Alibaba will bring a version of its smartphone-based payment platform to Japan as early as 2018 spring; the Japanese unit of Ant Financial will offer a version of the Alipay digital payment system tailored for the Japanese market under a new brand. Source
Chinese online lender Dianrong has reported plans for a merger with Quark Finance; the merger will create a broadened set of credit offerings; Dianrong is known as the "Lending Club of China" and Quark Finance offers a range of financial services for consumers and small business owners. Source
Australian based digital bank Xinja has raised a massive $260mn investment round from Dubai-based investor Emirates World Investments; Eric Wilson,...
China's fintech sector is growing with new technologies and companies developing solutions for payments, loans and online investing; Forbes provides details on the market and discusses challenges; while the market has been conducive to new innovation, tighter regulations could be a factor and a lack of skilled workers could also affect the market's development. Source
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has refuted the fraudulent release or misuse of India's Aadhaar biometrics data after media reports claimed the release of Aadhaar data involving a private bank, its business correspondence agency and an e-sign agency; the UIDAI reports that an attempt was made to access data but internal security systems prevented the data's release; the incident exemplifies the strict security surrounding the use of Aadhaar data in India. Source
JD Finance has announced the establishment of a venture capital fund, called ThousandTree Capital, to invest in early-stage companies (angel or A round) in the consumption field; JD Finance will hold minor shares in the startups; the investment decision will be to some extent driven by the data accumulated in the JD ecosystem. Source (Chinese)
The native asset of NEO, formerly known as AntShares, has risen by more than 12,000% in the last seven months, according to figures from Coin Market Cap; NEO comes mostly with similar capabilities vs ethereum, just that NEO's smart contract platform NEO 2.0 supports traditional programming language while ethereum has its own programming language, Solidity; this edge will be crucial to making it a better option over ethereum for running initial coin offerings (ICOs) especially for upcoming Chinese projects. Source
Pindrop’s Vijay Balasubramaniyan on how top bank call centers are navigating the COVID crisis The Timing Of Apple’s QR Code...
Blockchain Capital has raised $10 million for the Blockchain Capital III Digital Liquid Venture Fund, LP which plans to invest in blockchain startups; the funds were raised through a digital shareholder token offering; Blockchain Capital says the tokens can be traded, offering enhanced liquidity for investors. Source
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently published their draft framework for a fintech regulatory sandbox; this will enable Indian...