The Philippines is the fastest-growing digital economy and home to one of Southeast Asia's most valuable fintech unicorns. Yet for investors and fintech founders looking to expand, this hidden gem is not top of mind.Lito Villanueva, Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer at RCBC Bank and Chairman of Fintech Alliance.PH explains why you should be paying attention to the PhilippinesIn this conversation, you’ll hear about:• Why the Philippines is the next fintech hotspot• Opportunities and gaps in Philippines’ fintech scene• AI adoption in the Philippines
Boost is deeply rooted in Malaysia’s fintech story as the company that pioneered e-wallets and laid the foundations for Malaysia’s cashless culture.Nearly a decade later, the company has evolved to offer a full suite of fintech services from payments, lending, to a full fledged digital bank.Sheyantha Abeykoon, Group CEO, Boost has his eyes set on taking the Malaysian story regional.Will Boost be a household name in Southeast Asia? Will it finally turn profit this year?
We sat down with Jaykie Tan, Head of Business Development APAC at Mambu, and Cecilia Tan, Regional VP at Thredd, to unpack one of fintech’s biggest questions:Are e-wallets or digital banks better positioned for profitability, innovation, and financial inclusion in Southeast Asia?
In this episode of Fintech Fireside Asia, I sit down with Tessa Wijaya, Co-founder and COO of Xendit, one of Southeast Asia’s leading fintech unicorns. Known by many as the “Stripe of Southeast Asia,” Xendit has raised over $500 million and powers billions in annual payments across Indonesia, the Philippines, and beyond.But behind the billion-dollar valuation lies a much grittier story.
Tessa opens up about:
What started as a RM6,000 loan funded out of their own pockets has grown into over RM4 billion disbursed to more than 2,000 SMEs. Xing Xian shares the raw, behind-the-scenes story. From an impromptu pitch that caught Bank Negara Malaysia’s attention, to the early struggles, hard lessons, and the real mission behind CapBay.• The accidental pitch that led to CapBay being founded• How the founders used their own savings to fund their first borrower• Why leaving their destiny at the hands of the banks nearly killed their momentum• CapBay’s role in funding digital-first businesses across Southeast Asia
After two decades of building AI systems—from defense projects to billion-dollar banks—Foong Chee Mun has seen it all.
In this episode, the Ryt Bank Chief Product Officer joins us to cut through the AI hype and reflect on what this technology really means for society, creativity, and the future of financial services.
T
his is not a conversation about the flashiest tools or latest models. It’s a grounded take on how AI, like any other tool, can be used for better—or worse.
Highlights:
• What career advice can you give your kids when AI takes over all the jobs?
• How Much of AI is bullshit?
• Will AI change the way we do banking forever
Tyme Group, a digital banking group operating in South Africa and Southeast Asia has raised US$250 million in a round led by Nubank, the world's largest digital bank.
Now valued at US$1.5 billion co-founder Coen Jonker gives us an honest look at how to build a fintech unicorn
The fintech industry is about a decade old in Malaysia now, is it finally ready to shine?
We are joined by Wilson Beh, President of Fintech Association of Malaysia and co-founder of PolicyStreet to deep dive into Malaysia's fintech scene.
In this episode we sit down with Gan Pai Li, Group Chief Consumer Officer at Alliance Bank, to discuss her remarkable 28-year journey from investment to consumer bankingShe gave us insights on how their recently launched of the virtual credit cards led to the revival of their credit card business.This episode of Banking After Hours is brought to you by AWS and is part of a series highlighting Malaysia's top women leaders in banking.
This episode was first published on 14th Jan 2025
With a career spanning over 3 decades, Raja Teh says AEON Bank may be her final stint in banking. In this interview she talks to us about her leadership journey, and the legacy she wants to leave behindThis episode of Banking After Hours is brought to you by AWS and is part of a series highlighting Malaysia's top women leaders in banking.
In 2023, Malaysia's first digital bank, @GXBank was born as a result of a joint venture between Grab & Singtel's GXS Group and Malaysian conglomerate Kuok Group. Pei Si Lai, CEO, GXBank shares with Fintech News Network's Vincent Fong the trials and tribulations of building a bank from scratch
This episode of Banking After Hours is brought to you by AWS and is part of a series highlighting Malaysia's top women leaders in banking.
(This episode was first published on 9th December 2024)
Noor Farilla Abdullah, Group Chief Digital Officer shares with Fintech News Network's Chief Editor Vincent Fong on how to transform an organisation from withinThis episode of Banking After Hours is brought to you by AWS and is part of a series highlighting Malaysia's top women leaders in banking.(This episode was first published on 2nd December 2024)
When its comes to modernising your bank, when is it a good time to build and when is it a good time to buy? How has the role of a Chief Digital Officer evolved?We speak to Chris Shayan who served as Chief Digital Officer in HDBank and Techcombank in Vietnam to learn about this and more.(This episode was first published on 23 May 2024)
Digital transformation is not easy and it's even harder when you are the largest bank in the Philippines. Fintech News sits down with Mark Bantigue, Digital Strategy Head at BDO Unibank as he gives us behind the scenes insights on the bank's digital journey
Jouk Pleiter, Thomas Fuss, and Karan Oberoi discuss the evolution of Backbase, detailing the strategic pivots it undertook from its initial iteration to emerge as the renowned engagement banking platform it is recognised as today.
In an exclusive interview with Fintech News, we sat down with HDFC's Gautam Anand to delve into how the bank has transformed its customer service landscape in the last 18 months by leveraging advanced AI and ML technologies, Gautam shares insights into the bank's strategic move to embrace AI technology for improving service efficiency, particularly in a diverse country like India, by providing customer support in over 13 regional languages.
(This episode was first published on February 1st 2024)
Dive into the future of fintech with best-selling author Chris Skinner who shares his expert insights on what's next in the industry in this episode of 'Banking After Hours'
This episode was first published on 1st February 2024
From pioneering savings to prioritising financial inclusion, Bank Simpanan Nasional has come a long way in how it fills the gaps for the underserved in Malaysia.Join Bank Simpanan Nasional CEO, Jay Khairil, and Director of Solutions Engineering APAC at Backbase, Sumit Batra, on the Banking After Hours couch to learn how banks can create meaningful impact and legacies.
Standard Chartered Bank is no stranger to innovation from their leading digibanks Mox and Trust Bank to their BaaS arm Nexus there's no shortage of excitement.We speak to Sammeer, the Managing Director & Head of Consumer, Private and Business Banking in Malaysia on the bank's philosophy of disruption themselves to stay ahead of the curve.
Bank Islam has made great strides on the digitisation front with the launch of its digital bank spinoff 'Be U' while embarking on the second phase of its 4-year IT blueprint.Muazzam Mohamed, CEO, shares with us Bank Islam's grand ambitions and how that ties in with the future of Islamic finance in Malaysia.
This episode was first published on 6th April 2023
