The Money Cloud Travel Blog: From Singapore To Bangkok: Organisation To Organised Chaos!

Our PR and Content Manager at The Money Cloud, where you can compare the latest and best rates for sending money overseas, writes about his experiences travelling and working around SE Asia. This week: Bangkok.

When I try to think about the differences between the 3 major South East Asian cities I have spent time in over the past 3 months; Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok, the best description I can come up with is that they are like 3 close-knit but very different brothers.

Let me try to explain myself. Read more “The Money Cloud Travel Blog: From Singapore To Bangkok: Organisation To Organised Chaos!”

Reserve Bank of India Approves Singapore Fintech Startup Instarem For Outward Remittance Services

This content is brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies

Instarem, the Singapore based fintech startup that specialises in fast, convenient and cost-effective cross-border money transfer has won approval from the Reserve Bank of India to start facilitating overseas remittance from India.

The company say that they will start processing payments as early as November 2017, in partnership with a leading Category I Authorised Dealer (AD-I) as per RBI’s governing conditions. Read more “Reserve Bank of India Approves Singapore Fintech Startup Instarem For Outward Remittance Services”

Mobile Money In Africa Bucks The Trend For Gender Imbalance Around Tech Products

According to the World Bank, women are 50 percent less likely than men to use the internet in Africa, and significantly less likely than men to own or use a cell phone.

But recent findings, cited in an article by Susan Johnson, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Development Studies at the University of Bath, suggest that when it comes to mobile money, the gender gap is closing to the point of equality. Read more “Mobile Money In Africa Bucks The Trend For Gender Imbalance Around Tech Products”

TNG Raises Hong Kong’s Largest Ever Fintech Funding Round To Develop Blockchain e-Wallet & Overseas Money Transfer Services

Hong Kong’s fintech community are celebrating the biggest Series A funding round in the city-state’s history, and one of the largest to have been completed anywhere in the world.

TNG Fintech Group raised a “record breaking” $115 million-dollar round which values the company at $565 million. The company, which specialises in disruptive technologies such as AI, blockchain, and cashless payments and money transfers, was founded in 2013 and employs around 300 people according to a company spokesperson. Read more “TNG Raises Hong Kong’s Largest Ever Fintech Funding Round To Develop Blockchain e-Wallet & Overseas Money Transfer Services”

10 Of The Best International Money Transfer Companies In The World Today – The Money Cloud Verdict

The International Money Transfer Industry may have changed more in the past decade than at any time in its history.

Moving money abroad has traditionally been an expensive process with only a few options available to sender or recipient. Read more “10 Of The Best International Money Transfer Companies In The World Today – The Money Cloud Verdict”

World Remit Secures Partnership To Provide Instant Money Transfers in Philippines, & Nevada

World Remit are teaming up with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to make it possible for the Philippine diaspora to send money home to families and loved ones instantly via their mobile phones or computers rather than using a traditional bricks and mortar store, the company announced last week. Read more “World Remit Secures Partnership To Provide Instant Money Transfers in Philippines, & Nevada”

The Money Cloud Partners With City Forex To Provide The Ultimate Hassle Free Travel Money Ordering Service

The Money Cloud, the original and best overseas money transfer comparison site founded by industry pioneers Emmanuel Addy and Huw Jenkins, today announces an exclusive partnership with City Forex to help travellers order their travel money online, and have it delivered direct to their office or home. Read more “The Money Cloud Partners With City Forex To Provide The Ultimate Hassle Free Travel Money Ordering Service”

International Payments Firm Smart Transfer Claim World First; Customers Can Swap Currencies, For Free, Over Social Media

A Hong Kong based borderless money transfer firm, Smart Transfer, officially launched its P2P mobile payment platform last week, allowing senders to transfer funds using just a recipients’ phone number, email address, or social media account.

The Company claim the service is unique and could even be a world first. “There is a modern global push towards a digital and cashless society, and we want to fully leverage all digital avenues, such as social media and e-mail addresses, to revolutionise local and cross-border payments,” says Francis Lu, the co-founder and CEO of Smart Transfer, who are based out of Hong Kong. Read more “International Payments Firm Smart Transfer Claim World First; Customers Can Swap Currencies, For Free, Over Social Media”

The Real Wage, Inflation & The Falling Pound; Are Brits getting Poorer?

Unemployment rates in Britain are lower than at any time since the 1970s, and according to a survey conducted by recruitment agency Adecco, employers plan to hike wages by 1% over the next year, after a 1.5% increase in the first half of this year.

But despite this, British workers are likely to become worse off, because inflation rates are stubbornly refusing to come down, and the Bank of England have no immediate plans to increase interest rates. Read more “The Real Wage, Inflation & The Falling Pound; Are Brits getting Poorer?”

Should The Bank of England Bite The Bullet & Finally Hike Interest Rates?

It’s amazing to think that the Bank of England has not raised interest rates for more than a decade, but then nobody expected the credit crunch, quantitative easing, or indeed the “age of austerity” that George Osborne introduced during his time as chancellor.

That’s a lot of jargon to digest, but digest it we have, with the result that most of us have tightened the purse strings and tried to take a more frugal approach to our finances.

The big question now is, how much longer will we have to endure this financial stasis? Read more “Should The Bank of England Bite The Bullet & Finally Hike Interest Rates?”

Are Heavily In Debt Brits Flirting With Financial Disaster? 5 Tips To Help You Survive

Britain in Debt? The signs are not good. According to an article in today’s Times, the balance of Britain’s credit cards as a whole is closing in on £70 billion pounds, unsecured credit lending is increasing year on year, and the rise of concepts like payday loans and un-arranged overdrafts are causing consumers to fall further and further into debt. Read more “Are Heavily In Debt Brits Flirting With Financial Disaster? 5 Tips To Help You Survive”

Travelling Singapore Part IV: 10 Valuable(?) Things To Know About Singaporean Life and Culture

Top tips for surviving in Singapore and getting your fix of society and culture.

2 weeks ago, I wrote about arriving in Singapore for the first time and being blown away by its unique combination of stunning high rise architecture, lush tropical greenery, melting pot of cultures and, oxymoron alert, its confident, yet refined, ostentation. Read more “Travelling Singapore Part IV: 10 Valuable(?) Things To Know About Singaporean Life and Culture”

Travelling Singapore, First Impressions. The “World’s Best…” Plus A History Lesson

As part of The Money Cloud Worldwide series PR and Content Manager Edmund Ingham is writing about his experiences travelling around Asia. To read posts from our previous series, about Malaysia, click here

It hadn’t occurred to me to visit Singapore before but now I am here I am wondering why not! Read more “Travelling Singapore, First Impressions. The “World’s Best…” Plus A History Lesson”

Travelling Malaysia Part IV: Getting To Know The Local Entrepreneurs

I began my last post in this travelling Malaysia series by saying that the more time I spent in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the more I liked it.

Well, forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but a few days on that rings even truer!

I think that the first week to ten days in any city is not enough time to really get to know a new place – which is a shame because a week to ten days is all most of us get when we spend time abroad. Read more “Travelling Malaysia Part IV: Getting To Know The Local Entrepreneurs”

Travelling Malaysia Part II: A Singing Washing Machine & The Fintech Startup Scene

Edmund Ingham, PR and Content Manager at The Money Cloud on how the government is supporting fintech in Malaysia and the startups to watch.

After 10 days in Kuala Lumpur I’ve finally got over the jetlag (it really can take that long) and I’m becoming acclimatised to the tropical heat. Kuala Lumpur has so much to offer every type of traveller, from its hipster cafes, to its bustling centre, to the Batu caves and the giant Buddha that sits beside them.

Read more “Travelling Malaysia Part II: A Singing Washing Machine & The Fintech Startup Scene”

Travelling Malaysia & Exploring It’s Fintech scene

By Edmund Ingham, PR & Communications Manager, The Money Cloud

Fintech is a truly global phenomenon, and on behalf of The Money Cloud I am on a mission to explore the scene across SE Asia and China.

In almost all parts of the world, investment into fintech services and products is sky-rocketing, and nowhere is this truer than in Asia and China. Read more “Travelling Malaysia & Exploring It’s Fintech scene”

10 Of The Hottest Destinations To Buy Property Overseas

In our recent series of articles we have looked at how to open a bank account overseas, how to arrange an overseas mortgage, and how to calculate tax on an overseas property.

So, with the hard work done, let’s indulge ourselves a bit and take a look at some of the best overseas destinations for property buyers, and some of the hottest properties on these markets. Of course, we cannot cover all of the best properties or give you all the facts in just one article, and we would urge you, wherever you do decide to buy, to take good advice and complete as much research as you can before you make a purchasing decision. But that said, this could be a great place to start your search!

Read more “10 Of The Hottest Destinations To Buy Property Overseas”