Payments – The Quasiinvestor

DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) and Joining one

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are a widely touted use case of blockchain technology (decentralized and autonomous), allowing people to gather in groups (organizations) in a borderless, web-native way. While the internet has allowed for mass coordination, it still has a lot of friction and costs involved in it. Like traditional companies or social clubs, members …

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Enhancing cross-border payments: Ripple vs. Stellar

Cross-border payments is estimated to be a c. $44b market in 2020, according to McKinsey estimates. While this was negatively impacted due to restricted travel regulations as well as international supply chain disruption globally, an increase in the adoption of e-commerce as well as digital payments provided a lift to this sector. However, cross-border payments …

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TrueLayer – The missing puzzle piece in digital banking

More than a decade has passed since the Global Financial Crisis, and many have likened the seemingly decoupling of Wall Street and Main Street of late to the irrational exuberance of the past. Much of the time since then has arguably been focused on cleaning up — making sure that unfounded market optimism will not …

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Ondot – Personalizing the card experience

One of the most exciting products that Apple has introduced of late, in August 2019, is the AppleCard, which boasts to be “a new kind of credit card, created by Apple, not a bank” (although the issuing partner bank is Goldman Sachs), and touts its simplicity (in both usability and design), transparency, and respect for …

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Vietnam Internet Ecosystem

Vietnam is a country that I am extremely excited about, especially for its developments in technology and, in particular, FinTech (i.e. payments, lending, insurance). Most articles I have come across speak optimistically of the technology industry and what the future holds, albeit with the caveat that challenges like government support, the ability to attract talent, …

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ASEAN FinTech – Development and Trends to look out for in 2019

I had the privilege of attending a talk on ASEAN Fintech organized by technode and Kaishi partners, with below my notes from it. In all, I thought that it was an insightful, objective discussion that covered many of the key trends in FinTech today – payments, lending, insurance and wealth management. In particular, I was …

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Zalopay – The Vietnamese Super App (?)

One of the hottest phrases to be associated with these days seems to be “Super App”. Behemoth apps like WeChat and AliPay are commonly lauded as examples while others such as Grab and Go-Jek often claim that they are, or aspire to be, one. What is a “Super App”? Simply put, it is an app …

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Changes to the Payment Services Bill in Singapore

Digital currency, Stored Value Facilities (SVFs), electronic wallets and pretty much any and everything associated with the handling of currency online has (very rightfully) had increasing scrutiny of late, given the rapid adoption of such services and products by consumers, and entrepreneurs and businesses rushing for a slice of the ever-growing pie. With the speed …

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