Fintech firms look to grow reach

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Fintech firms look to grow reach

Published: 15 Jun. 2016, 20:51

Participants walk around at Korea’s Fintech booth at the Echelon Asia Summit 2016 in Singapore. [FINTECH CENTER]

Korea’s financial regulator set its sights on neighboring Asian countries to help local financial companies and fintech start-ups expand their reach in the region. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) held a series of demonstrations abroad aimed at giving Korean tech companies the opportunity to pitch their businesses and connect with overseas investors and digital entrepreneurs.

The latest, Fintech Demo Day in Singapore, was held on Wednesday during Echelon Asia Summit 2016. The two-day event is one of Asia’s largest technology conferences, attracting some 5,000 investors and tech entrepreneurs.

The Fintech Center, a fintech supporting body under the FSC, set up a booth at the Echelon event to connect 11 participating companies and interested parties on a one-on-one basis.

The firms included mobile payment company Paycock; BSMIT, the developer of an artificial intelligence-based robo-adviser; and Irisys, a company that specializes in developing security solutions using iris scans.

From left, Jeong Yu-shin, chairman of the Fintech Center; Kim Hak-kyun, standing commissioner of the Financial Services Commission; and Gerben Visser, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of The Singapore FinTech Consortium pose at the Demo Day in Singapore on Wednesday after signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Korea’s Fintech Center and the Singapore FinTech Consortium. [FINTECH CENTER]

Besides the networking, Standard Chartered Bank Korea introduced a mobile financial channel called Mobility Platform designed to allow consumers to sign for financial products.

The FSC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore FinTech Consortium on the fintech sector, especially when fintech firms launch operations in respective countries.

The Singapore event follows Fintech Demo Day in Cambodia held Monday in Phnom Penh.

In Cambodia, 12 Korean fintech firms pitched their business to investors and financial companies.

Among them was Kosign, an IT corporation based in Cambodia jointly established by software companies Webcash, Ahnhab, K4M, KIBNET and FutureSystem.

Other participants included Lockin Company, a mobile security solution provider, and SendBird, a developer of mobile messaging apps.

Financial Services Commission Standing Commissioner Kim Hak-kyun and Mey Vann, director of finance at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia attended the event, along with tech entrepreneurs.

“Developing countries in Africa as well as more advanced nations like the United States and the U.K. have witnessed the rapid development of fintech and related areas,” Kim said.

There, KB Kookmin Bank clinched an agreement with Canadia Bank, the second largest bank in Cambodia, to collaborate in the fintech field. It also launched a mobile banking platform tailored for the Cambodian market.

GmoneyTrans, a startup that provides money transfer services, fostered a partnership with Wing Specialized Bank in Cambodia to jointly provide remittance services for Cambodians living and working abroad.

The two plan to launch the service by the middle of next month.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [[email protected]]