FintechNews.sg – Weekly Newsletter
Period: December 13 – 19, 2025
📝 Executive Summary
This week’s fintech headlines reflect a continued acceleration of digital assets and stablecoin infrastructure, with both regulatory pilots and commercial partnerships shaping how cross-border payments and settlement evolve. Singapore remains a key hub in these developments, including initiatives on renminbi clearing and e-CNY pilots, and funding activity in fintech infrastructure players.
AI and generative technologies continue to permeate financial services, as evidenced by product launches, tools for maturity assessment, and broader adoption studies showing widespread but uneven integration. These developments underscore both opportunities and challenges around implementation and trust.
Regional trends in payments, digital banking, and talent development also stood out this week, with partnerships enabling cross-border QR payments and educational programs scaling fintech professional skills across ASEAN.
Finally, industry events and ecosystem growth signal an active pipeline of collaboration and networking in APAC, setting the tone for early-year strategy and innovation cycles.
📈 Key Trends
- Stablecoins and digital asset settlement are moving toward mainstream utility, driven by partnerships and advisory offerings.
- Cross-border payments and currency linkages are expanding via regulated pilots and bank partnerships.
- AI adoption in financial services is widespread but implementation efficacy remains uneven.
- Education and talent pipelines are being strengthened with new fintech-focused postgraduate initiatives.
- Fintech events in APAC continue to attract strategic attention, reinforcing regional growth momentum.
🇸🇬 Singapore
Payments
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MetaComp Teams Up With Stable to Expand Stablecoin Settlement (16 Dec 2025) Singapore-based payments firm MetaComp has partnered with Stable to expand stablecoin-based cross-border settlement capabilities, leveraging regulated digital payment token frameworks. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123677/digitalassets/metacomp-stable/ (Fintech Singapore)
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StraitsX to Launch SGD and USD Stablecoins on Solana in Early 2026 (16 Dec 2025) StraitsX announced plans to issue Singapore dollar and US dollar-backed stablecoins on the Solana blockchain to support liquidity and on-chain payments. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123562/digitalassets/straitsx-stablecoins/ (Fintech Singapore)
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Mastercard, TerraPay to Expand Digital Wallet Acceptance Globally (15 Dec 2025) Mastercard and TerraPay are working to broaden acceptance of digital wallets across global merchant networks, enhancing cross-border consumer payments. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123536/payments/mastercard-terrapay/ (Fintech Singapore)
Digital Banking / Cross-Border Finance
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Singapore Names DBS as Renminbi Clearing Bank, Launches e-CNY Pilot (16 Dec 2025) Singapore and China launched financial measures, designating DBS Bank as an RMB clearing bank and piloting digital yuan (e-CNY) top-ups for Singapore travellers. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123654/china/e-cny-singapore/ (Fintech Singapore)
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Trust Bank Is Putting Control Back Into Their Customers’ Hands (recent) Trust Bank Singapore highlights its strategy balancing user engagement with “strategic friction” and zero FX fees to enhance digital banking experience. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123493/digital-banking-news-singapore/trust-bank-singapore-strategic-friction/ (Fintech Singapore)
Crypto / Digital Assets
- Crypto.com Adds DBS as Banking Partner for SGD and USD Transfers (18 Dec 2025) Crypto.com has enabled SGD and USD deposits and withdrawals for Singapore users via a new partnership with DBS, enhancing fiat on- and off-ramp options. Source: Fintech News Singapore December 18, 2025 (snippet) (Fintech Singapore)
RegTech / Security
- iProov Red Team Reveals Vulnerability in Mobile KYC Systems (19 Dec 2025) iProov demonstrated a mobile KYC vulnerability scenario, highlighting risks around identity verification and fraud prevention in digital onboarding. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123600/security/iproov-red-team-vulnerability/ (Fintech Singapore)
AI in Finance
- AI Reaches Widespread Adoption in Finance, Yet Full Integration Still Lags (15 Dec 2025) A Cloudera study shows that while AI use is widespread in financial sectors, many organisations have not fully integrated capabilities for strategic impact. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123562/ai/ai-reaches-widespread-adoption-in-finance-yet-full-integration-still-lags/ (Fintech Singapore)
🌏 Southeast Asia
Payments
- Vietnam Forms Dedicated Body to Oversee Crypto Asset Trading (15 Dec 2025) Vietnam established a regulatory authority dedicated to overseeing crypto asset trading, underscoring continued regional regulatory evolution for digital assets. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123558/regulation/vietnam-crypto-regulator/ (Fintech Singapore)
Talent & Education
- Top Fintech Master’s Degrees and Postgraduate Programs in ASEAN (4 days ago) ASEAN universities are launching fintech-focused postgraduate programs to meet rising demand for specialist skills in digital assets, AI, and financial analytics. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123507/fintech/top-fintech-masters-degrees-and-postgraduate-programs-in-asean/ (Fintech Singapore)
🌏 Asia
AI & Tech
- Akamai and Visa to Strengthen Security as AI Shopping Agents Scale (18 Dec 2025) Akamai and Visa announced plans to bolster security and trust for AI-driven shopping agents, addressing risks as agentic commerce expands. Source: Fintech News Singapore December 18, 2025 (snippet) (Fintech Singapore)
Security
- Sumsub WTF Summit 2025: Building Trust in the Fraudemic Era (3 days ago) At the WTF Summit, Sumsub founders highlighted rising deepfake and fraud risks in APAC and introduced flexible verification approaches to broaden digital inclusion. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123548/security/sumsub-wtf-summit-2025-building-trust-in-the-fraudemic-era/ (Fintech Singapore)
🌍 Global
AI / Technology
- Red Hat Acquires Chatterbox Labs to Boost AI Security and Trust (17 Dec 2025) Red Hat has acquired Chatterbox Labs to integrate AI safety testing and guardrails into its enterprise offerings, reflecting rising demand for secure AI deployment. Source: https://fintechnews.sg/123814/security/red-hat-acquires-chatterbox-labs-to-boost-ai-security-and-trust/ (Fintech Singapore)