How much bigger can India’s fintech space get?

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It’s true that China’s high on fintech, with the likes of Alipay and WeChat Pay dominating everyday life. But it’s not the biggest fintech player in Asia — India is. The country was named as the world’s third-largest fintech center last year, behind only the US and the UK.

So today we look at:

• India’s highly funded fintech startups
• The investment bank that’s on the digital path
• Other newsy highlights in the region, such as TikTok’s potential $60 billion valuation

Money makes money for these Indian fintech startups

India’s fintech investments are wild — the amount of money that poured in nearly doubled from US$1.9 billion in 2018 to US$3.7 billion last year. And this infusion shows no sign of stopping. So let’s take a closer look at the startups that have bagged the most funds.

• Right on the money: Policybazaar is like the “Skyscanner of insurance” in India. Its portal helps users compare and buy financial plans from major insurers. It has a total disclosed funding of US$2.1 billion from investors like Softbank, Tencent and Temasek Holdings
• Put in one’s two cents: Most India’s mobile shoppers aren’t strangers to Paytm. The digital payments company has more than 140 million monthly active users and is one of the country’s valued startup at US$16 billion. Its backers include Alibaba, Ant Group, and SoftBank.
• In for a penny, in for a pound: Capital Float is an online platform that provides working capital finance to small and medium enterprises in India. It has a total disclosed funding of US$436.6 million and counts Amazon and Sequoia as among its investors.

Read more: Meet the 20 top-funded fintech companies in India

The investment bank on a digital pursuit

We’ve heard this before: The future is digital. So Hong Kong investment bank AMTD Group launched a digital platform arm to ride on the digital finance wave. Called AMTD Digital, it recently raised $285 million.

• Find the name familiar? You might have seen the news about its recent acquisition of Singapore-based insurtech startup PolicyPal and payments platform Fomo Pay.
• That’s not all: AMTD Group is also gunning for a Singapore digital wholesale banking license. It teamed up with SP Group, Xiaomi, and Funding Societies to make the joint application.
• The aim? AMTD Digital wants to build “a one-stop digital solutions platform” that connects its financial services presence in Hong Kong with the ASEAN market. This platform will include services like digital banking, digital insurance, digital asset exchange, and e-payment or remittance.

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