated finance. Local Data Becomes the Differentiator “Data belongs to the region. Every market has its own DNA. Malaysia’s, for example, is unique,” Leo said. The point connects back to SMEs because understanding how smaller businesses operate will depend on more than access to AI models alone. A lender trying to assess an AI-enabled merchant in Malaysia cannot rely only on assumptions built for another market. It needs to understand how local businesses receive payments, manage cash flow, verify customers and respond to seasonal demand. Those details are often where risk becomes visible. Leo said AI capability usually depends on three elements: local insights, computing power and algorithms. The latter two have become easier to obtain as cloud infrastructure improves and large models become more widely available. The harder part is the first one, data, because it reflects how people and businesses actually behave in each market. Many financial institutions already have that information sitting inside their own systems. Leo described banks as sitting on a “gold mine”, but the value of that data depends on whether institutions can use it responsibly and with enough governance. Privacy computing is one area he believes could help. It allows institutions to draw value from data without unnecessarily exposing personal information, which becomes important when banks are trying to understand SMEs that may not fit neatly into traditional credit models. Better local data could help financial institutions see how smaller businesses are changing. Poor governance, however, could turn the same opportunity into another trust problem. Trust Has to Be Earned in Production Better local data can help banks understand customers and SMEs more clearly, but the real test begins when that data is used inside live financial services. The technology has to work reliably, and the institution has to know what to do when it does not. For Leo, trust only becomes meaningful in production. “Trust is based on outcomes and results. Marketing and PR can start the conversation, but lasting trust comes from proven performance，” he said. Banks do not evaluate technology partners only on product claims or global credentials. They need providers that can respond quickly, adapt to local requirements and support systems once they are exposed to real customers, transactions and risk decisions. Ant Digital Technologies, the technology arm of Ant Group, sits in that part of the conversation through infrastructure, AI infrastructure, mobile platforms, digital identity, AML and risk management, with credit-related services depending on local licensing requirements. In Malaysia, the company not only work with clients from the banking and fintech side like RYT Bank, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (KIBB) and TNG Digital, they also worked with SP Setia, a property developer within the country. Its local presence has also grown through ZOLOZ, Ant Digital Technologies’ flagship AI product, which launched a Malaysia operations hub in 2026 to strengthen local service capabilities, response times and on-the-ground processing for Malaysian customers. Leo said Ant Digital Technologies sees international markets as a long-term commitment, with Malaysia playing a role as a talent and resource centre. Local partners lead, while the company supports with technology, infrastructure and operating experience. Trust in financial AI therefore has to be proven close to the market. Banks may work with global technology providers, but customers experience the outcome through the local institutions they already know. AI Strategy Needs the CEO Early AI work may sit with technology teams, but they cannot carry the transformation alone. Leo believes the CEO has to carry the responsibility because AI changes how the organisation makes decisions, manages risk and responds to customers. Banks may find that integrating the platform is the easier part. Changing the organisation around it will take longer. “AI transformation should be every CEO’s top priority,” he said. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by Frolopiaton Palm via Magnific. The post Banks in Southeast Asia Want AI, But Can They Trust It? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sea Ltd is widening its AI push with a new internal team reviewing startup investment opportunities, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The company, which operates Shopee, Garena and digital financial services arm Monee, is looking at how AI can support its next phase of growth across e-commerce, gaming and financial services. The new unit forms part of a wider effort to allocate capital to AI projects inside and outside Sea. It has been reviewing potential investments in AI startups globally. Long-time Sea executive Endong Zhang leads the team and is also involved in other projects examining how AI can be used across the group. Sea’s increased focus on AI follows comments by founder and CEO Forrest Li last year that the company could reach a trillion-dollar market capitalisation if it made the right decisions around the technology. Sea Expands AI Use Across Core Businesses The company has already been using AI in areas such as product recommendations, seller tools and customer service. In February, Sea expanded its partnership with Google to develop AI tools across Shopee, Garena and Monee, including an agentic shopping prototype for Shopee. The move puts Sea among a growing group of e-commerce and technology companies increasing their AI investments as competition intensifies. In Southeast Asia, Shopee faces pressure from Alibaba-owned Lazada and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop, both of which have been adding AI features for shoppers and merchants. Lazada has introduced AI agents for refunds, logistics, product listings and marketing, while ByteDance’s TikTok Shop has also been adding AI tools for merchants. Sea declined to comment on the AI investment team.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Magnific   The post Sea Reviews AI Investment Opportunities as It Expands Tech Push appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Back in 2019, GoTyme (or TymeBank as it was known then) was a single South African digital bank trying to prove that a self-service kiosk could open accounts faster than a branch. Fast forward to today, and it has now expanded to serve 20+ million customers across South Africa and the Philippines. The digital bank has also earned the kind of validation most digital banks still chase after. Now, Tyme Group’s scorecard is impressive. A US$250 million Series D funding round led by Nubank in December 2024 minted Tyme as a unicorn. A year later, TIME magazine named the group in its 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025 in the Pioneer category. What’s down the road for Tyme Group? In a recent interview with Fintech News Network’s Chief Editor Vincent Fong, Tyme Group Chief Growth Officer Rachel Freeman and Head of Group Strategy Anxin Leong talked about the journey so far: how the bank got here, what the Philippines taught the company, and what’s coming next; a third bank within the year and an IPO when the time is right. How Self-Service Kiosks Gave GoTyme a Cheaper Route to Scale Tyme Group’s South African bank launched in 2019 with a hybrid model that could raise eyebrows even today. It was a fully digital product paired with self-service physical kiosks found at retail partners. A potential customer could open a GoTyme Bank account within five minutes with a single valid ID, and walk away with a free Visa debit card immediately. Source: GoTyme Bank As the kiosks sat inside retail stores that customers already walked through, a sign-up cost a fraction of what a pure digital-marketing campaign would have demanded. Rachel Freeman “Our customer acquisition cost, because of the kiosks in the grocery stores, made us much more efficient than the digital marketing model,” Rachel shared. “It’s about being very efficient, being very lean, and recognising that the kiosk model drives efficiency.” With the kiosks, the bank bypassed customer acquisition costs that typically sunk many app-only digital banks. Beyond the kiosks, Tyme ran on Mambu’s cloud-native banking platform, which offered scalability and speed-to-market. According to a Mambu case study, “The implementation took six months, and during that time, the bank migrated 85% of its infrastructure to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, a shift that allowed Tyme to halve its operational costs.” The rest came down to discipline. Tyme held its cost base flat while customer numbers climbed and invested early in infrastructure built to scale. Profitability also reached across the whole customer base, ranging from middle-income savers to recipients of government grants. The result was a highlight: its South African bank became profitable in under five years. Tyme Cross-Pollinates Best Practices Between Two Continents If the kiosk economics explain how Tyme Group won at home, the Philippines was where it learned how to travel. When the group exported the model to its second market, the working assumption was that a great deal of reworking was necessary to cater to local conditions. Interestingly enough, what the group found was quite the opposite. Sure, some things needed to change. The look and feel of the app, for example, or the language applied, were localised to suit the market. The products within, though, were more portable than Tyme anticipated. The clearest lesson came from brand positioning. In the Philippines, leaning into aspirational messaging helped the bank scale faster, and that insight is now being carried to South Africa. A deeper discovery involved the customers themselves. “Underneath everything, people are people, and how they think about money is very similar,” Rachel said. “South Africa and the Philippines are vastly different countries, but the data showed people’s usage of the account was much more similar than we expected.” These insights realigned how the group approached its digital banking ideation. Tyme runs what Rachel calls cross-pollination; the app itself was brought from the Philippines back to South Africa, while the rebrand of the South African business is being led by an executive who previously ran marketing in the Philippines. Rachel explained, “We’re thinking about how to expand our merchant cash advance product to new markets, and how best to do that. Whether it’s in Malaysia or maybe we might even have a flag in Singapore. We continue to be interested in Pakistan, too.” Lessons travel in both directions, fuelling the muscle the company needs before it opens its third front. Tyme Is Scouting For Its Third Market and Getting IPO-Ready After proving its model across South Africa and the Philippines, the question Tyme Group is now sitting with is where the third GoTyme Bank should land. Rachel is candid that the decision is live, with several markets in the frame and a deliberate process underway to narrow them down. @fintechnewsnetwork The group behind GoTyme Bank is eyeing Pakistan for its third digital bank launch. Tyme Group already serves 22 million customers across the Philippines and South Africa. Chief Growth Officer Rachel Freeman shared with us that bank number three is six to twelve months away from being decided. @gotymebank @gotymebankza fintech digitalbanking gotyme philippines neobank ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network She expects the call to come into sharper focus over the next six to 12 months. “We’re working on it right now,” she said. The Tyme Group IPO ambition is firming up alongside it, though the timeline remains fluid.  Anxin’s framing is that listing is a question of when, not if, and that the work to make the group listing-ready has already started. @fintechnewsnetwork @gotymebankza is eyeing a US$15 billion IPO valuation. Head of Group Strategy Anxin Leong shared with Fintech News Network their IPO timeline. Fintech IPO Banking ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network For all the talk of third markets and listing windows, the group’s immediate task is getting millions of loyal customers to call the bank by its new name: GoTyme. That single brand consistency will enable Tyme to travel and stay memorable across borders. The listing, as Anxin says, is a matter of time. But for the company, it’s always GoTyme. If this piece left you wanting more on how Mambu helped underpin Tyme Group‘s cross-continent scaling, watch the full conversation below. Featured image by Fintech News Network The post IPO And A Third Digital Bank? It’s Only A Matter Of Tyme appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Vietnam’s Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has named Backbase’s AI lead Chris Shayan as Acting CEO, effective 1 June 2026. Chris previously led Backbase’s global Center of Excellence for AI in Ho Chi Minh City, which was launched in 2024 to develop AI solutions for banks. In a LinkedIn post, Chris said he will focus on building customer trust, strengthening relationships and using AI to support more personalised banking at OCB. He said AI should help banks offer more relevant support to customers at the right time, while staying within legal and compliance requirements. Chris added that his work on Backbase’s Intelligence Layer and AI-native banking would inform his approach at OCB. He said OCB’s next phase will focus on delivery for customers, including individuals, families and businesses that rely on the bank.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Magnific The post Vietnam Bank OCB Names Backbase AI Lead Chris Shayan Acting CEO appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

DBS will open 18 new wealth centres across Asia by the end of 2027 as demand for wealth management services grows among affluent clients. The bank will also upgrade 36 existing wealth centres over the next 18 months. The new and upgraded sites will be in Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan. DBS called it the largest physical expansion of its wealth franchise to date. In Singapore, its Treasures wealth centre footprint will grow by 50 percent with the new openings. The expansion comes as Asia’s affluent wealth pool, covering households with US$100,000 to US$1 million in investible assets, is projected to reach US$4.7 trillion in 2026. DBS noted that many clients still value in-person advice despite wider use of digital wealth platforms. Capco surveys found that 45 percent of respondents in Hong Kong and 44 percent in Singapore continued to meet their relationship managers face to face. Wealth Centres to Support Advisory and Succession Planning The new DBS wealth centres will support portfolio advisory, investment and insurance discussions, cross-border wealth planning and succession conversations. They will also provide space for client meetings and small-group sessions with DBS specialists and market strategists. In Singapore and Hong Kong, the centres will serve DBS Treasures clients. In mainland China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan, they will serve both Treasures and Treasures Private Client customers. Sanjoy Sen Sanjoy Sen, Group Head of Consumer Banking at DBS, said, “These wealth centres are not just about expanding our footprint. They are about closing the distance between our clients and the relationship managers who serve them – meeting them where they live, where they work and where they build their lives.” DBS’ wealth assets under management reached SGD 492 billion in the first quarter of 2026 and have since crossed its SGD 500 billion target more than a year ahead of schedule. The bank added that up to 40 percent of its new Private Bank clients to date have come from existing clients who moved up its wealth segments. The first new wealth centres are expected to open from the third quarter of 2026, with further openings to continue through 2027.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by DBS The post DBS to Open 18 Wealth Centres Across Asia as Affluent Demand Grows appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is displacing some jobs, augmenting others and creating entirely new roles, and creating entirely new roles. However, the impact is uneven, with women in Asia-Pacific (APAC) already experiencing career setbacks, according to a new report by NINEby9, a Singapore-based not-for-profit organization focused on gender equality in the workplace. The report draws on a comprehensive review of quantitative data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph, academic articles, industry reports and organizational databases published between 2022 and 2025. It also incorporates primary data gathered through focus groups, and semi-structured interviews with HR and tech leaders across APAC. Together, these data and insights show that women bear a disproportionate burden from AI’s rapid integration into the workplace. Uneven impact of AI on women Specifically, the report states that high-growth careers where AI is creating and enhancing opportunities, such as AI engineering, data science, and product management, are expanding rapidly. However, women remain significantly underrepresented in these roles, and are mostly concentrated in administrative, clerical, and support jobs, which are the most exposed to disruption as AI-driven automation replaces tasks. Overall, labor markets are being rebuilt around digital, analytical and technology leadership skills, areas where women have historically had less access to due to occupational patterns and lower participation in STEM and AI pathways. Globally, women hold just 29% of AI-related roles. The leadership gap With less women coming through the STEM workforce, few transition into technology leadership roles. In 2024, women held just 24.4% of managerial positions globally and a mere 12.2% of C-suite positions in STEM-related areas such as technology and digital transformation. Of particular concern, the data show stagnation or decline in the percentage of women making it through to leadership, including in many APAC countries. The problem often begins at the earliest stages of career, with fewer women moving from individual contributor roles into managerial positions, creating a pipeline issue that compounds over time. Now, AI is exacerbating this gap. AI-enhanced jobs are concentrated in industries where wages are growing twice compared to less AI exposed industries. Unfortunately, women are increasingly being excluded from these high-opportunity AI roles. Without intervention, this gap will harden into inequality with men designing the AI future and women sidelined in vulnerable roles fewer advancement opportunities, the report warns. A more measured approach to AI The report also highlights a divergence in AI adoption between men and women. Men tend to be bigger adopters of AI, while women appear to move more cautiously. Research by Rembrand Koning and colleagues from Harvard Business School found that women are adopting AI tools at a 25 percent lower rate than men on average. The NINEby9 report also notes that 59% of women are waiting for clear AI policies from their employers before adopting AI tools. Interviews with HR and tech leaders revealed that women often engage with AI once they are confident in its accuracy, oversight and relevance. This measured approach frequently leads to stronger implementation of AI and fewer compliance issues, but is often undervalued when workplace dynamics see innovation primarily as speed. Many leaders observed that many organizations celebrate visible AI wins and quick deployment, crediting early adopters sometimes at the expense of proven, sustained impact. Redesigning learning strategies With data showing that women are adopting AI tools at a lower rate than men, companies must redesign learning strategies with inclusion as a primary goal. Focus group participants across APAC emphasized that current digital learning platforms are not truly inclusive, and are only accessible to those with the privilege of time and flexibility. This highlights that while optional, after-hours AI learning may sound empowering, it unintentionally impacts women negatively. Unstructured, self-driven upskilling models can create missed opportunities to tap existing female talent and build diverse, future-ready AI capability, NINEby9 warns. Conversely, structured, supported approaches significantly improve participation, retention, and success rates. In particular, combining mentoring, skills development and certification, internships and hackathons can help women enter and progress in AI-related fields. New systems of collaboration AI is both a technology and a workforce transformation. However, most organizations still treat AI as a technology initiative rather than a joint enterprise transformation involving workforce design, capability, and culture. The result is uneven scaling, not from technical limits, but because of misalignment between technology and human capital functions. Evidence of this is the fact that 51% of organizations identify leadership and strategic misalignment as the primary barrier preventing them from realizing value from AI at scale. True progress requires unifying technology and people strategy as part of organizational structure. Teams must align digital capability, work design, and inclusion from the outset. This ensures that human capital planning and AI transformation advance together, giving women earlier access to AI-related roles, clearer progression pathways, and a voice in shaping governance. Diverse teams also design better AI, identifying and eliminating bias, optimizing products for broader customer bases, and unlocking market opportunities others miss. Furthermore, companies embedding gender equity into AI leadership were found to outperform on productivity, competitiveness, and resilience. Despite progress over the past years, women in AI Asia Pacific remain underrepresented in critical digital sectors. Currently, only 22% of AI professionals worldwide are women, according to the World Economic Forum. In Europe, the latest data from the European Commission reveal a persistent gender gap in research and innovation, with women holding just 20% of top academic positions in science and engineering. Proportion (%) of women and men in a typical academic career in science and engineering, students and academic staff, 2019-2022, Source: She Figures 2024, European Commission, 2025 Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by Borin and freepik.diller via Magnific The post Is AI About to Undo Decades of Workplace Progress for Women in APAC? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

HSBC is moving to strengthen its Hong Kong investment banking business after a year marked by senior exits, restructuring and missed mandates. Bloomberg reported that CEO Georges Elhedery and other senior leaders have been meeting clients in Hong Kong to secure more deals, citing people familiar with the matter. The bank has also stepped up outreach to key Greater China clients, including through customised video messages from Elhedery. Senior executives have been told to deepen contact with around 400 major clients across private equity and hedge funds. The push follows a restructuring of HSBC’s investment bank last year, which led to senior departures and raised questions over its ability to compete for large cross-border mandates. HSBC is now trying to regain momentum in Hong Kong as listing activity recovers and competition for IPO fees intensifies. Hong Kong IPO Push The bank has hired more than a dozen investment bankers for its China business over the past year, including talent from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, according to Bloomberg. Its active Hong Kong IPO pipeline has grown to around 40 deals, up from five mandates across 2025. Across Asia, HSBC has about 70 IPO mandates. A key setback came when HSBC was passed over for a lead role on the planned listing of A.S. Watson Group, CK Hutchison Holdings’ health and beauty retail chain. Goldman Sachs and UBS are leading the expected dual listing in London and Hong Kong, which could raise more than US$2 billion. HSBC may still secure a role, although its position remains unclear. Rebuilding Its Deal Pipeline HSBC is also working on a planned public offering by holiday resort operator Club Med SAS alongside BNP Paribas and JPMorgan. The deal could raise at least US$500 million. The bank is also working on a potential share sale by Chinese robotics startup Linkerbot. A HSBC spokesperson told Bloomberg that the bank remains strong across a wide range of products and services in Asia, with capital markets and advisory revenue in the region continuing to grow. Hong Kong remains one of HSBC’s most important markets. The city contributed US$9.6 billion in pre-tax profit in 2025, nearly a third of the group’s total. Elhedery, who became CEO in 2024, has pushed HSBC toward a leaner structure with a stronger focus on Asia and the Middle East. The bank has scaled back equity capital markets activity in Europe and the US. The rebuild comes as Hong Kong’s IPO pipeline improves, but HSBC will need to win larger roles to close the gap with rivals.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Magnific   The post HSBC Looks to Reset Hong Kong Investment Banking After Missed Mandates appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Coinbase has launched direct Indian rupee support in India, allowing users to deposit and withdraw funds through the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). The rollout gives retail traders access to spot trading and perpetual futures on Coinbase, along with local INR order books for the Indian market. Customers can now move money between their bank accounts and Coinbase without relying on peer-to-peer channels or intermediaries. They can deposit rupees, trade supported crypto assets and withdraw funds back to their bank accounts. The company is registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit and complies with local tax requirements for virtual digital asset service providers. A Broader Push Into India Coinbase has been expanding its presence in India through investments and developer programmes. It is an investor in CoinDCX and has supported local builders through Base, its Ethereum Layer 2 network. According to Coinbase, it has put more than US$1 million into India’s builder community through Base, covering hackathons, direct grants and fellowships. More than 4,000 builders in India have built on Base, with about 150 projects developing into startups. Indian users can also access Coinbase Advanced, which includes APIs, WebSocket order book streaming, multiple order types and TradingView charting for active traders. Coinbase does not charge deposit fees on INR. It also pointed to its global liquidity as a factor that could help reduce spreads and slippage for higher-volume traders. The company is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker COIN and is part of the S&P 500. It keeps most customer crypto in cold storage and maintains a crime insurance policy covering theft and cybersecurity incidents. INR support is being rolled out to existing users, while new customers in India can create an account through Coinbase.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by superstarphoto via Magnific The post Coinbase Launches INR Deposits and Withdrawals in India appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Singapore ranks third globally among the world’s top AI financial hubs, recognized for the strength and credibility of the institutional mechanisms, the quality of its regulatory governance, and its advanced digital financial infrastructure, according to new research by DBS Group Research. The report presents a ranking of the world’s top “trusted AI financial hubs”. These are financial centers that combine deep AI adoption with institutional trust infrastructure robust enough for AI-driven financial decisions to be recognized by domestic institutions, cross-border counterparties, and international regulators. To assess these hubs, the study introduces the Global AI Financial Hub Index (GAIFHI), a five-pillar framework covering AI integration, trust and governance infrastructure, digital financial infrastructure, talent and innovation, and AI-driven market outcomes. Each pillar is scored on a 0-20 scale, with the composite GAIFHI score calculated as the sum of all five pillars for a maximum of 100. Regulatory governance and institutional adoption With a total score of 85 out of 100, Singapore ranks third globally, scoring particularly high on regulatory governance at 19 out 20, and digital infrastructure at 18 out of 20. The regulatory governance pillar assesses indicators including the quality of principles-based AI governance frameworks, the independence of the legal system and rule of law, and model risk governance standards. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has released guidelines for financial institutions and their use of AI, stating that institutions can use AI across functions such as credit assessment, anti-money laundering (AML) monitoring, fraud detection, customer servicing, and investment advice, provided they maintain strong governance, human oversight, explainability, fairness, validation, monitoring, and accountability controls. This is reinforced by broad adoption of AI across Singapore’s major financial institutions, including DBS, OCBC, UOB, GIC, Temasek, and the insurance sector. According to a 2025 research commissioned by Finastra, Singapore’s financial institutions are outpacing global peers in AI adoption and deployment, with 64% of institutions already actively deploying AI across key business functions, signaling that AI has moved from pilot projects into operational reality. A further 35% are piloting or researching AI, demonstrating sustained investment and a healthy innovation pipeline. An advanced digital infrastructure The digital financial infrastructure pillar, meanwhile, assesses indicators including the coverage and quality of national digital identity systems, the maturity of real-time payment systems, and the quality and clarity of open banking API frameworks and public cloud regulatory guidance. Singapore’s national digital identity platform Singpass is one of the most advanced globally. This unified digital identity system gives residents access to over 2,700 services across 800 government agencies and businesses through a single login, reducing friction, preventing identity fraud, and enabling “once-only” data submission where users don’t repeatedly need to provide the same information. Out of 5 million Singpass users, more than 4.2 million people use the Singpass app to easily log in to services, prove their identity over counters, digitally sign documents and do more on the go. Every month, the system facilitates over 41 million transactions, reflecting widespread adoption. Singapore’s instant payment systems, especially PayNow and Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST), allow for near-instant, 24/7 digital money transfers across almost all banks in Singapore with very little friction or manual effort. PayNow sits on top as a user-friendly layer that lets people send money using simple identifiers like phone numbers or national ID instead of full bank details, while FAST provides the underlying real-time settlement infrastructure between banks. PayNow has reached mainstream adoption, and has become one of the default ways to transfer money. A survey commissioned by the Straits Times and carried out in December 2025 found that Singaporeans and permanent residents are regular digital payment users, with PayNow now ranking as the second most favored payment method with a usage rate of 83%. This figure aligns with data from the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), which reports that more than 90% of Singapore residents and businesses use PayNow. Most used payment methods in Singapore, Source: Straits Times, Apr 2026 The talent shortage While Singapore performed strongly on regulatory governance and digital infrastructure, it scored more moderately on the talent and innovation ecosystem pillar, receiving a score of 15 out of 20. This pillar assesses indicators including AI talent density in financial services, fintech startup formation and survival rates, and AI-related research publication output in finance. This finding reflects the fact that while Singapore has an advanced digital infrastructure, the talent shortage remains a key challenge for the sector. According to ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey released in February, AI skills have emerged as the hardest-to-fill capabilities in Singapore, topping the list of the most scarce skills for the time at 26% and 25%, respectively. This surge in demand for AI expertise persists even as overall talent scarcity begins to ease. In 2026, 71% of employers in Singapore reported difficulty hiring skilled talent, down from 83% in 2025 and slightly below the global average of 72%. The Singapore talent shortage over time, Source: ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey, Feb 2026 New York and San Francisco lead the AI in finance landscape New York currently tops the ranking, achieving a perfect score on talent, and scoring 19 out of 20 on AI integration. The AI integration indicator assesses the extend to which AI is embedded in core financial decision-making across the hub’s institutional ecosystem, including functions like credit underwriting, AML and fraud detection, and wealth management. New York’s institutions operate at the global frontier of AI deployment, supported by the deepest capital markets and the most concentrated pool of AI and quantitative talent. US financial institutions also dominate AI-related patent activity, with Capital One, Bank of America, and JPMorgan accounting for approximately 75% of all AI patents filed by banks in the past decade, according to the Evident Banking AI Patent Tracker. This creates a powerful capability ecosystem that continues to reinforce itself. Ranking second is San Francisco, characterized by exceptional innovation velocity and anchored by the deepest concentration of AI talent and innovation capacity. In particular, the Bay Area ecosystem, spanning OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Stanford, Berkeley, and the Sand Hill Road venture capital (VC) corridor, represents the global frontier of AI capability development. This capability has translated directly into financial infrastructure innovation, with firms such as Stripe, Plaid, Brex, Affirm, and Upstart shaping global standards across payments, open banking, fraud detection, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) credit, and AI-driven underwriting. Global AI Financial Hub Index (GAIFHI) 2026 Global AI Financial Hub Index (GAIFHI) comparative scorecard: 15 financial centers across five pillars, Source: DBS Asian Insights: The Trusted AI Financial Hub, May 2026   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by vectorshub and f11photo via Magnific The post Singapore Ranks Third Among World’s Top AI Financial Hubs in 2026 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

UOB is teaming up with FPT to explore how AI and modern technology can reshape digital banking across Vietnam, Singapore and the wider region. Under the agreement, both companies will look at areas such as AI adoption, data analytics, automation, cloud, APIs and banking system modernisation. The collaboration will also cover digital banking platforms, payments, digital lending, embedded finance and cross-border financial services. Pilot initiatives may be developed in Vietnam and other regional markets. UOB and FPT are expected to finalise the pilot scope, implementation roadmap, governance model and expected outcomes within the next 90 days. Lawrence Goh Lawrence Goh, Head of Group Technology and Operations at UOB, said, “This MoU reflects UOB’s strategic intent to build a future-ready bank through strong technology foundations, responsible AI and purposeful partnerships. Together with FPT, we will explore practical opportunities to modernise our architecture, improve development productivity, scale AI responsibly and develop innovative solutions that can create long-term value for our customers and businesses.” David Nguyen David Nguyen, CEO of FPT Asia Pacific at FPT Corporation, said, “Together with UOB, we aim to build more scalable, AI-first models while opening stronger pathways for innovation, enterprise growth, and ecosystem connectivity across Vietnam, Singapore, and the wider region.” FPT is headquartered in Vietnam and provides technology services across AI, cloud, data, automation and system modernisation. The MoU brings together FPT’s technology capabilities and UOB’s regional banking network as the bank expands its use of technologies including generative and agentic AI. The collaboration also builds on UOB’s presence in Vietnam.     Featured image: Gillian Chua, Head of Strategic Alliances and Sourcing, Group Technology and Operations, UOB (seated right) and David Nguyen, CEO of FPT Asia Pacific, FPT Corporation (seated left) signed an MoU on 29 May 2026 to advance AI, technology transformation and financial innovation. The MoU signing was witnessed by Lawrence Goh, Head of Group Technology and Operations, UOB (standing, fourth from left) and Nguyen Van Khoa, Group CEO, FPT Corporation (standing, third from left). The post UOB and Vietnam’s FPT to Explore AI Use in Regional Digital Banking appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Agnes AI, a Singapore-headquartered artificial intelligence model company that develops and trains its own full modality foundation models entirely in-house, today unveiled three major milestones in a single announcement: it has become the first Singapore-born AI model company to be listed on the Artificial Analysis global benchmark leaderboard with a top 10 AI lab placement; it is opening free access to its complete model suite for a limited period; and it is joining Singapore’s National AI Impact Program in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and AI Singapore, contributing its proprietary AI models to support the nationwide upskilling of 40,000 technology professionals. These announcements arrive as Agnes AI continues to extend its global benchmark presence across each of its three model categories — text, image, and video — on two of the most closely watched independent evaluation platforms in the international AI community: Claw-Eval and Artificial Analysis. Singapore’s First AI Lab on the Artificial Analysis Global Leaderboard Agnes AI is the first Singapore-born AI model company to appear on the Artificial Analysis global benchmark leaderboard — and has now reached global top 10 AI lab placements across three distinct model categories: Agnes-2.0-Flash for text and agentic capability on Claw-Eval, Agnes-Image-2.0-Flash for image editing on Artificial Analysis, and Agnes-Video-V2.0 for video generation on Artificial Analysis. The standings position Agnes AI alongside AI laboratories from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, KlingAI, ByteDance, and Alibaba — companies that represent some of the largest AI research and development investments in the world. Agnes AI reached these results with models conceived, built, and trained in Singapore, and without any reliance on third-party open-source frameworks Claw-Eval (text/agentic): Agnes-2.0-Flash ranks in the global top 10 AI labs, ahead of Gemini and MiniMax. Artificial Analysis (image): Agnes-Image-2.0-Flash ranks in the global top 10 AI labs for image editing, evaluated through independent blind review.  Artificial Analysis (video): Agnes-Video-V2.0 ranks in the global top 10 AI labs for video generation — the first Singapore AI model company to appear on this leaderboard. Bruce Yang “Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 set out a clear ambition: that Singapore should be a builder of AI, not merely an adopter of it. These benchmark results are evidence that this ambition is being realised. Agnes AI was built here, trained here, and is now recognised among the world’s top 10 AI labs — competing on equal terms with the largest labs globally. Our goal has always been to build AI that is globally competitive, openly accessible, and independent of any single power or ecosystem. We are just getting started.” said Bruce Yang, CEO, Agnes AI Joining Singapore’s National AI Impact Program with IMDA and AI Singapore Agnes AI has joined Singapore’s National AI Impact Program — a government-backed initiative led by IMDA together with AI Singapore, designed to upskill 40,000 technology professionals across the country. As part of this partnership, Agnes AI contributes its proprietary AI models to the programme, giving participants direct, hands-on access to frontier-level generative AI capabilities developed within Singapore. The partnership was unveiled at an official event attended by Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How — a signal of the Singapore government’s continued commitment to building a nationally competitive AI ecosystem grounded in homegrown technology. Having trained its models at the National University of Singapore and operating from a Singapore headquarters, Agnes AI’s participation underlines how locally built AI can directly contribute to advancing the country’s AI ambitions. Agnes AI’s role in the programme reflects its founding mission of AI inclusion and parity: ensuring that access to advanced AI capabilities is not reserved for large enterprises or well-funded teams, but is opened up to professionals across Singapore’s broader technology sector. Free Access Now Available — The Real Models, Not a Demo Agnes AI is opening free access to its full model suite for a limited period — including Agnes-2.0-Flash (text), Agnes-Image-2.0-Flash (image), and Agnes-Video-V2.0 (video generation). This is not a stripped-down trial or a lesser model. These are the same models that rank in the global top 10 AI labs on independent international benchmarks. Most free AI tiers offer access to limited versions of lesser models. Agnes AI is making its full production suite available at no cost, because the company believes frontier AI should be accessible to everyone — not just teams with the largest budgets. Access is available directly at https://platform.agnes-ai.com  with no subscription required during the free access period. Top 10 Performance at a Fraction of Market Price Agnes AI’s benchmark rankings are paired with pricing that sits significantly below market rate across all three model categories. Agnes-2.0-Flash (text): US$0.03 per million input tokens and US$0.15 per million output tokens — approximately half the cost of DeepSeek-V4 Flash. Agnes-Image-2.0-Flash (image): US$3.00 per 1,000 images — set against US$211.00 per 1,000 images for OpenAI’s GPT Image 2 at high quality. Agnes-Video-V2.0 (video): US$0.30 per minute — less than one-tenth of the cost of other top-tier video models, which range between US$2.00 and US$30.00 per minute. Across text, image, and video, Agnes AI delivers global top 10 AI lab performance at less than one-tenth the cost of comparable models — a pricing position the company describes as a structural reset of what frontier AI should cost. Developed, trained, and deployed in Singapore, Agnes AI is proof that frontier AI does not have to be expensive or imported. Built in Singapore. Recognised globally.   Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Agnes AI The post Agnes AI Says Its Singapore-Built Models Enter Global AI Rankings appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Asset managers globally are accelerating their adoption of tokenization, eyeing new revenue streams and operational improvements. According to research by Calastone, a global funds network, almost three quarters of asset managers polled in the study have initiated at least one tokenization project, laying the groundwork for substantial growth in the coming years. The proportion of asset managers distributing tokenized funds, projected to reach 13% in 2026, is expected to surge to 28% by 2030. Tokenized funds are investment vehicles where shares are converted into digital tokens on a blockchain network. They offer asset managers several strategic advantages, primarily centered around operational efficiency and expanded market access. By converting fund shares into digital tokens, managers can automate many back-office processes such as settlement, custody, and distribution of dividends, significantly reducing administrative costs and settlement times. The technology also enables fractional ownership, allowing managers to lower minimum investment thresholds and attract a broader base of retail investors who were previously excluded by high entry barriers. Finally, tokenization enhances liquidity for traditionally illiquid assets like real estate or private equity, introducing secondary markets where these tokens can be traded 24/7. Early adopters are also seeing improvements. Among asset managers who have already launched a tokenized fund, 65% report that the experience offers benefits over the traditional model, with access to new customers and automation being amongst the most commonly cited advantages. Through 2029, Calastone estimates that assets under management (AUM) for tokenized funds will grow to US$235 billion, marking a 58x increase from US$4 billion in 2024. This estimates remain conservative compared to others, with a PwC report earlier this year projecting AUM of US$715 billion by 2030. Strategic partnerships To achieve these targets, asset managers are prioritizing working with third parties to facilitate the distribution of tokenized funds and accelerate time-to-market. Technology partners are the top priority for 70% of managers as a Day 1 requirement, followed by wallet custody providers and blockchain foundations, each cited by 51% of respondents. Which partners and counter parties do I need to be ready on Day 1, Source: Calastone, May 2026 Distribution strategies also reflect this reliance on external expertise. 70% of asset managers plan to distribute through intermediaries, with 36% preferring digital fund distribution platforms and 34% digital exchanges. In contrast, just 19% intend to go direct to investors and 11% plan to rely on a captive distribution sales force. These findings suggest a preference for partnering with established experts to accelerate time-to-market by leveraging existing infrastructure and ecosystems. How do you plan to distribute the fund? Source: Calastone, May 2026 Money market funds as the favored product category Looking at products, money market funds (MMFs) were found to the clearest near-term use case. These instruments combine the core features of a traditional cash product, including low risk, liquid, and yield-bearing, with the additional benefits of direct integration with digital wallets, improved transparency, and the ability to purchase using stablecoins. For decentralized finance (DeFi) players, tokenized MMFs are viewed as beneficial for treasury management, with eight out of ten platforms surveyed by Calastone endorsing their utility, and three-quarters considering them critical for client retention. Would your treasury benefit from access to tokenized money market funds? Source: Calastone, May 2026 Besides money market funds, private markets rank equally high in the Calastone research. These offer a complementary opportunity, particularly as tokenization begins to address long-standing challenges around access, liquidity and transparency in less accessible asset classes. The APAC landscape Within this global context, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region stands out for its unique challenges and opportunities. While the lack of compelling business case or return on investment blocks progress for 44% of global respondents, and limits it for 41%, the single largest blocker for APAC respondents is the challenge of building an ecosystem around tokenized solutions. A staggering 86% of APAC respondents cited this as a blocker, compared to a global average of 34%. Integration across blockchain networks is also more acute in APAC, with 57% of asset managers in the region viewing interoperability across chains as a blocking issue, compared to 28% for their counterparts in Europe or North America. These findings suggest that the primary concern in APAC is not around product development, but rather ensuring that products can operate within a fragmented and still-evolving ecosystem. However, APAC demonstrates distinct advantages, including a higher acceptance of non-bank stablecoins compared to their European and North American counterparts, and a greater willingness to incorporate a broader range of blockchain-native payment mechanisms alongside them. Additionally, traditional constraints such as legacy system integration as well as privacy and security concerns are less acute in APAC than in other regions. When considering your tokenization project, what are the biggest challenges? Source: Calastone, May 2026 2026 developments In 2026, the tokenized funds landscape continued to expand with institutional scaling, interoperability between traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi, and regulatory normalization. In April 2026, crypto trading platform OKX launched a joint framework with BlackRock and Standard Chartered to integrate BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized short-term treasury fund into collateral workflows, marking the first time a globally systemically important bank (G-SIB) has acted as custodian in such an arrangement. The framework enables OKX clients to hold collateral in regulated, off exchange custody while trading on the same integrated venue, combining the efficiency of crypto trading with the security standards of traditional finance institutions. On the regulatory front, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a joint statement in January on tokenized securities clarifying the treatment of tokenized securities. The regulator formally confirmed that tokenized securities fall within the definition of a “security” under federal securities laws, thus subjecting them to existing regulatory frameworks.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Magnific The post Adoption of Tokenization Accelerates Among Asset Managers appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Ascend Bank could enter Thailand’s virtual banking market in July as the country’s first wave of virtual banks moves closer to launch, according to the Bangkok Post. The CP Group-backed bank is being developed by ACM Holding, one of three groups approved by the Bank of Thailand to operate virtual banks. Its expected debut would follow Clicx Bank, which plans to launch its mobile app on 19 June. Clicx Bank was formed by Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service and PTT Oil and Retail Business. CP Group Senior Vice-Chairman Suphachai Chearavanont sought to ease concerns over the launch schedule, saying the timing gap would not be material to the group’s broader strategy. The July timeline still depends on clearance from the Bank of Thailand, particularly around CP Group’s corporate structure. Thailand’s virtual banking rules require applicants to consolidate financial businesses under their control into a single group, separate from non-financial operations. For CP Group, that has put focus on CP All’s proposed transfer of Counter Service, Thai Smart Card and CP Axtra to ACM Holding. CP All has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting on 29 May for shareholders to vote on the restructuring. Suphachai said the outcome is not expected to affect Ascend Bank’s tentative launch plan. The proposal has faced internal pushback. At a 17 April board meeting, CP All’s disinterested directors opposed the inclusion of the three subsidiaries in ACM Holding’s virtual bank group. SCB X is also preparing to launch Bank X later this year as it works through compliance and digital infrastructure preparations. Its Deputy CEO Arak Sutivong said an early launch alone would not determine success, as virtual banks will need to stand out through their services and address clear customer gaps.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by vefimov via Magnific The post Ascend Bank Eyes July Launch as Thai Virtual Bank Race Takes Shape appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

2C2P by Antom is using AWS to support millions of daily payments across Southeast Asia as it adds generative AI to speed up merchant onboarding and software development. The payments company runs its platform on AWS across six markets. It connects more than 400 payment methods in over 150 currencies, serves more than 25 national and regional airlines and operates 600,000 acceptance points across Southeast Asia and beyond. 2C2P is part of Ant International’s Antom, which provides merchant payment and digitalisation services. The company uses AWS services including Auto Scaling, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, Amazon DynamoDB, AWS Lambda and Amazon ElastiCache to manage demand spikes and support platform reliability. It also built PACO, its in-house payment orchestration platform for airlines and travel companies. PACO routes transactions across local payment rails, digital wallets, bank transfers, QR payments and global card networks through a single API. Worachat Luxkanalode Worachat Luxkanalode, Group CEO of 2C2P by Antom, said, “There are hundreds of different payment ecosystems globally, and our job is to connect and orchestrate them through a single API. In payments, downtime is not an option.” The company has observed productivity gains of 40 percent, while AWS supports its regional scale. Generative AI to Speed Up Integration 2C2P is also using generative AI to shorten merchant integration and improve engineering workflows. It uses Amazon Bedrock to generate integration code that connects merchant checkout systems to its payment network. Five integration use cases are planned, including a pilot with QuickPay, its in-house payment link solution. Once fully developed, these use cases could reduce integration work from days to minutes. According to AWS, 2C2P’s engineers are also using an AI-powered development environment that has reduced code review timelines from a week to a day. The company is also using AWS Transform, an agentic AI service, to modernise legacy applications. Early results have cut upgrade cycles from several months to weeks. Vatsun Thirapatarapong Vatsun Thirapatarapong, Country Manager at AWS Thailand, said, “2C2P has turned that complexity into a competitive advantage, building a payments orchestration layer on AWS that connects hundreds of payment systems and currencies while maintaining the speed and security that airlines and merchants demand.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by topntp26 via Magnific The post 2C2P by Antom Taps AWS to Support Payments Across Southeast Asia appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

KASIKORNBANK (KBank) has formed a strategic collaboration with Ant International to develop an integrated financial infrastructure aimed at delivering faster and more scalable payment experiences. The partnership combines KBank’s regulated financial capabilities with Ant International’s AI tools to build capabilities for real-time, 24/7 cross-border USD transactions. To achieve this, the initiative will use Blockchain Deposit Accounts from Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the bank’s blockchain-based payments platform, for real-time USD liquidity movement. The move is expected to improve transaction speeds and enable continuous operations for global merchants. It also aims to address liquidity bottlenecks in the regional cross-border payments market. The latest development adds to KBank’s broader push to digitise cross-border transactions across Southeast Asia, following its recent integration with Grab QR in Singapore. KBank and Ant International plan to develop end-to-end solutions covering payment acceptance, clearing, and settlement, subject to regulatory approvals. Connecting global networks Ant International, which recently expanded its network to connect over 150 million merchants globally, plans to use the new infrastructure to improve the efficiency of its inbound and outbound settlements. This aims to improve business cash flow for the merchants it serves. This development builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. KBank has already integrated its mobile banking app, KPLUS, with Alipay+, Ant International’s digital wallet gateway. This links the app to a broader network of 1.8 billion consumer accounts worldwide. Additionally, KPLUS is available as a payment option on Google Pay for Thai merchants via Antom, Ant International’s merchant payment service. Dr. Karin Boonlertvanich “This collaboration addresses a fundamental limitation in today’s cross-border financial systems, where liquidity movement remains constrained by fragmented infrastructure,” said Dr. Karin Boonlertvanich, Executive Vice President, KASIKORNBANK. Boonlertvanich added that integrating blockchain with regulated financial systems will enable a more continuous, transparent, and scalable flow of funds. This will occur between global networks and local economies. Kelvin Li “Across emerging markets, industry leaders like KBank are preparing communities for a more interconnected global economy with broader and more secure application of AI and blockchain technology,” said Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech and Senior Vice President, Ant International. “We are thrilled to support KBank with such fintech solutions to empower Thai merchants, especially small businesses, with more efficient payment tools to thrive globally,” Li said.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Ant International The post KBank Taps Ant International for Blockchain-Based USD Payment Infrastructure appeared first on Fintech Singapore.