Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Company announcement/wealth

Kenanga Investment Bank to build wealth super app with Antchain technology

Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (“Kenanga”) has entered into an agreement with AntChain Technology Pte. Ltd. (“AntChain”), part of the Ant Group, to build Malaysia’s first wealth SuperApp using AntChain’s proprietary mobile platform solution. This agreement follows from its recent MoU with AntChain.

31 October 2022

News/retail

Ant launches digital operations platform for insurers

Ant Group's insurance arm has launched a blockchain-based digital operation platform for insurance companies in China.

07 September 2022

Company announcement

Kenanga Investment Bank taps Ant Group to launch Malaysia's first wealth SuperApp

Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (“Kenanga”), Malaysia’s largest independent investment bank, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ant Group.

24 August 2022

News/people

Jack Ma prepares to cede control of Ant Group -WSJ

Jack Ma is preparing to give up control of Ant Group in an effort to distance the fintech giant from his Alibaba tech group in the face of regulatory pressure, according to the Wall Street Journal.

28 July 2022

News/devops

Ant Group open sources privacy software

Chinese fintech behemoth Ant Group has made its "privacy-preserving Computation Framework" open source.

05 July 2022

Company announcement/payments

Alipay+ upgrades Cashier product

Ant Group today announced the launch of Alipay+ Unified Payment. This major product upgrade provides a unified, scalable technical solution to help online and brick-and-mortar merchants collect money through all digital payment methods supported by Alipay+ in a more convenient and effective way.

16 June 2022

News/startups

Ant launches Singapore digital bank

Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has launched its Singapore digital wholesale bank, Anext.

06 June 2022

News/sustainable

BNP Paribas to provide carbon-linked credit line to Ant Group

BNP paribas is to provide a sustainability-linked revolving credit line to Ant Group, verifying the Chinese company's green credentials via a blockchain-based carbon management platform.

16 May 2022

Company announcement/payments

Ant Group takes majority stake in 2C2P

2C2P, a global payments platform and Ant Group today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate digital payment adoption and innovation.

19 April 2022

News/regulation

Ant cleared to set up credit scoring JV with state-backed partners

The People's Bank of China has given the greenlight to a new credit scoring company owned by a consortium including Ant Group and a collection of state-backed partners.

26 November 2021

Company announcement/inclusion

Mexico's Toka Fintech taps Whale Cloud and Ant for payments app

Whale Cloud, a leading technology company providing software solutions and services for telecommunications and multiple other industries, today reached a partnership with Toka Fintech, a Mexican-leading financial group, to help it develop its own digital payment app with Alipay+ Digital Wallet Solution, providing Mexicans with better access to inclusive financial services.

10 November 2021

News/payments

JP Morgan starts processing US credit cards on Alibaba.com

JP Morgan Merchant Services has begun processing US credit card payments for Alibaba's B2B business unit.

16 September 2021

News/people

Binance US names Ant exec Shroder president

The US arm of Binance has appointed former Ant Group and Uber executive Brian Shroder president, replacing Brian Brooks who quit suddenly in August after just four months in the job.

10 September 2021

News/wholesale

BBVA taps into Ant's Trusple blockchain platform

BBVA has inked a deal to integrate cross-border payment and financing services in Ant Group's blockchain platform for global trade, Trusple.

11 August 2021

News/sustainable

Mastercard and Ant back effort to get a billion people to take green action

Mastercard, Ant Group and BBVA are among the big-name financial and technology firms backing a new global partnership designed to encourage green consumer behaviour.

28 June 2021

Company announcement/inclusion

MYbank aims to bring inclusive financial services to 2,000 rural counties by 2025

MYbank, a leading online private commercial bank in China and an associate of Ant Group with a focus on serving rural areas and small and micro enterprises (SMEs), announced today that it plans to more than double the number of rural counties it serves over the next four years.

30 April 2021

News/crypto

Ant Group and Tencent promote their work on digital yuan with PBoC – SCMP

This weekend, the two Chinese fintech giants Ant Group and Tencent prominently displayed posters during the Digital China Summit outlining a “history of cooperation with the PBoC on the digital yuan” according to the South China Morning Post.

26 April 2021

News/regulation

China’s fintechs face an uphill battle with listings - CNBC

Going public in China is proving to be something of an uphill battle for fintechs, and new guidelines released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are only further complicating the process.

23 April 2021

News/payments

DBS completes first trade transaction on Ant Group's Trusple blockchain

DBS is the first Asian bank to successfully close a trade financing transaction on Ant Group's blockchain platform Trusple.

15 March 2021

News/people

Ant Group CEO resigns

Ant Group CEO Simon Hu has resigned for "personal reasons" months after the Chinese fintech giant was forced to abandon its IPO amidst regulatory pressure.

12 March 2021