Airwallex CEO and Co-Founder Jack Zhang Reflects on 2024
Weekly APAC news up to Wednesday, 19th of February 2025.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Indian authorities have ordered British insurer Aviva's local unit to pay $7.5 million in back taxes and penalties after an investigation found it created fake invoices to pay illegal commissions and claimed incorrect tax credits, an order shows.
The tax demand is significant for Aviva's, opens new tab India business, which recorded a profit after tax of only $10 million in the 2023-24 financial year. Aviva also faces stiff competition from rivals in India's insurance market.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🧋 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ PhonePe launches device tokenization solution for secure card transactions.
⭐️ Mastercard launches anti-money laundering service “TRACE” to combat financial crime in Asia Pacific.
⭐️ FinTech Billionaire Kim Set to Take Over Top Kazakh Lender Jusan.
⭐️ Finmo Secures US$18.5 Million To Revolutionize Treasury Management.
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AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Airwallex CEO and Co-Founder Jack Zhang reflects on 2024 and what’s next. The company’s annualized transaction volume rose from US$100 billion in August to US$130 billion just three months later, following its ARR surpassing US$500 million. This marks a 73% year-over-year increase in transaction volume.
NSW inks deals with big four banks and Citi to fix payments. Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank will join the existing three banking partners for the NSW government, a move it claims will improve liquidity and protect against market shocks.
SINGAPORE 🇸🇬
SG’s Union FinTech launches blockchain platform. Using ZKsync technology, Union Chain aims to solve fragmentation and scalability issues, offering access to over 20 million verified users in Southeast Asia. Continue reading
Zac Liew steps into new role as CCO at Coda after Curlec by Razorpay Exit. Zac brings extensive experience in FinTech and leadership to his new role where he will be driving Coda’s continued growth. Continue reading
Singapore appeals to some crypto firms despite lure of US. Despite Donald Trump’s plan to turn the US into the crypto capital of the planet, Suvashree Ghosh reports that some firms are still singing the praises of Singapore. Read More
EBANX moves closer to full payment license. The company has received in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This license will allow it to offer cross-border money transfers and merchant acquisition services in Singapore.
FinTech firm Lendela hires new CFO, CTO. The firm, a loan matching platform in the Asia Pacific, has appointed Kent Huang as CFO and Steven Wong as CTO. These appointments aim to bolster the company’s executive leadership as it expands operations in the region.
CHINA 🇨🇳
Standard Chartered to help ChinaAMC launch tokenized retail money market fund. The move will see the company use Libeara, an incubated tokenization platform from SC Ventures. It will use the platform to build its money market fund with a suite of securities and technology to facilitate tokenization of the fund, fiduciary, fund administration, custody, and cash services.
Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands, HKT to pursue Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin. The bank said the joint venture would “fully utilise its bank-grade infrastructure and rigorous governance”. Animoca Brands will help to “tap into crypto-native opportunities”, while HKT would use its mobile wallet expertise to develop stablecoin use cases and enhance domestic and cross-border payments.
Payoneer receives regulatory approval for its acquisition of a licensed China-based payment service provider. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Click here for more
Gaorong Ventures invests $30 million in crypto unicorn. The firm invested in HashKey Group at a pre-money valuation above $1 billion. The valuation remains little changed from a year ago, when Hashkey raised $100 million and reached unicorn status, according to sources.
SAUDI ARABIA 🇸🇦
Ant International opens first middle east office in Saudi Arabia in drive to expand regional partnership. The company aims to introduce cutting-edge financial and digitisation technology to support digital transformation for the business community in the region and beyond.
EGIPTO 🇪🇬
Fawry to launch money transfer service soon. The company aims to promote digital payment acceptance solutions during 2025 after the sector recorded 100% growth, according to the CEO. He also indicated that the company is reevaluating the feasibility of applying for a digital bank license.
INDIA 🇮🇳
Coinbase is preparing to re-enter the Indian market. The company reportedly engages with Indian authorities, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), to obtain necessary licenses. Its previous attempt in April 2022 failed after the National Payments Corporation of India did not recognize its Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭
Spayz.io expands operations in Nigeria, Japan, and the Philippines. This is part of SPAZY.io’s strategic commitment to offer its merchants and partners access to high-growth jurisdictions through innovative and reliable financial solutions. In Nigeria, the company provides bank transfer services for both pay-in and payout transactions.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Hello Clever has appointed Sandra Lin as APAC Growth & Partnership Lead. Her leadership will be instrumental in accelerating Hello Clever’s presence across APAC, ensuring businesses can seamlessly integrate real-time payments and loyalty into their operations.