The Ant Marches On: Japan, Malaysia, Beyond

Viva Republica, parent company os South Korea's stock broker Toss, acquired Cheer Securities, a smartphone-based brokerage subsidiary of Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings.

SBI Holdings partnered with Cross River to establish a joint venture in Japan for tokenised assets and cross-border payments.

HSBC launched HSBCnio, an AI-enabled digital platform providing corporate clients web, mobile, API and read-only AI access to transaction banking services and data in Hong Kong.

State Bank of India (SBI) launched CyRIS, a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, consolidating cyber policy, training, research, and threat intelligence to enhance India's digital financial security.

Paytm launched an enterprise AI platform to merchants, targeting banks, lenders, and insurers in India and UAE.

Igloo, an insurance infrastructure startup, launched its product suite to Middle East and North Africa.

StraitsX partnered with Visa to expand stablecoin-backed card issuing to 100+ markets, building on $6bn annualised Asian card volume.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) partnered with Ant International to enhance cross-border payment solutions and expand operations across Japan, Singapore, and Southeast Asia.

LuLu Financial Holdings in UAE partnered with Purpleplum to launch LuLu Money Business, a unified SME banking platform combining digital Islamic accounts, AI onboarding, and payroll services.

PayNet, Malaysia's payments infrastructure entity by its central bank, partnered with Ant International to launch outbound DuitNow QR payment connectivity through Alipay+, enabling Malaysian bank customers to pay at merchants across five destinations.

Tiger Financial Services, an Asian digital business banking and brokerage company, launched AI-native Smart POS platform processing live transactions across Southeast Asia, targeting 60M+ small businesses.

Visa partnered with Tencent in China to expand cross-border payments and AI-powered agentic commerce through TenPay Global, Visa Pay, and Visa Intelligent Commerce.

MarCoPay, a remittance starutp in Philippines, partnered with Sumsub to implement identity verification, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screening, and fraud monitoring for Filipino seafarers, supporting Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) compliance.

Aspire launched AspireBooks, an AI-powered accounting platform offering automated bookkeeping, multicurrency accounting, and financial reporting for S$39 per month in Singapore.

Airwallex partnered with ONE Store, South Korea's domestic app store, to simplify cross-border payments for Korean game developers expanding globally.

Nonghyup Bank, a South Korean bank, partnered with MoonPay and Finger to develop digital asset-based financial services, including cross-border remittance and corporate payment settlement solutions.

Apple and Google partnered with Uzbekistan's Central Bank to launch Apple Pay and Google Pay, supporting eight and nine local banks respectively, following regulatory reforms to personal data laws.

PhotonPay, a Hong Kong-based fintech infrastructure startup, raised $40M.

Riverchain, a Hong Kong-based working capital financing startup for the construction industry, raised) $10M.

WillJini, India's estate planning startup, raised ₹33cr ($3.5M).

Finfra, an Indonesian lending infra/SaaS startup, raised an undisclosed amount.

Bizcap, an Australian SMB financing startup, raised $175M credit facility to expand North America operations.

Rently, a proptech platform operating across Hong Kong, Singapore and UAE, raised $12M in debt financing.

Competition Commission of India approved Prosus' acquisition of stake in Navi for ₹910cr ($100M).

Skydo, an Indian small business cross border payments startup, received license from International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in GIFT City to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP), enabling multi-currency accounts and cross-border payment infrastructure for Indian exporters and businesses.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) directed banks to assess customers linked to haze-causing activities and limit exposure or exit relationships where environmental laws were clearly breached.

Bank of Thailand (BOT) planned five regulatory measures between November 2026 and March 2027, targeting stablecoins, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, and high-value gold transactions.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released draft Open Banking Regulations allowing authorised fintech companies to access customer banking data through secure, consent-based sharing.

Indian banks' loans against fixed deposits grew 53% YoY to ₹2.17 lakh cr ($23bn) as of Sep 2026, driven by FCNR-B leverage strategy.

Paytm reported ₹225cr ($24M) net profit in Q2 FY27, up 10x YoY, with revenue growing 28% YoY to ₹2,648cr ($280M).

Tata Capital reported 51% YoY net profit growth to ₹1,660cr ($175M) in Q2 FY27.

TVS Motor Company demerged its consumer finance investments into a separate listed holding company.

Kissht reported ₹9,317cr ($980M) AUM growing 68% YoY and PAT doubled to ₹125cr ($14M) in Q2 FY27.

PB Fintech, Policybazaar's parent company, reported net profit growth of 43% to ₹192cr ($20M) and revenue growth of 35% to ₹2,178cr ($240M) in Q2 FY27.

Pine Labs reported net profit of ₹39cr ($4M) growing 6.5x YoY in Q2 FY2027.

RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency card startup, is considering an Public Offering (IPO) round, planning a confidential US filing by year-end 2026, at a $4-5bn valuation.

TCMS, a SIngaporean merchant acquirer company, partnered with Tribe Payments to power acquirer processing across Asia-Pacific, enabling expansion into Singapore and regional markets.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) launched SMEConnect, a centralized digital platform enabling SMEs to apply for financing with real-time tracking.

AdalFi, a Pakistani digital lending startup, planned to raise PKR 652M ($2.4M) through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Revolut applied for a digital banking license to enter the Philippine market.