Finovate Global Archives

Finovate Global Spain: Talking AI and Wealth Management with GPTadvisor

By David Penn Posted on August 23, 2024
Categories: Finovate Global, GPTadvisor, Revolut, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global features an in-depth interview with Nacho Díaz de Argandoña, Chief Product Officer with Spain-based fintech, GPTAdvisor.

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Madrid, GPTadvisor made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope 2024 in London. GPTadvisor offers a Gen AI platform that is specifically built to boost the productivity of financial advisors and wealth managers, as well as enhance client engagement.

This year, GPTadvisor announced that it has successfully completed a capital expansion round that featured support from two major Spanish venture capital firms, Kfund and JME Ventures. The company also announced that has launched a version of its GPTadvisor solution in the GPT Store by OpenAI. This launch made GPTadvisor the first portfolio management app available in the OpenAi store.

We caught up with Nacho to talk about current trends in wealth management and what AI can bring to the industry.

What problem does GPTadvisor solve and who does it solve it for?

Nacho Díaz de Argandoña: GPTadvisor addresses a critical challenge in the wealth management sector: the need for increased efficiency and productivity to remain competitive in an increasingly complex financial landscape. Financial advisors often face time-consuming, repetitive tasks such as investment research, portfolio management, and compliance. These tasks can detract from their prime objective, which is increasingly harder to accomplish: to nurture strong relationships with their clients and provide them with truly personalized and strategic advice.

GPTadvisor solves this context by providing advanced AI-driven tools that automate and streamline many of these processes, in a secure, private and controlled environment. Our wealth management platform uses the latest generative AI technology to assist financial advisors in quickly finding the right investment product, analyzing and comparing portfolios, elaborating comprehensible narratives to excel in client engagements and, ultimately, helping their clients reach their financial goals. By dramatically improving productivity, GPTadvisor allows advisors to focus more on client relationships and strategic decision-making.

The primary beneficiaries of our solutions are wealth management entities, including financial advisory firms and independent financial advisors. We see this product as a truly global proposition, where advisors anywhere around the globe can really start engaging in a new way of working.

How does GPTadvisor solve this problem better than other companies or solutions?

Díaz de Argandoña: GPTadvisor emerged during the generative AI wave with a clear objective: to apply this groundbreaking technology specifically to the wealth management sector. This focus distinguishes us from many other tech companies that, while experienced in general AI, are now struggling to adapt to the fundamentally different approach required by generative AI. Our foundation in this new paradigm allows us to harness its full potential in ways that others find challenging.

Having said that, we take AI very cautiously. We acknowledge there is a lot of noise and over-reliance in the industry where we expect AI to solve all our problems, and that is not the case. We focus on the use cases that provide the biggest gains in productivity, but without putting compliance at risk. This is why we proactively collaborate with regulators – FCA in the UK and CNMV in Spain – to explore the risks this technology involves and frame the guidelines to follow in order to successfully implement these capabilities.

Our core team brings over 40 years of collective experience in the wealth management industry. This deep expertise has enabled us to develop an innovative product from the ground up, in close collaboration with key industry partners. We work closely with numerous wealth management entities worldwide to ensure that our solutions are aligned with industry needs, making them both relevant and impactful.

Who are GPTadvisor’s primary customers. How do you reach them?

Díaz de Argandoña: GPTadvisor’s primary customers range from big commercial banks, private banks, and wealth management firms, to financial advisory entities and independent financial advisors. We work with entities that are seeking innovative solutions to enhance their productivity, streamline their processes, and ultimately provide more value to their clients by leveraging the latest technology in the market.

Interestingly, we’ve been receiving considerable inbound interest from various industry entities, driven in part by the growing enthusiasm for generative AI. As a result, we are actively engaging these entities and incorporating them into our aggressive generative AI product roadmap. This roadmap is designed not only to meet current market demands, but also to anticipate and continuously bring the benefits of this technology that is moving at unprecedented velocity.

We’ve also had the opportunity to pitch and present our work in numerous industry events, just like what we did with you last February at FinovateEurope in London. These platforms allow us to demonstrate the unique capabilities of our solutions to a wide audience that has generated very interesting conversations for us.

By capitalizing on the current momentum around generative AI and maintaining a strong and cold focus on the needs of wealth management professionals, I think we are successfully positioning GPTadvisor as the go-to solution for entities looking to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Can you tell us about a favorite implementation or deployment of your technology?

Díaz de Argandoña: One of our most exciting recent implementations is our quick portfolio analysis tool. This innovative function allows advisors to simply take a picture of a client’s portfolio with their phone and receive an instant, comprehensive analysis, thoroughly explained. The analysis includes generated insights on performance, risk, fees, and even comparisons with model portfolios. All in one go. This feature exemplifies the kind of intuitive, productivity-boosting tools we aim to deliver, making sophisticated portfolio analysis as simple as taking a photo.

Another feature we’re particularly proud of is our fund documentation auto-read feature. This tool is going to be a game-changer for GPTadvisor users globally, as they are now going to be able to instantly find and chat about key data and information in the documentation of thousands of investment funds. Whether they need details on fund performance, fees, or any other critical information, this tool streamlines the process, saving valuable time and enhancing decision-making capabilities.

These features are just the tip of the iceberg. We’re seeing new productivity functions like these arise on a weekly basis, as our team is able to move in sync with the fast-paced advancements in generative AI. Our ability to rapidly bring ready-to-use features to the wealth management space is one of the key strengths that sets GPTadvisor apart. It’s incredibly rewarding to see these innovations in action, transforming how wealth managers spend their valuable time and providing them with the tools they need to stay competitive.

What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?

Díaz de Argandoña: The confidence to tackle challenges at GPTadvisor stems from the extensive experience and proven track record of our CEO, Salvador Mas. Before founding GPTadvisor, Salvador served as the Chief Digital Officer at Allfunds for five years, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s digital transformation and its successful public offering. Prior to his tenure at Allfunds, Salvador founded several startups at the forefront of innovation in wealth management. His most recent venture, Finametrix, a portfolio management platform, was eventually acquired by Allfunds.

This entrepreneurial experience, coupled with his leadership in a global financial powerhouse, has provided Salvador with deep insights into the challenges and opportunities within wealth management. It has also equipped him with the expertise to leverage technology in creating innovative solutions that address real-world problems in the sector.

Under Salvador’s leadership, we have fostered a highly talented, agile, and focused team at GPTadvisor, which has successfully grown the product and its capabilities since its inception just over a year ago.

With this strong foundation, we are confident that we are well-positioned to lead the way in bringing cutting-edge generative AI solutions to the industry.

What is the fintech ecosystem in Spain like? What is the relationship between fintechs, banks, and traditional financial services companies in the country?

Díaz de Argandoña: The relationship between fintechs and traditional financial services companies in Spain is characterized by a mix of competition, collaboration, and co-opetition.

In the specific case of wealthtech, traditional institutions have maintained their market share despite some success stories (such as the robo-advisor Indexa Capital and the neobank MyInvestor). However, the majority of advisory services continue to be provided by traditional institutions like Santander, BBVA, or CaixaBank, which have successfully embraced digital transformation.

At GPTadvisor, we are collaborating with both types of entities, introducing generative AI in both traditional and disruptive institutions.

Left to right: Nacho Díaz de Argandoña and GPTadvisor CEO Salvador Mas at FinovateEurope 2024.

You demoed at FinovateEurope earlier this year. How was your experience?

Díaz de Argandoña: FinovateEurope was an excellent experience for us. The event was professionally and thoughtfully organized, making us, as demo participants, feel like true protagonists. It provided a valuable platform to connect with a wide range of wealth management professionals, investors, and industry stakeholders, which allowed us to test our proposition with real prospects in London—one of the world’s premier fintech hubs.

As we prepare to demo our solution again, this time in New York, it feels like a natural next step in our journey. Entering the U.S. market is a key priority for us, as we believe our solution can significantly enhance the day-to-day operations of financial advisors across the country.

We’ve been steadily growing our platform, adding a host of new features and enhancements, and we can’t wait to showcase these developments on stage. We’re confident that the New York demo will be another great experience for us, helping us to further expand our presence in a critical market.

What are your goals for GPTadvisor? What can we expect to hear from you in the months to come?

Díaz de Argandoña: Over the past year, we’ve focused intensely on refining and validating our proposition in the market. We’ve been building a next-generation AI-native platform from the ground up, one that evolves in tandem with the rapid advancements in AI technology. Our approach has involved close collaboration with leading financial entities worldwide, ensuring that we stay connected to the real-world challenges and opportunities that need solving.

I believe we’re now at a tipping point where the product is ready for greater scale. GPTadvisor is now ready to support thousands of financial advisors work more productively and deliver more value to their clients. Our plan is launching our SaaS model at global scale through the second half of the year to reach more clients and gain more leadership in the market.

As we continue to explore the full potential of generative AI and its applications within our sector, I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be involved in shaping the future with GPTadvisor. We’re just getting started, and there’s much more to come.

We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Nacho. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re making a big deal out of wealthtech next month at FinovateFall. Check out our coverage of keynote speakers and power panelists focusing on top issues in wealthtech and wealth management, our preview of wealthtech-focused demoing companies, and more!

Here is our look at fintech headlines around the world.

Asia-Pacific

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia teamed up with the Bank of New York Mellon to accelerate cross-border payments for Australians.
Five business groups have indicated interest in applying for virtual bank licenses from the Bank of Thailand.
Singapore-based neobank Fingular announced topping the four million customer milestone.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenyan payroll provider Workpay secured $5 million in funding in a round that featured Visa as an investor.
Nigeria’s Afrigopay launched instant POS settlement for AfriGO card transactions.
Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card announced a strategic partnership with blockchain platform Fireblocks.

Central and Eastern Europe

Germany’s Upvest announced a partnership with Deutsche Bank.
Romania-based AI and blockchain technology company Humans.ai acquired Starfish Technologies, creator of TensorChain.
Kosovo’s central bank called a new co-operation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) a “significant step forward” in the path toward greater digitization in financial services.

Middle East and Northern Africa

The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah partnered with Bitpanda Technology Solutions to offer a digital asset management platform for UAE investors.
Revolut granted access to Israeli payment rails by the Bank of Israel.
Egyptian fintech Lucky secured $3 million convertible note.

Central and Southern Asia

Pakistan-based fintech PostEx raised $7.3 million in pre-Series A funding to support its expansion in the GCC.
Banking Circle teamed up with Indian cross-border payments firm Skydo to enhance cross-border collections for Indian businesses.
Indian transaction banking platform TransBnk raised $4 million in Series A funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mercado Libre’s fintech division, Mercado Pago, introduced a USD-based stablecoin in Brazil.
Uruguayan cross-border payments platform dLocal forged a strategic partnership with Uphold.
BucksApp, a B2B fintech startup headquartered in Paraguay and Bolivia, raised $1 million in funding.

Photo by Alex Azabache

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Finovate Global Ireland: Payments, Regtech, and a Central Bank’s Search for Tech Talent

By David Penn Posted on August 16, 2024
Categories: Fenergo, Finovate Global, WorldPay

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech headlines from Ireland.

Dublin-based regtech Fenergo has inked a partnership with Caribbean-based PROVEN Bank. The financial institution will leverage Fenergo’s transaction monitoring solution to enhance and streamline its anti-money laundering (AML) compliance operations.

PROVEN Bank Deputy Chief Executive Officer Nikita Kissoon underscored increasing regulatory pressure on financial institutions as one of the reasons the bank sought the partnership with Fenergo. Kissoon praised the company’s “excellent reputation for expertise in both AML regulations and cutting-edge compliance technology,” and said that enhanced AML compliance “aligns with our commitment to combat financial crime and remain future-proofed against fast-evolving regulatory changes across our offshore locations.”

Fenergo’s technology will help boost operational efficiency for the Caribbean-based financial institution. PROVEN Bank will benefit from the automation of multiple manual AML processes, which will reduce the number of false positives and free up compliance resources to focus on more complex situations and higher-risk customers. The bank will begin deploying the technology at its Cayman Islands location and subsequently expand the solution to its offices in St. Lucia and its affiliate company, PROVEN Wealth, based in Jamaica.

The partnership is especially timely. The Cayman Islands, where PROVEN Bank is based, was only recently removed from the Financial Action Task force’s AML grey list and the European Union’s black list earlier this year.

Fenergo Chief Strategy Officer Stella Clarke pointed out that banks like PROVEN that operate in multiple jurisdictions often struggle to keep up with local regulations with regards to AML. “Our transaction monitoring solutions offers PROVEN Bank the flexibility to seamlessly adapt to fast-evolving regulatory environments, while empowering it to more effectively cross-sell services to existing customers based on rich data insights,” Clarke said.

Fenergo made its Finovate debut 12 years ago at FinovateEurope in London. The company has raised more than $760 million in funding, and includes TLG Capital and Bridgepoint among its investors. Fenergo’s partnership news comes at the same time that the firm announced that it had formed an alliance with Deloitte Ireland to help deliver Fenergo’s CLM solutions to financial institutions throughout EMEA.

The Bank of Ireland wants you!

If you are a technology specialist looking to drive fintech innovation in the Republic, that is.

The Bank of Ireland just announced that it is recruiting for 100 technology roles in a variety of digital projects, including fighting fraud and advanced data analytics. The Bank is specifically looking for talent with experience in data, delivery management, engineering, resilience and cybersecurity. Open banking, cloud computing, APIs, and AI are also among the areas of emphasis.

“We continue to invest in our talent, technology, and infrastructure to ensure customers have the very best banking services,” Bank of Ireland Group Chief Operating Officer Ciarán Coyle said, “We’re currently progressing a range of innovative digital projects across the Group and we want to recruit talented specialists who can enhance the banking experience for our customers.”

The bank’s search for tech talent comes as the institution has increased its investment in financial technology. After making more than 60 enhancements to its mobile banking app, including biometrics and fraud monitoring, the bank saw an 18% year-on-year increase in active digital users. The bank announced the largest single investment in ATMs in the last decade earlier this year, as well as an investment of €15 million on new fraud prevention technology.

“We are looking for the very best talent to join our technology team as we continue to deliver improvements for customers and colleagues across the organization,” Coyle said.

To find out more about the current available roles, visit the Bank of Ireland’s website.

Ireland’s PTSB has extended its agreement with Worldpay, giving the bank’s customers access to an additional range of services from the company, including e-commerce and ePOS. PTSB will also gain access to Worldpay DCC, a dynamic currency conversion solution that allows cardholders to pay in the currency of their choice.

PTSB Head of Personal Banking at PTSB Jeff Harbourne said that the ability to offer “a best-in-class merchant services solution” was key to the bank’s “ambition of becoming Ireland’s best personal and business bank.” Harbourne added, “By partnering with Worldpay, we’re offering a competitive advanced payments solution to our existing and new customers that enables them to grow their businesses and accept payment across all channels.”

With more than 1.2 million customers, PTSB has a presence in 98 locations throughout Ireland. Founded in 1816, the financial institution rebranded from Permanent TSB last fall following its acquisition of a sizable portion of Ulster Bank, including the firm’s Retail, SME, and Asset Finance businesses.

A Finovate alum since 2015, WorldPay today is a major payments technology and solutions company that processes more than 40 billion transactions across 146 countries and 135 currencies. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and founded in 1971, WorldPay announced an extension of its strategic partnership with fellow Finovate alum ACI Worldwide in July, and inked a new partnership with another Finovate alum, American Express, in May.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Colombian payment orchestration platform Yuno teamed up with Medellin-based financial services app Nequi.
Mexico City-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso partnered with blockchain company Coincover for its non-custodial disaster recovery service.
Peruvian investment and asset management arm of Credicorp, Credicorp Capital, went live with Temenos’ Multifonds accounting and investor servicing solution.

Asia-Pacific

Thailand announced plans to launch a regulatory sandbox to test crypto-based services and solutions.
Financial Times profiled Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao and one of the richest men in South Korea, who was recently arrested on stock manipulation charges.
Digital identity verification provider ADVANCE.AI signed an agreement with the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) to become the newest credit bureau in the Philippines. Read more about fintech in the Philippines in last week’s edition of Finovate Global.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigerian payment gateway SeerBit forged a strategic partnership with digital bank Kuda.
Kenya’s Central Bank announced plans to begin tracking large cash deposits and transfers.
Sanlam and Allianz launched their joint venture brand, SanlamAllianz, in Ghana.

Central and Eastern Europe

Latvia’s Magnetiq Bank inked a collaboration agreement with the Fintech Latvia Association (FLA).
Estonian payments and e-commerce solution provider Montonio introduced its new CEO Johan Nord.
Payments infrastructure company Kevin has been blocked from serving new clients by the Bank of Lithuania, which has also appointed a “temporary representative to oversee” the firm’s activities.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Singapore’s Prytek bought a controlling stake in Israeli fintech Tip Ranks, giving the company a valuation of $200 million.
UAE-based fintech Yuze raised $30 million in funding from Osten Investments to fuel expansion into new markets.
Arab Financial Services (AFS) teamed up with Samsung Gulf Electronics to bring Samsung Pay to Oman.

Central and Southern Asia

India’s Axis Bank teamed up with Visa to launch its ultra-premium credit card, Primus.
Vayana, a trade finance platform based in India, raised $20.5 million in funding.
The Astana Times looked at the growth of Kazakhstan’s fintech market.

Photo by Kelly

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Finovate Global Philippines: Mynt’s Millions and Opening the Door for More Digital Banks

By David Penn Posted on August 9, 2024
Categories: Finovate Global, Temenos

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech news from the Philippines.

Philippine mobile payments company Mynt, the firm behind super app GCash, has secured an investment of $393 million courtesy of an investment from Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG). The funding comes at virtually the same time as the company reported another $393 million investment, this one from Philippines-based conglomerate Ayala Corporation.

“We are thrilled to welcome MUFG as a new strategic partner,” said Mynt President and CEO Martha Sazon. “With their global expertise and reach within the financial inclusion space, they will be instrumental in further expanding GCash’s social impact, especially to the underserved. Alongside this, Ayala’s unmatched commitment to Philippine economic growth and development, and its expertise in multiple industries will accelerate GCash’s mission.”

The investments give the Filipino firm a valuation of $5 billion, and gives MUFG an 8% stake in the company. Ayala’s share climbs to approximately 13%.

A subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Mynt’s GCash is used by more than 90 million individuals to buy prepaid airtime, pay bills, send and receive funds, transact with merchants, and access savings, credit, insurance, and investment products.

“GCash is an indispensable infrastructure for everyday life of Filipinos and we are delighted to join Mynt as a strategic investor to support the growth of the company,” MUFG Senior Managing Corporate Executive, Head of Global Commercial Banking Business Group Yasushi Itagaki said. “With our investment, we are excited to expand our contribution to the ongoing development of the Philippines’ digital economy and financial inclusion.”

MUFG’s investment comes at a time when the banking group has been funding a range of regional fintechs that are helping bring financial services to the underbanked. Among these fintechs are Ascend Money, a super app based in Thailand, as well as Grab of Singapore and Akulaku of Indonesia.

Earlier this year, Globe Telecom suggested that the super app may launch as a public company in the Philippines next year. This week, Bloomberg reported that the company may pursue a Philippine digital banking license, as well.

Mynt’s GCash is a big deal in the Philippines when it comes to mobile fintech apps. But how big are mobile fintech apps in the Philippines? A new report from UnaFinancial noted that among Southeast Asian nations mobile fintech app adoption has been strong overall, but nowhere more so than in the Philippines where mobile fintech app penetration reached 63% by May of this year. Malaysia was second at 55%. Interestingly, fintech powerhouse Singapore registered 45%, tied with Thailand and behind Indonesia’s 49%. Vietnam showed 32% mobile fintech app penetration.

Why such a strong performance for mobile fintech apps in the Philippines? The UnaFinancial analysts cited a handful of factors including the large number of unbanked Filipinos; regulatory support for developing digital financial technologies; a sizable, tech-savvy youth population; and growing rates of Internet adoption. Digital wallets and payment apps remain the most popular mobile fintech apps, with mobile banking apps making a strong second place showing. One area of particular growth is lending apps, which increased their share of mobile fintech apps from 1% to 5% between 2019 and 2024.

The report noted that the Philippines is likely to remain the regional leader in mobile fintech app adoption. But recent growth in Indonesia’s fintech sector has UnaFinancial predicting that Indonesia could take the second spot from Malaysia by the end of 2030.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, will lift its moratorium on the granting of new digital banking licenses starting on the first of January 2025.

The move will allow as many as ten digital banks to operate in the Philippines. Currently, six digital banks have been licensed to operate in the country since the introduction of the Digital Banking Framework in 2020. This week’s announcement will allow as many as ten digital banks, opening the door for the granting of an additional four licenses. Both new applicants as well as existing banks are eligible to apply, though the BSP noted that the licensing process will be “stringent.”

Additionally, the BSP made clear in a statement that it is looking for innovation rather than more of the same. “Applicants must bring something new to the table,” said bank governor Eli M Remolona, Jr. “We want to see unique product and service offerings that are different from that offered by the existing market players.”

BSP’s announcement contrasts with a recent decision by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which has suspended its issuance of new digital banking licenses.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Outlook Business examined why a growing number of Indian fintechs are seeking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licenses.
Indian fintech FINQY raised $2 million in funding for its insurance, credit card, and loan solutions.
Fintech News Singapore highlighted four Myanmar-based fintechs to watch: Wave Money, Modus Operandi, Ongo, and Onepay.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Uruguay-based cross-border payments platform dLocal forged a strategic partnership with cross-border payments company iTransfer.
Mexican fintech Stori secured $212 million in equity and debt funding.
Canadian fintech Nuvei agreed to acquire Brazilian licensed Payment Institution, Pay2All.

Asia-Pacific

Philippines-based mobile payments company Mynt raised $393 million at a valuation of $5 billion.
South Korean FX solutions provider SentBe launched its API-based B2B payment solution SentBiz KRW Collection.
Hong Kong’s Mox Bank enabled customers of its Mox Invest solution to invest in cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded funds.

Sub-Saharan Africa

World Bank Blogs profiled Fátima Almeida and her efforts to bring digital and financial inclusion to the underbanked of Angola.
Flutterwave secured a payment service provider license from the Bank of Ghana.
Beginning on September 4th, banks in South Africa will suspend electronic fund transfer (EFT) services to Namibia, eSwatini, and Lesotho as part of a payments reclassification to help prevent financial crime.

Central and Eastern Europe

Austrian cryptocurrency platform Bitpanda partnered with Solaris to enhance its KYC capabilities in the German market.
German B2B payments company Mondu secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) in the Netherlands.
Estonian fintech Paywerk has been acquired by Swedish banking group Swedbank AB.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Egyptian digital lending marketplace Qardy announced a “seven-figure” pre-seed funding round.
International payments company MultiPass secured a license to operate in the UAE.
Kuwait-based Boubyan Bank partnered with Temenos to modernize its core banking systems.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

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Finovate Global India: Digital Transformation, Cross Border Payments, and the Digital Rupee

By David Penn Posted on August 2, 2024
Categories: Comarch, Fenergo, Finovate Global, Ripple, ThetaRay

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech news from India.

A strategic partnership between financial software applications and marketplace company Finastra and Tech Mahindra, announced today, will help corporate banks accelerate their digital transformation journeys. Specifically, the partnership will make Tech Mahindra the exclusive global implementation partner for Finastra’s Cash Management platform. Tech Mahindra will also become the preferred partner for Finastra’s Trade Innovation and Corporate Channels solutions in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

“This is an important partnership that aligns closely with our commitment to helping our customers navigate today’s challenges and embrace much needed digitalization,” Finastra CEO Simon Paris said. “The broad portfolio of services and deep experience offered by Tech Mahindra are a valuable complement to our modern and open software. With this combination, we look forward to propelling the digital transformation of even more banks and financial institutions around the world.”

The partnership will enable the two companies to offer a variety of cross-functional solutions across digital advisory, system integration, integrated infrastructure, and cloud services. These solutions will help corporate and institutional banks streamline and digitalize their operations. Financial institutions will further benefit from faster time to value for customers courtesy of faster implementations and upgrades.

“This partnership brings together two global leaders in digital transformation and financial services applications to help corporate banks scale at speed,” said Tech Mahindra CEO and Managing Director Mohit Joshi. “We believe our joint efforts will redefine the way banks digitize to improve their profit margins.”

Founded in 1986, Tech Mahindra is an international IT services and consulting company, headquartered in Pune, India. Part of the Mahindra Group, Tech Mahindra has more than 147,000 employees in 90+ countries serving 1,100+ clients. The firm offers solutions and expertise in verticals ranging from banking, insurance, and telecommunications, to media, entertainment, and retail. The first Indian company to earn the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Seal, Tech Mahindra is publicly traded on India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) and has a market capitalization of $17.8 billion (₹1.5 trillion).

The product of a union between Finovate alum Misys and D+H in 2017, Finastra offers software and solutions for financial institutions across lending, payments, treasury and capital markets, as well as retail, digital, and commercial banking. The company’s technology for banks helps them develop their direct banking relationships and to grow through new channels such as Banking-as-a-Service and embedded finance. More than 8,000 institutions – including 45 of the world’s top 50 banks – rely on Finastra’s technology.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been making fintech, financial, and economic news of late. On the fintech side, the RBI has granted cross-border payment licenses to three fintechs: BillDesk, Amazon Pay, and Adyen. These licenses will enable these companies to operate as cross-border payment aggregators and, ultimately, to offer their customers payment services for both imports and exports.

The RBI has been actively encouraging many fintechs to secure payment aggregator licenses; more than 20 companies have been granted PA licenses to date. In many of these instances, the RBI has suggested that companies interested in cross-border payments in particular apply for these licenses. Another firm that recently secured its PA license for cross-border payments for import and export from the RBI is Cashfree Payments.

In order to secure PA licenses, fintechs must register under the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) in order to become authorized to process transactions. Fintechs must also maintain a minimum net worth of Rs 15 Cr ($1.8 million) during application, a sum that will increase to Rs 25 Cr ($2.9 million) after March 2026.

Speaking of payments, the RBI is now a part of Project Nexus. The first project from the payments sector of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the project seeks to connect the Faster Payment Systems of four Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries – Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – and India. While India’s RBI has collaborated with a number of other countries via its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to support bilateral payments, RBI’s participation in Project Nexus is the first time the bank has officially joined a multilateral project of this scope.

Additional countries are expected to be added over time. The project will help small and medium-sized businesses in India make faster, less expensive, and more reliable cross-border payments. To this end, the project will also make it easier for Indian banks to offer cross-border payment services to a broader range of countries. Speed and greater transparency are also among the benefits highlighted by observers.

Are you a fan of CBDCs? This week, the RBI reported that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot has five million users and 420,000 participating merchants as of June 30. According to Reuters, transactions in the digital rupee are running at a pace of 100,000 a day, significantly below lofty expectations and hopes of one million transactions a day by 2023. It has also been pointed out that the digital rupee may suffer from competition with the country’s popular faster payments system, UPI.

Nevertheless, the digital rupee may be getting a bit of a boost courtesy of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which launched digital rupee payments on its platform this week. According to Cointelegraph, the digital rupee will be available as a wallet-based payment option, along with the exchange’s payment options in rupees via bank transfer, third-parties such as Paytm, and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

“By incorporating the eRupee payment, Bybit aims to elevate the payment experience for INR (Indian rupee) users, fostering trust and reliability in every transaction,” said Bybit sales and marketing director Joan Han. “Furthermore, this initiative is expected to attract a wider pool of merchants to the platform, driving business growth and expanding the reach of Bybit’s services within the market.”

Founded in 2018, Bybit is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume in the world, with more than 37 million users.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Faye, an insurtech startup based in Israel, raised $31 million in Series B funding.
Egyptian B2B platform Cartona secured $8.1 million in a Series A extension round led by Algebra Ventures.
Israel-based financial crime detection company ThetaRay acquired screening company Screena.

Central and Southern Asia

Bangladesh-based fintech Nagad teamed up with Huawei Technologies.
The Reserve Bank of India approved cross-border payment licenses for BillDesk, Amazon Pay, and Adyen.
Texas-based migration fintech Vesti announced an expansion to Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Caribbean-based PROVEN Bank partnered with Ireland’s Fenergo to enhance its transaction monitoring and AML operations.
Mexican fintech platform for the underbanked and microbusinesses Aviva raised $5.5 million in funding.
Ripple teamed up with the National Federation of Associations of Central Bank Servers (Fenasbac) to promote fintech innovation in Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

ADVANCE.AI launched its KYB business intelligence service to enhance its operations in Singapore and Malaysia.
Financial solutions firm Opn announced a strategic partnership with BigPay as part of its expansion in Thailand.
Australian lender ANZ acquired Suncorp’s banking business.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Flutterwave secured a Payment Service Provider license from the Bank of Ghana.
Techpoint Africa looked at MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue growth in the first half of the year.
Tanzanian fintech Nala raised $40 million in Series A funding.

Central and Eastern Europe

Poland’s Comarch announced a strategic partnership with DSK Bank.
Bank of Russia pledged to launch a digital ruble by July 2025.
Leanpay, a buy now pay later and POS lending platform based in Slovenia, raised EUR 10 million in Series B funding.

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Finovate Global Singapore: AI, Quantum Computing, and Sustainable SMEs

By David Penn Posted on July 26, 2024
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finovate Global, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech news from Singapore.

Monetary Authority of Singapore announced plans to invest $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) to fund quantum computing and AI projects. The funding is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) designed to support banks and other financial institutions as they innovate and develop capabilities in both quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

This month’s investment comes in the wake of a $110 million infusion into FSTI back in August 2023. The FSTI 3.0 was launched in 2022 as part of an effort to fortify and future-proof Singapore’s position as a major international fintech hub. MAS originally pledged 150 million Singaporean dollars to the scheme over a three-year period, and this month’s investment is an addition to that amount. The scheme is live until March 2026, but could be extended.

Given the emphasis on AI in financial services of late, MAS’s interest in quantum computing and its applications for banks and financial services companies is especially noteworthy. MAS will support eligible financial institutions with up to 50% funding for the construction of quantum computing technology centers. Companies that develop quantum computing-based cybersecurity solutions can receive up to 30% in co-funding.

With regard to AI, MAS is also supporting the development of AI innovation centers. Again, one of the main areas of emphasis is cybersecurity, which MAS identified as a use case for the first pilot project. Noting that AI tools have become “more widely accessible” and that “financial institutions have been progressively adopting AI,” MAS also observed that the degree of “AI-readiness and adoption” across financial institutions in Singapore is uneven. The AI component of FSTI 3.0 is designed in large part to remedy this.

Blockchain-based financial infrastructure company Partior has raised more than $60 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Peak XV Partners (previously known as Sequoia Capital India & SEA). Valor Capital Group and Jump Trading Group also participated as new investors along with existing shareholders J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and Temasek.

Founded in 2021, the Singapore-based company offers banks unified, ledger-based interbank rails for real-time clearing and settlement. Partior’s 24/7 blockchain network works with real-time local currency payment and RTGS systems globally and facilitates direct and indirect settlement flows with market participants. The shared ledger further supports transfers with real-time settlement finality, providing instant liquidity and transparency compared to the sequential processing typical of legacy payment systems.

“Partior is breaking down silos and rewriting the rules for cross-border clearing and settlement,” Partior Chief Executive Officer Humphrey Valenbreder said. “We see a very bright future for blockchain-based frictionless, cross-border transactions. Having some of the world’s best banks and investors back our vision validates this even further.”

The fresh capital will fuel new capabilities including intraday FX swaps, cross-currency repos, Programmable Enterprise Liquidity Management, and Just-in-Time multi-bank payments. The funding will also enable Partior to integrate a range of new currencies beyond currently supported USD, EUR, and SGD.

“As one of the founding shareholders of Partior, we’ve always believed in the transformative potential of its technology to shape global financial market infrastructure. This latest round of investment is a testament to the incredible progress Partior has made toward this endeavor,” Temasek Managing Director for Investment (Blockchain) Pradyumma Agrawal said.

DBS and Deloitte have teamed up to launch the Sustainability Accelerator Tool. The new offering will help SMEs in Singapore accurately assess their sustainability maturity levels and identify and address gaps in their efforts.

The two firms hope to empower 1,000 SMEs in Singapore over the next 12 months with the new solution, and plan to introduce the tool to other markets from the next year forward.

“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is unique in its ability to provide SMEs with meaningful and practical guidance,” Deloitte Southeast Asia Sustainability & Climate Leader Brian Ho said. “Leveraging Deloitte’s expertise in sustainability transformation, it not only identifies strengths and gaps, but also provides actionable recommendations to enhance sustainability performance.”

Three key benefits of the new offering are industry-specific analysis, which provides insights into unique sustainability challenges; customized strategic recommendations based on the degree of progress (“emerging,” “maturing,” or “leading”) the business has achieved in its path toward greater sustainability; and regional adaptability to ensure that the solution can be used by SMEs across Asia.

SMEs using the tool also get a customized Sustainability Readiness Report which gives them an analysis of the company’s sustainability maturity, as well as provides insights on how to address any specific sustainability challenges they may have.

“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is the latest in our ongoing efforts, where we strive to futureproof SMEs through practical and holistic solutions,” DBS Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking Koh Kar Siong said.

The introduction of the Sustainability Accelerator Tool follows the spring launch of DBS’s ESG Ready Programme to help SMEs efficiently transition to lower carbon business models. Headquartered in Singapore, and boasting a presence in 19 markets, DBS provides a full range of consumer, SME, and corporate banking services. The firm has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years from 2009 to 2023.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

International embedded finance platform Liberis announced its entry into the German market in partnership with Nexi.
Lithuanian identity verification company iDenfy unveiled its automated utility bill verification tool.
Germany-based private markets platform bunch secured $15.5 million in Series A funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Visa announced a significant partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to grow the Visa B2B Connect network regionally.
UAE-based fintech startup, Mamo, completed a $3.4 million funding round to fuel expansion of the company’s product line for SMEs.
Bank of Israel has chosen 14 teams of private and public sector professionals to investigate use cases for a digital shekel.

Central and Southern Asia

HSBC India teamed up with Open Financial Technologies to streamline payment operations for Indian business customers.
Indian digital payments company Paytm agreed to a collaboration with Axis Bank.
India-based payments and API banking company Cashfree Payments secured a payment aggregator-cross border license from the RBI.

Latin America and the Caribbean

The Brazilian central bank announced a pause in their plan to add recurring payments to its Pix platform.
Argentine fintech Tapi secured $22 million ahead of its expansion into Mexico.
BBVA opened an international cybersecurity center in Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

Melbourne, Australia-based Airwallex secured an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) the first major payments company to do so.
Bank Indonesia and Bank of Korea inked a MoU to encourage cross-border payments between the two countries.
In a bid to become a “global fintech hub,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has invested $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) into quantum computing and AI projects.

Sub-Saharan Africa

South African fintech Peach Payments acquired custom software development firm Operativa.
Kenya’s Diamond Trust Bank forged a partnership with Network International.
Nigerian wealth management platform Risevest announced plans to acquire Kenyan fintech Hisa.

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Finovate Global Brazil: Instant Payments, Acquiring AI Tech, and Money for Med Students

By David Penn Posted on July 19, 2024
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finovate Global, Temenos

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Brazil.

Brazilian fintech Matera raised $100 million in funding from U.S. investor Warburg Pincus. The investment gives Warburg Pincus a majority stake in the firm, and is designed to help fuel Matera’s expansion into North America.

A key part of Brazil’s PIX instant payments ecosystem, Matera offers core banking, instant payments, and QR code payment technology to more than 250 banks, credit unions, and financial institutions globally. The company includes two of the top three banks in the world and more than one-third of all banks in Brazil as its customers.

This week’s investment arrives as the company reports 2023 revenues of $77 million and 4x growth since 2020. Within a real-time payments system that accounts for more than 40% of all electronic transactions in Brazil, Matera alone processes more than five billion transactions a year.

“PIX set the standard for the digital finance revolution,” Matera CEO Carlos Netto said. “At Matera, we know first-hand the pressure for banks to modernize their infrastructure to keep up with innovative new payment methods such as instant payments and pay-by-bank. We’re honored to leverage our PIX expertise with proven solutions to help financial institutions across North America keep pace with their customers’ digital demands.”

Matera’s flagship solution for the North American market is Digital Twin, a high-performance ledger that sits on top of a bank’s existing core platform. Digital Twin responds to two particular issues: core banking modernization and the ability to create real-time digital user experiences. Additionally, Matera is introducing its QR code payments solution. The technology enables both billers and merchants to offer consumers QR codes to make payments via mobile phone. Matera’s QR code payments offering also enables consumers to generate QR codes from a mobile app in order to make payments.

Matera was founded in 1987 in Sao Paulo. The company also maintains offices in Rio de Janeiro, Maringá, and Campinas in Brazil; as well as in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

One of Finovate’s few Brazilian alums, Nubank, is also one of the biggest fintechs in the country. And while the company has received a great deal of acclaim for its efforts to promote financial inclusion, Nubank is also making inroads when it comes to integrating AI technology into its operations.

To this end, the company has acquired U.S.-based data intelligence start-up Hyperplane. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Nubank said that it will use Hyperplane’s AI technology in multiple ways, generating insights, improving decision-making, and enhancing the customer experience.

“Nubank’s mission since its founding is to fight complexity and empower fanatical customers,” David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nubank, said. “Our early investments in AI, coupled with the impressive infrastructure and talent that (the) Hyperplan team has been able to put together, will accelerate our mission. Consumers globally will access not only the very best financial products but also receive truly customized financial advice that empowers them to live a better life.”

Founded in 2013, Nubank made its Finovate debut at FinDEVrNewYork 2016. The digital banking platform serves more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia with solutions for credit and lending, investment, payments, and insurance. Last month, the company launched direct cryptocurrency transfers, and forged partnerships with Lightspark and fellow Finovate alum, Wise.

Alume, a Brazilian fintech that specializes in providing financing for higher education expenses raised $7 million (R$39 million) in funding this week. The round was led by Japan-based Credit Saison.

Helping fund the education of the country’s future medical professionals is Alume’s specialty. The company offers student loans to medical students in Brazil, as well as to newly graduated doctors. To date, the company has more than 4,000 clients and has disbursed $29 million in financing.

“Alume differentiates itself by combining technology with a deep understanding of the medical sector,” Alume Co-founder and CEO Pedro Silveira said. “Our medical-specialized accountants deliver a superior experience and tax savings for professionals.”

Alume offers three different kinds of student loans. The company provides financing of up to 80% of the student’s monthly tuition fees starting with the ninth semester of attendance onwards. Alume also offers an allowance of up to R$1,600 per month (approximately $287) to help pay for housing, food, and transportation expenses. Third, Alume provides financing for medical residency preparatory courses. Monthly interest rates start at 1.99%.

In addition to financing, the company is adding an accounting service to its offering. The service will be designed to assist doctors who serve as legal entities and will help them manage both their accounting and tax reporting.

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Alume was founded in 2019.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Accelerex, a digital payment services provider based in Nigeria, introduced its “Payment with Fingerprint” system.
Stanbic Bank Kenya upgraded its Temenos core in partnership with Temenos regional implementation partner Orion Innovation.
Nigerian fintech Fintava unveiled its banking-as-a-service technology.

Central and Eastern Europe

Estonia-based fintech Mifundo is awarded a $2.7 million (€2.5 million) grant from European Innovation Council.
Latvian multi-asset investment platform Mintos announced its entry into the Czech market this week.
Digital wallet Kuady has expanded to Bulgaria.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Egyptian fintech unicorn MNT-Halan raised $157.5 million to support expansion outside the country.
Jordan Kuwait Bank teamed up with Mastercard and UAE-based fintech FOO to launch new prepaid digital wallet, eliWallet.
The Central Bank of Bahrain will require all licensed financial and banking institutions to adhere to the country’s Open Banking regulations by the first of September.

Central and Southern Asia

Indian startup TechFini secured approval from NPCI to facilitate UPI-based payment solutions to banks, financial institutions, and fintechs.
Paytech Paysys Labs and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Pakistan partnered to enhance digital payments in the country.
India-based credit card company OneCard announced a collaboration with Razorpay.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexican fintech OCN secured $86 million in Series A funding.
Brazilian banking software provider Matera raised $100 million in funding from Warbug Pincus.
Argentina-based payments processor Tapi secured $22 million to support its expansion into Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

Singapore based fintech Qashier launched its payment linked loyalty program, Treats.
Financial infrastructure platform Stripe unveiled a new series of products designed for the Japanese market.
Hong Kong-based digital bank ZA Bank announced new reserve banking services for stablecoin issuers.

Photo by Florencia Potter

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Finovate Global Mexico: A Fundraising Unicorn and Open Finance’s Contribution to Financial Inclusion

By David Penn Posted on June 21, 2024
Categories: Alumni News, Finovate Global, Refine Intelligence

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Mexico.

Mexican digital payments and commerce enablement platform Clip announced a major investment this week. The company, which offers a suite of payments and other financial services solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico, has raised $100 million in new funding. The capital came courtesy of investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value and an unnamed West Coast mutual fund manager.

In a statement, the company noted that the funds raised value the company “in line” with the company’s Series D round from 2021. That round, led by SoftBank Latin America Fund and Viking Global Investors, added $250 million to Clip’s coffers and gave the Mexican fintech a valuation of “nearly $2 billion.”

Clip Founder and CEO Adolfo Babatz praised this week’s investment as “a testament to Clip’s opportunity to continue to lead the digital transformation of Mexico’s commerce ecosystem.” Babatz continued, “More broadly, (the investment) provides even further validation of our mission to open access to digital payments, financial services, and technology solutions to SMBs in the country. We are excited to leverage this financing round to continue to expand and strengthen our offerings to empower more stakeholders across Mexico’s economy.”

With offices in both Mexico City and Buenos Aires, Argentina, Clip offers a range of solutions to enable SMBs to accept digital payments, sell goods and services online, secure financing, and streamline their operations. The company will use the new capital to accelerate product development and support its efforts to leverage technology to enhance financial inclusion in Mexico. Clip was founded in 2012.

Speaking of financial inclusion in Mexico, Latin American open finance platform Belvo and Citibanamex, the second largest bank in the country, have forged a new partnership designed to put open finance to work in bringing credit access to the unbanked.

Via the collaboration, Citibanamex will extend credit and credit card options to applicants without credit histories. Instead of traditional underwriting, the bank will review factors such as outstanding debt levels and the number of credit applications outstanding, as well as leverage Belvo’s open finance technology to secure income verification for applicants whose data is otherwise difficult to retrieve.

“At Citibanamex, we are continuously seeking financial inclusion solutions to facilitate access to banking products for individuals who have not been able to benefit from current solutions,” Citibanamex Director of Digital Business Development Miguel Lavalle said. “With this new functionality, it will be easier for our customers to verify their income, making credit opening processes more agile.”

Belvo’s open finance and payments platform helps financial institutions and their customers benefit from user-permissioned, secure data sharing. The platform validates employment histories, as recorded by employers, to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). This enables banks, fintechs, and financial services companies to process financial data and initiate payments directly from users’s accounts.

“This is pioneering and exciting work, aligned with our mission to help financial innovators create new, more efficient, and inclusive experiences for their users,” Belvo General Director, Mexico, Federica Gregorini said. “We are excited to see how financial entities in Mexico are betting on open finance models due to their positive impact on reducing the gap in access to financial services.”

Headquartered in Mexico City, Belvo was founded in 2019. Last month, the company launched its employment data aggregation solution in Colombia. The launch followed Belvo’s partnership with Colombian digital wallet Nequi, a move considered to be a significant advance for the cause of user-permissioned, secure data sharing.

“This connection via API is just the first of many other integrations that will come soon, which portends a promising future in the development of Open Finance in Colombia and in the region,” Belvo’s General Director in Colombia, David Ballesteros, said.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal forged a partnership with Lithuanian gaming marketplace Eneba.
Brazil-based fintech Celcoin raised $125 million in funding in a round led by Summit Partners.
PayGoal, a fintech based in Argentina, teamed up with Paraguayan acquirer Bancard to launch contactless payments solution Tokefon in Paraguay.

Asia-Pacific

Open finance technology provider Brankas and Global Finteq forged a strategic partnership to launch Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) platforms in the Philippines.
South Korean fintech Travel Wallet secured $10 million in funding from U.S.-based VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Japan’s Softbank entered a strategic partnership with Gen AI search startup Perplexity.

Sub-Saharan Africa

African paytech Flutterwave announced plans to build a cyber crime research center in Nigeria.
South African fintech Ukheshe rebranded as EFT Corporation.
Ethiopia’s cabinet approved a legal framework for CBDCs.

Central and Eastern Europe

German corporate card platform Pliant inked a partnership with Commerzbank
Lithuanian regtech iDenfy launched its AI-enabled Customer Risk Assessment solution.
Tietoevry Banking expanded its card personalization services in Riga, Latvia.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Courtesy of a partnership with Revolut, UAE-based fintech GTN will offer bond trading to EEA customers via the Revolut app.
Israel-based Refine Intelligence unveiled its new check fraud prevention solution.
Innovation Village profiled Egyptian wealth management fintech Bokra.

Central and Southern Asia

India’s Pine Labs is considering a $1 billion IPO.
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) profiled women-founded Nepal-based fintech Aloi.
TBC Bank Uzbekistan announces a $10 million line of credit from Switzerland’s responsAbility Investments AG.

Photo by Pixabay

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Finovate Global Egypt: Funding Startups and International Partnerships

By David Penn Posted on June 14, 2024
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finovate Global

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Egypt.

Egyptian fintech Sahl raised $6 million in funding

An investment of $6 million will help Cairo-based fintech Sahl pursue its expansion in Saudi Arabia. The funds – courtesy of a Series A round led by Ayady for Investment and Development and featuring participation from existing investors Egypt Pay, Delta Electronic Systems, and E-Finance – will also help support Sahl’s mobile bill payment platform.

Sahl enables users to pay for more than 50 services, including electricity, water, mobile bill payments, and more via NFC-enabled, rechargeable prepaid cards. The firm also offers B2B solutions: the company’s Services Gateway serves as a central hub to aggregate billpay services for other payment processors and digital apps, while Sahl’s Acceptance solution helps businesses accept online payments. Founded in 2020, Sahl is among the few Egyptian companies to directly integrate with government agencies and telecom operators.

Ultimately, the company plans to grow into a more comprehensive financial services provider. For now, Sahl’s growth strategy involves becoming the dominant force in the payments market for utilities companies – a market worth EGP 250 billion a year.

“At Sahl, we are committed to addressing the challenges faced by consumers in utility payments, starting with electricity and expanding to water, gas, telecom, and various other essential services,” Sahl CEO Abdullah Assal said. “Our innovative use of NFC technology eliminates the need for consumers to leave their homes to charge prepaid cards, saving valuable time and effort.”

Sahl serves more than 12 million customers a month and 15 million households in Egypt.

HSBC Egypt to launch $31.5 million fund for SME-based fintechs

You don’t have to be Sahl to feel as if good funding fortunes are coming your way. HSBC Egypt will launch a new $31.5 million (EGP 1.5 billion) fund dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses in the fintech sector. The fund, which will be managed by EFG Holding, has secured approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) as well as the backing of financial institutions such as the Suez Canal Bank. The fund is slated to go live in Q3 of 2024.

The focus on fintech is designed to take advantage of the spread of digital banking and payments in the region. But the initiative is part of a grander strategy by HSBC to encourage technological innovation and spur economic growth in Egypt.

Established in 1982, HSBC Bank Egypt supports a network of 100 branches and 20 mini-bank units throughout the country. The largest foreign bank in Egypt, HSBC Bank Egypt has total assets of approximately $7 billion and a market share of 7%.

Banknbox Egypt announced multiple strategic partnerships

Digital services and paytech provider Banknbox Egypt has inked strategic partnerships with banks and fintechs in eight countries so far in 2024. Backed by the Central Bank of Egypt, Banknbox has teamed up with firms and financial institutions in countries ranging from Iraq and Libya to Moldova and a number of African countries.

“We would like to thank the CBE for its continuous support in ensuring that Banknbox achieves its vision of transforming Egypt into a regional hub,” Banknbox Chairperson and Managing Director Bassem Mahmoud said.

Banknbox is a regional payment solutions and processor offering issuing and acquiring services, as well as value-added services such as billpay and fraud management. The company also offers integrated digital banking services, including mobile and internet banking, electronic wallets, eKYC and encoding services, and more. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cairo, Banknbox began the year partnering with SWFT, a banking and finance platform for SMEs. The strategic partnership will give SMEs a suite of innovative banking solutions and tools for smart cash flow management.

“We believe that by uniting efforts with SWFT, we can revolutionize the way SMEs manage their finances,” Mahmoud said. “It’s a new opportunity for Banknbox to provide more services to the Egyptian market, relying on its regional platform in Egypt to serve companies and banks in the region. This strategic cooperation complements the company’s successes in achieving growth rates in the Egyptian market.”

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

International e-wallet service provider and payment gateway STICPAY integrated with India’s real-time payments system, UPI.
Pakistan-based consultancy Dellsons Associates partnered with UAE-based NymCards to expand into Pakistan and the Middle East.
Indian digital lending platform Fibe raised $90 million in Series E funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Payments orchestration platform Paysecure announced a strategic alliance with a55 as part of its expansion plans in Latin America.
Mexican fintech Aplazo raised an additional $45 million in equity financing in a round led by QED investors.
Have hackers from North Korea targeted a Brazilian fintech?

Asia-Pacific

Malaysia-based digital challenger Boost Bank launched its banking app.
Talino Venture Studios and Chemonics International unveiled an instant payment system, Higala, in the Philippines.
Indonesian B2B fintech Paper.id closed a Series B round led by Square Peg.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Telecommunications and mobile money services provider Airtel Africa teamed up with Network International for payment processing.
Central Bank of Kenya to issue payment licenses to fintech startups.
Is “passporting” the key to helping advance the growth of fintech in Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

Canada-based open banking solutions provider Salt Edge announces partnership with Moldova’s Moldindconbank.
Sustainable banking provider Tomorrow partnered with German fintech lemon.markets.
Tietoevry Banking expanded its card personalization services in Riga, Latvia.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Payment management solutions provider Paytiko announced expansion to Dubai.
ICYMI: Check out our Finovate Global interview with Michal Berdugo of Israel-based Citrusx.
Oman Arab Bank launched its direct debit service.

Photo by Tamer Soliman

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Finovate Global UAE: Thndr Expands, Visa Partners, and the CBUAE Backs Open Finance

By David Penn Posted on June 7, 2024
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, DriveWealth, Finovate Global

This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent developments in the fintech industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Thndr, a digital investment platform based in Egypt, announced an expansion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week. The expansion comes after the company secured a Category 3A license with retail endorsement from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). Thndr will initially offer investors in the UAE direct access to U.S.-listed securities, such as stocks, including fractional shares, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

“We at Thndr are thrilled to announce our official entry into the UAE market,” Thndr UAE General Manager Salah Kaddoura said. “We’d like to express our sincere gratitude to the FSRA for their openness and for welcoming Thndr to the UAE’s dynamic financial landscape.”

Founded in 2020 and a graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator, Thndr got its start as a commission-free, mobile trading platform for stocks, bonds, and funds. That year, Thndr became the first firm to earn a brokerage license in Egypt since 2008. The company went on to launch a new solution to enable trading in mutual funds and, in 2022, raised $20 million to fuel regional expansion.

With more than three million downloads and 500,000 active monthly users, Thndr notes that Egyptians traded $1.8 billion on its platform in 2023. As of this April, Thndr accounted for 8.5% of all retail transactions in the market. The company also reported that 87% of its users are first-time investors. “I take pride in seeing how our commitment to these principles has democratized investing to all Egyptians,” Kaddoura said, “and can’t wait for what we have in store for the UAE.”

du Pay, the digital payments division of UAE-based telecommunications company du, has formalized a partnership with digital payments giant Visa. The partnership will enable du Pay to issue Visa cards, grow its suite of financial solutions, and bring greater versatility to the du Pay platform.

“We are committed to making payment processes faster, simpler, and more secure while simultaneously enhancing financial inclusion,” du Pay CEO Nicholas Levi said. “The strategic collaboration is poised to accelerate digital empowerment with a focus on inclusivity and serve the needs of those without traditional banking services, ensuring simplified access to products.” For its part, Visa highlighted the impact of the partnership – and du Pay’s new prepaid Visa card – on the growth of digital commerce in the region.

du launched its du Pay solution earlier this year. The technology, available in six languages, offers international money transfers, P2P transfers, billpay, and a unique IBAN for each customer. The company plans to add a card feature “soon.”

Clarity on the role of Open Finance in the fintech and financial services industry of the UAE has arrived in the form of a new, comprehensive framework issued by the country’s Central Bank (CBUAE). The framework provides guidance on how to regulate licensing, supervision, and operation of Open Finance and has already received positive reviews from industry participants.

The CBUAE earned especially high marks for its emphasis on security and customer consent. One observer, Women in Crypto Arabia founder Zina Ashour said the framework “puts power back in the hands of the consumer.” Others, such as Tarabut Gateway CEO Abdulla Almoayed, were grateful for the regulatory clarity and certainty, adding that the “reduction in ambiguity” will enable his firm “to invest in the UAE with supreme confidence.”

Still further plaudits came for the comprehensive nature of the CBUAE’s decision. The UAE’s Open Finance Regulation includes, for example, both Open Banking and Open Insurance, as Global Ventures partner Said Murad observed. Murad also appreciated the fact that the regulation requires all entities licensed by the CBUAE to comply with its requirements for data sharing and service initiation.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth forged new partnership with Turkish fintech Papara.
Egyptian digital investment platform Thndr announced its expansion to UAE.
ICYMI: Check out our interview with Michal Berdugo with Israel-based technology company Citrusx.

Central and Southern Asia

India’s Axis Bank launched its NFC Soundbox solution in partnership with Mastercard.
Pakistan’s SadaPay agreed to be acquired by Turkey’s Papara.
India-based PhonePe announced the availability of secured lending products on its platform.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal partners with cross-border money transfer firm Ria Money Transfer.
European paytech payabl. expanded its coverage by adding four major local payment methods in Latin America.
Brazilian fintech EBANX teamed up with South African instant EFT payments provider Ozow.

Asia-Pacifc

DBS Taiwan partnered with Thales to bring bio-source payment cards to Asia.
The Business Times profiled Vietnamese unicorn VNLife, parent company of payment solutions company VNPay.
Malaysia-based digital challenger bank Boost Bank launched its digital banking app.

Sub-Saharan Africa

U.S.-based fintech Elevate secured $5 million in pre-Series A funding to support its expansion into South Africa.
Stanbic Bank Kenya, a member of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, announced an upgrade of its Temenos core.
VGS forged a strategic partnership with Onafriq, the largest payments network in Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

Card issuing platform Marqeta announced its expansion into Poland.
Deutsche Bank forged a partnership with Bitpanda to help facilitate cash payments for German crypto traders.
Boku teamed up with Poland’s instant payment system BLIK to offer it as a payment method at the Google Play store.

Photo by Nextvoyage

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Finovate Global Israel: Citrusx and Empowering Businesses to Build Trust in the Deployment of AI

By David Penn Posted on May 31, 2024
Categories: Citrusx, Finovate Global, Interview

The question of deploying AI technology in fintech and financial services is no longer a question of “if” – or even “when.” As our recent spring fintech conference confirmed, innovators and entrepreneurs across our industry have already decided that the answer to both of those questions is “yes” and “now.”

But there are hurdles and challenges for fintechs and financial services companies as they seek to deploy AI in their products and offerings. Unlike other industries, fintechs and financial services companies operate in a high-risk environment where issues of trust, transparency, and explainability – to say nothing of regulatory oversight – are virtually existential.

Earlier this year at FinovateEurope in London, Israel-based Citrusx demoed its platform that enables all stakeholders in the AI pipeline to remain in the loop and benefit from 100% transparency in their models.

We caught up with Citrusx’s VP of Business Development Michal Berdugo (pictured) to talk about the company, how it helps businesses effectively deploy AI technology, and what we can expect from the company in the near future.

What problem does Citrusx solve and who does it solve it for?

Michal Berdugo: In today’s data-driven world, everyone wants to adopt AI for various use cases, but they often face many roadblocks. In high-risk industries, the primary obstacles are a lack of understanding and trust. When key decision-makers can’t trust their AI systems it can lead to potential reputational and regulatory damages.

Citrusx comes in to help financial institutions and other organizations in highly regulated industries speed up their time to production while ensuring their models are accurate, robust, explainable, fair, and comply with regulatory requirements.

How does Citrusx solve this problem better than other companies or solutions?

Berdugo: High-risk sectors such as banks, loan providers, and credit unions, face unique challenges in adopting AI solutions. The lengthy production timelines and the inherent opacity of AI systems leave these companies vulnerable to liability issues. Without transparency, they are unable to fully understand or explain AI-driven decisions, heightening their exposure to legal and regulatory risks.

Citrusx’s patent-pending technology delivers real-time insights, accurate explanations, and critical validation measurements throughout the development cycle and offers proprietary monitoring and prediction methods, making it model-agnostic and resilient to feature correlation problems. Citrusx empowers businesses to build trust and deploy AI responsibly, unlocking its full potential.

Who are Citrusx’s primary customers? How do you reach them?

Berdugo: Citrusx attracts risk leaders and data science leaders who are actively seeking innovative solutions. These forward-thinkers are constantly on the lookout for ways to mitigate risks and maintain compliance with regulations. Peer recommendations validate Citrusx’s effectiveness, while articles featuring insights about us and thought leadership also spark interest.

When these leaders search for cutting-edge tools, Citrusx naturally emerges as a preferred option. Additionally, understanding the unique challenges in high-risk industries such as finance and insurance allows us to effectively address their specific pain points. To explore how Citrusx can benefit your organization, reach out to us directly via our website and book a demo.

Can you tell us about a favorite implementation or deployment of your technology?

Berdugo: One of the Big Five banks in Canada approached us because they wanted to deploy an AI model, but finding a way to make it explainable while complying with regulations was a challenge. When models become more complex, understanding their decision-making processes and fostering accountability and trust in the outcomes becomes difficult. Additionally, without any transparency of the rationale of the model, it can cause vulnerabilities and biases to slip through the cracks, which could lead to reputational and regulatory damages.

To help them combat these issues and build a robust, explainable, and fair model, we provided them with a framework to explain the inner workings of their model accurately. Using proprietary explainability methods, we gave them the tools to see the model’s results on a global and local level, yielding a full report of each sample in their dataset.

With our help, the bank achieved a deeper level of understanding of their model, giving them the trust to finally put them in deployment! All stakeholders, including those who are non-technical, were able to understand the model’s decisions, allowing them to approve it faster with confidence.

Instead of taking six to nine months to deploy their model, we cut the time in half. We also gave them the assurance that their models remained compliant with regulations.

What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?

Berdugo: Based on my experience, I gained an understanding of the significant gap companies in the financial sector are facing. While organizations want to keep pace, they are falling behind because of regulations. On top of that, there is a lack of transparency and trust in their models. At Citrusx, we had the confidence to take on this problem because we onboarded a global bank as our first main customer. With our combined backgrounds in the financial sector, government, and AI/ML development, we had the tools to build the best solution for our clients and potential clients.

Above: Citrusx’s Michal Berdugo and Dagan Eshar, VP of Research and Development

What is the fintech ecosystem in Israel like? What is the relationship between fintechs, banks, and traditional financial services companies in the country?

Berdugo: Israel’s fintech ecosystem is thriving, boasting a high number of startups creating innovative financial solutions for a relatively small population. There are roughly 550 fintech startups in Israel, and 20 of those companies are valued at over $1 billion. This makes Israel a major player in fintech on a global scale.

The relationship between fintechs, banks, and traditional financial institutions in Israel is evolving. There’s both competition and collaboration. Banks are partnering with fintechs to improve their digital offerings and reach new customers, while fintechs benefit from the banks’ established infrastructure and customer base. This symbiotic relationship helps both sectors grow and provide better financial services in Israel.

You demoed at FinovateEurope earlier this year. How was your experience?

Berdugo: The experience was great, as it was the first conference we participated in since launching from stealth. We were excited to share more about our product and the crowd was incredibly receptive. We gained many interesting insights about what different stakeholders in the AI pipeline are focused on in the coming quarters. The Finovate team was also very helpful and gave us great feedback in preparation for the demo.

What are your goals for Citrusx? What can we expect to hear from you in the months to come?

Berdugo: We are signing new clients and working on growing and expanding our product and team in the coming year. We are working toward a time when Citrusx’s solutions will be a standard practice.

Photo by Ofir Gafkovich

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Finovate Global France: Lydia Launches New Digital Brand, RockFi Raises Millions, Meet Finovate’s French Alums

By David Penn Posted on May 17, 2024
Categories: Backbase, Finovate Global, Klarna, MasterCard

This week, Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in France.

French start-up Lydia announced the launch of a new digital banking brand this week. Named Sumeria, Lydia plans to invest more than €100 million in the new initiative, as well as hire 400 people over the next three years. Sumeria, according to a post on LinkedIn, offers 4% interest and is designed to be a “simple and accessible banking super app.

“We are convinced that technology (cloud, mobile) is not an end in itself, but a way to simplify life, through everyday details,” the company noted in a statement on its website. Arguing that current accounts should be neither “trendy gadgets” nor make users captive to a given app, system, or institution, the company explained: “It should solve a real problem. This is why Lydia’s choices, with Sumeria, are motivated by common sense and its ambition to be universal: for everyone, for everything.”

Lydia’s brand announcement follows a decision by the company to split its digital banking app into two components. Originally launched in 2013 as a P2P payments app, Lydia’s solution scaled, adding more and more financial services features over the years. It was the launch of its Lydia Accounts offering convinced the company that a change was necessary to keep its early adopters – who relied heavily on the P2P service – onboard. The result was to offer the P2P services separately from Lydia’s digital banking proposition through the Lydia Accounts app. The original Lydia app will become Sumeria, with the new features mentioned above – such as stock trading, savings accounts and loans – to be ported to the new banking brand.

Headquartered in Paris, Lydia has raised more than $259 million in funding. The company’s investors include Accel and Echo Street Capital. In addition to the launch of Sumeria, Lydia is also seeking a credit institution license from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority.

Paris, France-based private wealth management startup RockFi raised €3 million in funding this week. The round was led by Varsity I and featured the participation of numerous business angels in technology and private management. The company plans to use the capital to grow its workforce by 3x by the end of 2024 so as to provide private banking and wealth management expertise to clients throughout France.

“Since the beginning of the year, we have seen strong client traction eager for a new model to manage their wealth,” RockFi Co-Founder and CEO Pierre Marin said. “With a market of €4.8 trillion in assets ahead of us and no tech leader yet in France and Europe, our ambition is very high for the coming years.”

RockFi’s model combines human expertise and technology to offer services including banking, wealth management, life insurance, and pension savings. The firm has a targetable clientele with assets of more than €100,000, representing six million households in France.

“Three months after our official launch this is an important step that anchors a strong momentum and allows us to further accelerate the construction of the new private management,” the company wrote on its LinkedIn page this week. “The ambition remains: to surround ourselves with the best talent and partners in each field and to deploy a tech ecosystem to unleash the potential of independent wealth managers at the service of their clients.”

Meet Finovate’s French Alums!

Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a number of fintech innovators based in France. Here’s a look at some of French fintechs that have demoed their technology on the Finovate stage in recent years.

Dotfile – FinovateEurope 2024 – demo

ShareID – FinovateEurope 2024 – demo

Numeral – FinovateEurope 2023 – demo

SESAMm – FinovateEurope 2023 – demo

Thread – FinovateEurope 2021 – demo

BLECKWEN – FinovateEurope 2020 – demo

Worldline – FinovateEurope 2017 – demo

Ledger – FinovateEurope 2016 – demo

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

German B2B payments provider Billie forged a strategic pan-European collaboration with BNP Paribas.
Klarna expanded its Pay in 3 service to Slovakia.
U.K.-based business financial platform Tide launched in Germany this week.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Emirates NBD and Pine Labs announced a collaboration to bring new payment solutions to businesses in the region.
A partnership between NymCard and Dellsons Associates will help bring embedded finance solutions to businesses in the Middle East and Pakistan.
Israel-based fintech Kima teamed up with Mastercard’s FinSec Innovation Lab to explore use cases for a “defi credit card.”

Central and Southern Asia

Indian digital payments company PhonePe partnered with LankaPay to bring UPI payment acceptance to Sri Lanka.
Kazakhstan announced the availability to 10+ new CBDC card services since the launch of its digital tenge.
U.K.-based startup Fintech Farm raised $32 million in funding to fuel its expansion to India.

Latin America and the Caribbean

TransNetwork acquired Inswitch to bring cross-border digital payments options to Latin America.
Mexico-based BNPL platform Aplazo raised $70 million in new funding.
Uruguayan cross-border payments platform dLocal announced the expansion of its partnership with Deel.

Asia-Pacific

Backbase, digital enabler SmartOSC, and Vietnam-based OCB partnered to launch the OCB OMNI 4.0 app to enhance digital banking in Vietnam.
Philippines-based fintech Skyro teamed up with identity verification company ADVANCE.AI.
Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) is facilitating the use of e-CNY wallets, launched this week.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mastercard partnered with the Cooperative Bank of Oromia to improve financial inclusion in Ethiopia.
Payment processing solutions company PayRetailers went live in Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
The Financial Times recognized Africa’s Moniepoint as the fastest growing fintech in the region.

Photo by Martijn Adegeest

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Finovate Global: Monzo’s Millions, A2A Payments in Australia, FinovateSpring’s International Alums

By David Penn Posted on May 10, 2024
Categories: APIMatic, Candour Oy, Cardlay Payment Solutions, Deeployalty, Dynatrek, Finovate Global, FinTech Insights, TRIYO

Challenge Accepted! Monzo Raises Millions

U.K.-based challenger bank Monzo secured an additional $190 million (£150 million) in funding this week, adding to the $426 million (£340 million) raised just a few days ago. The Series I round, totaling $616 million (£490 million) gives the digital bank a valuation of $5.2 billion (£4.1 billion) and represents one of the biggest fundraising rounds for a European fintech since 2023.

The bank’s financial backers included Hedosophia and CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth fund. CNBC’s coverage of the funding notes that Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC was also a participant in the funding, but GIC has yet to confirm the report.

Monzo will use the funds both to build new products as well as move forward with its international expansion plans. Expansion to the U.S. is near the top of the company’s wish list, having resumed efforts to secure a banking license in the country after retreating from a previous attempt three years ago. Monzo hired Conor Walsh, former Head of Product for Cash App, as its U.S. CEO in 2023.

“At the heart of it, we are a mission-oriented company that’s looking to build the single place where people can meet all of their financial needs,” Monzo Co-Founder and CEO TS Anil told CNBC. “What’s exciting to me is that, as we pursue that mission of changing people’s relationship with money, we’ve built a business model that is congruent with that, as well, with this model that is built entirely around the customer.”

Founded in 2015, Monzo has more than nine million retail customers and 400,000 business customers in the U.K. The challenger bank offers current and joint accounts, as well as an app to enable customers to see all their accounts and control spending. The company launched its first business bank accounts for SMEs and self-employed workers in 2020 and, later that year, unveiled its first loan products for its personal current account customers. In 2023, Monzo announced that it had achieved profitability for the first time.

As part of its expansion plans, Monzo is looking to begin offering mortgage and pension products, with the latter being available as early as six to nine months from now. Last year, Monzo launched an investment product, giving customers the ability to invest in a trio of funds offered by BlackRock.

Banked and NAB Promote A2A Payments in Australia

A new partnership between international payments network Banked and National Australia Bank will make it easier for merchants in Australia to adopt account-to-account (A2A) payments solutions. Specifically, the two entities are seeking to encourage the adoption of Pay by Bank technology via Australian Payments Plus (AP+) services.

Pay by Bank enables merchants to send PayTo Agreements to customers, and then initiate payments and refunds based on those agreements – which cover a variety of transaction experiences including online payments, and recurring payments with fixed, variable, or split payment amounts. Partnering with NAB gives Banked a partner with both an established presence in the Australian market, as well as a comprehensive knowledge of the needs of merchants in the country.

“The nascent A2A payments industry in Australia presents an incredible opportunity for Banked,” Banked CEO Brad Goodall said. “Local regulators have developed well-constructed mandates and the banking industry is primed for innovation, all of which sets the stage for rapid growth in real-time payments.”

An initial set of NAB business customers from industries such as e-commerce and retail, as well as non-bank lenders, is scheduled go live with A2A payments in the first half of 2024.

With offices in both Palo Alto, California and London, U.K., Banked was founded in 2018. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with FIS to promote use of Pay by Bank.

Meet FinovateSpring 2024’s International Alums

FinovateEurope typically gets top billing as our most international fintech conference. But FinovateSpring has showcased a sizable number of fintech innovators from around the world, as well. And this year’s FinovateSpring is no exception.

Here’s a look at seven companies demoing at FinovateSpring, May 21-23, that hail from outside of the United States.

APIMatic – Auckland, New Zealand

Candour Oy – Oulu, Finland

Cardlay Payment Solutions – Odense, Denmark

Deeployalty – Ukraine

Dynatrek – Tokyo, Japan

FinTech Insights – London, England

TRIYO – Toronto, Canada

There’s still time to pick up your ticket and save your spot for our annual Spring fintech conference in San Francisco, May 21-23. Visit our FinovateSpring hub to register.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigerian fintech and non-bank credit card issuer O3 Capital partnered with American Express to issue four new AMEX credit cards.
South African fintech Lesaka acquired South African payments company Adumo in a deal valued at $85.9 million.
SasaPay, a fintech headquartered in Kenya, announced a partnership with investments solutions provider Etica Capital.

Central and Eastern Europe

Swiss Bitcoin Pay teamed up with Lithuanian regtech iDenfy to enhance its risk management and onboarding processes.
Latvian fintech Huntli partnered with U.S.-based Payall to improve security for cross-border payments.
Lithuania-based TransferGo secured $10 million in funding from Taiwania Capital Management.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Digital payments company Wink Pay launched in Lebanon in partnership with Visa and Codebase Technologies.
United Arab Bank expanded its partnership with Network International.
Saudi Arabian insurtech Rasan to sell 30% of its stake in a Riyadh IPO.

Central and Southern Asia

Nepal Clearing House inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ant International to enable QR payments via Alipay+ for visitors to Nepal.
Finovate Best of Show winner Zeta launched its Digital-Credit-as-a-Service solution for banks in India.
Saudi Arabia’s Alraedah Digital Solutions forged a strategic partnership with Pakistan-based fintech ABHI to launch new financial services in the kingdom.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazilian digital bank Nubank tops 100 million customer mark.
Indian private sector bank Yes Bank announced a strategic partnership with payment solutions provider EBANX.
Chilean A2A payments startup Fintoc raised $7 million in new funding.

Asia-Pacific

Australian fintech Karta secured a multi-year agreement with Visa.
Is there a future for a retail CBDC? The Bank of Thailand thinks so.
Banked forged a partnership with the National Bank of Australia to boost A2A payment adoption among merchants.

Photo by Deeana Arts

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