The latest digital and technology innovations, product and service developments in the world's wealth management sector.

Bank of China (Hong Kong)
Bank of China (Hong Kong) has said that it is continuing to introduce measures â€“ in conjunction with Bank of China on the mainland â€“ to help customers resolve bank account issues remotely. Affected services include wealth management.

More than 6,000 customers have updated their travel document information through BOCHK’s attestation service and BOC Shenzhen branch’s online electronic platform, as announced earlier. 

Additional measures have been introduced to allow more customers to enjoy convenient cross-border payment and wealth management services, including extending the grace period for customers with expired Home Return Permits, as well as expanding the coverage of the bank’s attestation service.

Brankas, Kaya Founders
Brankas, a finance technology company in Southeast Asia, has launched an accelerator programme for startups in the Philippines. Kaya Founders, an early-stage investment firm, is also backing the launch.

The Open PHinance Challenge, which is running for eight weeks, is designed to open finance products for early-stage startups. Out of 30 teams and startups which applied for the Challenge, 11 were chosen, Brankas said in a statement late last week.

The startups are as follows:
AltSwitch, a blockchain-based company; Betterteem, a cloud-based HR integration app that uses AI technology; Cropital, an agriculture crowdfunding platform providing farmers access to scalable and sustainable financing; Datacultr a digital debt collections and risk management startup which digitalises collection processes, automates customer engagement, and provides lifecycle management, and Dyippay, a fintech serving the public utility vehicle sector. Other startups are KoleK, an enterprise software-as-a-service which orchestrates receivables processes for companies; Mochi, a business-to-business startup aiming to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) merchants purchase supplies without worrying about cash on hand; Rambooor, a Web3 startup which aims to make decentralised finance (DeFi) accessible, safe, and profitable for ordinary users, Sonicboom Solutions, a payments business in Malaysia; Sonicboom Solutions, a Malaysian payment firm; Spiro Carbon Group, which works in the farms space, and Taikee, a personal finance platform. 

During the eight-week programme, participant teams will go through sessions focused on product ideas, business development, user validation, regulatory compliance, pitching and fundraising.

Brankas and Kaya Founders will gather subject matter experts. Local partners will also assist in the programme, the statement added.