Print this article

Digital Digest: The Latest Tech News - Nium, Singapore

Editorial Staff

6 November 2019

Singapore-based financial technology start-up , which recently changed its name from InstaReM, is abandoning its bid to compete for a digital wholesale licence in the city-state, according to Bloomberg and other news media.

Instead, Nium will focus on cross-border business-to-business payments solutions, reports said.

“Singaporean banks are extremely well entrenched in that ecosystem,” Nium chief executive Prajit Nanu was quoted as saying. “Our strengths lie elsewhere, and we have decided to consolidate and focus on those areas.”

In July, the Monetary Authority of Singapore triggered a round of applications when it said it planned to award three wholesale bank licences. The move comes as financial hubs such as Singapore are battling to burnish their digital credentials. 

Nium raised $41 million earlier in 2019, and the firm is  backed by Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings, Rocket Internet and MDI Ventures, reports said. The startup is regulated in a number of jurisdictions, including the US, Hong Kong, the European Union, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.