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SFC+, the most comprehensive digital marketplace app for global Filipinos, is now available on App Store and Google Play

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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Seafood City, the largest Filipino grocerant in North America with 1 million weekly in-store foot traffic, over 400,000 active membership base, and the largest Filipino online and in-store collection of vendor partners, has partnered with leading Filipino brands to launch its one-stop digital marketplace app for global Filipinos in North America, SFC+.

A comprehensive digital marketplace app, SFC+ brings together U.S. and top Filipino brands and services, allowing its members to easily shop for authentic products, pay bills, send remittances, and even invest in the future of their loved ones in the Philippines. 

“SFC+ is a digital hub for Filipinos in North America that gives them exclusive access to U.S. and top Philippine brands, discounts, rewards, and a host of exciting benefits every time they shop, save, earn and pay with Suki Points using the app,” said SFC+ Inc. President and CEO Elewin Rebaya. “We created this app with the goal of reaching and serving more Filipinos globally, as well as to enrich and meet their ever-evolving lifestyle demands.”

Through SFC+, users can seamlessly connect with leading brands like ABS-CBN, the SM Group, Philippine Airlines, SMDC, BDO Unibank, Smart, Globe, East West Bank USA, and BayaniPay, among others, simplifying global transactions and bringing the best of the Philippines to North American shores.

“From purchasing items and services to paying bills and even investing in the future of families and relatives they support, SFC+ will make these experiences rewarding for every global Filipino through our membership program,” said Rebaya, who is also the Executive Vice President of Seafood City.

With every partner brand, SFC+ members enjoy exclusive access, curated deals, discount savings, and Suki Points. SFC+ members further enjoy the privilege of paying with Suki Points for their purchases at any Seafood City store including online.

SFC+ will add more brands to its roster to expand its service offerings to global Filipinos.

Features designed for the global Filipino

Some of the key features of SFC+ include zero-fee remittance, bills pay, and embedded banking services by BayaniPay with East West Bank USA and BDO Unibank; opening of BDO Kabayan Savings in the U.S.; digital shopping for Seafood City locations; discounted iWantTFC subscription; converting Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Miles into Suki Points and vice versa; end-to-end purchase of SMDC condominiums including access to 91 SMDC prime properties while enjoying services from experienced specialists; premium access to thousands of SM brands and outlets through the SM Gift Pass Choice; discounted balikbayan box shipping with LOGO; and direct donations to the ABS-CBN Foundation International and Gawad Kalinga USA.

SFC+ is the official marketing and service partner of SMDC in North America.

“By partnering with SFC+, we are extending our reach to global Filipinos, offering them a seamless platform to invest in the good life, no matter where they are in the world. Through this collaboration, we reaffirm our commitment to building communities that enhance lives and connect people to progress,” said Jessica Sy, SMDC AVP and Head of Corporate Planning and Development.

“We are proud to be part of SFC+ to deliver tailored banking solutions to the Filipino community in the U.S.,” said Parker Shi, Chief Operating Officer of East West Bank USA. “Through this collaboration, we aim to enhance the financial well-being of Filipinos by providing convenient access to essential banking services and exclusive rewards.”

“There’s a thriving community of global Filipinos in North America that we aim to serve strongly and vibrantly through SFC+,” said Talino Venture Studios CEO Winston Damarillo, who also helmed the creation of SFC+. “We didn’t just build an app; we built a home, and its doors will remain open to Filipinos who long to connect and celebrate their Filipino roots wherever they are in the world.”

Discounted Philippine Airlines flights

SFC+ members can now book discounted Philippine Airlines flights and earn Suki Points by using promo codes upon purchase of PAL tickets. For business class purchases, 1,000 Suki Points will be awarded, while 500 Suki Points for economy class.

“We welcome SFC as our latest partner under the Mabuhay Miles program. Our shared values of promoting Filipino culture and tradition have made our partnership truly special and memorable,” said Philippine Airlines President and COO, Stanley Ng. “Surely the Suki Points of SFC+ customers can take them to exciting destinations and even help them fly home once they start redeeming with Mabuhay Miles or convert their Mabuhay Miles into Suki Points,” he added.

Win a condo, free round-trip flights

Everyone who downloads and signs up on SFC+ will get a chance to win a grand prize of an SMDC condominium and round-trip PAL tickets to the Philippines through the Suki Condo Sweepstakes. About 20,000 people who have signed up on SFC+’s waitlist will each receive 1,500 Suki Points while non-waitlisters will each get 1,000 Suki Points. Both may also choose between 15 lbs Calrose rice and a $10 gift card while supplies last.

“Since 1989, millions of Filipinos in the U.S. and Canada have found a home away from home in Seafood City stores,” Rebaya said. “This is our way of giving back to our countrymen who keep on giving. Our ecosystem of benefits is the advantage they unlock once they download the app and become SFC+ members.”

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About Seafood City

Seafood City Supermarket is the largest Filipino grocerant in North America. A de facto community town center or hub for Filipino-North Americans wherever it operates. It is anchored by a full service supermarket, various food service operations, including iconic Philippine brands, plus services and merchants relevant to the lifestyle of the Filipinos in the region. From its humble beginnings in San Diego, California, Seafood City now has numerous operations in the United States and Canada including those in California, Nevada, Texas, Washington, Illinois, Hawaii, Arizona, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta. The push towards the Midwest and the East Coast is part of its expansion plans.

About Talino

Talino Venture Studios is an award-winning global venture studio for inclusive fintech. Born in the intersection of Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia, Talino Venture Studios is on a mission to bridge financial inclusion for over 1.7 billion people around the world. It uses the successful venture studio model to build repeatable, scalable, and profitable fintechs that empower underserved, underrepresented groups around the world with financial access and mobility. Talino Ventures Studios (talinolabs.com)

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AstroRad Vest Worn by Astronauts Aboard International Space Station to Go on Display at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

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The historic exhibition follows landmark radiation protection findings from NASA’s Artemis I mission, whose AstroRad vest is separately displayed at Kennedy Space Center.

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — StemRad, a developer of advanced radiation protection technology, shared that one of its AstroRad radiation protection vests, flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and worn by five space travelers, will go on display in the At Home in Space gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The vest was worn by four female American astronauts and an Israeli private astronaut during everyday activities aboard the ISS, including work and sleep. These in-orbit evaluations provided valuable experience with the practicality and comfort of wearable radiation protection during extended space missions.

The Smithsonian exhibition follows the recent publication of landmark scientific findings in Science Advances from NASA’s Artemis I mission. The research demonstrated AstroRad’s ability to dramatically reduce radiation exposure during potentially cancer-inducing solar radiation storms: for the August 1972 storm, which occurred between Apollo 16 and 17, a 60% reduction in dose was demonstrated (roughly 1,200 chest X-rays). This provided important evidence for protecting astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars.

The AstroRad vest that traveled around the Moon aboard Artemis I is separately on display at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Together, the two exhibits trace AstroRad’s journey from operational evaluations aboard the ISS to radiation protection research beyond Earth’s magnetic field.

“Having AstroRad displayed at the Smithsonian is a tremendous honor and a proud milestone for our team,” said Dr. Oren Milstein, CEO and Co-Founder of StemRad. “Knowing that a technology we developed to help protect astronauts is now being recognized as part of the history of space exploration is incredibly rewarding. With AstroRad also on display at Kennedy Space Center following the groundbreaking Artemis I mission, we hope these exhibits will inspire future generations to tackle the challenges of human space exploration.”

“The AstroRad vest helps tell two stories in the new At Home in Space exhibit,” said Dr. Jennifer Levasseur, Museum Curator, and the lead curator for the gallery. “Importantly, the vest represents efforts to protect astronauts from the significant concern of increased radiation exposure on long duration spaceflights. It’s also an example of how technology demonstrations on the ISS will inform future human deep space exploration.” AstroRad was developed by StemRad in collaboration with Lockheed Martin to address one of the principal challenges of human space exploration: exposure to harmful ionizing radiation. The ISS operational evaluations, the Artemis I scientific results, and the Smithsonian and Kennedy Space Center exhibitions collectively highlight the growing role of wearable radiation protection in the future of human spaceflight.

About StemRad

StemRad is an American-Israeli company specializing in personal radiation protection technologies. Its solutions are designed to protect critical organs and tissues from harmful ionizing radiation while preserving mobility and operational effectiveness. StemRad develops radiation protection solutions for space exploration, emergency response, and defense applications.

Media Contact
StemRad
Tamar Cohen
+1-813-291-2303
425954@email4pr.com
www.stemrad.com

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Three Products Featuring TCL CSOT Displays Named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026

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SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TCL’s flagship X11L SQD-Mini LED TV, the XTEINK X4 Pro Pocket eReader and the Framework Laptop 13 Pro have been named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 list. All three products feature displays supplied by TCL CSOT.

TCL X11L: Advancing Large-Screen Picture Quality

As the only Chinese TV selected in the consumer electronics category of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026, the TCL X11L features the TCL CSOT WHVA 2.0 Ultra Panel, delivering a native contrast ratio of 7,000:1 and 100% BT.2020 color space coverage. Its display technology combines the TCL CSOT Ultra Color Filter with 20,736 Precise Dimming Zones and 10,000-nit peak HDR brightness. Powered by SQD-Mini LED technology, which delivers an industry-leading color gamut, the X11L captures subtle variations in light, further advancing large-screen picture quality.

In its Best Inventions of 2026 coverage, TIME noted that “those who manufacture TVs are constantly seeking new ways to one-up their competitors, either through unique design or unmatchable image quality.” The TCL X11L, the publication stated, “promises the latter with an LED panel that employs ‘super quantum dot’ technology, designed with the capacity to emit light at more specific nanometer wavelengths than previously available tech. The resulting image is extremely color accurate but also impressively bright.”

XTEINK X4 Pro: Bringing Reading to Your Pocket

The XTEINK X4 Pro features a 4.3-inch E Ink display that uses reflective imaging technology and emits no blue light, delivering a paper-like reading experience designed to reduce eye fatigue during extended use. Its capacitive touchscreen and adjustable warm-and-cool front lighting help provide comfortable reading conditions throughout the day and night.

TIME wrote, “While the most popular e-readers are smaller than a hardcover, many are still a bit too large for true grab-and-go convenience. XTEINK filled the gap with its X3 and X4 e-readers.” Beyond its compact size, the XTEINK X4 Pro further enhances the reading experience with an upgraded, higher-capacity battery, making pocket-sized reading convenient at any time of day or night.

Framework Laptop 13 Pro: A Repairable, Upgradeable Laptop

The Framework Laptop 13 Pro combines a modular, repairable design with a custom 13.5-inch 2.8K touchscreen supplied by TCL CSOT. The display module measures 2.0 mm thick on the device side and 2.1 mm on the PCB side, with a weight of only 180 g, supporting the laptop’s modular architecture. The updated model also features a 74 Wh battery and a haptic trackpad, while its modular design allows users to replace or upgrade components and customize their configuration, from memory and keyboard options to ports.

TIME recognized the laptop for making high-performance computing more repairable and user-customizable. The newly updated Framework Laptop 13 Pro is more “like a bicycle,” says Framework CEO Nirav Patel. “Every part is easy to replace.” With an included screwdriver and components designed for replacement and upgrades, the laptop enables users to repair and personalize their devices themselves, and help extend product lifespan. By putting repair and customization in users’ hands, the Framework Laptop 13 Pro offers a more flexible and sustainable approach to personal computing.

The inclusion of all three products in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 highlights not only the strength of each product, but also TCL CSOT’s end-to-end capabilities from technology R&D to industry collaboration. Looking ahead, TCL CSOT will continue to advance multiple display technology pathways and collaborate with industry partners to expand applications across diverse scenarios, bringing high-quality, slim, eye-care and environmentally friendly display solutions to more users.

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Bybit Brings Its New Financial Platform Vision to Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026

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LISBON, Portugal, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, the New Financial Platform trusted by more than 80 million users worldwide, announced its participation in Hong Kong FinTech Week (HKFTW) 2026, Asia’s premier fintech summit bringing together global financial leaders, regulators, and innovators at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from November 2 to 6, 2026.

Bybit’s senior leadership will take the stage during the two-day main conference, joining more than 1,000 global speakers and 45,000 participants from over 120 economies at one of the year’s most anticipated events for changemakers in financial services and innovation.

Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit, will deliver a fireside chat on the Main Stage on November 3 titled “Bridging the Divide: The Next Chapter of TradFi & Crypto Convergence.” The session will explore how AI-driven platform innovation, institutional-grade infrastructure and asset tokenization are reshaping the boundary between traditional financial markets and the digital asset ecosystem.

Sean Ballard, Head of Derivatives and Institutional Business at Bybit, will join a panel discussion titled “The Future of Trading: Next-Generation Market Infrastructure and Liquidity” alongside executives from Panthertrade, Gravity Team and BitGo on November 3. The panel will examine how AI-driven execution models, tokenized market access, and synchronized liquidity pools are converging to create more resilient, capital-efficient and accessible trading infrastructure for professional market participants.

Themed “Fintech Nexus: Bridging the World, Building the Future”, HKFTW 2026 is organized around three strategic engines: Finance+, AI+, and Go Global, reflecting the city’s role as a super-connector between capital, innovation and international markets. The event features 10 dedicated forums, including the Digital Assets and Web3 Forum and the AI in Finance Forum, with keynote speakers from leading global financial institutions and regulators.

Bybit is not licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and its services are not available to the public in Hong Kong.

About Bybit

Bybit is The New Financial Platform.

We believe every person should have access to every financial opportunity on earth. That’s why we’re building the first intelligent platform that connects anyone, anywhere to the world’s finance.

Trusted by more than 80 million users worldwide, Bybit brings together investing, trading, payments, and wealth-building in a single secure and intelligent ecosystem. Through the combination of AI-powered technology, deep global liquidity, robust security, and transparent operations, Bybit makes global finance more accessible, efficient, and empowering for everyone.

Built for everyone. Powered by intelligence. Open to the world.

Learn more at Bybit.com.
For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com
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