Get the hottest Fintech Singapore News once a month in your Inbox
With a large unbanked population, increasing mobile Internet connectivity, and fast-growing economies, Asia-Pacific (APAC) has emerged into one of the world’s most dynamic fintech markets.
Digital wallets have become the leading payment method, accounting for approximately 75% of the e-commerce transaction value and 50% of the point-of-sale (POS) transaction value. Local platforms such as Alipay in China, PhonePe in India, and DANA in Indonesia have achieved mass adoption.
Governments have supported this progress by modernizing payment infrastructure through real-time payment systems and introducing more conducive regulations for digital banking. This has spurred the rise of leading digital banking brands like WeBank in China, KakaoBank in South Korea, and Rakuten Bank in Japan, which reported 420 million, 24 million, and 16 million in 2024, respectively.
This burgeoning landscape has made APAC a premier destination for fintech events, attracting global industry leaders to explore opportunities and tackle emerging challenges.
Among the many conferences scheduled for the months to come, the following 14 are standing as the most significant gatherings in the first quarter of 2026. These event are expected to bring together top decision-makers, regulators, and innovators to shape the future of the sector and collaborate.
The Digital Asset Innovators Summit (DAIS) is Asia’s premier platform dedicated to the future of digital asset. Positioned at the intersection of traditional finance and the crypto-native world, this annual event brings together leading financial institutions, innovative infrastructure and technology providers, and influential policymakers to exchange insights, explore strategies, and confront emerging challenges.
The 2026 edition will take place in Hong Kong on January 22 and 23, 2026, and is set to welcome more than 500 participants and 200 companies. It will offer focused discussions, strategic insights, and curated networking designed for decision-makers shaping Asia’s digital asset landscape. Key topics covered will include stablecoins, tokenization, payments, and institutional adoption.
The Asian Financial Forum (AFF) is one of Hong Kong’s largest gatherings of global financial leaders. Each year, the event provides access to investors, innovators, and industry experts.
The 2026 AFF edition will take place on January 26 and 27, 2026, bringing together more than 3,600 participants. The event will feature more than 130 speakers, and 140 exhibitors, startups, and service providers.
The Deal-making program will serve as a core component of the event. It will act as a platform that facilitates one-to-one meetings between investors and project owners, generating connections across sectors such as fintech, deeptech, infrastructure, healthcare, consumer markets, and agriculture.
In 2026, AFF will also expand its offering by providing an additional two-day online meeting extension for in-person participants, reinforcing its role as a central hub for capital formation, cross-border partnerships, and emerging market opportunities.
Digital Assets Week is a conference dedicated to connecting financial institutions, infrastructure providers and regulatory bodies in an effort to make advancements in digitization, tokenization, and the institutionalization of digital assets. The event’s core purpose is to support the institutional adoption of digital assets by bringing together the organizations that shape policy, build infrastructure, and deploy capital in this space.
Digital Assets Week 2026 aims to attract a carefully selected, invitation-only audience representing the full ecosystem. Participants will include traditional listing professionals such as advisors, brokers, lawyers, and accountants, alongside platform and service providers including exchanges, tokenization platforms, and institutional blockchain technology firms. It will also attract investors, ranging from venture capital (VC) to hedge funds, alongside banks, exchanges, and crypto exchanges.
United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
The AI For Developing Countries Forum (AIFOD) is a pioneering global initiative designed to bridge the artificial intelligence (AI) accessibility gap between developed and developing nations. Founded in 2023, it unites tech innovators, academics, and humanitarian workers to democratize AI technologies worldwide.
The 2026 AIFOD Bangkok Summit will take place from February 04 to 06, 2026, and convene representatives from more than 150 nations at the United Nations Conference Centre to collaborate on building local AI capabilities and enabling countries to take part as active creators in the digital economy. This summit will focus on responsible deployment, cross-sector partnerships, and practical pathways for embedding AI into national development strategies.
The UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week is the UK’s flagship annual event on science, innovation and technology in Southeast Asia. The 2026 edition will run from February 09 to 13, and will take a delegation of cutting-edge UK AI and data companies to meet with stakeholders and potential partners in Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
The event aims to attract two main groups. On the UK side, it is designed for AI and data companies that are already exporting or preparing to export to the region, particularly those targeting fintech, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors, as well as companies operating within the data-centre supply chain. From Southeast Asia, the program welcomes organizations looking to procure or partner with UK AI firms, as well as those considering investment into the UK’s globally recognized AI landscape.
UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week 2026 will build on the success of the 2025 edition, which facilitated tailored business engagements and led to multiple successful commercial partnerships for UK companies.
The Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 will take place on February 10 and 11, 2026, at the JW Marriott Sahar in Mumbai, India. The two-day event is designed as a high-level industry gathering focused on the rapid evolution of India’s banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, with a particular emphasis on digital transformation, regulatory change, and emerging technologies.
The 2026 agenda will be organized around several major tracks: Masterclass, Payments, Insurance, Agentic AI, and Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) and Compliance.
The Masterclass sessions will examine foundational infrastructures such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) stack, offering deep explanations of transaction lifecycles, settlement timelines, and the roles played by various ecosystem participants. They will also explore the progression of India’s payment acceptance ecosystem, spanning everything from traditional POS devices to SoftPOS, soundboxes, and QR-based solutions.
Payments-focused discussions will look at how payment aggregators are expanding into omnichannel models, the evolution of UPI from its early versions to UPI 3.0, and the modernization of cross-border payments through technologies such as SWIFT GPI, RippleNet, and regional UPI linkages. The program will also analyze the fast-growing business-to-business (B2B) payments market, the increasing importance of cybersecurity and data protection under the DPDPA, and the emergence of programmable payments through smart contracts and central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallets. Additional sessions will study consumer behavior across an expanding range of payment modalities and explore the global movement toward interoperable digital public infrastructure.
The Insurance track will highlight the convergence of healthtech and insurtech, the development of new protection models for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and gig workers, and the growing application of AI in underwriting, claims management, and customer engagement.
The Agentic AI track will explore the rise of autonomous financial agents capable of handling underwriting, collections, fraud monitoring, compliance, and operational workflows. Discussions will cover governance frameworks for self-learning financial systems, the future role of human oversight, and the broader shift toward adaptive, intelligence-driven banking.
Finally, the DPDPA and Compliance track will focus on how the industry is adapting to India’s DPDP Act. It will address privacy-first product design, deployment of consent managers, privacy-enhancing technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, and the challenge of balancing strict data-governance rules with seamless customer experience.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
Consensus by CoinDesk is the world’s longest running and most influential gathering for the crypto, blockchain, and AI industries, welcoming over 500 speakers, 1,000 companies and 25,000 attendees in 2025.
The flagship event will be returning to Hong Kong from February 10 to 12, 2026, bringing together the brightest minds, industry leaders and cutting-edge companies to shape the future of technology. It will occupy the largest floor of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, delivering an expanded experience with signature programming, startup and developer competitions, and networking opportunities.
The event will host to five stages, a series of summits focused on topics such as institutional investing, bitcoin, AI and robotics, as well as Asia’s leading role in blockchain. Mainstage speakers will feature notable industry leaders such as Solana Foundation President Lily Liu, Binance CEO Richard Teng, TRON Founder Justin Sun, Head of YZI Labs Ella Zhang, and Bitmain’s President of Mining Gao.
In addition to a projected 300+ side events, Consensus will host official opening and closing parties in Hong Kong Central, lead guided excursions to Shenzhen’s innovative ecosystem, and grant attendees premium access to the Happy Valley Racecourse for ‘The Consensus Cup’ horse race.
The Japan Fintech Week 2026, taking place from February 24 to March 06, will bring together the global finance and technology community to Tokyo, with the GFTN Forum, held from February 24 to 27, 2026, at its core.
Building on the momentum of Japan Fintech Week 2025, which drew more than 20,000 participants from over 70 countries and featured 82 related events, the 2026 edition aims to further strengthen Japan’s position as a global fintech hub.
The Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) will again host the initiative, continuing its mission to showcase Japan’s fintech capabilities and expand international business collaboration. The week will present a diverse schedule of fintech-related sessions, spanning financial innovation, regulatory developments, public-policy dialogue, and emerging technology applications.
Events across Japan Fintech Week 2026 will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, startup pitches, roundtables, networking forums, and exhibition showcases. Participants from both domestic and international fintech ecosystems will have a shared platform to explore new ventures, exchange insights, and build cross-border partnerships.
At the heart of Japan Fintech Week 2026, the GFTN Forum will convene policymakers, financial-services executives, investors, and founders to accelerate innovation across Japan, Asia, and global markets. The 2026 edition will emphasize the development of new financial corridors supporting technology, entrepreneurship, and capital flows, with substantial attention devoted to agentic AI, quantum computing, and digital assets in the context of shifting global economic dynamics.
March 27, 2026
Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Blockchain Festival Asia is a large-scale regional event covering blockchain, cryptocurrencies, exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi), GameFi, payments, and investment trends. The 2026 edition will take place at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, on March 27, 2026, gathering industry experts, startups, developers, investors, and enterprise leaders to discuss emerging technologies and market developments.
The festival will feature panel discussions, keynotes, product showcases, workshops, and an extensive expo, supported by dedicated networking spaces and side events. It will emphasize business development, community engagement, and the advancement of the regional crypto and digital-finance ecosystem.
March 11-12, 2026
Takina Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
FintechNZ Hui Taumata 2026, taking place on March 11 and 12, will unite New Zealand’s fintech leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators to shape the future of finance. This year’s theme, “Forging Ahead: Shaping the Future of Finance”, will highlight the country’s progress toward an open finance and open data economy.
FintechNZ Hui Taumata 2026 will start with a new half‑day Touchdown experience ahead of the main conference, featuring summit‑style roundtables with government, ministries, members and partners, alongside visits to Wellington‑founded fintech innovators such as Creative HQ, a fintech accelerator, and other leading firms.
On March 12, the main conference will bring together the entire fintech ecosystem for an action‑oriented program of keynotes, panels, masterclasses, and networking. Topics covered will include open finance, regulation, financial inclusion, and scaling.
Participants will get to network with peers, government officials, and investors, learn and collaborate with industry peers, and participate in masterclasses covering fintech growth, AI, crypto, and more.
The FutureCFO Philippines Conference 2026 will take place on March 12 at New World Makati in Manila, the Philippines, bringing together senior finance leaders at a moment of economic uncertainty, rapid technological development, and shifting regulatory pressures.
Themed “Forging Future Advantage”, the event will emphasize how CFOs can navigate economic uncertainty, optimize performance, and build resilient organizations. It will explore how finance leaders can manage the transition to AI-driven processes, close digital-skills gaps in their teams, strengthen governance structures, and integrate new regulations, including upcoming e-invoicing requirements, into financial strategy.
Critical topics to be covered include:
Through this conference, industry leaders will reveal strategies that will define the future of finance and leadership amid continuing economic uncertainties and complex regulatory landscapes.
The program will include keynote presentations, panel discussions, fireside conversations, and networking sessions. Key sessions will include climate-resilient finance, real-time treasury, CBDCs, AI agents, environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, and foreign exchange (FX) strategies.
For the first time, the prestigious Paris-based AM Tech Day will expand to the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with AM Tech Day APAC 2026. This inaugural edition will take place on March 17, 2026 in Sydney, Australia, bringing together the brightest minds and leading innovators across investment operations, front, middle, and back-office teams to explore the latest advancements in fintech
This exclusive gathering will explore the dynamic influence of technological innovations within asset management, drawing an eclectic audience comprising asset managers, asset owners (superannuation), wealth managers and fintech visionaries. It will provide an exclusive platform for industry stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions, gain hands-on experience with new technologies, and discover strategies that will define the future of investment management.
The program will feature more than 50 speakers, 8 plenary sessions, 15 workshops, and 15 software presentations. It will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, live demonstrations, and in-depth workshops led by consulting firms, industry pioneers and technology disruptors discussing actual real world case studies, solving for problems affecting the buyside.
Delegates will gain valuable insights into areas such as AI-driven trading strategies, automation in post-trade operations, advanced portfolio analytics, and trading and regtech.
The Fintech India Expo 2026, taking place from March 23 to 25, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, will bring together the fintech ecosystem in India and beyond. Centered on the theme “Empowering the Future of Finance,” the event aims to function as a meeting point for global fintech innovators, regulators, policymakers, and enterprise leaders who are shaping the next era of digital finance. It will highlight the latest breakthroughs across software-as-a-service (SaaS), communications-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS), blockchain, AI, digital currencies, personalized banking technologies, and emerging cybersecurity frameworks, while exploring their implications for scalability, regulation, and consumer trust.
Across three days, attendees will experience a mix of visionary keynote sessions, interactive panel conversations, product showcases, and curated networking designed to spark partnerships and cross-border collaboration. Startups and established firms will get to demonstrate innovations, connect with investors and enterprise buyers, and explore opportunities for market expansion.
March 25, 2026
The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), Sydney, Australia
Beyond Tomorrow 2026 (BT26), taking place on March 25, 2026, at the International Convention Centre Sydney will bring together Australia’s payments and identity ecosystem to explore transformative developments shaping the nation’s financial and digital infrastructure. The event will focus on practical, outcome-driven applications, as well as future-focused innovations that promise to redefine the customer experience, improve security, and foster inclusion across the Australian economy.
Participants will get to hear about progress across the industry through practical applications already driving outcomes for Australia, gain insight into broader industry trends, customer behavior, and the systemic changes required to build a stronger, more resilient payments and identity landscape, and connect with peers, experts, and innovators from across the payments and identity ecosystem.
Throughout the day, attendees will get to hear from a diverse range of leading voices and perspectives of end-users. The event will conclude with with a networking drinks reception designed to foster professional relationships and collaboration.
Read more on Fintech Singapore
