Asia

The fintech scene in Asia is booming. In recent years, the region has developed rapidly, with a diverse array of startups and established banks transforming how financial services are delivered and consumed.

The digital banking scene in Southeast Asia is hot right now. Over the past two years, it’s experienced some rapid changes. Changing regulations have triggered a mass of new players entering the market.

TL;DR – It’s a textbook bubble, consult your financial advisor, only invest what you’re willing to lose, and no, I don’t know when the bubble will pop, nobody does – heck, it might have already happened.

The HKMA’s second round of virtual bank licences created a few surprises. But will residents want the new services?

You can catch the full Fintech Insider take on the news today at 4pm on the podcast here.Sticking to our new Monday format, we’re going to take a close look at one of the most interesting stories of the week’s show. For analysis straight from industry experts subscribe to our podcast!Fintech Insider hosts Laura, Sarah, and David sit down with Charlie Wood, Principal Consultant at Capco, and Simon Vans-Colina, Engineer at Monzo. to discuss the news, including big banks moving into the digital-only space.

Metro Bank, Starling and Clearbank in partnership with Tide were announced as the recipients of Pool A of the Remedies Fund this morning. They pipped the big banks which were looking, maybe even expecting, to get a piece of the action to the post.

We went to the IFGS to meet some of the biggest and newest names in Fintech. We’re bringing you some fantastic insights from our first five interviewees on the fintech landscape for 2018. Ross Gallagher and Simon Taylor spoke to: Marieke Flament, Managing Director for Europe, Circle Sophie Winwood, Head of Partnerships, Innovate Finance Stephen Ingledew, CEO, Fintech Scotland Husayn Kassai, CEO and Co-founder, Onfido Listen to all the interviews in full on Fintech Insider here or stream them below.

TL;DR We’re witnessing political theatre to limit the amount of scams happening in the ICOs and Token bubble in China (and globally), it’s no surprise regulators have reacted. I expect normal service will resume soon(ish) and as ever finding a *good* ICO to invest in is far better than any old ICO will do… PS: This is not investment advice.

Jason Bates interviewed Xero CEO and Founder, Rod Drury ahead of Xerocon, London, all about his background, Xero’s origins, how it expanded into a global presence, their latest partnerships and what people could look forward to at Xerocon.

65 million years ago, gigantic monster roamed the same places where today Starbucks and Costa Coffees are. Having dragged themselves out of the primordial goo and evolved themselves to the top of the food chain, the Dinosaurs were oversized in their appetites, attitudes and on top of the world. What can the monsters of today learn from the monsters of the past to avoid the extinction events that wiped out the dinosaurs? Let us explore, with Jurassic Park puns and quotes aplenty… hold on to your butts.

It may not have escaped your attention that the British Public voted to leave the EU. Although in the aftermath it’s still unclear quite what that actually means, this morning bank shares have taken a significant hit with Lloyds off 8%, Barclays 10% and RBS down 15% leading the LSE to halt trading in those stocks. There are a number of theories about what happens next. Are people concerned about retail banking operations, corporate banking, investment banking or all of the above? Here are some ideas.