4 fintech startups in Asia to keep an eye on

Illustration by Tech in Asia’s Andre Gunawan.

Of the US$23.4 billion that was invested into tech startups from April to June this year, the biggest chunk went not into ecommerce, as is usually the case, but into ride-hailing apps. Second on the list was fintech.

It was a watershed moment as startups dealing in a wide variety of web-based financial services displayed a critical mass of traction and importance in the tech industry.

That’s why many people were eager to see the Fintech Pitch Battle earlier today at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016, where four startups got the chance to show off to a receptive audience and hone their pitching skills on three top-class judges who work as investors. Here’s the keen quartet.

1. Cheers

Quick pitch: a truly global wallet

There are already plenty of mobile wallet options, conceded Gregor Arn, but they’re all fragmented. There isn’t one that works in ways you want it – and with anyone around the world.

Gregor Arn makes the case for Cheers. Photo credit: Michael Holmes.

Gregor and the team at Cheers want to get it right for the first time. They’ve created a framework by which you can transfer money to a friend through any app. That means, so long as an app has added in support for Cheers’ system, you could eventually give your friend a few bucks over Kik for a coffee or lend him twenty bucks over Snapchat.

The startup and the developer of the app where the transfer takes place will each take a cut of the transaction.

The startup is focusing on where it’s based – the Philippines – as it tries to gain traction.

2. DeBit

Quick pitch: a debit card for your bitcoin

Internet funny money bitcoin is slowly being adopted around the world, but the virtual currency is still far from mainstream – perhaps because it’s pretty hard to spend in the real world.

3. StockRadars

4. Tada