APRILASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMFISERV ACQUIRES PINCH PAYMENTS TO BOOST PAYMENT SERVICES IN ASIA PACIFICSingapore has been recognized as a regional leader in climate finance and green monetary policy in the United Nations' recent Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific.The yearly flagship report from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) highlighted Singapore's preparedness to tackle the macroeconomic challenges posed by climate change via robust institutional structures and proactive central banking strategies."Central banks in India, Japan and Singapore encourage green financing through concessional lending and promoting the issuance of sustainable bonds," the report stated.This positions Singapore within a select group of Asia-Pacific economies that are proactively aligning financial systems with climate objectives while ensuring macroeconomic stability.Singapore's initiatives are part of a wider regional movement to integrate climate factors into fiscal and monetary strategies. ESCAP emphasizes the increasing significance of national green finance taxonomies, clear risk disclosures, and sustainable public budgeting. In this context, Singapore is recognized for influencing best practices that others in the region might follow.Although the report's primary exposure analysis omits Singapore because of its high-income designation, the city-state is implicitly referenced in favorable instances of climate-conscious policymaking.Although Singapore has its advantages, the report cautions that even the most prepared nations are susceptible to external disruptions, such as trade conflicts and climate-induced economic consequences.As ESCAP urges for "coordinated regional efforts to safeguard long-term economic prospects and tackle climate change," Singapore's leadership in climate finance leadership stands out as a model for integrating sustainability with economic policy. Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a prominent global provider of technology for payments and financial services, revealed that it has acquired Pinch Payments, a payment facilitator (PayFac) recognized for its leading PayFac enablement and the management platform "Glassbox". This acquisition gives Fiserv a payment orchestration system that offers adaptable service choices and rapid market entry for PayFacs, ISVs, BPSPs, ISOs, and Enterprises. Integrating Pinch into the Fiserv ecosystem expands the Company's reach by providing access to additional merchants and offering new, innovative solutions, including the premier cloud-based SaaS business operating platform Clover, to merchants across APAC."This acquisition further demonstrates Fiserv's commitment to the local payments market, following our recent launch of Clover in Australia," said Gavin Jones, Head of Fiserv Australia. "By integrating our leading digital payments solutions with Pinch's innovative technology and local expertise, we are able to deliver innovative payment solutions to empower merchants across the APAC region. We welcome the Pinch associates to the Fiserv family and are committed to seamless integration of services for our customers.""Joining Fiserv is an incredible opportunity for the Pinch team and furthers our mission to provide seamless partner experiences to a growing number of merchants," said Paul Allen, Co-Founder and CEO at Pinch Payments. "Having worked closely with the Fiserv team, I am confident in our roadmap to expand into new markets." UN ESCAP COMMENDS SINGAPORE FOR ITS GREEN CENTRAL BANKING PRACTICES
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