As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
LATAM
- Integrated touch sensors at sign-in kiosk and video wall enhance experience for customers of Chile’s half bank, half cafe Santander WorkCafes.
- Brazilian online lender Banco Agibank sets price for its upcoming IPO; targets valuation of $2.7 billion.
- Forbes looks at the increase in the number of Brazilians opening crypto trading accounts.
CEE
- Blockchain company Billon picks up €1 million in funding from Polish National Center for Research and Development.
- Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay to move to Malta.
- Lithuania’s central bank hosts hackathon to mint world’s first digital collector coin.
Asia
- White paper from APAC research firm Solidiance predicts Vietnam’s fintech market will grow by nearly $8 billion by 2020.
- Myanmar Ministries of Agriculture and Planning and Finance partner with Singapore-based fintech to develop official livestock registry that would be used to help farmer use livestock as collateral for loans.
- Korean fintech Qarasoft launches AI-based financial forecasting app, Kosho.
MENA
- Oman’s Bank Sohar to deploy core banking platform from Infosys Finacle.
- Jordanian P2P lending platform liwwa surpasses $11 million in loans issued milestone.
- Entrepreneur.con features ten startups to emerge from Cairo, Egypt’s Flat6labs accelerator including fintechs like 7aweshly and Tombeely.
- Abu Dhabi Global Market and Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announce cooperation agreement to support innovation in financial services.
Africa
- First Bank and WorldRemit team up to bring digital money transfers to Nigeria.
- African Development Bank partners with The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, and Facebook to initiate Coding for Employment Program.
- Money transfer platform OROBO introduces remittance and bill pay service to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Sierra-Leone courtesy of partnership with OpenWay.
- Disrupt Africa looks at what investors are seeking in Africa’s fintech sector.