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SBI buys into dtcpay inside a $15m tranche it shares with at least two other investors

dtcpay has closed a $25m Series A with Japan's SBI Group joining as a strategic investor, and the money buys a minority position in a company whose MAS payment licence equity cannot transfer. So far the Japan corridor is an intention.

The Investor · Invest desk

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What happened

  • dtcpay, a Singapore payments company, said on Sept. 18, 2026 that it had completed a $25m Series A funding round.
  • Japan's SBI Group joined as a strategic investor through two vehicles, its subsidiary SBI Ventures Asset Pte Ltd and the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund.
  • Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India led a first $10m tranche announced in March, and public materials do not say how the $15m added afterwards splits among SBI, Genedant Capital and Kwee Liong Tek.

Why it matters

  • What it limits constraint A position capped at $15m and shared with at least two other investors gives SBI no control over dtcpay and no disclosed exclusivity. A Japan-Singapore stablecoin corridor still has to be negotiated as a separate commercial deal.
  • Who has to decide decision dtcpay has committed the new money to an enterprise business portal, consumer app features and merchant recruitment; a Japan entry is not among the stated uses of proceeds.
  • Who's exposed exposure The investors bought in ahead of MAS's proposed Payment Services Act amendments on stablecoin issuers, reserves and foreign-issued tokens. Rules still in consultation will set the value of dtcpay's six permissions.
  • What doesn't add up contradiction The company release leans on more than 150 million merchant locations, and cryptoslate says that is Visa acceptance reach. It tells anyone pricing this round nothing about stablecoin usage.

Divide the money that arrived after March three ways and SBI's two vehicles, Genedant Capital and Kwee Liong Tek get about $5m apiece [25]. The ceiling on SBI alone is $15m, and dtcpay has not said publicly how that sum splits among the participants [22][3].

Equity does not carry a payment licence. The regulated entity is Digital Treasures Center Pte. Ltd. The Monetary Authority of Singapore lists it as a Major Payment Institution authorised for account issuance, domestic transfers, cross-border transfers, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance and digital payment token services [5]. MAS applies requirements to major payment institutions beyond those on standard payment institutions, because they can operate above specified transaction or stored-value thresholds [6]. dtcpay says its Luxembourg subsidiary holds an Electronic Money Institution licence. A Bank of Lithuania register lists dtcpay Luxembourg S.A. as an EU electronic money institution permitted to serve Lithuania without a branch [7]. A Japanese group that wants to put flow across any of that needs a commercial contract with the licensed entity.

The announcement offers intent. SBI Ven Capital's chief executive Eiichiro So described the investment as the start of a strategic partnership. He linked it to SBI's ambition to expand digital-asset origination between Japan and Southeast Asia through regulated financial infrastructure, according to cryptoslate [8]. dtcpay did not disclose the size of SBI's investment, the stake attached to it, a valuation, any payment volume, or a date for a Japan launch [4][21][15].

So nobody can compute dilution or measure usage against $25m. The large number in the release is the dtcpay Visa card's reach across more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide [11]. cryptoslate notes that this describes card acceptance, not merchants signed up to take stablecoins through dtcpay [12].

Alice Liu, who founded the company with Band Zhao in 2022 [19], said dtcpay raised the money to "fundamentally change how money moves across borders" [16]. Zhao described the next stage as being "about scale," citing infrastructure, financial-institution partnerships and regulated-market expansion [17]. The lead investor, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, sits under Vertex Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek [18]. A Singapore state-linked fund and a Japanese financial conglomerate now hold the same cap table.

The record supports more than one reading of the SBI money. It could be an ordinary fund position in an Asian payments company, carrying the strategic language such positions usually carry. It could precede a Japan corridor nobody has contracted yet. Or it buys optionality on incumbency. MAS proposed Payment Services Act changes this month covering stablecoin issuers, reserve requirements and foreign-issued tokens [20], and I'd expect new rules to make an existing six-permission authorisation harder to replicate. In my view the first fits what was actually disclosed, and a commercial agreement between SBI and dtcpay with volumes attached would move it to the second.

What to watch

  • Whether SBI Ven Capital's portfolio disclosures or an SBI filing eventually put a number on the stake bought here.
  • A dated dtcpay launch in Japan, or a named Japanese financial institution signed as a partner rather than an investor.
  • A priced follow-on round, which would be the first look at what the $25m Series A implied for the equity.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption18
Hype gap+35
Incentives70
Confidence64

Perspective Coverage

6 publishers
Builder
Builder 18%
Operator
Operator 31%
Investor
Investor 51%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    dtcpay announced on Sept. 18, 2026 the completion of its US$25 million Series A funding round.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  2. [2]

    SBI Group invested in dtcpay both through its subsidiary SBI Ventures Asset Pte Ltd and through the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  3. [3]

    The two disclosed totals show another $15 million was added after the first tranche, but public materials do not allocate that amount among SBI, Genedant Capital, Kwee or any other participant.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  4. [4]

    dtcpay did not disclose how much SBI invested, the ownership stake attached to the transaction or a new valuation.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  5. [5]

    dtcpay operates in Singapore through Digital Treasures Center Pte. Ltd., which MAS lists as a Major Payment Institution, with authorization for account issuance, domestic money transfers, cross-border money transfers, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance and digital payment token services.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  6. [6]

    MAS states that major payment institutions face requirements beyond those applied to standard payment institutions because they can operate above specified transaction or stored-value thresholds.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  7. [7]

    dtcpay says its Luxembourg subsidiary holds an Electronic Money Institution license, and a Bank of Lithuania regulatory register identifies dtcpay Luxembourg S.A. as an EU electronic money institution permitted to provide services in Lithuania without establishing a branch.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  8. [8]

    SBI Ven Capital CEO Eiichiro So described the investment as the start of a strategic partnership and linked it to SBI's ambition to expand digital-asset origination between Japan and Southeast Asia through regulated financial infrastructure.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  9. [9]

    Genedant Capital and existing investor Kwee Liong Tek participated in the completed round, according to dtcpay.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  10. [10]

    dtcpay plans to spend the capital on payment products, its merchant network and international operations, with a roadmap through the remaining months of 2026 including a redesigned business portal for enterprise clients and new functions in its consumer app; it did not give individual launch dates.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  11. [11]

    dtcpay says its Visa card enables multi-currency spend across both fiat and stablecoins at more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  12. [12]

    cryptoslate states that the 150 million merchant locations figure describes card acceptance reach, not the number of merchants directly signed up to accept stablecoins through dtcpay.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  13. [13]

    The funding release said dtcpay maintains licenses or registrations in Hong Kong, Australia, the U.S. and Canada, though the exact permissions differ by jurisdiction.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  14. [14]

    SBI Ven Capital's current portfolio page lists dtcpay as an investment dated Sept. 18 and identifies both SBI Ventures Asset and the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund among its investment vehicles.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  15. [15]

    The announcement did not include a date for a dtcpay launch in Japan.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  16. [16]

    Alice Liu said the company raised the money to "fundamentally change how money moves across borders."

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  17. [17]

    Chairman Band Zhao described the next stage as being "about scale," citing infrastructure, financial-institution partnerships and regulated-market expansion among its priorities.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  18. [18]

    Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is part of Vertex Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  19. [19]

    dtcpay was founded in 2022 by Alice Liu and Band Zhao.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  20. [20]

    MAS proposed Payment Services Act changes this month covering stablecoin issuers, reserve requirements and foreign-issued tokens.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  21. [21]

    The release describes direct merchant acceptance and card spending as part of dtcpay's business but provides no payment-volume figures.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  22. [22]

    SBI's contribution to the round cannot exceed $15m, the difference between the $25m total and the $10m first tranche, and that $15m is shared with Genedant Capital, Kwee Liong Tek and any other unnamed participant.

    Derived Supported
  23. [23]

    Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India led the initial $10 million Series A tranche, announced on March 17, with capital intended for product development, infrastructure work and entry into newly licensed jurisdictions.

    Reported ContestedView cited source
  24. [24]

    PR Newswire's release states the round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India in April 2026.

    Reported ContestedView cited source
  25. [25]

    An even three-way split of the $15m added after the first tranche would give SBI's vehicles, Genedant Capital and Kwee Liong Tek about $5m each.

    Derived Insufficient

Sources

6 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. cointelegraph.com

    2 articles · September 18, 2026

    Stablecoin payments firm dtcpay closes $25M round with SBI backing
  2. crowdfundinsider.com

    1 article · September 18, 2026

    Singapore based Stablecoin Payments Firm dtcpay Reports Series A Funding
  3. crypto.news

    1 article · September 18, 2026

    dtcpay closes $25M Series A with SBI investment
  4. cryptoslate.com

    1 article · September 18, 2026

    Dtcpay raises $25 million for stablecoin payments
  5. prnewswire.com

    1 article · September 18, 2026

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

    1 article · September 18, 2026

    dtcpay Raises $25M Series A

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