Advance Intelligence Group acquires Singapore-based fintech startup Jewel Paymentech

Advance Intelligence Group, a Singapore-based unicorn tech startup, on Monday announced the acquisition of Jewel Paymentech, a financial risk technology company specializing in merchant due diligence and fraud and risk management solutions for the financial services and payment industry.

Jewel Paymentech (“Jewel”) has an established track record for onboarding businesses and monitoring fraudulent transactions, especially in Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Transaction (KYT) monitoring. It also provides automated solutions to large sellers such as marketplaces, to identify illegal and counterfeit goods as part of their KYC process. With a presence in Singapore and Malaysia, Jewels’ technology is used by the region’s largest banks, fintechs and payment networks. The Singapore-based company, named by SWIFT as one of Asia’s most promising fintech companies, was founded eight years ago.

The acquisition of Jewel Paymentech for an undisclosed sum will strengthen Advance Intelligence Group’s capabilities in Web3.0, fraud and risk management. Jewels’ 30-member team based in Singapore and Malaysia, including the senior management team, will join the group. Jewel will remain an independent business unit under the group’s ADVANCE.AI business unit, with CEO Sean Lam, co-founders Lee Wooi Siang and Sandra Cheim, and CIO Goh Ser Yoong joining the top management team.

Advance Intelligence Group was founded in 2016 and is one of the largest independent technology startups headquartered in Singapore. The group has built an ecosystem of AI-powered, credit-enabled products and services, including Asia’s leading Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform Atome, the SaaS business solutions provider ADVANCE.AI and the omnichannel e-commerce services platform Ginee.

Umair Javed, Senior Vice President, M&A and Corporate Development at Advance Intelligence Group, said: “We have spent a lot of time with Jewels’ founding team and we are very pleased to add their capabilities, talents and leadership team to our group. Their established track record in dealer pigeon diligence, transaction and fraud monitoring complement our own capabilities and offer our existing customers and partners in our ecosystem an even more comprehensive package of products and services. “

Sean Lam, CEO of Jewel Paymentech, said: “Being part of the broader Advance Intelligence Group ecosystem will not only serve our current customers better, but will allow us to leverage deep investor relationships, capital and technology base. Our employees will also be able to further develop their career journey, so this merger of our two companies is a win-win for both our existing team and customer base. ”

Dong Shou, CEO of ADVANCE.AI, said: “We warmly welcome Jewels’ management team and employees. Adding Jewels KYB and KYT expertise to our existing set of solutions for digital identity, fraud detection and risk management means that we now is even better equipped to support our customers in their digital transformation journey as they navigate an ever-evolving regulatory, compliance and security landscape, both in Web2 and Web3. “

Both ADVANCE.AI and Jewel are also accredited by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA).

Edwin Low, Director of Business and Ecosystem Development at IMDA, added: “This acquisition brings the merger of two innovative, high-growth IMDA-accredited companies in the fintech and eKYx area. Overall, complementary product synergies can be offered to their expanded global customer base. “This also bodes well for Singapore’s ecosystem as we see a much stronger and globally competitive entity as a result of this merger.”

Fraud costs increased by more than 10% above pre-pandemic levels for APAC companies, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions Study