How a Singapore-based marketplace helped India’s UPI solve a big problem

In The Top Up this week, we look at how MAS-founded APIX is facilitating fintech solutions in emerging markets and analyze the Jio Financial spinoff. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every fortnight 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](. IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - How a MAS-founded, open-architecture API marketplace enables [collaboration between financial institutions and fintech players]( - Reasons for Jio Financial Services’ lackluster debut following its spinoff from Reliance Industries - The [key decision-makers]( behind Indonesian investment app Ajaib --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} I took my dog Natto to the beach over the weekend. The weather was great, and Natto had fun running by the sea as the waves came crashing in. Unfortunately, she also ingested some sand while playing, which caused her a lot of discomfort on Monday morning. I also had to wake up at an ungodly hour to clean up after her, but hopefully she’s learned from this experience. In the world of financial services, regulatory sandboxes provide an environment where fintech innovations can be tested safely and responsibly, with the aim of minimizing the real-world discomfort - as Natto experienced - when they finally launch. One such example of a regulatory sandbox is APIX, a cross-border, open-architecture API marketplace and sandbox founded by the International Finance Corporation, the ASEAN Bankers Association, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. As my colleague Rachel explores in this week’s premium story, APIX has played matchmaker between financial institutions (and even other regulators) and the fintech startups looking to offer them solutions. One of its success stories is India’s United Payments Interface (UPI), which handled 46% of all real-time transactions worldwide in 2022. Through APIX, UPI was introduced to Tech5, the fintech firm that came up with a biometric solution to hasten UPI’s authentication process. This week’s Hot Take also focuses on India, where Jio Financial Services (JFS) made a disappointing stock market debut after being spun off from parent Reliance Industries. Despite this, JFS has a bright future ahead, assuming it can take advantage of Reliance’s ecosystem of millions of customers and large, non-financial datasets. -- Simon  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [How MAS-founded APIX is solving problems for regulators from India to Indonesia]( MAS initiative APIX has become the world’s first marketplace for regulators looking for financial solutions.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE Jio Financial Services’ disappointing debut belies potential Here’s what happened: - The stock price of Jio Financial Services (JFS), a spinoff from conglomerate Reliance Industries, [fell by 5%]( - the most it can fall in a session - on its trading debut on Monday. - As part of the demerger, shareholders of Reliance received one JFS share for every Reliance share owned. - JFS is now the third-largest non-bank financial company in India. Here’s our take: JFS’ debut held much promise. After all, it plays on a number of key trends: India’s favorable demographics, rising affluence, and rapid digitalization. Analysts, however, attribute the underwhelming performance of JFS and the sell-off to several factors: First, it was because passive index funds - which had received shares in JFS as shareholders of Reliance - had to sell them. JFS shares are [not currently eligible]( for inclusion in the Nifty 50 and Sensex indexes that some of these index funds track - and thus lie outside of their investment mandates. There was also [uncertainty]( over the value of JFS. While the company has said that it intends to be a “full-service financial services player,” details of its exact scope of business are scant. Add to that the [nervousness]( about the reliability of Indian financial data following the Adani Group crisis earlier this year. Yet, investors with a longer-term view may want to double down on JFS. Last month, JFS revealed a [partnership]( with US financial giant BlackRock, in which both parties intend to establish a 50-50 joint venture. Called Jio BlackRock, it will provide millions of Indian retail investors with “tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions,” a [statement]( by Blackrock read. In addition, JFS benefits from being part of the Reliance ecosystem. Reliance is India’s [largest private sector corporation]( with interest spanning retail to digital entertainment. BlackRock, with nearly [US$10 trillion]( in assets under management, has the expertise and tech to make use of these advantages to scale up the joint venture’s offerings. There will, of course, be plenty of competition. For example, in the area of consumer finance, India-based HDFC Bank Ltd. intends to use its dominant position in providing mortgages to [capture a larger share of the market]( offering borrowers loans for related purchases like cars and TVs. Moreover, JFS will face competition from other fintech players like [Paytm]( and [PhonePe](. Still, JFS will have an edge from its association with Reliance, which should provide the former with access to unique datasets, such as mobile phone data usage, as well as a large pool of customers. Reliance’s retail arm, for instance, serves [249 million](. But JFS should perform well if it can capture even a small slice of such a rapidly growing pie.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [BillEase reaches $60m in annual revenue, turns profitable]( The Filipino buy now, pay later (BNPL) player attributed the growth to increased spending on customer acquisition, although the money spent on each new customer remained stable. 2️⃣ [ID wealthtech startup Pluang axes 10% of staff]( Claudia Kolonas, co-founder of Pluang, said that affected employees will receive compensation according to local regulations and extended insurance coverage. 3️⃣ [Atome renews $100m debt facility, eyes further expansion in the Philippines]( In addition to BNPL services, it offers cash loans and its Mastercard-powered Atome Card in the country. 4️⃣ [Payoneer wins major payment institution license in Singapore]( The fintech company can now roll out services in areas like domestic and cross-border money transfer, merchant acquisition, and account and e-money issuance.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Org Chart: The people fuelling Ajaib’s growth]( Our Org Chart series is back with Ajaib, the first investment app unicorn in Southeast Asia.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 in a fortnight! 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 © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894