Finovate Global Singapore: Investments in Open Banking, Payments, and the Blockchain

This week’s version of Finovate International appears to be like at current fintech information from Singapore.

Open banking agency Atlas Consolidated raises $18.1 million

Open banking could also be on the ropes within the US, however progress is marching on in Singapore. Open banking platform Atlas Consolidated, a Singapore-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) firm, introduced that it had secured $18.1 million in Collection B funding. The funding was led by Tin Males Capital, and featured participation from strategic traders Getz, Inc. and Woodside Holdings Funding Administration.

Atlas Consolidated is the proprietor of Hugosave and HugoHub, and leads the consortium behind HugoBank. Hugosave is the corporate’s wealth and financial savings app with 100,000 prospects in Singapore. HugoHub is Atlas Consolidated’s BaaS platform, which offers a full-suite of modular banking companies through a single integration. HugoBank secured its digital banking license from the State Financial institution of Pakistan initially of 2025.

“Banks are below immense stress to rework digitally whereas nonetheless counting on decades-old core programs which might be expensive, inflexible, and fragmented,” Tin Males Capital Co-Founder and Managing Accomplice Jeremy Tan mentioned. “HugoHub’s full-stack ‘bank-in-a-box’ answer offers banks the pliability to launch new merchandise, combine companies the place they matter most, and refine options with out disrupting the broader system. In flip, they’ll innovate sooner, compete with neo and challenger banks, and function with radically higher economics.”

HugoHub, in response to the corporate, has diminished customers’ know-how spending by as much as 90%, reduce total working bills by as much as 80%, and allows larger customer-to-staff ratios than are attainable with conventional banking fashions.

“This funding marks a pivotal step in our mission to construct higher banks by know-how,” Atlas Consolidated CEO David Fergusson mentioned. “With Tin Males Capital’s assist, we will speed up HugoHub’s enlargement to new markets, serving to conventional monetary establishments create extra environment friendly, inclusive, and sustainable programs.”

Ripple, Circle be a part of funding in Tazapay

Talking of funding for Singapore fintechs, Ripple (US) and Circle Ventures had been amongst a handful of traders that participated in an funding in Singapore’s Tazapay, a cross-border funds infrastructure platform. The Collection B spherical was led by current investor Peak XV Companions. Norinchukin Capital (Japan), GMO VenturePartners (Japan), January Capital, and ARC180 had been additionally concerned within the funding. The quantity of the funding was not disclosed.

At the moment licensed to function in Singapore, Canada, and the EU, the funding will assist the Tazapay increase additional into areas equivalent to Japan. The corporate is presently making use of for licenses within the UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, and the US, and can also be making use of for a Digital Fee Token (DPT) license in Singapore. Securing this license would assist Tazapay meet regulatory obligations forward of incorporating digital cost tokens, together with stablecoins, into its cross-border cost providing. Firm CEO and Co-founder Rahul Shinghal famous this final level in his assertion on the funding.

“We’re getting into the subsequent chapter of our journey—one the place trendy cost applied sciences, regulatory compliance, and partnerships with international leaders will allow the way forward for cross-border commerce,” Shinghal mentioned. “With this spherical, we’re not simply capitalizing the enterprise; we’re investing in our long-term imaginative and prescient to develop into the builder of a world cost assortment and payout infrastructure constructed on trendy rails. One of many key use circumstances this infrastructure serves is being the Fiat bridge for stablecoins in rising markets.”

Based in 2020, Tazapay presents native assortment and payout capabilities in additional than 70 markets all over the world. The corporate processes greater than $10 billion in annualized cost quantity and is rising at 300% year-over-year. The corporate’s platform offers complete protection throughout various cost strategies, playing cards, digital financial institution accounts, payouts, and stablecoins.

OCBC launches billion greenback business paper program utilizing the blockchain

Did somebody say “stablecoins”? There’s information on Singapore’s blockchain beat, as properly.

Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese language Banking Company (OCBC) has initiated a brand new, $1 billion digital US business paper program utilizing blockchain know-how. The aim of this system is to offer entry to virtually instantaneous short-term US greenback funding capabilities by leveraging on-chain tokenized securities and funds. Along with issuance and settlement, this system can even characteristic on-chain record-keeping and servicing.

“Singapore’s blockchain ecosystem is advancing quick, and asset tokenization is gaining actual momentum,” OCBC Head of International Markets Kenneth Lai mentioned. “Our focus is now firmly on commercialization. We now have already tapped blockchain for intraday repo and reverse repo transactions—capabilities added final yr—and at the moment are increasing into the USCP market to strengthen liquidity and resilience.”

OCBC is the longest established financial institution in Singapore, shaped in 1932 through the merger of three banks: the Chinese language Business Financial institution Ltd, the Ho Hong Financial institution Ltd, and the Oversea-Chinese language Financial institution Ltd. OCBC can also be the second-largest monetary companies group within the Southeast Asia by property. The establishment presents a variety of economic companies together with client, company, and personal banking; insurance coverage; and asset administration. OCBC reported internet income of $2.88 billion (S$3.7 billion) for the primary half of this yr.

Right here is our have a look at fintech innovation all over the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Mumbai-based enterprise microservices startup TransBank raised $25 million.

Infosys and Mastercard teamed as much as scale cross-border funds.

The State Financial institution of Pakistan (SBP) opened functions for the primary cohort for its new regulatory sandbox.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin American tremendous app Rappi teamed up with worldwide pockets platform AstroPay to launch a brand new wallet-on-file integration.

Bitso’s B2B arm Bitso Enterprise introduced a partnership with stablecoin funds supplier BVNK.

The Central Financial institution of Barbados picked Montran Company to design and deploy the nation’s new immediate cost system.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nedbank introduced plans to amass South African fintech iKhokha for $94 million.

Techeconomy regarded on the significance of understanding native monetary habits in scaling fintech in Nigeria.

South African funds processor BankservAfrica rebranded to PayInc SA.

Central and Japanese Europe

AInvest examined the current PayPal-Germany cost disaster, wherein greater than €10 billion in transactions blocked attributable to a safety system failure.

Lithuanian regtech AMLYZE signed a partnership settlement with cost service supplier Perlas Finance.

PEAC Options acquired German fintech topi as a part of its European enlargement plans.