Tag: Xfers

StraitsX surpasses SGD 2 billion mark in digital assets-related transactions in 2021 and unveils new platform

StraitsX, Southeast Asia’s pioneering digital assets platform developed by Xfers, a Singapore-based FinTech licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for e-money issuance, today announced that it has surpassed the SGD 2 billion mark in digital assets-related transactions on its payment platform in 2021 alone.

Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, said, “The growth in transactions shows that investors are increasingly exploring digital assets as an alternative form of investment that offers liquidity and returns. Meanwhile, central banks around the world are examining the potential benefits of digital and decentralised financial systems. Recently, we have been shortlisted in the MAS Global CBDC Challenge together with our partner SEBA Bank to explore innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies, and we intend to intensify our efforts working hand-in-hand with both regulators and digital assets market participants to enable such transformation.”

Rebranding and Transformation for better user experience
Adding on to this announcement is the unveiling of StraitsX’s new platform and identity. The new StraitsX platform features a redesigned and streamlined user interface to enable faster and more efficient navigation. The StraitsX platform enables individual users to transfer, mint and redeem XSGD with a connected bank account, in addition to spending their XSGD with various digital asset platforms. Businesses can also leverage APIs to collect, disburse and reconcile funds from their end-users. StraitsX currently supports over 10 digital asset platforms in Singapore through its API solution.

“With the increase of user adoption towards access to digital assets, we feel that we can better serve this market by separating StraitsX as a standalone brand dedicated to accelerating access to digital assets in Southeast Asia. This brand update aims to improve user experience and better communicate our mission to bring access to digital assets in Southeast Asia,” said Salley.

The new StraitsX brand logo depicts a strait, which is defined as a narrow passage of water connecting two bodies of water. Similar to a strait, StraitsX aims to connect the existing fiat-based financial system to a blockchain-based financial system, through its services and the StraitsX stablecoins. Along with this, StraitsX has also introduced a new token logo for XSGD, which features a simplified design to optimise for better readability. The equal borders at the top and the bottom represent XSGD’s one for one parity with the Singapore dollar.

In October 2020, StraitsX launched Southeast Asia’s first stablecoin – the StraitsX Singapore Dollar (XSGD), a digital token available on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchain that is backed one-for-one by the Singapore dollar. XSGD is supported on various digital asset platforms including decentralised finance applications such as Zilswap, Uniswap and DFX finance. As of September 2021, XSGD crossed over 1.5 billion SGD in on-chain transaction value.

Salley added, “At StraitsX, we strive to enable and accelerate access to digital assets in Asia and beyond. With the help of our valuable partners, we have seen tremendous growth in digital asset-related transactions and the adoption of XSGD. We hope to continue to bring value to our users in Southeast Asia through the StraitsX platform and the StraitsX stablecoins.”

About StraitsX by Xfers
StraitsX is the pioneering payments infrastructure for the digital assets space in Southeast Asia developed by Singapore-based FinTech Xfers Pte. Ltd, a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for e-money issuance. StraitsX offers personal and business accounts to deposit, hold and withdraw funds as well as to connect accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payments rails for digital asset platforms and issues the Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin, XSGD. For more information, please visit straitsx.com.

For media queries PRecious Communications for Xfers/StraitsX:
xfers@preciouscomms.com

Xfers & SEBA Bank Named Finalists for Global CBDC Challenge organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Xfers, a Southeast Asia based payments leader holding a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for e-money issuance, together with its partner, SEBA Bank, a FINMA licensed Swiss Bank providing a seamless, secure, and easy-to-use bridge between digital and traditional assets, today announced that they have been named among the 15 finalists for the Global Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Challenge organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, United Nations Development Programme, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Global CBDC Challenge calls for FinTech companies, financial institutions and solution providers around the world to submit innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies and promote financial inclusion.

The joint proposal submitted by Xfers and SEBA Bank was shortlisted from over 300 applications representing over 50 countries and will be presented to the public and a panel of judges at the Singapore Fintech Festival on November 8th, 2021.

Launched in October 2020, StraitsX by Xfers is the first stablecoin initiative focusing on Southeast Asia and issues the StraitsX Singapore dollar, XSGD, a digital token available on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchain that is backed one-for-one with the Singapore dollar.

Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, said, “We are delighted to be named finalists for the CBDC challenge by the MAS. We look forward to continuing leveraging our experience as Singapore’s first stablecoin issuer, and working closely with our partner, SEBA Bank, which comes with a wealth of expertise and practical experience in developing CBDCs, having just completed a CBDC experiment with Banque de France in June this year.”

Founded in 2018, SEBA Bank is a fully licensed FINMA banking and securities dealer. In June this year, SEBA Bank completed a successful CBDC experiment with the Banque de France, which demonstrated the capacity of distributed ledger technologies to communicate with the Eurosystem’s settlement platform TARGET2-Securities for the settlement of listed securities. This testing is an important contribution towards the development of an EU wide CBDC.

Matthew Alexander, Head of Digital Corporate Finance & Asset Tokenisation SEBA Bank, commented, “We are thrilled to have been selected by the MAS for this CBDC challenge amongst such a prestigious group of institutions. We look forward to working with our partner Xfers and contributing both our Digital Asset capabilities and recent experience working with the Banque de France CBDC to support the MAS and the Singapore financial centre. At SEBA Bank, we are constantly striving for innovation in the development of digital currencies and digital asset infrastructure. This selection, alongside our partners Xfers, by MAS as a finalist in the CBDC challenge, is a significant validation of our innovation in the development of digital currencies, and builds on our work supporting the Banque de France in CBDC testing. The shortlisting by MAS is testament to SEBA Bank’s extensive network and operations in APAC, with the recent appointment of Sam Lin as APAC CEO, and headcount growth in our Singapore and Hong Kong hubs, further solidifying our presence in the region.”

About StraitsX by Xfers
StraitsX is the pioneering payments infrastructure for the digital assets space in Southeast Asia developed by Singapore-based FinTech Xfers, which is a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for e-money issuance. StraitsX offers personal and business accounts to deposit, hold and withdraw funds as well as to connect their accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payments rails for digital asset platforms and issues the Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin, XSGD.

About SEBA Bank – The Future of Digital Banking, Investing & Financing
Founded in April 2018 and headquartered in Zug, SEBA Bank is a pioneer in the financial industry and the only global smart bank providing a fully universal suite of regulated banking services in the emerging digital economy. In August 2019, SEBA Bank received a Swiss banking and securities dealer licence – the first time a reputed, regulatory authority such as FINMA has granted a licence to a financial services provider with a core capability in digital assets. The broad, vertically integrated spectrum of services combined with the highest security standards, make SEBA Bank’s value proposition unique – this is why Banque de France selected SEBA Bank to test the integration of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). CVVC Global Report and CB Insights named SEBA Bank as Top 50 Companies within the blockchain ecosystem. Aite Group awarded SEBA Bank with their 2021 Digital Wealth Management Impact Innovation Award in the category “Digital Startup of the Year”. For more information please visit seba.swiss.

For media queries
PRecious Communications for Xfers
xfers@preciouscomms.com