5 digital full bank, 9 wholesale bank contenders to move to next round
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s central bank Monetary Authority of Singapore has shortlisted 14 applicants for up to five digital bank licences on offer.
The shortlist, out of the 21 applications received, comprises five digital full bank applicants and nine digital wholesale bank applicants who will now move to the next round of the selection process.
The MAS will then make another evaluation based on the applicants’ business model, contributions to the island nation’s financial centre, growth prospects and its ability to manage a “sustainable digital banking business”.
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts macroeconomic and business conditions, the MAS has asked all eligible applicants to review the business plans and assumptions underpinning their financial projections.
The results for the next round is expected to be announced by the end of 2020.
Fintech startup iLex raises seed funding
iLex, a Singapore-based fintech startup, announced today it has raised an undisclosed seed funding round from investors based in France, Hong Kong and the US, besides local investors.
It has also signed an MoU with IHS Markit to connect its platform with IHS’s suite of solutions.
The startup is creating a multilateral e-market platform that will augment the network, deal flow and liquidity opportunities for loan market participants.
Carro to allow contactless purchase of pre-owned cars
Singapore-based automotive marketplace Carro has launched a contactless purchase feature for customers to buy pre-owned vehicles with no face-to-face interaction.
This is in response to changes in the customer behaviour caused by COVID-19.
Aaron Tan, CEO and Founder of Carro, said that in order to address any buyers’ remorse due to the lack of test drives, Carro offers a three-day return policy, allowing for returns if they are not satisfied with the purchase.
Zomato’s co-founder launches new meditation startup
Pankaj Chaddah, Founder of India’s restaurant aggregator Zomato, has launched an online meditation platform, called Mindhouse, according to The Economic Times.
Mindhouse started as an offline business and later became an online platform after the outbreak of the pandemic.
“COVID-19 has put mental health to the forefront, accelerating things by a few years. We see this as an offline plus online opportunity,” Chaddah said.
“We were planning to launch our online service in a major way by the end of this year, but we flipped that, and now we are focusing only on online as we don’t see offline coming back to normalcy for a long time now,” he added.
Mindhouse is a mobile app that provides meditation and yoga services through a combination of live classes and an on-demand library of audio and video content to help urban Indians cope with stress.
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