Daily Briefing: Grab reportedly eyeing virtual banking license; Thai e-commerce startup Pomelo launches in Singapore

And a study found that Singaporeans bound for Taiwan are the most vulnerable to scams.

From Reuters:

Grab is close to hiring a consultancy to advise it on its banking potential and is preparing to apply for a license should the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) give digital-only banks a go, according to sources who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

When asked for a response, the MAS referred Reuters to its comments issued last month when it said it was studying the potential for allowing “digital-only banks with non-bank parentage” into its market.

A potential entry by Grab - backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp - and others would mark the biggest shake-up in years for a market dominated by DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank Ltd.

Read more here.

From e27:

Thai e-commerce brand Pomelo expanded outside its homebase through the launch of its offline store in 313@somerset in Singapore, which is its largest omnichannel store in Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, the store will be a testing ground for future technology-based developments and innovations. While Pomelo CEO David Jou could not reveal a lot of details, he did hint at the possibility of the startup building a system to eliminate traditional check-out lines (possibly using a Pomelo payment system).

The company will also work to continue to blur the line between the in-app and in-store experience.

Read more here.

From Yahoo! News Singapore:

Singaporeans booking holidays to Taiwan are most vulnerable to scams, said computer security company McAfee.

Taiwan, followed by London, Bali, Hong Kong, as well as Tokyo and Kyoto, are the top six holiday destinations for Singaporeans that hackers target via potentially malicious sites and generate the riskiest search results.

“Taking advantage of the high search volumes for accommodation and deals in these popular destinations, cybercriminals drive unsuspecting users to potentially malicious websites that can be used to install malware, steal personal information and even capture passwords,” said McAfee.

Read more here.

Photo from e27