Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

Aspire and Know Your Customer together to financially empower SMEs and entrepreneurs across South-East Asia

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 25 July 2022 - Aspire, the #1 all-in-one finance operating system for growing businesses in Southeast Asia, has joined forces with award-winning RegTech provider Know Your Customer to safely facilitate access to its financial products to underserved SMEs and entrepreneurs in the region.




It is estimated that there are 70 million micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia today that employ over 140 million people and account for 99% of all businesses in the region. Moreover, thousands of new start-ups and SMEs are registered every day: recent research* has revealed that an average 9% of all entities present in company registries were incorporated in the course of the last year for which data was available.

These companies are often in urgent need of financial services such as business accounts, loans, credit cards, and a platform to manage their receivables and payables. Despite this, access to viable financial products remains difficult for many of them due to the challenges of financial institutions looking to verify these companies' shareholding structures. In these instances, having real-time access to company registries is essential for any FI looking to serve new companies not yet present in conventional KYC databases.

By working together, Know Your Customer and Aspire will now be able to capture this fast-growing demand in full compliance with local and international regulatory requirements.

The new partnership will enhance Aspire's ability to digitise and streamline the crucial phase of corporate onboarding for SMEs, entrepreneurs and corporate clients across the whole region through Know Your Customer's digital solutions and unmatched coverage of real-time registry connections in APAC and globally.

Founded in 2018 to provide working capital loans for small to medium-sized businesses, Aspire now offers a portfolio of services to over 10,000 businesses across the region, including multi-currency accounts and cards, expense management, payable management, and receivable management solutions - all in one account.

Know Your Customer is an award-winning regulatory technology (RegTech) company specialised in modular compliance solutions which enable businesses to build the corporate onboarding process that best fits their unique needs. The company recently announced the expansion of its real-time coverage to 500+ company registries across 123 countries worldwide, officially becoming the No. 1 KYB provider in the industry.

Tarini Ponniah, Head of Compliance of Aspire, commented:

"At Aspire, we are always looking for ways to support our customers, and make sure they have a seamless onboarding journey with us. We strive to make alliances with companies that share the same vision and can assist us in providing our services in full compliance with the applicable regulations. Know Your Customer's RegTech solution has helped us to achieve this incredible milestone in a very short time span."

Claus Christensen, CEO & Co-Founder of Know Your Customer, added:

"Aspire has quickly become a powerful force in the APAC Fintech space and we are delighted to be playing such a strategic part in their current and future growth. I strongly believe that building solid synergies between disruptive Fintechs and innovative RegTech providers is key to drive the whole industry forward and this partnership is a perfect example of two innovative companies coming together to meet a pressing market need. We look forward to supporting Aspire's business growth through our modular solution and unparalleled coverage of real-time registry connections globally."

The partnership announcement was officially commemorated by a signing ceremony held in Singapore on the occasion of the visit of Micheál Martin, Taoiseach of Ireland (Prime Minister) on 22 July 2022.

Kevin Ryan, Director South-East Asia of Enterprise Ireland added:

"The Government of Ireland, via Enterprise Ireland are proud to support innovative companies like Know Your Customer on their expansion. The signing today signifies their commitment to raising the bar for RegTech in Southeast Asia and we congratulate them wholeheartedly. "

*New Company Registered Yearly, Know Your Customer, March-2022: https://kycl.io/34HwDgQ

About Know Your Customer

Know Your Customer is an award-winning RegTech company specialised in next generation digital onboarding solutions for financial institutions and regulated organisations worldwide. By providing a single source of truth, Know Your Customer enables clients to reduce AML risk, streamline processes through agile automation, improve data accuracy through live connections to company registries, and comply with internal, board and regulatory reporting demands. The result is an acceleration in the onboarding time of new corporate clients from an industry average of 26 days to a few hours, reducing compliance manual work by up 85%.

With offices in Singapore, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, and Shanghai, Know Your Customer has established a global presence and a reputation for excellence. Our customer list spans across 11 verticals - including banking, FinTech, insurance, payments, real estate, asset management, legal firms - and 18 jurisdictions.

For more information visit or follow Know Your Customer on or .

About Aspire

Aspire is the all-in-one finance operating system for growing businesses. The company serves over 10,000 startups and SMEs in Southeast Asia, helping them save time and money with multi-currency accounts and cards, expense management, payable management, and receivable management solutions - all in one account. Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire has over 400 employees across four countries, and is backed by some of the world's best VCs, including Sequoia and Y-Combinator.

News from Asia

Rhenus’ New Air Freight Gateway in Bangkok to be a Strategic Hub in Southeast Asia

Rhenus adds a new air freight gateway in Bangkok for in/outbound & transshipment from/to Southeast Asia The new airfreight gateway will also see the use of electric vehicles (...

Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International) Breaks Record with Unity Anthology, Enters Malaysia Book of Records

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 September 2025 - Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International) (WMSKLI) has etched its name in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) for p...

Family Offices in Asia Pacific Prioritize Next-Gen Education Amidst Wealth Transfer, Demonstrate Proactive Response to Market Volatility: Citi Wealth 2025 Survey Reveals

- Family offices in Asia Pacific leads in second-generation wealth control and education about family wealth, signaling a strong next-generation focus. - Demonstrating proactive response to mar...

Lenovo Hong Kong and Cyberport Form Strategic Partnership; Empowering Hong Kong Startups to Go Global

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 September 2025 - Lenovo Hong Kong today announced the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cyberport, marking a significant ste...

Hengan International's MSCI ESG Rating Elevates to "A", Coupled with Continued Impressive Performance Across Multiple Key International ESG Indicators

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 September 2025 - Hengan International Group Company Limited ("Hengan International" or the "Company", SEHK stock code: 1044, together with its subsidi...

AlphaMove, a Malaysian Startup Established Partnership with Chinese State Government to Foster Deep Tech Economy and Smart City Innovation

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 September 2025 - AlphaMove, a Malaysian blockchain startup building a public, permissionless ecosystem for Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization...

Prudential and Prudence Foundation Provide Free Mental Health Support to Vulnerable Communities

In partnership with Intellect, the programme will be launched in Malaysia and Vietnam to make mental healthcare more accessible for vulnerable or at-risk groupsHONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newsw...

Linyi enterprises link e-commerce trade future at South Korea fair

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 September 2025 - Linyi in Shandong province, revered as logistics capital of China, is home to a multitude of enterprises producing a diverse rang...

VinFast Philippines, V-Green, and Green GSM Philippines seal strategic partnership with BDO Unibank to drive e-mobility in the Philippines

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 September 2025 - As the electric mobility sector gains momentum across Southeast Asia, VinFast Auto Philippines Inc. (VinFast Philippines), a fas...

Watsons Launches Exclusive IP "The Watsons Family" Across Asia to Drive Customer Engagement & Brand Loyalty

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 September 2025 - Watsons, AS Watson Group's flagship health and beauty brand, announces the exclusive launch of "The Watsons Family" - an innovative an...

Why it’s time telcos rethink location and put customer experience first

Maurice Zicman, Vice President - CX Strategy at TP in Australia unpacks why the telco industry must rethink old assumptions and focus on digital-f...

Manny Shah: Is your business disappearing from Google? You’re not alone

Small business owners across Australia are panicking as their websites vanish from Google’s front pages overnight. According to Manny Shah, cofounde...

MR Roads named Queensland Finalist in the 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards

MR Roads, co-founded by Daniel Mikus and James Rolph, has been announced as a Queensland finalist in the prestigious 2025 Telstra Best of Business...

AWS research shows strong AI adoption momentum in Australia, with startups outpacing large enterprises in innovation

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, released new research revealing that while artificial intelligence (AI) adoption continues to acce...

Changing the World One Bite At a Time: IKU Turns 40

One of Australia’s first plant-based, chef-led eateries and now ready meal provider IKU is celebrating its 40 year anniversary with the business e...

Three generations marking 45 years in hot-air balloons

Australia’s leading hot-air balloon company is celebrating 45 years in the sky and its 700,000th passenger, driven by the passion of father-son du...

Sell by LayBy