T2P Co., Ltd., a payment solution provider in Thailand, has announced a new partnership with Wise Platform, which provides infrastructure for banks and financial services. According to Wise, this alliance marks T2P as the first fintech in Thailand to offer international money transfers without exchange rate mark-ups or hidden fees through its e-wallet app –DeepPocket. The collaboration enables DeepPocket users to transfer money to 16 different currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, and AUD, swiftly and transparently. More than 60% of global transfers via Wise are completed in less than 20 second ..read more

Global payments firm Airwallex has introduced its payment acceptance services in the United States, enabling U.S.-based merchants to accept both domestic and international payments. This new service also allows foreign merchants with U.S. entities to provide a localised payment experience to their customers in the U.S., improving acceptance rates and reducing costs. A localised checkout experience is critical, as a significant majority of consumers prefer pricing in their local currency and want to see their preferred payment methods available. With this expansion, Airwallex now supports ..read more

Thailand’s KASIKORNBANK, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, has introduced Project Carina, a new initiative aimed at accelerating cross-border payments through blockchain technology, according to RYT9. Announced at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok, the project integrates KASIKORNBANK’s Quarix blockchain with J.P. Morgan’s Onyx platform to significantly enhance the efficiency of international transactions. Project Carina is set to utilise both Q-money, a Thai Baht-based digital currency, and JPM Coin, which represents U.S. dollar deposits. This collaboration marks a step forward in using blockchain to ..read more

U.S. prosecutors have proposed a three-year prison sentence for Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, following his guilty plea for violating anti-money laundering laws, according to Reuters. The recommendation, filed in a Seattle federal court, suggests a sentence double the duration advised by federal guidelines, reflecting the severity of Zhao’s deliberate legal breaches. Zhao who resigned from his position at the helm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange last November, and Binance admitted to bypassing requirements stipulated by the Bank Secrecy A ..read more

Ant Group, a Chinese financial affiliate of the Alibaba Group, has not yet formally applied for a permit to operate its Alipay+ service in Indonesia, according to Filianingsih Hendarta, Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia. Filianingsih Hendarta According to Reuters, Hendarta clarified the status following reports that Ant Group was seeking regulatory guidance to launch its cross-border payment service in the country during a news conference on Wednesday (24 April 2024). Despite recent discussions with Indonesian officials, including a meeting with the country’s communications minister, a forma ..read more

The Indonesian Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for cryptocurrency information sharing. This agreement aims to bolster the detection and management of crypto assets potentially subject to taxation in both nations. By enhancing data exchange and sharing expertise, the tax authorities hope to ensure better compliance with tax obligations concerning cryptocurrency holdings. This initiative is part of a broader collaboration between the DGT and ATO that includes modernizing taxpayer services and applying val ..read more

Igloo, a Singapore-based insurtech firm, has announced new partnerships with Zalopay, Lotte Finance, FE Credit, and digital insurer OPES to broaden insurance access in Vietnam, particularly for underinsured communities. These collaborations aim to introduce tailored insurance products that cater to the specific needs of modern Vietnamese consumers. Through its partnership with Zalopay, Vietnam’s second-largest e-wallet network, Igloo will offer Phone Screen Protection. This initiative leverages Zalopay’s extensive network, which includes over 14 million regular users and more than 30,000 merch ..read more

Standard Chartered has announced a new collaboration with Visa through the Visa B2B Connect network to streamline cross-border payments for its corporate clients. This initiative, starting in Singapore, aims to expedite and reduce the cost of business-to-business transactions internationally. The integration between Standard Chartered and Visa B2B Connect will be achieved via an application programming interface (API), which facilitates direct transaction routing to Visa, bypassing numerous intermediaries traditionally involved in such processes. This setup is intended to minimise delays and c ..read more

Southeast Asia’s SME digital finance platform Funding Societies has partnered with SGeBIZ, a provider of digital procurement, payment, and sourcing solutions, to introduce embedded finance solutions for SMEs in Singapore. This collaboration aims to integrate Funding Societies’ financing capabilities into SGeBIZ’s EzyProcure platform through a “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) feature. The initiative will reportedly benefit over two thousand businesses using EzyProcure, predominantly from the food and beverage sector, by providing customised financing solutions to aid in cash flow management. This mo ..read more

Trulioo, an identity verification platform, announced that it has achieved a 90% business verification rate across the APAC region a year after it had set up its Singapore office. The firm shared that this success comes despite challenges such as minimal data availability and the need to navigate multiple languages. Trulioo’s 24/7 support has been crucial for APAC companies looking to expand into new markets, achieve compliance, and accelerate customer and merchant onboarding processes. The platform provides essential services to payments providers, online marketplaces, and financial services ..read more