Richard Li-backed Hyphen Group the latest to cut jobs

In The Top Up this week, we examine the layoffs at fintech firm Hyphen Group and make sense of Google Wallet's expansion in Southeast Asia. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Jofie Yordan Journalist Hello {NAME} Of the many things I write, layoff stories are one of the hardest to work on. I deeply sympathize with the employees who were let go as well as the companies that had to make the difficult decision. But we’re seeing layoffs almost every week by this point, so the question perhaps is no longer which tech firms have been affected. Maybe we should be asking instead which ones aren’t feeling the impact of the economic slowdown. One of the latest to make cuts is Hyphen Group, which is backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li. In a perfect illustration of how uncertain times have become for the tech industry, the fintech firm also lost its CEO. Sam Allen, Hyphen Group’s chief executive since April 2016, has also left the company. In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Budi digs into what happened at Hyphen Group, which said in a statement that it must re-organize and “streamline where the market demands.” But internal documents that we reviewed show that the decision was necessary after investment deals - including an IPO attempt via a special purpose acquisition company - fell through. Meanwhile, I look at the expansion of Google Wallet in Southeast Asia, which aims to enter the region’s payments market. With so many potential competitors, what is Google's goal? – Jofie  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [Layoffs at Richard Li-backed Hyphen Group after SPAC deal falls through](  Sam Allen, who served as CEO since April 2016, has also left the Hong Kong-based fintech firm.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE  What’s the deal behind Google Wallet’s expansion in Southeast Asia? Here’s what happened: - Google Wallet recently launched in [Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia](. This follows its July rollout in Singapore. - Users can add debit or credit cards, tickets, boarding passes, keys, and IDs into their Google Wallet. - Google Pay has been replaced by Google Wallet, except in some countries such as the US, India, and Singapore. Here’s our take: Google has quietly invested in fintech in recent years. While it has dropped [plans to go into banking]( its Google Pay service is now available in 57 countries after the most recent Google Wallet expansion. By incorporating Google Pay into Google Wallet, all services including storing and using a variety of cards and payments are now available in the e-wallet app. Its latest move seems to indicate that Google is eyeing the digital payments sector in Southeast Asia, whose gross transaction value was estimated to reach [US$806 billion this year](. For now, Google is partnering with local banks - such as Hong Leong Bank in Malaysia - instead of going head-to-head against them. These banks are alrerady competing with mobile wallets like GrabPay and ShopeePay, especially in digital transactions. Aside from credit card companies like Visa Malaysia, the US tech giant is also collaborating with other companies to support payments via Google Wallet. These include Thaiticketmajor in Thailand for tickets as well as carriers like AirAsia, Air France, China Air, Ryanair and United Airlines for boarding passes. Of course, rival Apple also has an eye on the fintech space, most recently launching the [Apple Paylater service](. But Google may still be one step ahead of its competitor - in this region, at least. For the moment, Apple Pay is only available in Singapore and Malaysia. Google's move could also tempt Apple to venture into other Southeast Asian markets. That said, Android remains dominant in the region. According to a report by the smartphone research firm [Canalys]( five Android smartphone brands owned up to 80% of Southeast Asia’s market in the second quarter of this year. On the other hand, Google Wallet does have its limitations, especially if it wants to compete with established regional e-wallets. For players like GrabPay and GoPay, a large part of their volume and stickiness comes from being a “bundle” with their ecosystem’s other services, such as ride-hailing and food delivery. For Google Wallet, user transactions within the Google Play Store may play this bundling role. Google has already implemented something similar for startups that charge subscription fees through their Android apps (though that has caused [some unhappiness](. Offline payments are also a potential segment since players like Grab are deprioritizing such services in favor of digital payments. For now, Google Wallet’s service only caters to QR payments in Singapore, in partnership with PayNow and FavePay. It’s unclear whether Google would leverage the increasing adoption of [QR payments]( in the region. Even so, it’s likely that Google isn’t pursuing this for fintech’s sake. Its ultimate goal may simply be related to its established advertising business. Payments can help the firm [collect data]( on how and where users spend, which can lead to better targeted advertising. – Jofie --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW 1️⃣ [Grab’s financial health in 9 charts]( The super app’s financial services hit US$20 million in revenue for Q3 2022, up 44% year on year. The segment-adjusted [EBITDA]( loss widened 38% to US$104 million. 2️⃣ [GoTo Group’s financial health in 4 charts]( Gross revenue for GoTo’s fintech arm was US$76 million in nine months this year, close to the US$80 million total in 2021. 3️⃣ [Payments firm Opn enters the US by acquiring commerce platform MerchantE]( The Thailand-headquartered firm, which was previously known as [Synqa]( is the parent company of payment gateway Omise. 4️⃣ [Surge leads $2.5m funding for Thai one-click checkout firm]( Founded in 2019, Beam is a one-click checkout solution that makes transactions on ecommerce and social platforms easier for users. 5️⃣ [Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures backs $20m series A of Dubai investment platform]( Baraka allows users across the Middle East to invest commission-free in over 6,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you next week! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894