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

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

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

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa


Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

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

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

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

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Will the new month bring new challenges in fintech? Or will the news cycle take a much-needed vacation as summer approaches? Stay tuned to this week’s news for updates and evolutions throughout the week.

Digital banking

Cloud-native core banking operating system 10x Banking enters collaboration with Deloitte Australia.

Monzo reports first profitable year.

Genesis offers new tools and incentives to financial industry software developers.

Meniga partners with Handelsbanken in Norway to amplify digital banking experience.

Fraud prevention

iProov achieves FIDO Alliance certification for facial biometric identity verification.

Fenergo unveils new AI-powered Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) tool to help customers keep pace with evolving regulations.

U.K.-based digital compliance and AML solutions provider SmartSearch launches its International Individual Check solution.

Bunq improves its fraud-detection model’s training speed nearly 100x using NVIDIA AI.

Payments

Payouts orchestration PayQuicker launches its on-demand, earned income access product, Insta-Pay.

Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal partners with cross-border money transfer firm Ria Money Transfer.

Payments leader Jacob Eisen named ICBA Payments President and CEO.

Forward announces $16 million seed round led by Commerce Ventures, Elefund, and Fiserv.

The Bank of London forms strategic partnership with allpay Limited to improve banking and payments in the U.K. Social Housing market.

Vallarta Supermarkets taps Sezzle to offer Buy Now, Pay Later for grocery purchases.

Onbe to power Eisen’s digital solution that issues funds to consumers following account closures. 

Temenos and Mastercard join forces to expand cross-border payment capabilities through Mastercard Move.

allpay partners with Enfuce to provide payments for the U.K. public service sector.

NCR Atleos launches U.K. ATM cash deposit service.

REPAY empowers credit unions with enhancements to CU*Answers integration.

Small business finance

Corporate card and spend management provider Torpago raises $10 million in Series B round co-led by Priority Tech Ventures and EJF Ventures.

Commercial lending software provider for U.S. financial institutions, Abrigo, launched its commercial loan origination solution for SME lending.

insightsoftware acquires Fiplana to strengthen Qlik’s extended planning, analysis, and write-back capabilities.

i2c and Affiniti Finance partner to expand financial access for America’s underserved small businesses.

Spend management company Ivalua forges a collaboration with Visa.

Credit Cards

Credit repayment fintech Incredible raises $1 million.

Pinnacle Bank partners with CorServ to implement a modern credit card program for commercial, business, and consumer customers.

Insurtech

Scott Credit Union selects BUNDLE by Insuritas to launch its insurance agency.

Investment and wealth management

Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth forges new partnership with Turkish fintech Papara.

Lending

Plaid unveils Consumer Report, a new solution that brings businesses real-time cash flow data along with credit risk insights through Plaid Check, its consumer reporting agency.

Open banking

Mastercard teams up with Atomic to launch new open banking solutions.

Financial inclusion

Visa teams up with non-profit Plain Numbers to support inclusive financial services for adults in the U.K./


Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Temenos Launches Responsible Generative AI Solutions

Temenos Launches Responsible Generative AI Solutions
  • Temenos has launched Responsible Generative AI Solutions for financial services.
  • The GenAI tools allow bank employees to use natural language to query the engine, which will leverage banks’ data to generate unique insights and reports.
  • At launch, the new GenAI tools will be available within Temenos Wealth and Temenos Digital products.

Banking technology provider Temenos launched Responsible Generative AI Solutions for financial services this week. The Switzerland-based company is making the solutions available as part of its AI infused banking platform, starting with its Temenos Wealth and Temenos Digital products.

Temenos’ new offering aims to change the way banks leverage their data, and the company anticipates they will ultimately improve banks’ productivity and profitability. Temenos’ new Responsible Generative AI solutions work similarly to other GenAI engines, such as ChatGPT, in that they allow bank employees to use natural language to query the engine, which will leverage banks’ data to generate unique insights and reports. Banks can use the new tools in processes ranging from managing existing accounts to brainstorming new products and mitigating financial crime.

“We all use AI in our daily lives and benefit from the personalized services and insight,” said Temenos President Product and COO Prema Varadhan. “Temenos Explainable AI offers transparent, auditable insights while our Generative AI infused platform delivers these insights instantly in an intelligent and personalized way. Temenos ensures responsible AI practices by providing explainability, security, safe deployment, and banking-specific capabilities. With our AI platform, banks can rapidly implement real-world use cases that enhance efficiency, boost profitability, and create hyper-personalized customer experiences.”

The “responsible” part of Temenos’ new tools lies in its transparency and explainability. Users and regulators will have visibility into the process and will be able to verify the results produced by the engine. The Responsible Generative AI solutions also have a permissions and access security framework to address data security and privacy concerns.

Banks can deploy the new Responsible Generative AI Solutions as standalone solutions or connect them with their existing core systems on-premise, on public or private clouds, or delivered via Temenos SaaS.

Temenos was founded in 1993 and offers solutions for retail and commercial banking, wealth management, payments, fund administrators, insurance companies, and more. The company has clients in 150 countries and offers solutions that touch 30% of the world’s banking population, equivalent to 1.2 billion people.


Photo by Tara Winstead

Finovate Global Denmark: Financing Spend Management Solutions and Small Business Tools

Finovate Global Denmark: Financing Spend Management Solutions and Small Business Tools

A few days ago, we highlighted the $25.7 million (€24.1 million) investment secured by Danish challenger bank Lunar. Also this week, we noted partnership news from Denmark-based real estate tokenization platform – and FinovateSpring alum – DigiShares.

With all this Danish fintech news, we are devoting this week’s edition of Finovate Global to the fintech scene in Denmark: a Nordic country with a population of nearly six million and a per capita GDP that’s among the top ten in the world. We’ll also highlight some of the Danish fintechs that have demonstrated their innovations on the Finovate stage.


Danish fintech unicorn Pleo raises €40m in debt financing

Pleo, a Danish B2B spend management platform founded in Copenhagen in 2015, secured a $43 million (€40 million) debt financing facility this week. The financing came courtesy of HSBC Innovation Banking UK, a subsidiary of HSBC Group.

Pleo enables companies to centralize their business spending – expenses, reimbursements, invoices, and more. Pleo also offers physical, temporary, virtual, and vendor company cards to help businesses better track and manage spending. Pleo integrates readily with common business tools such as NetSuite, Xero, and Quickbooks, making its solution a viable option for companies ranging from start-ups to enterprises. With more than 30,000 customers using its spend management platform, Pleo notes that its technology saves administrative teams 138 hours every year and has a satisfaction rate of 90%.

“We are delighted to announce our partnership with HSBC Innovation Banking. Starting at €40 million, the debt financing available to us can extend based on future requirements – which will expand our existing reach even further into more countries, enable us to increase limits and offer more currencies,” Pleo VP of Credit and Treasury Amit Kahana said. “Beyond this milestone partnership and imminent launch in the Netherlands, Pleo is expecting to see exciting developments over the coming 12 months as Pleo prepare(s) to launch in even more markets.”

Pleo initially earned its unicorn status in the summer of 2021, courtesy of a $150 million investment that drove the company’s valuation to $1.7 billion. Pleo secured an additional $200 million in funding in an extension of its Series C round in December of that year, giving the company a valuation of $4.7 billion.

Pleo announced last summer that it had nearly doubled its revenue and transaction volumes in 2022. The company began this year with a new chief financial officer, Søren Westh Lonning who had been working with the company in an advisory capacity.


Ageras raises €82m in oversubscribed private placement round

From its origins in 2012 as an online marketplace to help small businesses connect with financial professionals like accountants and bookkeepers, Denmark-based fintech Ageras has grown into a more comprehensive financial services provider, offering cloud-based accounting services to more than 300,000 small businesses in Europe.

This week, the company announced that it has raised $88 million (€82 million) in an oversubscribed private placement round led by Investcorp. The round, which also featured participation from Norwegian state pension fund Folketrygdfondet and American fund manager Lazard, was successful enough that Ageras CEO Rico Anderson said that it “reinforced the company’s desire to ‘become a market leader and then go public’.

“We want to make it easier to be a small business in an increasingly difficult administrative and regulatory landscape by offering a fully integrated platform where companies can manage their banking, accounting, and tax in one financial cockpit,” Anderson said.

The investment takes Ageras’ total equity capital to more than $231 million, according to Crunchbase. The funds will also support Ageras’ plans for new acquisitions, with Anderson admitting that there are a number of potential targets already under consideration.

Ageras operates in more than 100 countries and boasts more than a million users of its technology. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Ageras was acquired by Investcorp, which took a minority stake in the company in 2017.


Here come Finovate’s Danish alums

Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a large number of innovative fintechs from Northern Europe, including a handful from Denmark. Here are some of the Danish fintechs that have demoed their innovations on the Finovate stage.

Cardlay Payment Systems – FS24 – Cardlay Payment Systems will make its Finovate debut later this month at FinovateSpring in San Francisco. The company offers a white-label card and expense management solution, Cardlay Expense, that delivers an exceptional, real-time experience for cardholders.

SubaioFEU22 – Subaio made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany, and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateEurope 2022 in London. The company helps financial companies generate new revenue streams by identifying recurring payments and insights, and delivering different use cases based on this data.

AiiaFEU21 – Aiia demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2021 in London. The leading open banking platform in Northern Europe, the company provides open banking services to a sizable number of financial instituitons including Lunar, Pleo, DNB, and Santander Consumer Bank. Aiia was acquired by Mastercard in 2021.

DigiSharesFS21 – DigiShares introduced itself to Finovate audiences at FinovateSpring 2021 in San Francisco. The company offers a white-label tokenization platform for real estate, bringing both automation and liquidity to the property market.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • Vietnamese fintech startup M_Service, operator of mobile e-wallet Momo, secured $28 million (£ 19.7 million) in funding.
  • A new inclusive instant payment system (IIPS), Higala, launched in the Philippines.
  • Fintech Australia and the Thai Fintech Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding to foster fintech capabilities between the two countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • The Central Bank of Nigeria paused account opening for new customers at four fintechs: Kuda Bank, Moniepoint, OPay, and Palmpay.
  • Digital financial solutions provider Payless Africa launched in Kenya.
  • FX and cross-border payments provider Crown Agents Bank teamed up with business platform Invest Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Norway-based digital identity solution provider Signicat became the first international aggregator to integrate mojeID Poland into its digital identity portfolio.
  • Romanian fintech Finqware teamed up with FwF to help European companies automate financial operations.
  • Lithuanian fintech Softloans raised $1 million (€1 million) in pre-seed funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • National Bank of Iraq (NBI) went live with core banking and payments technology from Temenos.
  • Israel-based fintech Nayax acquired Brazilian payment technology provider VMtecnologia.
  • Egypt’s Bokra raised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding for its platform that offers investment products via asset backed securities.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Bangladesh-based Eastern Bank (EBL) teamed up with Mastercard to launch a dual currency prepaid card for medical tourists in India.
  • Indian cross-border payments platform BriskPE secured $5 million in seed funding.
  • Bank of Thailand launched QR code cross-border payments to India.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazil-based banking-as-a-service company QI Tech became the country’s latest unicorn after securing an extension of its $200 million Series B round from last October.
  • Uruguyan cross-border payment platform dLocal partnered with online English-learning platform Open English.
  • Brazilian fintech Nubank launched its new banking experience Nubank+, offering cashback, streaming video courtesy of a partnership with Max, and more.

Photo by Sushil Ghimire

Finovate Global Germany: Investing in Embedded Finance, Open Banking in Payments, N26 in France

Finovate Global Germany: Investing in Embedded Finance, Open Banking in Payments, N26 in France

This week’s edition of Finovate Global features the latest fintech news from Germany, where investors are backing innovations in embedded finance, payments companies are taking advantage of open banking, and the green shoots of crypto spring are growing ever more apparent.


Solaris secures funding

Germany’s embedded finance platform Solaris secured $103 million (€96 million) in a Series F round this week. The investment was led by SBI, one of Solaris’ earliest investors, with other existing investors also participating. Solaris will use the additional capital, which takes the firm’s total funding to more than $486 million (€450 million), to onboard its ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) credit card program, strengthen its core capital, and invest further in its platform.

“This is a significant milestone for Solaris on our path to sustainable, profitable growth,” Solaris CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer said. “The funding underlines the high level of confidence our investors have in the transformation of our company.”

In addition to the investment, the Series F also included a financial guarantee of up to $108 million (€100 million) capital equivalent.

A pioneer in the banking-as-a-service business for nearly a decade, Solaris has grown into a major banking and technology provider with more than 750 employees at ten locations in both Europe and India. The company’s BaaS solution enables businesses to embed digital banking services – including payments, lending, and identity verification – directly into their platform. In addition to making it easier for companies to launch customized financial products and services, Solaris has secured the requisite licensing – including an e-money license for both the UK and EEA – to help companies navigate the regulatory complexities of doing business across the region.

Headquartered in Berlin, Solaris realized net revenues of $140 million (€130 million) in 2022. Last fall, the company issued a study – Disrupting the value chain for financial services – How to drive revenue growth with embedded finance – that highlighted “easier access to services” as a major driver of demand for embedded financial solutions.


Micropayment partners with Tink for Pay by Bank

Berlin-based payment processor Micropayment has turned to open banking platform Tink to add Pay by Bank to its payments offering. Live in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Micropayment’s Pay by Bank enables consumers to initiate payments directly from their bank account to the seller’s account when purchasing goods and services. A growing preference for both merchants and consumers, account-to-account (A2A) payments provide a secure and streamlined experience for customers and lower costs for merchants.

“The DACH region is a key market for us, and Tink’s dedication to serving merchants across various industries has been invaluable,” Micropayment CSO Thomas Knoth said. “Their payment method offers consumers the speed, reliability, and security they expect, making it a seamless experience for both merchants and consumers.” In a statement, Micropayment noted that it plans to take further advantage of Tink’s pan-Europe connectivity in the future.

Founded in 2005, Micropayment is a full-service payment provider that provides its customers with software implementation, payment processing, detailed analysis, and more. The company offers nine different payment options designed specifically for e-commerce and paid content services. Micropayment customers can integrate the technology via ready-made payment windows and preconfigured shop logins, as well as white-label APIs and interfaces.

“Collaboration with Micropayment has got off to an excellent start and we are gaining traction in a highly competitive landscape, by offering merchants a payment method that offers everything a consumer has come to expect – familiarity, speed, reliability, and convenience,” Tink DACH Payments Director Thomas Gmelch said.

A Finovate alum since its Best of Show winning debut in 2014 at FinovateEurope, Tink returned to the Finovate stage three years later to earn its second Best of Show award. Most recently, the Sweden-based company announced a partnership with German modern mobility sharing services provider Deutsche Bahn. The company will deploy Tink’s Account Check solution to enable instant, secure account onboarding.


Berlin’s N26 launches cryptocurrency product N26 Crypto

Crypto spring is alive and well in Europe as the region’s most prominent digital bank, N26, announced that its first cryptocurrency product, N26 Crypto, will be available to its customers in France. N26 began the year with the unveiling of its new Stock and ETF trading product – and the bank’s crypto solution already has been available in seven of N26’s 24 European markets. This week’s announcement adds French traders and investors to the ranks of those N26 customers who will be able to transact in nearly 200 cryptocurrencies on the N26 app.

N26 Crypto will be available to all eligible customers in France, or at least with a French or a German IBAN. All membership tiers will be able to access the technology, including customers using free accounts. There will be no additional charge for using N26 Crypto, which the bank says will offer the broadest range of cryptocurrencies for trading and investing compared to all other European banking apps.

“Last summer, we installed our local French Iban to be able to accelerate the deployment of the global banking offer that we want to provide to our approximately 3 million customers in France,” N26 General Manager France & Benelux, Jérémie Rosselli explained. “With this, customers can go beyond managing their money simply and intuitively on their smartphone to also invest within the N26 ecosystem,” Rosselli said.

The new offering is made possible via a partnership with Bitpanda GmbH, which manages the execution of trades as well as the custody of coins. With only €1 to get started, N26 Crypto users pay 1.5% in fees on Bitcoin and 2.5% on other cryptocurrencies. Users can upgrade to N26 Metal to take advantage of reduced transaction fees, as well as other perks.

Founded in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, N26 has eight million customers and operates in 24 different markets. The bank’s crypto product announcement follows a slew of recent headlines from the German bank. These include the launch of its Instant Savings solution in 13 new markets, and the appointment of Mayur Kamat as new Chief Product Officer.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • German challenger bank N26 launched new cryptocurrency trading product N26 Crypto.
  • Flowpay, a Czech-based fintech that provides financing for small businesses, raised $2.3 million (€2.1 million) in seed funding.
  • German embedded finance platform Solaris raised $103 million (€96 million) in a Series F round led by SBI Group.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israel-based BioCatch and Google Cloud partner to bring fraud prevention solutions to expanding markets.
  • UAE-based Tungsten secured a license from the FSRA to operate at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
  • Bahrain’s Eazy Financial Services joined forces with Tabby to provide BNPL services via its EazyPay POS terminals network.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Business Recorder’s Syed Yousuf Raza looked at how Pakistan’s banking and fintech industry is dealing with evolving fraud threats.
  • The Indian government signed a $23 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enhance access to fintech education, research, and innovation at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
  • FinTech Alliance Nepal joined the Asia FinTech Alliance.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Colombian fintech Addi secured $86 million in a combination of equity and debt financing.
  • Uruguayan digital payments firm dLocal anticipates record total payment volumes in 2024.
  • Nubank Brazil CEO Livia Chanes talked with Bloomberg News about the state of fintech in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based cross-border payments company Thunes expanded its strategic partnership with Visa.
  • Australia’s HeirWealth integrated with Envestnet | Yodlee to bring open banking data sharing to its wealth register for high net-worth families.
  • HSBC and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks startup hub announced the first “public-private cooperation between the city’s largest innovation and technology ecosystem and leading global bank.”

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Ethiopia’s Cooperative Bank of Oromia partnered with Temenos to launch its CoopApp and CoopApp Aluhuda for both conventional and Islamic digital banking experiences.
  • dLocal teamed up with Ebury to bring African customers optimized payment solutions.
  • Safaricom, a telecom based in Kenya, partnered with Onafriq to offer remittance services to Ethiopia.

Photo by Kai Pilger

Finovate Global Sweden: Open Banking, New Leadership, and A Defense of Cash

Finovate Global Sweden: Open Banking, New Leadership, and A Defense of Cash

This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent fintech developments and news from Sweden. Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a number of fintechs from Sweden, a country with a population of more than 10.5 million and the twelfth largest economy as measured by GDP.

Last month at FinovateEurope, we introduced Swedish embedded banking and payments company Visualizy to our audiences. Founded in 2022, the company offers a multi-bank platform that helps businesses lower costs, reduce errors, and boost security in their financial and payment operations.

Other recent Finovate alums headquartered in Sweden include StockRepublic (FinovateEurope 2023), Econans (FinovateEurope 2021), Minna Technologies (FinovateEurope 2019), and Trustly (FinovateEurope 2013. This week’s Finovate Global will include news from two older Finovate alums hailing from Sweden: Tink – which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014 – and Klarna, a Finovate alum since 2012.


Klarna rolls out open banking-powered settlements in the U.K.

Swedish payments network and shopping assistant Klarna has begun to introduce open banking-powered settlements in the U.K. This means that consumers in the U.K will be able to pay Klarna directly from their bank account rather than a debit card. It also means that the company is making good on its objective of building a payments network outside the traditional card networks.

“Open banking offers a huge opportunity for Klarna to reduce the cost of payments to society by cutting out the established card payment networks, and using up-to-date bank account data to make ever better lending decisions,” Klarna VP, Open Banking, Wilko Klaassen said. “This new launch builds on the success we have seen in 10 countries across Europe and will give U.K. open banking a major boost.”

Ease of use is one major advantage open banking settlements provide consumers. For example, there is no need to enter personal payment details into the website of retailer that the consumer might not know very well. Instead, all a consumer needs to do is click on the “Pay by bank” option. This delivers the consumer to their mobile banking app where they can complete their transaction quickly and securely.

Launching the service in the U.K. is expected to be a major boon for Klarna; approximately five million U.K. consumers currently use open banking payment each month. Outside of the U.K., Klarna’s “Pay by bank” solution is currently live in 10 countries. More than 20 million consumers each month are taking advantage of the technology.


Tink adds to U.K. leadership team

Speaking of open banking, Swedish open banking platform Tink announced this week that it is bolstering its leadership ranks. The company – which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2014 – has appointed Ian Morrin as Head of Payments & Platforms, Andrew Boyajian as Head of Products for Payments & CX, and Jack Spiers as Banking and Lending Director.

Of the three new hires, Jack Spiers may ring a bell with Finovate audiences. Spiers was a recent speaker at FinovateEurope, where he provided a Special Address on “Transforming Lending in the Cost of Living Crisis.” In his presentation, Spiers – whose ten years of fintech experience include tenures at both Klarna and Clearpay – discussed how traditional methods are falling short in their ability to accurately assess creditworthiness. Instead, he pointed to new research from Tink that showed how data-enriched affordability checks can do better.

The new hires come just days after Tink announced a partnership with German railway company Deutsche Bahn. Via the new agreement, Tink will offer Deutsche Bahn customers optimized direct debit setups. This will enable customers to use Deutsche Bahn’s modern mobility-sharing systems, which are run by Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Connect. The railway company will also leverage Tink’s Account Check technology for its car-sharing and bike-sharing networks, Flinkster and Call a Bike.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Tink most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2019. A two-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Tink was acquired by Visa in 2022 for $2 billion.


Swedish Central Bank looks to defend cash

If the Swedish Central Bank is for cash, then who can be against it?

That’s one of the questions the nation’s central bank is asking in the wake of 2023 survey that indicated that half of the survey’s respondents had run into circumstances in which they wanted to pay with cash, but merchant would not accept it. According to a report issued by Sweden’s Riksbank that is based on those results, this number was only 37% a year ago.

The report indicates that the supply of cash services in Sweden is decreasing and has been since at least 2016. Cash services refer to those locations for cash withdrawals, deposits of daily takings, as well as over-the-counter payments. This decline has slowed somewhat in the past five years, as new regulations have insisted that banks share the responsibility of providing cash services with other non-bank institutions. But the downward trend is clear.

“Payments must work for everyone, Riksbank governor and chairman of the executive board Erik Thedéen said in a press release. “In the longer term, all payments may be digital – but until then, cash plays an important role. We need legislation to ensure that cash can be used to pay. Banks must also ensure that more customers have access to payment accounts.”

To this end, in addition to calling for further research and study, the Swedish central bank proposed, for example, that banks should ensure that cash can be transferred to and from retail outlets at reasonable prices. At present, only one private company does this. Another proposal suggests that banks be obligated to accept banknote and coin deposits from private individuals. As noted above, there is not a current requirement for banks to do so.

These changes, along with others to help more individuals secure payment accounts, are likely to help Sweden increase financial inclusion as the country continues the rapid digitalization of its payment market. There will be no retreat from this drive for “faster, smoother, and more efficient payments.” But ensuring the availability and utility of cash, at least in the meantime, will both support that transition as well as ensure fewer Swedes are left behind on the way.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • U.K.-based fintech Unlimit secured a license from the Bank of Tanzania to do operate as a payments service provider (PSP) in the country.
  • African fintech PalmPay launched a pair of new products in Nigeria: Unlimited Free Transfer and Target Savings.
  • Mastercard and South African fintech SAVA teamed up to bring innovative payment options – including digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools – to small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Berlin, Germany-based brokerage-as-a-service platform lemon.markets launched this week in partnership with Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and Tradegate.
  • The Hungarian Ministry of the Economy has suggested new rules to codify the use of digital assets in the country.
  • German fintech Naro emerged from stealth this week with $3 million in pre-seed funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israel-based fintech Nayaz shared its plans for expansion in Latin America following its acquisition of Brazil’s VMtecnologia.
  • Dunes Financial, headquartered in the UAE, agreed to acquire the technology assets of Be Mobile Africa.
  • The Financial Brand profiled former Bank Leumi CEO Rakefet Russak-Aminoach.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India’s UPI linked with Nepal’s largest payment network, Fonepay.
  • Writing in IBA.org, Sahar Iqbal assessed the current fintech landscape of Pakistan.
  • Courtesy of a partnership with Mastercard, India’s IndusInd Bank will launch an tokenizable wearable solution called Indus PayWear.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Aquis Technologies secured a contract to support the operation of the Central Bank of Colombia, Banco de la República.
  • Mexican challenger bank Fondeadora turned to MeaWallet for tokenization services.
  • Banco do Brasil teamed up with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to test offline payments for its CBDC project.

Asia-Pacific

  • Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Muamalat) forged a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud en route to its transformation into a digital Islamic bank.
  • Philippines-based Metropolitan Bank & Trust (Metrobank) partnered with Temenos to enhance its wealth management offerings.
  • Australian regulators are looking to regulate Buy Now Pay Later products under the nation’s Credit Act.

Photo by Shvets Anna

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

The week begins with big news on the payment cards front as Capital One announces plans to acquire Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal valued at $35 billion. Check out what else is going on in fintech and financial services in our latest fintech weekly news rundown!

Embedded finance

German embedded finance platform Monite raises $6.5 million (€6 million) in funding.

Quaint Oak Bank selects Finzly to modernize payments and enable its embedded banking practice.

Lending

BankiFi teams up with Praetura to enhance lending to SMEs.

U.S.-based Commerce Bank deploys loan origination technology from Temenos.

CCBank selects Lendio Intelligent Lending to fuel small business funding growth.

Mortgage Cadence releases version 4.0 of its Mortgage Cadence Platform (MCP) Loan Origination System (LOS). 

Payments

Payment orchestration provider BR_DGE forges new partnership with PayPal.

Kani Payments announces strategic partnership with Brazilian core banking platform Pismo.

OpenPayd forges partnership with TrueLayer to enhance its instant payment services.Paym

Gorham Savings Bank partners with CorServ to implement modern commercial credit card program.

REPAY enhances accounts payable integration for Sage Intacct.

REPAY partners with Maxyfi to modernize the collection of payments.

FXC Intelligence signs a data and intelligence partnership with dLocal to support its expansion into the remittance segment of the cross-border payments industry.

UNIPaaS launches AI Assist solution.

Regtech / Compliance

AML compliance and fraud prevention solution provider Flagright teams up with digital transaction solution Traxion.

Napier AI lands £45 million backing from Crestline Investors.

Ncontracts and America’s Credit Unions announce alliance.

Silent Eight expands partnership with HSBC to provide transaction screening solutions.

Digital Banking

Singapore-based digital bank Tonik unveils new joint savings account for couples, Luv Stash, with a 4.5% interest rate.

Personetics appoints Udi Ziv as new CEO.

Nigerian digital bank FairMoney is considering acquiring Umba, digital bank with operations in Nigeria and Kenya, in an all stock deal valued at $20 million.

Crypto

Revolut announces plans to open an advanced cryptocurrency exchange.

RockWallet to onboard former Wyre users after acquisition of its customer base.

Mastercard and Swoo partner to offer crypto cashback on everyday purchases.

Helius raises $9.5 million in Series A funding to enhance the developer experience on Solana.

Fraud and security

U.K.-based AML platform Napier AI secures $56.8 million (£45 million) in a round led by Crestline Investors.

Featurespace appoints Dr David Sutton as Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) and Kendra Rogers as Chief Communications & Marketing Officer (CCMO).

Investing and wealth management

Revolut launches new robo-advisor service in Ireland.

Velexa introduces Fractional Bonds, democratizing investment in high-quality bonds.

TIFIN receives $10 million from SEI to power the future of wealth through artificial intelligence.

Open banking

Data intelligence platform Bud Financial is partnering with open banking company Fintech Galaxy to strengthen the open banking scene in the MENA region.

Insurtech

Insurtech Mylo selected by 1-800Accountant as digital insurance partner.


Photo by Markus Spiske

Finovate Global: Fintechs Representing More than 15 Countries to Demo at FinovateEurope 2024

Finovate Global: Fintechs Representing More than 15 Countries to Demo at FinovateEurope 2024

FinovateEurope 2024 will have its fair share of local talent demoing live on the Finovate stage on 27 February in London. And while we’re looking forward to the return of FinovateEurope 2023 Best of Show winner NayaOne, we’re also excited to meet a whole bunch of U.K.-based fintechs that are making their Finovate debuts:

FinovateEurope 2024 will also feature one of our most geographically diverse lineups to date. Companies from 15 different countries plus the U.K. will be on hand in just a few weeks to demo their latest fintech innovations at our annual European fintech conference.

See for yourself! Here’s a look at the range of countries our demoing companies are coming from:

Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and save your seat. Register by 16 February and take advantage of big, early-bird savings!


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Segura Bank International (SBI), a financial institution based in Puerto Rico, tapped Temenos to power its new digital bank.
  • Contxto showcased the Chilean Fintech Law, Ley Fintec, that went into effect last weekend.
  • TechRound profiled 10 Bolivian startups including POS management software provider Vendis, paytech Pagame, and inclusive finance platform Koban,

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based cryptocurrency payments app Oobit secured $25 million in Series A funding.
  • Salmon, a consumer credit and debit product provider, has become a licenced bank in the Philippines.
  • Doxa Holdings, a Singaporean digital procurement platform for the supply chain industry, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Cento Ventures.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • 10x Banking announced plans to extend its expansion into Africa.
  • Semafor looked at the challenges Nigerian fintechs will face as the country’s central bank tightens regulations to fight fraud.
  • The Kenyan High Court enabled Nigerian fintech Flutterwave to access $3 million in funds frozen since July 2022.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Hungarian fraud prevention platform SEON joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Programme.
  • Germany’s Commerzbank partnered with trade finance solutions provider Surecomp.
  • Estonia-based checkout solutions provider Montonio to offer BNPL services courtesy of a partnership with Inbank.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Commercial Bank of Kuwait teamed up with Network International to upgrade its payment systems.
  • U.S. and Israeli-based fintech Pagaya locked in a five-year, $280 million credit facility with BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, and other lenders.
  • Emirates NBD turned to anti-crime platform Silent Eight to enhance its compliance operations.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian payment services firm PayU teamed up with Thought Machine to power its LazyPay credit service.
  • Nepal Clearing House partnered with ACI Worldwide to support its National Payment Switch (NPS) initiative.
  • India-based fintech CRED agreed to acquire mutual fund and stock investment platform Kuvera.

Photo by Pixabay

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

This week’s Fintech Rundown features partnership and expansion news from a handful of Finovate alums, as well as some interesting fundings in the cryptocurrency and charitable giving space.


Wealth Management

Digital wealth and payments company Mogo expands its relationship with data cloud company Snowflake.

U.K.-based wealth app Chip launches its first Cash ISA.

WiseAlpha unveils new wealth management portal and white-label solution.

Digital Banking

Segura Bank International (SBI), an FI based in Puerto Rico, launches a new digital bank powered by Temenos’ core banking platform.

North Carolina-based Mechanics & Farmers Bank has gone live on the nCino Cloud Banking Platform.

Indian payment solutions provider PayU migrates its credit service LazyPay to Thought Machine’s core banking platform.

10x Banking announces expansion to Africa, starting in South Africa.

Core banking provider Tuum raises $26.8 million (EUR 25 million) in Series B financing.

HSBC U.K. introduces its Cash Pod to expand customer access to cash in areas without bank branches.

Mortgagetech

Phoebus launches its SaaS-based mortgage servicing platform.

Raymond James Bank deploys ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass lending solution.

Payments

Atlantic Money secures authorization to bring its money transfer service to the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Overflow, a fintech that facilitates charitable giving, raises $20 million in new funding.

Worldpay completes its separation from FIS.

Airwallex forges multi-year partnership with McLaren Formula 1 team to support its treasury management and cross-border payout operations.

MENA-based payment orchestration solution provider PayTabs Group partners with Saudi Arabian payment-infrastructure-as-a-service fintech Nearpay.

Lending

Pagaya secures a five-year, $280 million credit facility led by BlackRock, JPMorgan, and others.

Allica Bank completes more than £2 billion in lending to businesses in the U.K.

Challenger banking

LendingClub moves closer to fulfilling the requirements to launch a new bank.

Open banking / Open finance

MX and Jack Henry announce an expanded agreement to enhance data sharing.

Trustly integrates MX data enhancement as part of its Open Banking product suite.

Norway-based open banking company Neonomics teams up with credit management firm Lowell.

Expense management / BFM

The Boston Celtics name Brex as its corporate card and spend management partner.

Expense management platform Fyle forges new integration with American Express.

Cryptocurrencies / DeFi

Oobit, a cryptocurrency payments app based in Singapore, raised $25 million in Series A funding.

Fnality to bring its blockchain-based payment system to the U.S. following its successful launch in the U.K.

Embedded finance

EY announces an alliance with embedded finance platform MoneyLion.

Identity Verification/Management

Entrust confirms that it is negotiating a potential acquisition of ID verification firm Onfido.


Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Finovate Global Mexico: Banorte’s Digital Bank, Amazon’s BNPL Partnership with Kueski Pay

Finovate Global Mexico: Banorte’s Digital Bank, Amazon’s BNPL Partnership with Kueski Pay

This week in Finovate Global we take a look at some recent fintech developments in Mexico.

First up is news that Grupo Financiero Banorte has launched Mexico’s first fully digital bank, bineo. The company noted that it hopes to add 2.8 million new customers in the next five years.

“The launch of bineo is a great milestone in the history of Grupo Financiero Banorte that will allow us to meet all needs: those who prefer a human-digital combination and those who seek 100% digital banking, with the financial security that has always characterized the institution,” Grupo Financiero Banorte chairman Carlos Hank Gonzalez said.

Bimeo offers a pair of accounts for customers. The bimeo Total Account allows for unlimited deposits. The Light Account has a monthly cap of 3,000 UDIS (investment units), which equals approximately 24,000 Mexican pesos.

Account holders will have access to both a digital and a physical debit card that includes a feature that enables them to allocate their savings toward specific goals. Card holders can use their physical card at more than 10,000 Banorte ATMs. Additionally, in a nod to sustainability, the physical card consists of biodegradable materials.

The new digital bank also offers financing products for bineo account holders. Customers will be able to apply for digital loans in amounts ranging from 5,000 to 200,000 MXN. Repayment terms range from six to 24 months. The bank also pledges competitive rates and instant access to funds once loans are approved.

“We imagine a bank that puts people at the centre, and we created it!” bineo CEO Victor Moya said. “We think in a different way of managing finances, where personalization is the heart of what we do. Bineo will offer new products and services based on customer needs so as not to confine them to a product designed by us.”


A partnership between Amazon Mexico and Kueski Pay will bring a new, installment payment option to Mexican consumers. Currently available only to select Amazon customers, the payment option will be available to all eligible Amazon customers “soon.”

Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay is the name of the new payment option. It enables payment for purchases in biweekly installments, helping make shopping on Amazon more affordable to many Mexican consumers. The option also helps deal with the fact that less than a third of the adult population in Mexico has a credit card. By leveraging Kueski Pay, one of Mexico’s most popular buy now, pay later platforms, Amazon Mexico helps expand purchase financing beyond both credit as well as debit cards.

“Our agreement with Amazon demonstrates the need Mexicans have for more flexible , secure, and inclusive payment alternatives,” Kueski Pay SVP of Sales Lisset May said. “Kueski Pay enables merchants to deliver more innovative shopping experiences and help Mexican consumers live their personal finances with more excitement.”

Kueski Pay has provided nearly 15 million loans to date. The company notes that 1 in 4 of Mexico’s most relevant merchants offer the payment option. Customers who opt for Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay can choose from plans of up to four interest-free biweekly payments as part of an introductory offer, or as many as 12 biweekly payments. Payments can be made by linked bank account, debit card, or cash at participating networks. A one-time application must be completed during the Amazon checkout process the first time a customer chooses the Kueski Pay option.


Finovate has been happy to host a handful of fintechs from Mexico over the years. Some of our Mexico-based alums include:

Nufi

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Nufi made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021 in New York. The company demoed its Fintech Legos offering, a set of modular building blocks that enable firms to build their own financial solutions. At the conference, Nufi showed how its Fintech Legos could be used to build a modular, adaptable KYC process that could be deployed by any company.

Sr. Pago

Mexico City-based fintech Sr. Pago was founded in 2010 and made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014. At the conference, the company’s CEO and co-founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas demoed the Sr. Pago Card + Reader, which help small businesses and individuals accept card payments for services and have those payments loaded onto the recipient’s Mastercard. The company was acquired by Mexico-based online lending platform Konfío in 2021.

Prestadero

Also headquartered in Mexico City, Prestadero made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateSpring. Founded in 2011, Prestadero was the first fully legally compliant and operational P2P lending platform in Mexico. At FinovateSpring, the company demonstrated how its proprietary management software enabled Prestadero to parse out declined loans in seconds and offer rates for approved loans in less than a minute.

Kuspit

Founded in 2010 and based in Mexico City, Kuspit is a regulated broker/dealer in Mexico. The company targets retail investors with little investing experience and offers an investing community in which learning, sharing, and investing “dynamically integrate with one another.” Making its Finovate debut in 2012 at FinovateSpring, the company showed how it uses visualization to help investors understand the relationship between risk and return.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Regulators in India ordered digital payments provider Paytm to cease much of its business operations due to non-compliance issues.
  • Mastercard and SadaPay extended their partnership to support the financial needs of SMEs and freelancers in Pakistan.
  • Indian private sector bank Karnataka Bank teamed up with financial services platform Northern Arc Capital.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Paytech Paysecure announced its intention to expand into Latin America, with an initial focus on Brazil.
  • Mexican financial group Grupo Financiero Banorte launched its new digital bank, Bineo.
  • Mexico-based Kueski Pay teamed up with Amazon to launch a new deferred payment offering, Pago en Quincenas.

Asia-Pacific

  • China announced plans to revise its AML rules to accommodate cryptocurrency transactions.
  • Philippine-based Asia United Bank (AUB) announced that its HelloMoney e-wallet solution is now accepted in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
  • KrAsia offered “seven key takeaways” about the fintech industry in Thailand.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian fintech Miden to join Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 cohort.
  • IT Web profiled South African fintech SOLmate amid growing demand for its digital wallet.
  • Fintech Futures interviewed Principal and Head of Africa at CommerzVentures Hangwi Muambadzi on the growth of fintech in Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Digital engineering company Nagarro teamed up with Temenos to help build banks in Romania and Poland.
  • German payment processing provider Unzer launched its mobile POS solutions in Austria and Luxembourg this week.
  • Garanti BBVA, a financial services provider based in Turkey, introduced a new Request Payment feature via its mobile and online banking services.

Middle East and Northern Africa


Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

Finovate Global China: Fintech’s Future, Cross-Border E-Commerce, and Digital Wallets

Finovate Global China: Fintech’s Future, Cross-Border E-Commerce, and Digital Wallets

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting in California this week. With that in mind, Finovate Global turns to China for the latest fintech news from the world’s second most populous country.


For context, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) released its Fintech Development Plan for 2022-2025 almost two years ago. In its analysis of the PBOC’s Plan, China Briefing noted that the country had “much to gain” from innovation in fintech and financial services. In large part this was because of China’s “insufficient supply of inclusive finance, especially in rural areas.” The country reached a consumer fintech adoption rate of 87% in 2019. And, again, further fintech adoption in rural areas could cause this rate to quickly climb even higher.

What obstacles confront China’s fintech sector? China Briefing suggests that “unbalanced application of intelligent technology” is among the issues to be resolved – or at least better managed. The report references the so-called “Matthew Effect” in which stronger positions become stronger and weaker positions become weaker to describe the one of China’s bigger challenges when it comes to innovation in financial services.

Read the report from China Briefing to learn more about how China plans to “leapfrog improvement of the fintech sector”.


China’s JD.com launched its enhanced authentication solution for imported goods in the region, JD Smart Check. The new process is part of the company’s cross-border e-commerce platform, JD Worldwide.

JD Smart Check has three main focuses: improving quality inspections for cosmetic products, leveraging blockchain technology to enhance anti-counterfeiting activity, and providing on-demand authenticity inspections for products shipped by direct mail. New X-ray fluorescence analysis to provides fast, on-site assessment of cosmetics and personal care products at JD’s logistic centers. With regards to anti-counterfeiting efforts, the company leverages serialized tracking codes, supply chain monitoring, and product inspection videos to ensure accurate scrutiny of inventories. Lastly, JD Worldwide will be able to better serve direct mail shoppers by adding reports from authoritative centers to its product inspection services.

China’s largest retailer by revenue, JD.com serves nearly 600 million customers. The company operates the largest fulfillment infrastructure for any Chinese e-commerce firm.


Ant Group has forged a partnership with Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet). The partnership will enable travelers from eight nations – representing eight different supported digital wallets – to use PayNet’s DuitNow QR in Malaysia.

The DuitNow QR network consists of more than 1.8 million merchant touchpoints throughout Malaysia. The eight supported wallets are Alipay (China), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), HelloMoney by AUB (Philippines), Hipay (Mongolia), MPay (Macau SAR), Naver Pay (Japan), Toss Pay (South Korea) and True Money (Thailand). Group CEO of PayNet Farhan Ahmad said that the cross-border digital payments collaboration with Ant Group signified “a new Silk Road emerging” that will be “powered by cross-border payment functionality.”

The Ant Group/PayNet partnership comes as a recent report commissioned by Alipay indicates that increases in average consumer spending over the past few years will help accelerate intra-Asia cross-border travel and payments. The companies noted that the partnership extends “beyond connectivity” to include joint marketing efforts that will boost merchant and brand visibility in digital wallets.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa


Photo by Lian Rodriguez