Fintech

These Southeast Asian startups that KrASIA highlighted in the first half of 2021 have one thing in common: they each identified a relatively unexplored area and built their business around it.

Google, Amazon, and Facebook’s messaging platform WhatsApp, have been making strides to position themselves among the top players in India’s fintech market.

Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, is set to award up to five digital banking licenses in the first quarter of 2022.

The firm is set to expand to Hong Kong by the end of this year. 

The acquisition was made through MoMo Innovation Ventures, which was launched this year.

Founded in 2019, Jupiter has raised a total of USD 26 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Beenext, 3One4 Capital, and Hummingbird Ventures.

With significant investment from Western Union, STC will convert its subsidiary STC Pay into a digital bank, STC Bank, with capital of USD 670 million.

Started in 2019, Tabby offers interest-free BNPL services in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.