dtcpay Welcomes SBI Group as Strategic Investor, Extending Series A to US$25M

SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- dtcpay, a Major Payment Institution headquartered in Singapore, today announced the completion of its US$25 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India in April 2026. It is now further anchored by Japan's leading financial conglomerate, SBI Group, which is investing both through its subsidiary, SBI Ventures Asset Pte Ltd, and through the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund. The round also drew participation from Genedant Capital and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek, a prominent Singaporean business leader.

The investment reflects institutional confidence in dtcpay's vision of making stablecoins as seamless and accessible as traditional financial services.

Modern Payment Rails for a Digital Economy

Founded by Alice Liu and Band Zhao, dtcpay bridges digital assets with traditional finance through infrastructure that enables businesses and individuals to accept, store, and transact in stablecoins. Its real-time swap engine delivers seamless settlement across stablecoin and fiat currencies, eliminating the operational friction that has slowed mainstream adoption of digital assets. Where traditional cross-border transfers via SWIFT and correspondent banking networks are often slowed by multi-day settlement cycles and layered intermediary fees, dtcpay settles transactions seamlessly, at a fraction of the cost.

dtcpay's growth has been marked by a series of early moves in the stablecoin payments space. The company launched a Digital Payment Token (DPT) point-of-sale acceptance solution enabling merchants to accept stablecoin payments directly in-store. It also was an early player in Asia to integrate with WalletConnect, extending stablecoin acceptance across more than 700 wallets used by millions of consumers globally. On the consumer side, its partnership with Visa introduced an early stablecoin-to-fiat Visa Infinite card for its customers in the region. The dtcpay Visa card now enables multi-currency spend across both fiat and stablecoins at more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide.

Beyond product innovation, dtcpay was also quick to bring stablecoins to real-world commerce use cases, partnering with BNB Chain to accelerate practical stablecoin adoption and enabling Metro to become the first department store in Singapore to accept stablecoin payments, alongside select hospitality partners such as Capella Singapore.

This additional fundraise enables dtcpay to maintain its pace of execution, scaling its product suite and merchant network while extending its lead in stablecoin payments. It continues to invest in its product roadmap through the remaining half of 2026, including a revamped business portal for enterprise clients and a series of new consumer-friendly features rolled out within the dtcpay app.

As a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution in Singapore, and one of the select few digital payment companies to hold an Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg, dtcpay has built a regulatory foundation required to operate across Singapore, Europe, and other strategically important markets. This regulatory-first approach also underpins the reliability of dtcpay's infrastructure, enabling institutional clients to transact with the assurance of a fully licensed financial institution.

dtcpay's execution and regulatory leadership has drawn industry recognition, including Disruptor of the Year and Fintech of the Year at the 2025 Asia Fintech Awards, and Fintech Mentor of the Year for Alice Liu at the SFF FinTech Excellence Awards in 2025. Collectively, these achievements highlight dtcpay's ability to execute at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and commercial adoption.

Strategic Capital to Fuel Global Expansion

The completion of the Series A brings together a diverse group of investors whose collective expertise spans traditional finance, fintech infrastructure, and global market expansion. Beyond capital, these investors contribute strategic network and domain expertise that will help support the company's next phase of growth.

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, part of Vertex Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, led the initial tranche of the round. In addition to capital, Vertex brings extensive experience scaling technology companies, providing valuable strategic guidance rooted in deep Southeast Asian market expertise.

SBI Group adds a compelling financial service and fintech pedigree to the shareholder base. As one of Japan's largest financial services groups, SBI operates across banking, securities, insurance, asset management, and digital assets. It has also been among the most active institutional investors in fintech and digital asset infrastructure globally.

Completing the investor group is Genedant Capital, a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek. Genedant Capital brings in a network of family offices, private wealth investors and institutional relationships across Asia, strengthening access to strategic capital as dtcpay scales internationally. Mr. Kwee continues to increase his commitment, reflecting his long-term conviction in the company's vision of bringing regulated digital payment infrastructure to global markets.

"We did not raise this round to sustain what we have built. We raised it to fundamentally change how money moves across borders. SBI Group has spent decades shaping financial infrastructure across Japan and beyond, from banking and securities to blockchain and digital assets, and their conviction in dtcpay is validation that compliant, real-world stablecoin payments are not a distant vision but an infrastructure being built right now. Combined with the enduring trust of Mr. Kwee and the support of Genedant Capital, we have the capital, the network, and the momentum to move into every market that is ready for this change. And we are just getting started." said Alice Liu, Founder and CEO of dtcpay.

"The next chapter for dtcpay is about scale. We are strengthening our infrastructure, deepening partnerships with global financial institutions, and expanding into new regulated markets to make stablecoin payments as seamless and trusted as traditional payment rails. With the backing of our investors, we are accelerating our mission to build the financial infrastructure that enables businesses and consumers to move value globally, instantly, and compliantly," said Band Zhao, Group Chairman of dtcpay.

"dtcpay has made decisive progress in establishing itself as the region's leading regulated payment infrastructure that bridges traditional payments and stablecoins. Beyond execution, we were impressed by its licensing-led foundation, strong user experience, and comprehensive product offerings for financial institutions, corporates, and individuals. For SBI Group, which is steadily expanding its business footprint across Singapore and Southeast Asia, this investment marks the beginning of a strategic partnership with dtcpay. It also reflects our broader view to expand the global corridor for digital asset origination between Japan and Southeast Asia through trusted, regulated digital financial infrastructure," commented Eiichiro So, CEO of SBI Ven Capital.

"dtcpay is building the regulated infrastructure that will bring stablecoin payments into everyday commerce." said Quek How Jiang, CEO of Genedant Capital. "Beyond capital, we look forward to leveraging our network of strategic investors, industry leaders and institutional relationships to support the company's commercial expansion and international growth."

About dtcpay

dtcpay is a Singapore-headquartered payment services company building a globally licensed payment network that delivers seamless settlement, competitive pricing, and innovative payment solutions — Tomorrow's Payments, Today. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and holding an Electronic Money Institution licence in Luxembourg, dtcpay is authorised to deliver regulated payment services across the European Economic Area. The company also holds licences and registrations in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States, and Canada, bridging digital assets with traditional finance for businesses and individuals across its licensed jurisdictions.

To learn more, please visit https://dtcpay.com/.

About SBI Group

Founded in 1999, the SBI Group is a comprehensive financial services group and a pioneer of internet-based financial services in Japan, operating across securities, banking and insurance. Beyond these, the Group is also active in asset management, private equity, crypto-assets, and next-generation businesses on a global scale.

Its MAS-regulated Singapore subsidiary, SBI Ven Capital, manages the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund, launched in 2022 to invest in early-stage digital transformation and digital platform companies across Southeast Asia. The fund was established by the SBI Group with NTUitive (a subsidiary of Nanyang Technological University), and Kyobo Securities (a subsidiary of the Kyobo Life Insurance Group), drawing on the partners' combined business expertise and ecosystems to back the region's next generation of globally competitive companies.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.sbivencapital.com.sg

About Genedant Capital

Genedant Capital is a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm partners with accredited investors, including family offices and private wealth individuals, through a multi-strategy platform spanning private equity, venture capital, public markets, and bespoke investment solutions.

With over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, Genedant Capital combines disciplined investment research, institutional risk management, and deep sector expertise across areas including deep tech, healthcare, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. The firm seeks to deliver long-term, risk-adjusted returns while supporting high-quality managers and companies with strong growth potential across global markets.

To learn more, please visit https://genedant.com/.

Media Contact: dtcpay marketing team, marketing@dtcpay.com

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dtcpay Welcomes SBI Group as Strategic Investor, Extending Series A to US$25M

The three-day learning event brings together soy industry professionals from across Asia for practical learning spanning processing technology, product development and consumer insights.

BANGKOK, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tetra Pak, in collaboration with the Soy Excellence Center Asia, a U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) initiative, hosted the Soy Food & Beverage Intermediate learning track from 15-17 September 2026 at Tetra Pak's Product Development Centre (PDC) in Rayong and Customer Innovation Centre (CIC) in Bangkok. The learning track brought together soy industry professionals from across Asia to strengthen their knowledge of soy beverage processing, formulation and consumer-led product development.

Asia Pacific accounts for 75% of the global plant-based beverage volume.^[1] In many Western markets, plant-based beverages are commonly positioned as alternatives to dairy. Across many Asian markets, however soy has long been an established part of the beverage category alongside other plant-based drinks.

As consumer preferences evolve and the range of plant-based products expands, the challenge for soy beverage manufacturers is to bring new value to a familiar category. This can mean exploring and developing new taste and texture profiles, addressing different nutritional needs and creating products for new consumption occasions and formats.

Over three days, the learning track explored opportunities across the soy beverage value chain, from soybean variety and supplier selection to formulation, processing technology, sensory evaluation and consumer understanding. Technical sessions were combined with hands-on learning and an ideation workshop, where participants developed soy beverage concepts tailored to specific consumer groups.

Sherry Chen, Center Lead, Soy Excellence Center Asia, said: "Growing the soy food and beverage category starts with understanding how decisions across the value chain, from soybean selection to processing and formulation, shape product quality and the consumer experience. The Soy Excellence Center Asia gives participants a practical learning environment to strengthen their technical skills and apply that knowledge directly to product development. Our collaboration with Tetra Pak brings this learning to life with hands-on experience, giving learners deeper insights into processing, formulation and consumer needs. By combining technical expertise with real-world application, we are equipping participants with practical insights they can use to innovate, improve products, and drive growth in their markets."

Across Tetra Pak's innovation ecosystem, participants worked across both the Customer Innovation Centre (CIC) in Bangkok and the Product Development Centre (PDC) in Rayong to gain end-to-end insights into soy beverage innovation and production.

At the CIC, sessions focused on product and consumer-led innovation, exploring plant-based trends across Asia Pacific, Tetra Pak's customer innovation ecosystem, functional ingredients, fermentation technologies and the utilisation of okara.

At the PDC, participants took part in hands-on demonstrations across key stages of aseptic soy beverage production, including extraction, blending and UHT processing, aseptic filling, and food development. Tetra Pak specialists also shared expertise in production technologies, operational efficiency, troubleshooting, soy waste management and beverage formulation.

Sutthinun Taechathayanon, Customer Experience Manager APAC, Tetra Pak, said: "Soy is already familiar to consumers across many Asian markets, creating a strong foundation for further innovation. By combining consumer insights with formulation and processing expertise, producers can identify opportunities to enhance taste, texture, nutrition, and convenience while developing products that respond to changing consumer needs and consumption occasions. Through Tetra Pak's CIC Bangkok and PDC Rayong, soy manufacturers can explore new product ideas, conduct trials, and accelerate the journey from concept to commercialization with greater confidence and reduced risk. Our continued collaboration with USSEC helps translate knowledge from across the soy value chain into practical product development opportunities for the industry."

The Soy Food & Beverage Intermediate learning track course builds on the long-standing partnership between Tetra Pak and USSEC, combining USSEC's expertise across the soy value chain with Tetra Pak's expertise in processing and product development to support continued innovation across Asia Pacific's soy food and beverage industry. To learn more about Tetra Pak's soy beverage processing solutions, visit our website here.

ABOUT TETRA PAK

We're here to make food safe and available. It's why we provide advanced food production systems. In collaboration with our customers and suppliers, driven by more than 24,000 dedicated employees worldwide, we protect food sustainably every day for hundreds of millions of people in more than 160 countries. Because we're here to fulfil a purpose:

We commit to making food safe and available, everywhere, and we promise to protect what's good: food, people and the planet.

More information about Tetra Pak is available at tetrapak.com.

ABOUT SOY EXCELLENCE CENTER

The Soy Excellence Centers (SEC), an initiative by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), focuses on skills-building for early- to mid-career protein professionals in growing markets through world-class workforce training and professional development to meet local nutrition and food security needs and support sustainable economic growth. USSEC is collaborating with diverse partners, including local food and agriculture universities and organizations, to deliver training in five core subject areas – aquaculture, feed, food, poultry, and swine. USSEC operates Soy Excellence Centers in four regional hubs – Americas, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

[1] Tetra Pak Compass, Dairy Alternatives, 2025.

[1] Tetra Pak Compass, Dairy Alternatives, 2025.

 

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Tetra Pak and Soy Excellence Center Asia Host Regional Soy Food and Beverage Programme in Thailand