Banking Research

Mar

Competition in digital banking in Southeast Asia presents opportunities for infrastructure service providers

Competition remains fierce in Southeast Asia’s digital banking market, especially among major brands linked to super-apps such as ride-hailing app Grab (GXS Bank) and Sea Limited (SeaBank and Maribank), which operates the Shopee eCommerce platform and gaming platform Garena. While Revolut and Chime can generally be regarded as the digital…

Mar

Asia Banking Research

Bitter lessons from Chocolate Finance: A cautionary tale in fintech

In March 2025, Singapore-based fintech company Chocolate Finance found itself at the center of a storm after a poorly planned promotion led to a significant backlash from customers. The incident, which began with the abrupt suspension of instant withdrawals and the imposition of a spending cap on its debit card,…

Mar

Asia Banking Research

Bank of Korea rules out Bitcoin as a reserve asset

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has officially ruled out Bitcoin as a reserve asset, citing concerns over its extreme volatility, high transaction costs, and non-compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) guidelines. This decision places South Korea in alignment with several other financial authorities worldwide but also highlights a growing divide…

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