MasterCard

Finovate Global Peru: Digital Wallet Partnerships and Innovations in Payment Services

Finovate Global Peru: Digital Wallet Partnerships and Innovations in Payment Services
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ecolytiq, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Revolut, VISA, WorldPay

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American nation of Peru.

EBANX partners with Peruvian digital wallet Yape

Brazilian payments company EBANX announced a direct integration with Peruvian digital wallet, Yape. Designed for cross-border commerce and relying on an easy user enrollment process, Yape enables users to pay for purchases on international ecommerce websites using either their Yape wallet balance or a linked card. The wallet supports recurring, one-click and on-file payment solutions and, in 2024, was responsible for the largest share of the volume transacted online through a digital wallet in the country. This is according to research from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI).

“With over 14 million active Peruvian users, Yape empowers millions of consumers with reliable daily transactions,” Yape Head of Payments Claudia Silva said. “This direct integration with EBANX marks a significant step in expanding our reach to global merchants, allowing them to tap into the vast potential of the Peruvian market.”

Digital wallets are a major component of Peru’s payment ecosystem. The fourth most commonly used payment in the country, digital wallets represented 10% of all digital commerce transactions in Peru in 2024. PCMI anticipates a digital wallet annual growth rate of 17% by 2027 and much of this growth, according to Silva, can be credited to Yape. According to the firm’s own data, Yape’s digital wallet delivers a 93% approval rate on transactions, an especially valuable achievement as digital wallets are increasingly becoming the preferred payment method for recurring transactions.

“Through its partnership with Yape, EBANX enables merchants to access a seamless, secure, and high-conversion payment solution that drives immediate results for one-time purchases as well as for subscription-based services and recurring payments,” said Juliana Etcheverry, Director of LatAm Country Growth—South Cone at EBANX. “This partnership goes beyond payments; it’s about fostering scalable, long-term growth for merchants in a rapidly evolving market.”

Founded in 2016, Yape is headquartered in Lima, Peru. The company’s payment app has more than 20 million users and more than 2.5 million affiliated businesses. Yape expanded to Bolivia in 2023, reaching two million users (“Yaperos”) a year later.

Paysafe goes live with PagoEfective ewallet in Peru

As if to underscore the rising popularity of digital wallets in Peru, payments platform Paysafe announced that it is expanding its eCash brand, PagoEfectivo, into a digital wallet. As a brand, PagoEfectivo has been a major force in Latin America’s eCash payment ecosystem, supporting the transactions of millions of online consumers. As a digital wallet, the brand will enable users to load funds instantly, make online transactions, receive payouts from participating merchants, transfer funds to others, and more.

“Our recent survey with Peruvian consumers found that 81% would use a digital wallet from PagoEfectivo,” Paysafe Head of Latin America Estaban Sarubbi said. “With that strong sign, we’re launching a solution that meets consumers’ payment needs.” Paysafe CEO Bruce Lowthers added, “Consumers in Peru already trust PagoEfectivo for everything from iGaming and digital goods to travel and ecommerce. With the launch of our new digital wallet, we’re giving them a more convenient way to pay—one that reflects Paysafe’s commitment to powering the experiential economy.”

Headquartered in London, Paysafe processed $152 billion in annualized transactional volume in 2024. A leading payments platform, Paysafe empowers businesses and consumers to connect and transact through its capabilities in payment processing, digital wallets, and online cash solutions. Delivering services across 260 payment types in 48 currencies, Paysafe’s integrated platform is designed for mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics, and facilitating the convergence between in-store and online payments.

Do Payment launches pay-in service Do Pay in regional expansion

Peruvian paytech Do Payment has launched its own pay-in service, Do Pay. The new offering is designed bring greater speed, lower costs, and more flexibility to the payments process by enhancing liquidity for clients and reducing reliance on intermediate parties. Do Pay also creates a single provider for both pay-in and pay-out payment solutions thanks to leveraging its own proprietary infrastructure and direct connections with banks, acquirers, and local payment networks.

“In Latin America, companies face a critical challenge: the slowness of fund availability, with delays of 48 to 72 hours and even up to one week, directly impacting their liquidity,” Do Payment Chief Product Officer Valentina Brero said. “Against global solutions poorly adapted to the region, Do Pay emerges as a service specialized in payment collection with the fastest settlement in the market, ideal for operators who need to use the funds for daily operations.”

Do Payment’s new offering enables firms to better manage a range of problems faced by companies in Latin America when it comes to collecting and making payments. These challenges include having to work with multiple partners—often different providers for both collecting and disbursements—as well as multiple technologies, high fees, and long waiting times. Do Pay, in contrast, enables firms to leverage a single platform for both collection and dispersal, which enhances operational liquidity and ensures that funds are credit faster.

Founded in 2022 by CEO Cristian Valderrama, Do Payment is based in Lima, Peru. The company is already active in seven countries—Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the US—with its pay-out service. In addition to Peru, Do Payment will go live with its Do Pay pay-in solution in Mexico and Ecuador, with the goal of expanding to both Chile and Colombia subsequently. Do Payment also noted that it plans to grow its footprint in Brazil in the second half of 2025.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Payments platform Paysafe launched its digital wallet, PagoEfectivo, in Peru.
  • Mexican fintech and edtech Mattilda partnered with payment orchestration platform Gr4vy to power its new white-label payments solution, Mattilda Pay.
  • Uruguay-based paytech dLocal announced plans to acquire Kenyan cross-border payments solutions provider AZA Finance.

Asia-Pacific

  • Revolut partnered with Ant International to enable its customers to send money to China.
  • Visa unveiled its Security Roadmap for New Zealand, featuring a three-year plan to leverage AI to fight fraud and other cyberthreats against consumers and businesses in the country.
  • Worldpay went live with domestic acquiring services in Thailand.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu acquired Kenyan crypto startup Flitaa as part of its expansion into East Africa.
  • Daily Investor profiled South African entrepreneur Lungisa Matshoba, co-founder of Yoco.
  • South African paytech Stitch acquired Efficacy Payments in order to offer card acquiring services directly to merchants.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Clarity AI acquired Berlin, Germany-based Sustainability-as-a-Service innovator ecolytiq.
  • Azerbaijan-based fintech PashaPay inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard.
  • German online bank N26 announced plans to offer stock trading to customers in Austria and Germany.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egypt’s Faisal Islamic Bank partnered with Intellect to launch its Shariah-compliant digital transformation.
  • According to research from Mordor Intelligence, the fintech market in the United Arab Emirates is expected to grow to more than $6.4 billion by 2030.
  • Egyptian digital investment platform Thndr raised $15.7 million in a round led by Prosus Ventures.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Pakistan-based ecommerce startup Bazaar Technologies announced that it is nearing profitability following its acquisition of Pakistani paytech Keenu.
  • Indian cross-border investing and financial management platform Belong is now available to non-resident Indians living in the UAE.
  • Central Asian digital banking ecosystem TBC Uzbekistan launched a new insurance vertical, TBC Insurance.

Photo by Aarom Ore on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Payments Startup tapi Acquires Cash-Handling Operations of Mastercard’s Arcus

Payments Startup tapi Acquires Cash-Handling Operations of Mastercard’s Arcus
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, MasterCard, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • tapi is acquiring Arcus’ cash payments operations, including bill pay, top-ups, gift cards, and cash-in/out.
  • tapi will leverage the buy to expand its footprint in Mexico and strengthen its role as a regional payments leader.
  • Backed by Kaszek and Andreessen Horowitz, tapi expects to process over $2B in 2025—5x more than in 2024.

In a move to expand its regional footprint, Argentina-based tapi unveiled it will acquire the cash payments operations of Mastercard-owned Arcus.

Specifically, tapi will acquire Arcus’ service payment operations, mobile top-ups, gift cards, and cash-in/out services. tapi is making the move to expand its presence in Mexico and boost its reputation as a payments partner for banks, fintechs, retailers, and service companies across the region. The acquisition will enable tapi to offer a more seamless payment experience while promoting financial inclusion across Latin America. The company remains focused on expanding its Cash In/Out network to offer direct access to retailers in Mexico through strategic partnerships with OXXO, Chedraui, Finabien, 7-Eleven, SYStienda, and others.

“Integrating Arcus’ service and cash payment capabilities into tapi’s ecosystem marks a turning point in our journey as a company,” said tapi CEO and co-founder Tomás Mindlin. “This integration broadens our reach in Mexico, serving the country’s leading fintechs and banks and significantly expanding our physical footprint with thousands of Cash In/Out points, along with connections to the market’s most relevant service providers. To the cutting-edge technology and customer experience that have fueled our exponential growth in recent years, we now add reliable infrastructure and well-established relationships within the local financial ecosystem. We’re thrilled to become the strategic partner for the financial industry in Mexico and the region.”

For tapi users and clients, the acquisition will offer greater scalability and nationwide physical transaction coverage, access to a broad range of payment services through a single platform, and fast and reliable processing for daily financial needs.

“By integrating this technology with our API-first approach, we’re making it even easier for our partners to launch embedded financial experiences,” said tapi CTO and co-founder Nicolás Andriano.

tapi was founded in 2022 and two years later closed a $22 million Series A funding round led by Kaszek, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. This brought the company’s total funding to $31 million. tapi expects to surpass $2 billion in annual volume in 2025, which is five times more than in 2024.

Arcus’ ArcusFI platform offers firms access to Mexico’s real-time payment system, allowing them to generate interbank CLABEs to send and receive payments to and from any participating firm in Banxico’s Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI). One of the key features of Arcus is Dimo, an electronic transfer service facilitated by Banxico that allows the beneficiary to link their cell phone number to their account through SPEI. Customers can use Dimo to transfer funds from the Arcus platform with just the recipient’s phone number.

With this payment method, you can make electronic money transfers from the Arcus platform using only the beneficiary’s cell phone number.

Logistically, Mastercard will retain the Arcus brand, as well as its capabilities in payment processing, settlement, and reconciliation through Mexico’s real-time payment system (SPEI).

Photo By: Kaboompics.com

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Mastercard Taps MoonPay to Bring Stablecoin Payments Mainstream

Mastercard Taps MoonPay to Bring Stablecoin Payments Mainstream
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • Mastercard and MoonPay are partnering to launch stablecoin-powered cards, enabling users to spend crypto at over 150 million merchants worldwide.
  • MoonPay is leveraging its acquisition of Iron to provide API infrastructure that lets businesses manage stablecoin payouts, disbursements, and cross-border transactions.
  • This move signals growing mainstream adoption of stablecoins, with Mastercard aiming to make crypto wallets function like traditional bank accounts.

Mastercard announced today that it has teamed up with stablecoin infrastructure provider MoonPay to enable people and businesses to pay using stablecoins.

Under the partnership, businesses will leverage Mastercard-branded cards linked to users’ stablecoin balances. Mastercard will allow cardholders to spend their stablecoins, which MoonPay will convert to fiat currency, at the 150+ million locations where Mastercard is accepted.  

MoonPay is using API-driven stablecoin infrastructure from Iron, which it acquired in March of this year. Iron will facilitate stablecoin-powered payments for businesses, which will turn crypto wallets into digital bank accounts for global transactions. The API will allow businesses, neobanks, and payment players to manage payouts, facilitate disbursements, improve cross-border money transfers, and offer stablecoin-based payouts to gig workers, contractors, and creators. 

 “By providing solutions that unlock stablecoin utility and ubiquity, we are redefining how money moves globally and driving a shift in payments as we know it,” said Mastercard EVP of Global Partnerships at Mastercard Scott Abrahams. “Together with MoonPay, we’re building innovative and secure connectivity between crypto and mainstream finance ecosystems, grounded by trust and driven by scale.”

Founded in 2019, MoonPay provides the infrastructure needed to buy cryptocurrencies using traditional payment methods like credit cards, Apple Pay, and bank transfers. It enables individuals around the world to easily convert fiat currency into digital assets without needing to navigate complex exchanges. MoonPay primarily serves consumers new to crypto, as well as fintechs offering wallets, NFT platforms, and decentralized apps seeking to simplify the crypto purchasing experience for their users.

“MoonPay serves the largest crypto wallets in the industry, and with Mastercard, we’re bringing convenient, trusted stablecoin-enabled cards to crypto users around the world,” said MoonPay CEO and Founder Ivan Soto-Wright. “Our acquisition of Iron and long-standing relationship with Mastercard allow us to power a new era of payments made with stablecoins at more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide.”

The partnership comes as stablecoins are growing at an incredible rate across the globe. According to the World Economic Forum, global stablecoin transaction volume surpassed $27.6 trillion in 2024, partially because they have emerged as a viable use case to bridge the speed of crypto and the trust of traditional finance. Mastercard’s move into stablecoin spending, backed by MoonPay’s infrastructure, could accelerate mainstream adoption by turning crypto wallets into practical spending tools for real-world purchases.

While Mastercard is leading the charge in stablecoin payments, it is not alone. Visa has been piloting USDC settlement on Solana, and PayPal recently launched its own stablecoin, PYUSD. Mastercard, however, has placed its focus on spendability via legacy rails, which may give it a unique head start in usability.

What remains to be seen, however, is how regulatory bodies will respond. With looser regulatory pressures in the US, now is an ideal time to launch a stablecoin-focused payments tool. However, if and when the regulatory pendulum swings in the other direction, fintechs may find themselves scrambling to sort out the compliance aspects of stablecoins.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Mastercard Launches Stablecoin Acceptance and Payments Capabilities

Mastercard Launches Stablecoin Acceptance and Payments Capabilities
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • Mastercard is enabling global stablecoin payments, allowing consumers and merchants to use stablecoins like cash using Mastercard’s network of merchant locations.
  • The launch is powered by Mastercard Crypto Credential and Mastercard Move, ensuring secure, compliant blockchain transactions and seamless conversion between stablecoins and bank accounts.
  • The new stablecoin payments capabilities are made possible by partnerships with major crypto partners like MetaMask, Binance, and OKX.

Stablecoins are going mainstream, and Mastercard wants to lead the charge. The payments company announced this week that it is launching global stablecoin acceptance and payments capabilities in order to allow consumers and businesses to use stablecoins as easily as the money in their bank accounts.

The new capabilities will allow Mastercard to ensure that people can make and receive stablecoin payments at any time of day, in any geography. Key to this launch is Mastercard Crypto Credential, which ensures secure, compliant, and user-friendly blockchain transactions by verifying user identities and metadata.

“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits for mainstream use cases are clear,” said Mastercard Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert. “To realize its potential, we need to make it as easy for merchants to receive stablecoin payments and for consumers to use them. We believe in the potential of stablecoins to streamline payments and commerce across the value chain. Unlocking this is core to how we navigate the rapidly changing world, giving people and businesses the freedom they want by providing the choices they deserve.”

The payments company is leveraging partnerships with MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance, Monavate, and Bleap to offer consumers many of the same benefits they enjoy when paying with their credit cards. For example, customers in the crypto ecosystem can earn rewards, pay, and spend the stablecoins in their crypto wallets using their traditional payment cards at the over 150 million merchant locations that accept Mastercard payments across the globe. Customers can also withdraw stablecoins into their bank accounts with Mastercard Move.   

Mastercard Move is the company’s comprehensive suite of money movement solutions designed to facilitate fast, secure, and flexible payments across channels. It enables individuals and businesses to send and receive funds globally through methods such as person-to-person transfers, business disbursements, and cross-border payments. Mastercard Move is particularly beneficial for crypto users as it allows them to seamlessly withdraw stablecoins into traditional bank accounts, bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional financial systems.

Mastercard is also partnering with crypto exchange platform OKX to launch the OKX Card, as well as with Nuvei, Circle, and Paxos to give merchants the option to receive their payments in stablecoins.

“OKX is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the world of digital assets,” said OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique. “Our strategic partnership with Mastercard to launch the OKX Card reflects our commitment to making digital finance more accessible, practical, and relevant to everyday life. Together, we’re taking a significant step toward integrating stablecoins into daily transactions and creating richer experiences—while bringing new users on-chain through OKX’s leadership in crypto trading and our growing Web3 ecosystem.”

The stablecoin scene has been erupting this year. Not only have stablecoins been granted more regulatory clarity in the US, but they have also seen more mainstream institutional adoption, retail integration, and cross-chain interoperability, making them more easily transferrable across ecosystems. Additionally, they are used as a payments rail for smart contracts and tokenized assets, both of which have experienced recent growth.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Global Canada: Mitigating Currency Volatility, Earning Banking Licenses, and More!

Finovate Global Canada: Mitigating Currency Volatility, Earning Banking Licenses, and More!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Klarna, MasterCard

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

Float Unveils Float FX to Help Canadian Businesses Save on Currency Conversion Costs

Toronto, Ontario-based business finance platform Float unveiled a new solution for Canadian businesses this week. The new offering, Float FX, will enable Canadian companies to instantly convert funds at rates as much as 90% lower than with traditional banks. Float noted that the solution is part of the company’s broader goal to help support businesses that do business in the US as they navigate volatility in both currency markets and US trade policy.

“With the Canadian dollar under pressure and potential trade disruptions looming, we designed Float FX to give Canadian businesses an advantage when operating across the border,” Rob Khazzam, Co-Founder and CEO of Float, said. “Combined with offering high-yield interest on CAD and USD balances, Float provides material opportunities for companies to save on costs and protect margins—at a time when every dollar counts.”

Even before recent trade tensions with the US, businesses in Canada were facing significant challenges when it came to currency exchange. According to a recent survey—The Financial Outlook of SMBs in 2025—Float learned that more than half of the Canadian businesses queried said that they struggled to deal with high fees and poor exchange rates. In their report, Float pointed to legacy banking infrastructure and inefficient processes as the culprit, noting that many companies continued to patronize financial institutions that required time-consuming in-person visits and manual reviews, or long settlement times. This leaves businesses with exposure to fluctuations in potentially volatile exchange rates, as well as increasing their vulnerability to hidden fees.

Float FX will offer fees of 0.25% all-in, a figure that is up to 90% lower than that offered by Canadian banks. Companies will also benefit from seamless, built-in currency conversion within the Float platform, enabling them to convert, hold, and spend USD in a single location.

With more than 4,000 Canadian companies as customers, Float offers a business finance platform that helps businesses spend, save, and scale. Founded in 2019, the company provides corporate cards, automated expense management, next-day billpay, high-yield accounts, and more.

Float began the year securing $70 million CAD in Series B financing in a round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. OMERS Ventures, FJ Labs, Garage Capital, and Teralys also participated in the investment. The funding brought the company’s total funding to more than $120 million CAD in the past year. Float has used the capital to expand its product offerings and recruit talent.

Banco Santander, Kraken Secure Key Canadian Approvals to Fuel Expansion

Canadian regulators are in a “yes” mood of late when it comes to helping fintechs expand operations in the country. This week we learned that Banco Santander has secured a Canadian banking license as part of the financial institution’s effort to grow its footprint in the Americas. Also this week, crypto exchange Kraken reported that it had obtained a Restricted Dealer registration from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

First up, Banco Santander. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada’s banking regulator, authorized Banco Santander’s Santander Consumer Bank to begin operations in March. Banco Santander has been active in the Canadian market since acquiring car financing company Carfinco Financial Group in 2014. The firm applied for a Schedule II banking license in 2019, which allows subsidiaries of foreign banks to offer financial services including deposits, lending, wealth management, and credit cards. Santander Consumer Bank was incorporated as a federally regulated financial institution in 2024 by Canada’s Minister of Finance, with OSFI approval being the final step.

Second, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has secured a Restricted Dealer registration in Canada that will enable the firm to better serve its customers in the country. As part of the announcement, the exchange announced that it would offer free Interac e-Transfer deposits to all of its Canadian clients.

“This achievement marks the culmination of a rigorous pre-registration undertaking (PRU) process, during which Kraken consistently enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to meet the highest industry standards,” the Kraken blog stated this week. “As a result, our Canadian clients now benefit from a solid regulatory foundation, ensuring access to some of the most innovative and secure crypto products in the local ecosystem under the supervision of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).”

In addition to securing its restricted dealer registration, Kraken also announced the appointment of Cynthia Del Pozo as the company’s new Canadian General Manager. With nearly 15 years of experience in corporate development, operations, and fintech consulting, Del Pozo will guide an operation that has grown significantly in recent years, including surpassing $2 billion CAD in combined client assets under custody and a doubling of both team size and the number of monthly transacting users during the PRU process.

“Canada is at a turning point for crypto adoption, with a growing number of investors and institutions recognizing digital assets as a vital part of the financial future,” Del Pozo said in a statement. “The Restricted Dealer registration is a testament to the high bar Kraken has always set for consumer protection, client service, and robust security.”

Founded in 2011, Kraken enables more than 10 million traders and investors to buy and sell more than 200 digital assets and six different national currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, and AUD on its platform. David Ripley and Arjun Sethi are co-CEOs.

Meet Finovate’s Newest Canadian Alums!

Over the past year, Finovate has been proud to host a handful of innovative fintechs headquartered in Canada. Below is a look at four firms, all Canada-based, that have demonstrated their fintech innovations live on the Finovate stage of late.

PromoComply – Montreal, Quebec – FEU 2025: Offers technology that automates compliance for financial promotions, reducing legal risks, and enhancing transparency for consumers in real time.

TRIYO – Toronto, Ontario – FS 2024: Offers a work intelligence platform that integrates with existing systems, processes, and workflows to bring visibility to high-value processes across financial services.

Brim Financial – Toronto, Ontario – FF2024: Works with financial institutions, fintechs, and brands to enable them to offer their customers an end-to-end credit card and payments platform.

ZayZoon – Calgary, Alberta – FF2024: Offers an embedded Earned Wage Access (EWA) solution to enable small and mid-sized businesses to offer EWA directly from their own platforms.

Next month at FinovateSpring, we’re happy to introduce our audience to one more Canadian fintech, Cinareo Solutions (Toronto). For more about our upcoming FinovateSpring conference, visit our FinovateSpring hub today!

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

  • Laybuy by Klarna relaunched in New Zealand this week.
  • Aspire subsidiary ASG2 secured a Capital Markets Services License (CMS) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
  • Australian digital payment provider Fat Zebra acquired SecurePay from the Australia Post.

Photo by Luis Ruiz

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Global Israel: Talking Revenue Workforce Solutions with Stav Levi-Neumark of Alta

Finovate Global Israel: Talking Revenue Workforce Solutions with Stav Levi-Neumark of Alta
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Ripple, VISA, Xero

This week’s edition of Finovate Global features an interview with Stav Levi-Neumark, CEO and Co-Founder of revenue workforce solutions provider Alta.

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Israel, Alta leverages data and AI to help drive revenue growth at every level for businesses. The company’s AI Revenue Workforce agents ensure that everyone on the team is connected, aligned, and equipped with the data insights and AI automation they need to enable their businesses to scale efficiently and grow faster. Alta’s agents have helped produce a 3x increase in qualified leads, a 15% increase in win rates, and a 80% reduction in costs.

Our conversation with Levi-Neumark is also a part of Finovate’s and Finovate Global’s commemoration of Women’s History Month. Be sure to check out her thoughts on gender diversity, current opportunities for women in fintech, as well as her advice for female CEOs.

Can you tell us a little bit about Alta and the revenue workforce solutions business?

Stav Levi-Neumark: AI is impacting almost every industry now. But go-to-market and revenue teams across many vertical markets are struggling to fully harness AI for sustained growth. Choosing the right tools to enhance capabilities of salespeople while also automating relevant tasks is a real challenge.

Alta is an AI revenue workforce that is data-driven. It supports revenue teams, allowing each person to be like a 10x version of themselves.

Alta agents automate repetitive and mundane tasks that require limited human oversight, such as researching potential leads and conducting personalized outreach across multiple channels. The agents also provide actionable insights based on real-time data across all revenue functions. This streamlined workflow helps companies achieve improved revenue growth by working more efficiently, accelerating their sales cycle, and enabling humans to focus on relationship-building opportunities, strategic, and creative work.

Who are Alta’s primary customers and how do you reach them?

Levi-Neumark: Alta has really diverse customers across virtually every business sector, and they range from SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. We’ve been able to ramp up the number of clients we have really quickly as well, adding almost 100 customers in less than six months.

Your latest solution—AI Revenue Workforce—leverages innovations in agentic AI. Can you talk about how this technology and new product empower go-to-market and revenue teams?

Levi-Neumark: Agentic AI has endless potential to dramatically improve efficiency and drive revenue growth. By leaving automated tasks to AI agents, human-led go-to-market and revenue teams can work smarter and faster, focusing their attention where it matters most: developing strategy, building relationships, closing deals, and increasing ROI through creative thought.

AI agents in Alta’s workforce include Katie, a Sales Development Representative (SDR), Luna, an AI RevOps agent, and Alex, an AI Calling agent. The workforce can integrate into more than 50 internal and external marketing, sales, and revenue systems that include CRMs, ERPs, payment, advertising, social media tools, and more.

Alta is a very young company, founded in 2023. There has been a lot of discussion about the current environment for tech startups. How would you characterize the climate for startups today?

Levi-Neumark: The founders who thrive will be those who can harness technological advancements while building businesses with solid foundations that can stand on their own, beyond the AI hype. Here’s the advice I typically share when talking with other tech founders:

  1. Success means your customers attribute significant revenue growth directly to your product. When they look at their business results and can clearly see your impact on their bottom line, that’s when you’ll know you’ve truly succeeded.
  2. Maintaining balanced, healthy growth is key. While it may be tempting to focus more attention on one specific area of your organization, it’s critical to ensure all departments grow at an equal pace.
  3. Be proactive rather than reactive to market shifts to position yourself ahead of certain trends. When deeply focused on product development and customer acquisition, it’s easy to miss emerging signals from the broader ecosystem.

Alta recently secured $7 million in seed funding. What does this investment mean for the company and what will it enable Alta to do?

Levi-Neumark: This funding solidifies Alta’s position as an industry leader in workforce intelligence automation. It will allow Alta to continue developing out-of-the-box solutions that redefine the relationship between AI and sales teams to unlock limitless revenue growth opportunities.

We plan to utilize the investment to expand into new markets, grow operations, scale R&D, and accelerate product development to meet increasing market demand from enterprise and mid-market customers. In fact, we are currently developing our newest AI agent, Greg, a sales assistant for account executives, to further bolster our workforce’s capabilities.

You are one of very few female CEOs in the enterprise AI space. Are there unique challenges to greater gender diversity in enterprise AI compared to other areas of technology, fintech, or financial services?

Levi-Neumark: I don’t feel there are unique challenges specific to the AI space compared to other tech sectors. The gender diversity issues we face in enterprise AI mirror what we see across technology, fintech, and financial services more broadly.

The fundamental challenges remain consistent: representation gaps, unconscious bias in hiring and promotion, and the need for more visible role models.

That said, I prefer to focus on the opportunity. AI is still a relatively young field, and at the end of the day, our success is what will define us. I hope more female founders and women will enter this market and look forward to welcoming them.

What advice would you give to female CEOs, especially those who are new to the role?

Levi-Neumark: I would advise female CEOs, especially those new to the role, to build strong support networks early. Connect with other female founders and executives who understand your specific challenges—these relationships become invaluable resources for candid advice and emotional support that you can’t always find within your company.

Trust your unique leadership style and perspective. There’s often pressure to conform to traditionally masculine leadership traits, but the most effective leaders bring their authentic selves to the role. Your different viewpoint is actually a strategic advantage that can help identify opportunities others might miss.

Be strategic about which battles to fight. As a female CEO, you’ll likely face additional scrutiny and challenges. Learn to distinguish between issues that are worth addressing directly and those where it’s better to let your results speak for themselves.

Prioritize building a diverse leadership team from the start. This not only leads to better decision-making, but also creates a culture where different perspectives are valued.

Finally, remember that your visibility matters. By succeeding in your role, you’re creating pathways for others. Share your journey, mentor upcoming leaders, and when possible, be the voice and representation you wished you had when starting out.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • UK-based open banking payments company Atoa announced an integration with New Zealand-based small business platform Xero.
  • Vietnam-based Buy Now, Pay Later platform Fundiin announced a strategic partnership with Visa to enhance its credit scoring model.
  • Australia’s Bank of Queensland Group teamed up with digital lending technology company Trade Ledger.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • African money movement company Chipper Cash partnered with Ripple to provide crypto-enabled cross-border payments.
  • Payment orchestration platform FinMont announced a partnership with South African online payment gateway Payfast by Network.
  • Ethio Telecom integrated its mobile money platform with Mastercard Africa to enhance finanical inclusion in Ethiopia.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Hamburg-based fintech Flexvelop secured $47.4 million (€44 million) to grow its business equipment financing model.
  • Romanian trading and investing app NAGA announced zero commissions for Romanian stocks on its platofmr
  • Estonian fintech Hoovi raised $8.6 million (€8 million) from Finish Multitude International Bank.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Dubai-based embedded payments company Enza secured $6.75 million in funding.
  • National Bank of Kuwait announced enhancements to its mobile banking app.
  • Australia-based debt resolution company InDebted launched operations in the UAE.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India-based fintech Findi raised $28.4 million (INR 243 Cr) to enhance operations of its majority-owned Indian subsidiary TSI.
  • Mastercard inked an agreement with Dubai-based Mashreq to support its launch as a digital bank in Pakistan.
  • Indian startup OneStack secured $2 million in Series A funding, with another $1 million expected.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Colombian fintech Gold raised $50 million in Series C funding to fuel further development of its e-payment solutions.
  • Uruguayan cross-border payments company dLocal enabled Airtel Mobile Money as a payment method for Google Play in Kenya.
  • UK-based AstroPay expanded access to its multicurrency wallet to users across Latin America.

Photo by davebusiness GT13

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Global South America: Investment, Partnership, and Innovations in Embedded Finance

Finovate Global South America: Investment, Partnership, and Innovations in Embedded Finance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, MasterCard, Salt Edge, Sumsub, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Ualá Raises $66 Million at $2.75 Billion Valuation

In a funding round that featured participation from Mexican media titan TelevisaUnivision, Argentina-based fintech Ualá has added $66 million in funding to its Series E round. The additional funding brings the round’s total to $366 million and gives the company a valuation of $2.75 billion.

The capital comes via an equity sale and will be used to fuel Ualá’s growth throughout Latin America—with a particular emphasis on expansion in Mexico. Ualá Founder and Chief Executive Officer Pierpaolo Barbieri praised the participation of TelevisaUnivision, which he called a “very relevant and influential outlet, across Spanish-speaking markets but especially in Mexico.” Barbieri added, “It will help us create confidence and closeness with a lot of Mexicans that still don’t know us.”

The first close of the Series E round was led by Allianz X, German insurance company Allianz SE’s venture capital arm. Also participating in the first close were Stone Ridge Holdings Group and Pershing Square Foundation. Additional investors in the extension round were not named.

Founded in 2017 in Argentina, Ualá offers financial services including payment accounts connected to an international Mastercard prepaid card, as well as savings accounts, loans, investments, business collection solutions, and more. The company has nine million users in the region, including in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.

Ualá began the year by announcing the availability of six new mutual funds in its ecosystem, including one fund denominated in dollars. In February, the company integrated an advanced artificial intelligence platform, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, into its customer service process.

dLocal partners with Temu, Belmoney

Uruguayan fintech and cross-border payments company dLocal announced a pair of partnerships in recent days. First, dLocal launched a new collaboration with Europe-based, remittance-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Belmoney. The goal of the partnership is to facilitate cross-border payouts, leveraging the integration of more than 900 local and alternative payment methods (APMs) such as credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and instant transactions. The collaboration is also designed to boost service reliability and efficiency for those making cross-border transactions in countries including Bangladesh, Ecuador, Peru, and Pakistan.

“Our partnership with dLocal is a game-changer in the remittance space,” Belmoney CEO and Founder Bruno Pedras said. “By integrating with dLocal’s comprehensive network, we can significantly lower costs, improve transaction speeds, and provide a better cross-border payments experience for both senders and recipients.”

Second, dLocal announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Temu, the international e-commerce platform of China’s PDD Holdings. Together, the two companies seek to provide shoppers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with new seamless and secure payment options that are suited to local preferences. Millions of customers in 15 emerging markets in these regions stand to benefit from the collaboration.

“By partnering with dLocal, we’re excited to extend these benefits to millions of customers in emerging markets, ensuring that more people can enjoy accessible, convenient shopping experiences,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.

Launched in 2022, Temu is an online marketplace that offers consumer goods at significantly discounted prices. Shipping goods directly from the People’s Republic of China, Temu reportedly has more than 292 million monthly active users of its app worldwide. The app was among the most popular in US app stores for both iOS and Android in 2024.

Founded in 2016, dLocal is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The country’s first unicorn, dLocal offers an all-in-one payment platform that enables companies to accept and disburse a wide range of local payment methods and currencies. In 2024, the company processed more than $25 billion worth of payments. dLocal works with 700+ merchants, supports 900 payment methods, and operates in more than 40 countries. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker DLO, dLocal has a market capitalization of $2.7 billion. Sebastián Kanovich is CEO.

Ant International’s Bettr brings embedded finances services to ecommerce merchants in Brazil

Speaking of partnerships between businesses in Asia and Latin America, we learned this week that Bettr, Ant International’s AI-driven lending business, has gone live in Brazil. Bettr will help expand lending opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by working with local partners such as AliExpress. Through this partnership, Bettr will introduce a new financing solution, Bettr Working Capital, for local merchants working on AliExpress’s platform.

“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive by providing accessible and efficient financial tools that can take their operations to the next level,” LatAm director of AliExpress Briza Bueno said. “In this way, we are not only supporting the individual growth of these entrepreneurs but also contributing to the advancement of e-commerce in the country.”

Bettr Working Capital will be introduced gradually; the first round of disbursements began this week. The technology analyzes merchant sales records and other unstructured business data from AliExpress to make smarter, tailored, more affordable loan solutions. This will help small and medium-sized businesses better manage cash flow and expand into new markets.

Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International is an international digital payments and financial technology provider. Bettr is the company’s digital lending business, which specializes in serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The firm combines emerging technologies like AI and data-driven credit modeling to offer secure financial solutions that better fit borrower needs.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

  • Indonesian ride-hailing service InDrive teamed up with Singapore’s Fingular and Indonesia’s Sharia-compliant P2P lending platform Ammana to launch its new inDrive.Money app.
  • Malaysian wealth management platform Versa raised $6.8 million in Series A funding.
  • Japan’s international payment brand JCB partnered with integrated payment provider First Cash Solution, expanding JCB Card acceptance in Germany.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • African payments technology giant Flutterwave integrated with Pay With Bank Transfer to support businesses in Ghana.
  • Mastercard extended its collaboration with London-based Paymentology to boost financial inclusion in South Africa.
  • Compliance and fraud prevention platform Sumsub announced a partnership with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Lithuanian identity verification provider iDenfy announced a collaboration with mobility provider Evemo.
  • Estonian fintech Hoovi raised €8 million in funding via a structured bond issue from Finland’s Multitude International Bank.
  • Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partnered with open banking services provider Salt Edge.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israeli fintech FINQ became the first Israeli company to secure a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered Investor Advisor (RIA) license without relocating to the US.
  • Egyptian fintech Fawry inked a strategic agreement with Contact Financial Holding to expand access to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
  • MENA-based payment service provider Telr secured a Retail Payment Services license from the UAE’s central bank.

Central and Southern Asia

Photo by Juan Cruz Palacio Mir

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: authenticID, Delfi Labs, Fintech Rundown, Fiserv, Insuritas, Mahalo Banking, MasterCard, SoFi

This is the week fintech has been anticipating for years. Klarna filed its F-1 prospectus document late Friday, anticipating it will raise at least $1 billion at a $15 billion valuation with its IPO. We won’t know the official valuation figures until Klarna prices shares, which may take around a month, however. While we wait, let’s dive into this week’s fintech news. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!

Small Business Financial Management

Small business credit card and spend management platform Capital on Tap partners with bank payment firm GoCardless for Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs).

Levelpath joins Coupa App Marketplace with AI-powered procurement solution.

Insurtech

Insuritas integrates auto rates from Agency Insurance Company (AIC) into its embedded insurance platform.

Payments

Fiserv acquires Netherlands-based payment solutions provider CCV.

Wyndham collaborates with SoFi’s Galileo to launch the Wyndham Rewards Debit Card.

ICBA Payments and Mastercard partner to upgrade customer payment experiences for community banks.

AuthenticID and Authvia join forces to provide secure, frictionless digital payments.

Jack Henry and Moov to implement Mastercard Move to enable fast, seamless domestic payments.

ACI Worldwide and Ingo Payments to power faster, flexible digital disbursements.

Risk management

Delfi launches free risk management solution: Delfi Essentials.

Digital banking

Princeton Federal Credit Union goes live with Mahalo Banking’s Thoughtful Banking platform.

UK-based commercial digital bank for entrepreneurs OakNorth acquires Michigan-based Community Unity Bank.

ABNB Federal Credit Union chooses Eltropy’s AI-powered platform to modernize member communications.

Challenger banking

Nordic challenger bank Lunar tops one million user milestone.

Crypto / DeFi

Web3 non-custodial wallet Bitget Wallet partners with Cryptorefills to facilitate crypto payments for travel.

MoonPay acquires stablecoin infrastructure platform Iron.

Wealth management / Wealthtech

German wealthtech NAO announces a second closing of its seed funding round, bringing the funding total to €4.5 million.

Privacy and Security

BotGuard raises $49.2 million round B led by Dawn Capital, rebrands to Blackwall.

Ecommerce

Shopify transfers its US listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq.

Credit and lending

Finastra unveils enhanced lending cloud service supported by IBM.

Credit risk management specialist AKUVO partners with Prosperity Bank to enhance the institution’s collections process.

Photo by Markus Winkler

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing

Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • CredibleX is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) API into its embedded financing platform to enhance SME credit access in the UAE and EMEA region.
  • SBCA uses anonymized, item-level transaction data to help lenders assess small business financial performance, enabling faster underwriting, reduced risk, and improved loan terms.
  • This partnership aligns with Mastercard’s goal of driving financial inclusion, leveraging advanced analytics to help small businesses secure working capital despite limited credit history.

Working capital financing platform CredibleX announced this week that it has partnered with Mastercard. The Abu Dhabi-based company is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) into its embedded financing tool.

The integration will offer CredibleX enhanced data-driven insights based on anonymized and aggregated transaction data. Leveraging this new data in a unique way with SBCA will empower small and medium businesses to have greater access to financing.

​Mastercard launched its SBCA API last April as part of an effort to enhance tools for acquirers in identifying and mitigating potential risks during onboarding and daily operations. SBCA solicits consent from the small business client to leverage data-driven insights to help assess the company’s financial performance. SBCA leverages business performance data to help lenders evaluate key questions about a small business’s financial health.

With SBCA integrated into its embedded financing tool, CredibleX will be able to help make more informed lending decisions, reduce underwriting time, and enhance risk management. “This partnership with CredibleX underscores Mastercard’s commitment to supporting the SME ecosystem in the UAE,” said Mastercard EVP of Services in EEMEA Selin Bahadirli. “SBCA is a game-changer, offering unparalleled insights into small business performance. Together, we aim to empower SMEs with better credit access, improved loan terms, and enhanced opportunities for growth.”

Adding enhanced data will also help CredibleX improve access to credit across the EMEA region. Because Mastercard’s SBCA will offer CredibleX a more comprehensive evaluation of a business’s financial health, it will also drive financial inclusion for small businesses with previously limited access to working capital because of their limited credit history or lack of formal documentation.

“This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of enabling financial inclusion and innovation,” said CredibleX Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Hassan Reda. “By combining CredibleX’s expertise in lending with Mastercard’s advanced analytics, we are setting a new benchmark for data driven SME financing in the region.”

Founded in 2023, CredibleX offers embedded insurance, embedded invoice finance, embedded POS finance, and B2B channel finance tools. The solutions help any organization that services SMB customers to add lending solutions under their brand. CredibleX raised $55 million in funding last December from Further Ventures. Anand Nagaraj serves as CEO.

Photo by Rachel Claire

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FICO, Fintech Rundown, InComm, Mambu, MasterCard, OneID, Salt Edge, Token

Partnerships and collaborations in the payments space lead fintech headlines at the beginning of this holiday-shortened week. Be sure to check Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest updates in fintech and financial services.

Payments

Account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure provider Token.io teams up with payment orchestrator Fabrick.

InComm Payments collaborates with Mastercard to offer Mastercard “Give Hope” gift cards in support of the American Red Cross.

Real-time payments framework Payfinia partners with B2B2C SaaS embedded finance solutions provider TAPP Engine.

Card issuer and processor Paymentology forges strategic partnership with UAE-based fintech Mamo.

Transaction management software company Redpin opens new payments corridor to Brazil.

Open banking

Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partners with open banking services provider Salt Edge.

Digital identity

OneID and Adobe announce partnership to enhance identity verification for Adobe digital signatures.

Lending, credit, and underwriting

TransUnion Kenya and FICO team up to offer two new risk solutions to help expand access to credit.

Digital banking

SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu announces strategic partnership with Spain’s Ibercaja Banco.

Armalytix unveils its bank statement scanning tool.

Photo by May Guo

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Global Mexico: Payments Partnerships and International Acquisitions

Finovate Global Mexico: Payments Partnerships and International Acquisitions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Finovate Global, MasterCard, TransUnion

This week’s edition of Finovate Global focuses on recent fintech headlines from Mexico, which boasts the second largest economy in Latin America.

Belvo and JP Morgan Partner to Enhance Recurring Payments in Mexico

A strategic collaboration between Latin American open finance platform Belvo and J.P. Morgan Payments aims to automate and streamline the management of recurring payments via direct debit. The partnership will enable businesses in multiple sectors to deploy direct debit quickly and securely, enhancing the customer experience and boosting engagement.

“This alliance with J.P. Morgan Payments is a milestone for Belvo and the financial ecosystem in Mexico,” Federica Gregorini, General Manager of Belvo in Mexico, said. “Direct debit offers a modern and efficient solution that not only improves companies’ operational processes but also makes life easier for users. With this collaboration, we are taking recurring payment automation to the next level, making it more accessible for all types of businesses.”

Now a member of J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, Belvo will give companies in industries such as lending, insurance, utilities, subscription services, and more the ability to automate their recurring collections. By leveraging direct debit, these companies will reduce errors, ensure timely payments, and increase convenience for customers who will no longer have to make manual payments.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Mexico City, Belvo is a leading open finance and data payments platform. With partners including BBVA, Citibanamex, and Finovate alum Nubank, Belvo first launched its direct debit recurring payments solution in Colombia and Mexico in the fall of 2023. This week’s strategic collaboration with J.P. Morgan Payments will bring this technology to more businesses throughout Mexico.

“We are pleased to work with Belvo to offer our clients in the country access to a best-in-class direct debit solution, providing higher transaction success rates, new features such as partial debit payments, and more efficient settlements,” Francisco Molina Viamonte, Head of Mexico for J.P. Morgan Payments said.

TransUnion Acquires Trans Union de Mexico from Mexico’s Largest Credit Bureau

International information and insights company TransUnion has signed a definitive agreement to acquire majority ownership of Trans Union de Mexico, the consumer credit business of Mexico’s largest credit bureau, Buró de Crédito.

“Our expansion in Mexico continues our commitment to making trust possible in global commerce,” TransUnion President and CEO Chris Cartwright said. “Credit bureaus are a catalyst for financial inclusion, and we are excited for the opportunity to bring the benefits of our state-of-the-art technology, innovative solutions, and industry expertise to Mexican consumers and businesses.”

TransUnion currently owns approximately 26% of Trans Union de Mexico. Cash consideration for the transaction, in which TransUnion will acquire an additional 68% ownership stake, is $560 million (MXN 11.5 billion), with an enterprise value of $818 million (MXN 16.8 billion). Buró de Crédito’s commercial credit business is not a part of this transaction.

“We anticipate that our planned acquisition of Buró de Crédito’s consumer credit business will strengthen our leadership position in Latin America and will make TransUnion the largest credit bureau in Spanish-speaking Latin America,” Regional President of TransUnion Latin America Carlos Valencia said. “We see substantial opportunity to introduce global products like trended and alternative credit data, fraud mitigation solutions, and consumer engagement tools. We also plan to expand beyond traditional financial services into adjacencies such as FinTech and insurance.”

TransUnion made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateFall. The company returned to the Finovate stage last year for FinovateSpring 2024 to demonstrate its Enhanced BreachIQ solution, which provides modern, gamified consumer identity protection. Part of TransUnion’s TruEmpower suite of solutions, Enhanced BreachIQ builds an Identity Safety Score based on the user’s individual and unique data breach history. It also provides Breach Risk Scores that measure the severity of incidents in which their data was exposed, and a Personalized Action Plan of practical risk mitigation steps.

Founded in 1968, TransUnion is headquartered in Chicago. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TRU and has a market capitalization of $18.4 billion.

Airwallex Acquires MexPago as Part of Latin American Expansion

Speaking of acquisitions in Mexican fintech and financial services, global financial platform Airwallex has finalized its acquisition of Mexico-based payment service provider MexPago, a licensed Institution of Electronic Payment Funds (IFPE). The acquisition, along with recent news that Airwallex has secured a payment institution license from Banco Central do Brasil, will enable the company to connect its international financial infrastructure with Brazil and Mexico, supporting local businesses.

“Mexico plays a pivotal role in the global economy, serving as a key link between North and South America and a critical hub for cross-border payments,” MexPago CEO and founder Luis Castillejos Ordaz said. “We’re proud to join forces with Airwallex to enable seamless and secure cross-border transactions for businesses worldwide. MexPago’s domestic capabilities, combined with Airwallex’s global reach will deliver even greater value to our shared customers. Together, we will unlock borderless opportunities for businesses here in Latin America and around the world.”

Founded in 2014, MexPago is headquartered in Huixquilucan, part of Greater Mexico City. Post-acquisition, Castillejos will serve as Country Manager for Airwallex, Mexico, where he will manage operations and help Airwallex’s customers successfully navigate the Mexican market.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • UnionDigitalBank, the digital banking arm of Union Bank of the Philippines, partnered with fintech lending platform JuanHand.
  • Japanese international payment provider JCB forged a strategic collaboration with DOKO to boost JCB card acceptance in the U.K.
  • Backbase announced that its client, Vietnam-based An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBANK) has launched ABBANK Business, a new digital banking platform.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Czech cybersecurity firm for financial institutions Wultra raised €3 million in funding.
  • Ebury announced its acquisition of Lithuanian B2B cross-border payments solutions provider ArcaPay.
  • Lithuania required financial institutions in the country to block payment card transactions from unregulated operators.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egyptian fintech Raseedi acquired microfinance lender Kashat.
  • MENA-based fintech startup Zywa, which offers banking solutions for Gen Z customers, raised $3 million in funding.
  • Saudi Arabian payments services provider HyperPay secured a license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to support the development of the financial services ecosystem in the kingdom.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Amazon acquired India-based Buy Now, Pay Later firm Axio for $150 million.
  • Pakistan-based commercial bank Bank Alfalah acquired a 9.9% equity stake in Jingle Pay.
  • Indian equity management platform Hissa launched a new fund to help workers at growth-stage startups convert their vested stock options into cash.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Cross-border payment solutions provider Bamboo partnered with Argentina-based e-commerce platform Tiendamia.
  • J.P. Morgan Payments and Belvo teamed up to enhance recurring payments in Mexico.
  • Crypto banking solutions company Coins.xyz launched in Brazil.

Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Global: Innovations and Opportunities in Islamic Finance

Finovate Global: Innovations and Opportunities in Islamic Finance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, MasterCard, Tyro

Finovate Global is back! This week’s edition leads off with stories about financial institutions around the world that are seeking to better serve their customers by offering a broader range of Shariah-compliant solutions.

Gatehouse Bank partners with ColCap UK for Shariah-compliant home financing

A new partnership between Gatehouse Bank and ColCap UK will help bring Shariah-compliant home finance to more U.K. prospective homebuyers. The partnership includes a forward flow arrangement to originate more than £550 million in Shariah-compliant home financing for ColCap UK over an initial two-year period.

Gatehouse Bank noted that it will continue to generate its own originations onto its balance sheet via its own home financing offering.

“We have seen a considerable increase in demand for our products and services over the last five years and this agreement highlights the bank’s credibility as a leading Islamic finance provider in the U.K.” Gatehouse Bank CEO Charles Haresnape said.

Founded in 2007, Gatehouse Bank is a Shariah-compliant bank that provides savings products and financing for commercial and residential real estate in the U.K. The bank offers personal and commercial deposits that ensure Shariah-compliance, for example, by providing an expected profit rate (EPR) rather than an interest rate. The accounts are invested in Shariah-compliant investments and accountholders receive a share of the profits as a return on their accounts.

Additionally, Gatehouse Bank offers home financing via what is often referred to as an “Islamic Mortgage,” in which homebuyers purchase the property jointly with the bank, and is ownership transferred to the buyer after all payments are made at the end of the term. The bank also provides Shariah-compliant Buy-to-Let purchase plans and has launched multiple Private Rented Sector (PRS) investments since 2014.

“This forward flow arrangement positions us to meet the growing demand for Sharia-compliant financing,” ColCap UK’s Executive Director and COO Esther Morley said. “Combining Gatehouse’s and ColCap’s expertise, we’re confident this collaboration will deliver significant value and reinforce ColCap UK’s leadership in ethical finance.”

A subsidiary of ColCap Financial Group, a residential home finance specialist based in Australia, ColCap has offered residential property financing in the U.K. since 2022.

Offa acquires Bank of Ireland’s Alburaq Sharia-compliant home finance portfolio

A major acquisition by U.K. Islamic proptech Offa will give customers a wider range of Shariah-compliant property financing solutions. Birmingham-based Offa has acquired Bank of Ireland’s Alburaq portfolio, valued at $21.6 million (£17 million). This gives the fintech one of the oldest Shariah-compliant home financing products ever launched in the U.K., which include more than 350 home purchase plans.

“It is a testament to Offa’s abilities that Bank of Ireland has agreed to sell their Islamic home finance portfolio to us,” Offa Chief Financial Officer Amir Firdaus said. “This marks another chapter in Offa’s ambitious growth plans. Members of the Offa executive team are already very much familiar with Alburaq’s clients, having helped distribute this book almost two decades ago, and we are delighted that these customers are now coming home to us.”

Offa’s acquisition will revive a product that has not been available to new customers since 2009. Alburaq was launched as the U.K.’s first Shariah-compliant structured deposit solution in 2008 via a partnership between Bank of Ireland and Arab Banking Corporation’s U.K. division. This week, a spokesperson for Bank of Ireland reported that “the sale of the small remaining portfolio will provide customers with access to a wider range of Sharia-compliant property re-financing options.”

Founded in 2019, Offa calls itself as the first financial institution in the U.K. to acquire an Islamic home-finance book. The U.K.’s first Shariah-compliant bridging lender, Offa introduced its Buy-to-Let (BTL) offering this summer and, back in February, announced a partnership to use finova’s Apprivo origination platform to power its Shariah-compliant digital lending solution.

Premier Bank and Mastercard launch Shariah-compliant cards in Kenya

Proptech and mortgagetech are not the only fields where Shariah-compliant fintech innovation is growing. A newly announced partnership between Kenya-based Islamic financial institution Premier Bank and Mastercard will provide a suite of Shariah-compliant debit, credit, and prepaid cards

The suite will offer features such as contactless payments and global acceptance. Cardholders will be able to make safe and convenient online payments, transact at brick-and-mortar stores, and withdraw cash from Premier Bank ATMs across the country. The suite also provides benefits including Lounge Access through the World Elite Card, travel insurance, and localized offers such as dining discounts via Uber Eats and travel discounts with major airlines.

“The introduction of Shariah-compliant Premier Mastercard suite is not merely a product launch. It is a strategic initiative that exemplifies our commitment to enabling communities with secure, convenient, and tailored financial services,” Mastercard SVP and County Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands Shehryar Ali said. “As Kenya continues to embrace digital transformation, this initiative will play a pivotal role in shaping a more inclusive financial landscape that caters to the evolving needs of individuals and businesses across the country.”

Launched in 2023, Premier Bank was born via the acquisition of the majority shares in First Community Bank, which was founded in 2007. Headquartered in Nairobi, the bank has assets of more than $23 billion as reported in the 2023 Central Bank of Kenya’s Bank Supervision Annual Report. The financial institution opened its 22nd branch earlier this year.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Polish identity verification platform Authologic raised $8.2 million to fight AI-powered fraud.
  • The central bank of Latvia to offer fast track pre-approval for MiCA compliance.
  • German fintech 21X secured approval for its blockchain-based tokenization platform.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Crypto.com launched its Mastercard-powered card in Bahrain as part of its expansion in the Gulf region.
  • Backbase inked a distribution and integration deal with Morocco-based consultancy and AI solutions integrator Seven.
  • Israel-based fintech unicorn Capitolis acquired U.K.-based financial firm Capitalab for $46 million.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Kazakhstan-based banking and fintech company Kaspi.kz acquired a majority stake in Turkish e-commerce technology platform, Hepsiburada.
  • Central Asian digital banking ecosystem TBC Uzbekistan launched its own payment processing center.
  • Nepalese fintech Fonepay partnered with U.K.-based Compass Plus Technologies to offer the country’s first virtual credit card.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Spanish banking group Santander introduced its digital Openbank in Mexico.
  • Mastercard teamed up with Brazilian events platform Sympla and Latin American payments orchestrator Yuno to bring its Payment Passkey Service to the region.
  • Nuvei launched blockchain-based payments in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

  • Payments company Tyro launched its embedded payments solution that makes it easier for businesses to accept tap-to-pay payments.
  • Filipino-based fintech Starpay teamed up with distributed database solutions provider OceanBase.
  • Financial servcies platform Atome forged a payment checkout partnership with Valiram in Singapore and Malaysia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Kenya-based Islamic financial institution Premier Bank unveiled a suite of Shariah compliance payments solutions courtesy of a partnership with Mastercard.
  • CNBC Africa profiled Rwanda’s Kigali International Finance Centre and its new fintech strategy.
  • Visa announced investment in four African fintechs — Oze, Workpay, OkHi, and ORDA — that graduated from its Africa Fintech Accelerator program.

Photo by Abdullah Ghatasheh

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook