Almond FinTech expands transfer network in Apac
0
This partnership marks a key milestone in Almond FinTech's strategic expansion into Southeast Asia's cross-border money flows.
Award-Winning Technology Expands Across APAC with New Singapore—Indonesia Corridor
The Singapore—Indonesia payment corridor represents a significant remittance route for Singapore's Indonesian migrant community. Since launching in late May, Almond's blockchain-based optimization technology has powered over $2 million SGD in transfers through this corridor—delivering exchange rates consistently better than mid-market FX rates and unavailable elsewhere in the industry. These results reflect the same transformative impact that earned Almond consecutive industry recognition in 2023 and 2024.
"This partnership represents a natural evolution in our mission to remove barriers in global financial transfers," said Adam Swartzbaugh, CEO and Co-Founder of Almond FinTech. "We've always believed true innovation comes from deeply understanding customers' needs and building solutions that not only solve today's problems but anticipate tomorrow's. In a crowded and commoditized space, Ample stands out for its commitment to leveraging technology to deliver meaningful value to its customers—making them an ideal partner for our expansion across Asia."
Proven Performance Meets Regulatory Excellence
Ample has been licensed as a Major Payment Institution by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for over 25 years, establishing its credibility as a trusted financial services provider. The partnership validates Almond's ability to deliver superior performance while meeting Singapore's regulatory requirements. Almond leverages a multitude of stablecoins as bridge assets to optimize cross-border treasury transfers between fiat currencies. Almond's technology aggregates real-time market data to identify the most cost-effective and efficient transfer routes. This same breakthrough infrastructure is active across 10 countries and supports over 100 digital currencies.
For Ample, this enables:
Better than mid-market FX rates through intelligent routing
Near real-time settlement for treasury transfers
Redundancy and reliability through multi-asset routing
Lower transaction costs compared to traditional rails
Innovation Leadership Drives Market Expansion
This partnership demonstrates Almond's continued technology leadership in cross-border payments. The company's consecutive CrossTech Innovation Awards underscore its role as an industry pioneer, consistently delivering solutions that address critical financial challenges globally.
"Receiving this award is a testament to our team's relentless commitment to pushing the boundaries of financial technology," said Swartzbaugh, referencing Almond's recent recognition. "This partnership with Ample shows how award-winning innovation translates directly into enhanced services for financial institutions and their customers. One of our strongest value propositions is helping clients optimize across multiple stablecoins, not just one, enabling better liquidity, tighter spreads, and more flexibility without complicating onboarding."
Embedded within Ample's technology stack that powers their customer-facing and internal treasury operations, Almond's technology enhances backend efficiency—delivering the same optimization capabilities that have positioned Almond as a leader in B2B cross-border payments.
Strategic Growth in Southeast Asia
The partnership with Ample positions Almond FinTech for continued growth across Southeast Asian markets, where digital payment adoption creates opportunities for technological enhancement. This expansion reflects Almond's strategy of partnering with established, regulated institutions to deliver cutting-edge payment solutions.
"We believe that stablecoins are the future, and powering remittances with them is the way forward. Partnering with Almond has allowed us to harness that future safely, through a treasury layer that delivers faster, cheaper, and more reliable settlement. For our customers, nothing changes on the surface—but under the hood, we're moving with the times." — Matthew Yap, CEO, Ample Transfers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
4 days ago
- Reuters
Investors trim long bets on Asian currencies as headwinds to dollar ease
July 24 (Reuters) - Long positions on most Asian currencies fell on bets that pressure on the U.S. dollar was easing after a bleak first half, though bullish bets on currencies in Singapore and Taiwan remained strong, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Poll participants were most bullish on the Singapore dollar and the Taiwan dollar , and maintained short bets on the Indian rupee for a fourth consecutive survey, the fortnightly poll of 11 respondents showed. Long bets on Indonesia's rupiah turned almost neutral, following the central bank's dovish tilt, while participants were slightly bearish on the Philippine peso . Nearly all poll responses were received by Tuesday, a day before the United States announced a trade deal with Indonesia and the Philippines at lower than previously proposed tariff rates, buoying investor sentiment in the region. The U.S. dollar has remained under pressure for much of the first half of the year from concerns about President Donald Trump's erratic trade policy and its impact on economic growth, and bets of interest rate cuts. And while the dollar index, opens new tab, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, is still pinned near its early 2022 levels, analysts are anticipating a near-term rebound. "The 'de-dollarisation' theme should continue while there are lingering questions around U.S. trade policy uncertainty, fiscal sustainability, and Fed independence," HSBC analysts said. "But it is likely becoming less intense, considering the substantial correction of the USD's overvaluation and the recovery of U.S. equities," they said, adding that Asian currencies will strengthen in the second half, albeit more modestly. Long positions on Singapore's dollar ticked lower but remained firmly bullish. The currency has appreciated sharply against the greenback this year as the city-state's high-yield equities and stable economy attract investors seeking a safe haven in a region exposed to the whims of U.S. tariff barriers. Market participants look to the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) policy decision on July 30 for the next catalyst. "Singapore is unlikely to be singled out by the U.S. for additional tariffs, given that it has a bilateral trade deficit with the United States. Regional safe-haven properties are also likely to be supportive for the SGD," Maybank analysts wrote. Taiwan's dollar continued to be investors' top bets in the region. It has appreciated nearly 12% against the U.S. dollar this year, making it the best-performing unit in the region. Long positions on the Taiwan dollar remained entrenched in the bullish territory, but were off a multi-year high scaled in the previous survey. Bullish bets on the Chinese yuan were largely unchanged, while those on the South Korean won touched their lowest since early May. Long bets on Thai baht also edged higher. The Asian currency positioning poll is focused on what analysts and fund managers believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht. The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3. A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long U.S. dollars. The figures include positions held through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). The survey findings are provided below (positions in U.S. dollar versus each currency):
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
US stock futures higher after trade deals with Japan, Philippines
Magnificent Seven stocks are megacap tech stocks that have a strong influence on the market. They also include Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta and Amazon. In 2024, they accounted for about one-third of the S&P 500's total market capitalization. When Tesla and Alphabet report, investors will scour their reports and comments for any signs of weakness in artificial intelligence spending or effects of tariffs to extend the rally begun by trade deals announced by President Donald Trump. The U.S. and Japan agreed to a trade deal that included Japan's investing $550 billion in the U.S. and a 15% tariff on Japanese goods entering the U.S. That includes auto tariffs, which will be lowered to 15% from the current 25%, according to reports. Additionally, Trump said the U.S. struck a trade deal with the Philippines that includes a 19% tariff on goods imported from the southeast Asian country and no tariffs on U.S. goods entering the Phillippines. The two countries will also work togther militarily, he said. Final talks with Indonesia on its trade deal are also underway, the White House said. The framework includes will no tariffs on U.S. goods, while Indonesian goods entering the U.S. will be taxed at 19%. At 6 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow rose 0.50%, while broad S&P 500 futures gained 0.39% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures added 0.18%. Before the market opens, toy maker Hasbro, AT&T, Boston Scientific and Hilton are among the companies expected to report earnings. Corporate news Texas Instruments' second-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates, but the lower range of its current quarter guidance missed. CoStar Group reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter. Cal-Maine Foods results in the company's last three months of its fiscal year beat analysts' expectations, helped by egg prices. Enphase Energy's second-quarter earnings topped anlaysts' expectations, but current-quarter revenue forecast was mostly below forecasts. Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Reuters
Freeport-McMoRan still waiting for US copper tariff details, CEO says
July 23 (Reuters) - Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N), opens new tab has yet to see details of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports starting next week, its CEO said on Wednesday after the mining company posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Trump announced the tariffs earlier this month as part of a plan to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. The duty is slated to begin on August 1. The U.S. imports roughly half of its annual copper needs. Trump and his administration have not shared details on what type of the red metal the tariff would affect, a lack of clarity that has confounded producers, companies that use copper and countries that export it. "We're still waiting on additional details on implementation of the tariff announcement," Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk told investors on a conference call on Wednesday. Quirk added that Freeport is "not aware of any exemptions at this point" for U.S. imports of the metal. Responsible for 70% of refined U.S. copper - the country's largest producer - Phoenix-based Freeport would be the biggest beneficiary of any copper tariff, with a boost to annual profit of at least $1.6 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month. Freeport also produces copper in Chile, Peru and Indonesia, where it operates the Grasberg mine - the world's second-largest copper mine - and a smelter. While Freeport traditionally has sold its Indonesian copper to Asian customers, Quirk said the company would consider shipping some supply to the United States. "We do have flexibility to send it to the place that makes the most sense," she said. "We don't have long-term contracts locked up" for Indonesian copper. Freeport operates one of two U.S. copper smelters and has been studying whether to expand its capacity by roughly 30%, Quirk said, adding that the company has not discussed the plans with the Trump administration and that it has no desire to build a new U.S. smelter. U.S. copper prices have gained more than 25% since Trump announced the tariffs. When asked whether the increase could affect copper demand, Freeport executives said they continued to see strong demand but longer-term saw the issue tied to how the tariff is implemented. "Ultimately, it's going to be global supply and demand that will end up driving (prices), and then whatever tariffs are there, how they're absorbed and where they're absorbed in the U.S. marketplace," said Freeport's chairman, Richard Adkerson. Adkerson added that Freeport has lobbied Washington to streamline the mine-permitting process to boost the country's copper output. For the second quarter, Freeport's profit beat Wall Street's estimates as higher copper and gold prices offset lower production. The company reported an adjusted profit of 54 cents per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 45 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company's shares were down about 1.5% at $45.09 on Wednesday afternoon. Freeport said it expects to sell 1.3 billion pounds from its domestic mines in 2025. The company warned of a roughly 5% increase in the cost of its U.S. purchases if suppliers pass along tariff-related expenses for other materials. The company's quarterly average realized price for copper was $4.54 per pound, up 1.3% from a year earlier, while its average realized price for gold was $3,291 per ounce, up about 43%. However, second-quarter copper production dropped around 7% from a year earlier to 963 million recoverable pounds.
