Latest Coronavirus News: Finextra Research

Company update/payments

Real time payments tip the balance against cash in Southeast Asia

Real-time payments are now as popular as cash as a payment method for consumers in Southeast Asia, according to new research from ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) and YouGov. Three out of five consumers (61%) in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore prefer real-time payments as a favored way to pay in 2021, level with cash (61%) and higher than other payment categories, including digital wallets requiring cash or card top-ups (56%) and credit cards (30%).

07 July 2021

Company update/startups

University of Cambridge to launch fintech collaboration network

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School will be launching and showcasing a cross-regional and sectoral knowledge exchange network, established with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), at a live streamed event at 11.00 GMT on 10 December.

08 December 2020

Company update/payments

51% of Singaporeans now shopping at local businesses due to Covid-19

One in two Singapore consumers (51 per cent) said they prefer to shop at local businesses to help them recover from the business fallout from COVID-19, according to the UOB ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study. The study findings come as one in two local businesses have reported revenue declines of more than 50 per cent due to the impact of COVID-19 and are looking at ways to rebuild their business as Singapore continues to reopen its economy.

03 December 2020

Company update/payments

Mastercard and AlRaedah Finance launch payment solutions for SMEs in Saudi Arabia

Mastercard has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AlRaedah Finance, to launch a unique ‘SME in a Box’ payment solution for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

17 August 2020

Company update/covid-19

Icici Bank provides Covid-19 testing vehicles and PPE to Odisha

ICICI Bank announced that it has taken a series of measures to assist authorities in Bhubaneswar in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. The Bank has contributed a mobile COVID-19 testing vehicle to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to help BMC to collect swab samples swiftly from people, including the differently-abled and those who are unable to visit hospitals for testing, across the city. The Bank has also provided 30 threewheelers to differently-abled persons in Bhubaneswar to support their mobility who have been identified by the Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disability (SSEPD), Government of Odisha.

17 August 2020

Company update/startups

CCAF, World Bank and the World Economic Forum investigate Covid-19's impact on global fintech

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School is partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to launch a Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Survey. The empirical data collected will be used to understand Covid-19’s impact on the FinTech markets, how the global FinTech industry has responded and some of the immediate regulatory and policy implications.

15 June 2020