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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Two UAE-based companies—digital bank Zand and business banking platform Yuze—have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts.
The strategic alliance between the two firms is designed to make financial services available to eligible, underserved companies via fast onboarding, an IBAN account, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools.
Both companies are headquartered in Dubai. Zand was founded in 2018. Yuze launched in 2022.
Blockchain-powered digital bank Zand and digital business banking platform Yuze have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts. The strategic alliance will enable eligible, underserved businesses in the UAE to access financial services via Yuze’s platform.
“The SME sector is a key growth engine driving the UAE economy,” Zand CEO Michael Chan said. “We are excited to partner with Yuze to support the business banking needs of SMEs and startups across the UAE, with our innovative and client-centric digital banking solutions.”
The strategic alliance will provide companies with access to IBAN accounts, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools to support their operational and financial management, as well as their future growth. The partnership will also streamline the onboarding process for business customers, allowing them to establish banking relationships more quickly.
“At Yuze we believe that when banking becomes intelligent, businesses become limitless,” Yuze CEO Rabih Sfeir added. “Together with Zand, we are committed to providing customer-centric and next-generation banking services to businesses in the UAE.”
Headquartered in Dubai, Yuze offers modern business banking solutions including digital onboarding, business banking accounts, payment cards, and expense management tools. Founded in 2022, Yuze recently announced the launch of its Yuze Freelancer App in India. Designed to empower the next generation of freelancers, the solution enables users to open a digital wallet in minutes, send and receive payments, and track income and expenses—all within a single, intuitive app. “We’re not just giving financial access,” Sfeir said when the offering was announced. “We’re giving a partner that listens, understands, and grows with people.”
Founded in 2018 and based in Dubai, Zand is a digital bank that serves both retail and enterprise banking customers. A self-described “blockchain-powered bank,” Zand specializes in using AI and blockchain technology to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance. The institution is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the first all-digital bank in the UAE to earn this accreditation. Zand is also the first bank in the region to secure ISO certifications for information security management systems and for privacy information management systems covering Web3 services.
Citi has selected CredAble as a fintech partner to modernize trade finance controls by adding invoice and shipping data verification to its digital trade loan tools.
By integrating CredAble’s white-labelled technology, Citi aims to reduce fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk while improving transparency and speed for corporate clients and their suppliers.
The partnership reflects a broader trend of banks embedding fintech infrastructure into core trade finance workflows, as institutions look to add automation, intelligence, and trust to increasingly complex global supply chains.
Citi has selected India-based CredAble, a company that provides working capital infrastructure for banks and other businesses, to modernize trade finance controls and better verify invoices after payments are made across global markets.
Through its network of more than 20 ecosystem partners, CredAble provides liquidity programs for enterprise ecosystems, offers API-based working capital solutions and embedded credit solutions for banks, and provides an all-in-one credit, trade, and cash management platform for small businesses. Since it was founded in 2017, the company has served more than 175 corporations and 350,000 small businesses.
“This partnership goes beyond product innovation. It reflects our joint vision of making trade finance smarter, more secure, and aligned with the digital expectations of global businesses,” said CredAble Co-founder and MD Ram Kewalramani. “We are proud to be Citi’s fintech partner and elevate the standard for invoice verification and supplier financing.”
Citi will use a white-labelled solution from CredAble to add a verification layer to its digital trade loan tool. Integrating CredAble’s technology will allow Citi to help its corporate clients and their suppliers validate invoices by detecting inconsistencies and verifying shipping data with a user experience that offers better transparency and speed.
Overall, Citi’s tool will reduce manual follow-ups and enhance the accuracy of invoices without disrupting existing business workflows.
“As supply chains become more global and complex, digitization is essential to deliver control and confidence at scale,” said Citi Head of Asia South and Indian subcontinent, Trade and Working Capital Solutions, Mayank Gupta. “Our collaboration with CredAble supports our vision of modernizing trade with technology that is secure, user-centric, and built for widespread adoption.”
In an increasingly digital era, traditional banks are turning to fintechs to modernize trade finance infrastructure. Embedding invoice verification and shipping data validation into digital trade loan tools will help banks address fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk. As international trade continues to rise, fintechs like CredAble and its competitors like Persona will increase in popularity as they help banks add intelligence, automation, and trust to trade finance processes.
Eltropy, an AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), announced this week that Nebraska-based Cobalt Credit Union has deployed its Eltropy AI Voice solution. This has enabled the credit union to secure an 83% session containment rate while maintaining high member satisfaction.
Session containment rates refer to the percentage of customer interactions that are successfully resolved by the AI without the participation of a human agent. Typically, these rates range between 60% and 80%, and are lower than those for text-based systems due to the greater complexity of voice-based AI systems and the nuances of natural language processing (NLP) in spoken conversations. For Cobalt to achieve session containment rates exceeding 80% with its voice-based system is a significant achievement.
“From day one, our AI-powered contact center assistant, Coby, has delivered measurable results and positive feedback from both members and staff,” Cobalt Credit Union VP of Digital Banking Chasmine McIntosh said. “What Coby does is handle routine inquiries 24/7, which frees up our team to focus on the complex situations where members really need that human touch. We consider him a vital member of our contact center team, handling high volume with empathy and accuracy.”
Formerly SAC Federal Credit Union, Cobalt CU is no stranger to AI-enabled technology. The institution implemented its first AI agent in August 2024: an intent-based system that ran alongside the credit union’s new digital banking platform. Before the end of the year, Cobalt CU had added generative AI capabilities to enable its contact center assistant, Coby, to respond to an even broader range of queries. The implementation of AI Voice represents the completion of Cobalt CU’s multi-channel AI strategy, enabling members to engage with the institution via the channel of their choice.
“The key to effective AI Voice is that it goes beyond just understanding member requests—it takes action,” Eltropy VP of Product, AI, Saahil Kamath said. “Members calling to check balances or transfer funds don’t want to work through phone menus and hold times. Our AI handles authentication conversationally, processes transactions in real-time, and provides confirmation—maintaining a natural, human-like interaction throughout. Cobalt members are experiencing this firsthand.”
Founded in 1946 as SAC Federal Credit Union, the institution rebranded as Cobalt Credit Union in 2018. Cobalt CU is headquartered in Papillion, Nebraska—part of the Omaha metropolitan area—and has more than 20 branches serving approximately 120,000 members throughout Nebraska and Iowa. The credit union has $1.3 billion in assets under management. Robin Larsen is President and CEO.
A Finovate alum since 2017, Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Eltropy offers a unified conversations platform that enables more than 700 credit unions and community banks to transform the member and customer experience. With more than 40 use cases ranging from straightforward 1:1 texting and video banking to appointment and lobby management, Eltropy integrates AI at every step to automate processes and streamline complexity. Financial institutions using Eltropy’s technology have seen reductions in delinquency and fraud rates, as well as up to a 20% acceleration in lending processes.
FinovateEurope 2026 takes place in London on February 10 and 11. Register to attend and save up to £400.
FinovateEurope is returning to London in February, spotlighting the latest in fintech innovation.
The exceptional lineup of 30+ cutting-edge demos and 1,000+ senior-level attendees—including an impressive 600+ from banks and other financial institutions—makes FinovateEurope a must-attend event.
This year’s demo lineup showcases the key trends driving change across the financial services sector and the innovative technologies bringing them to life. Here’s an early look at the first wave of companies taking the stage:
Stay tuned for more announcements as we reveal the next wave of innovators in the coming weeks!
Interested in demoing? Applications are still open!
FinovateEurope is the perfect platform for organizations driving innovation in financial services—whether you’re a startup, bank, public entity, or established leader. Demoing offers unparalleled exposure, including:
7-minute demo slot on the main stage
A plug-and-play exhibit hall stand
Speaker passes and lead generation reports
Coaching calls with Finovate’s host and resident expert
Marketing and media coverage
Don’t miss the chance to kick off 2026 with a strong pipeline of leads and high ROI. Apply now to secure your spot.
Flutterwave has agreed to acquire Mono, bringing open banking capabilities fully in-house as it pushes toward a more interoperable financial infrastructure across Africa.
The deal allows Flutterwave to natively integrate financial data access, identity verification, and account-to-account payments.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cross-border payments company Flutterwaverevealed it has agreed to acquire Mono, a fellow Africa-based fintech focused on providing open banking tools. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
For Flutterwave, investing in open banking technologies shows that it is committed to building an interoperable financial system for Africa. While Flutterwave originally partnered with Mono in 2022, the acquisition will allow the company to fully integrate Mono’s API-driven open banking elements. The native integration will offer users secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments. It will also create a clear path for expanding into richer alternative payment methods, authenticated payment flows, and open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases.
“This acquisition reflects how we think about the future of financial infrastructure in Africa,” said Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola. “Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective tissue, and Mono has built critical infrastructure in this space. This acquisition allows us to expand what’s possible for businesses operating across African markets, while staying grounded in security, compliance, and local relevance.”
Mono was founded in 2020 to provide financial data, identity verification, and direct bank payments for businesses. With five million linked accounts across more than 500 banks and fintechs, the Lagos-based fintech covers three different countries.
“Mono’s capabilities across financial data access, direct bank payments, and identity verification, combined with Flutterwave’s unmatched scale and global reach, create something more defensible and comprehensive,” said Mono Founder and CEO Abdulhamid Hassan. “This acquisition allows us to build the infrastructure layer that powers the next generation of African fintech at the speed and scale the continent deserves.”
Once the acquisition is finalized, Mono will continue to operate independently with its leadership structure intact. Mono will also retain operational control, which will allow it to maintain its pace of innovation.
Flutterwave accepts payments in more than 30 currencies, processing an average of 500,000 payments each day. In addition to its payments technology, Flutterwave also offers invoicing technology, business loans, and analytics tools. Since it was founded in 2016, Flutterwave has raised more than $470 million and has processed over one billion transactions in excess of $40 billion.
The move positions Flutterwave toward full-stack financial infrastructure. It also reflects a broader industry shift toward open banking–enabled payment flows, where verified data and authenticated transfers reduce fraud, improve conversion, and unlock new use cases. For Africa’s fragmented financial ecosystem, tighter integration between payments and data infrastructure has the potential to boost interoperability while giving cross-border payment players like Flutterwave greater control over compliance, reliability, and product velocity.
If you stepped away from your desk over the holidays, you are probably realizing that fintech didn’t slow down while you were gone. Even if your email inbox is finally back to zero at this point, we’re here to help you filter out the noise and catch up on the important fintech news you missed. Below, we’ve rounded up the most important fintech developments that broke during the holiday lull.
December 19
Mercuryapplies for OCC national bank charter to become the bank for builders.
Business banking fintech Mercury submitted an application to the OCC for a national bank charter and applied for federal deposit insurance with the FDIC. Receiving approval from these agencies would allow Mercury to operate as an FDIC-insured national bank. The move would grant Mercury independence from its partner banks, Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., giving the fintech full control of its customers.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said during a press conference that the bank has completed technical and preparatory work on the digital euro. In the statement, Lagarde mentioned that the digital euro is a priority for Europe’s financial future. The announcement proves that central bank digital currencies are still on the table for 2026, even as stablecoins and tokenized deposits take precedence in the headlines.
December 30
Retail investment platform PrimaryBidlays off about 40% of its workforce.
The UK-based company’s newest registry filings indicate that PrimaryBid’s average employee headcount fell to 91, which is down from 152 during the same period last year. PrimaryBid has a long-term agreement with the London Stock Exchange to allow everyday retail investors to transact at the same time and price as institutional investors.
December 22
Digital bank Erebor closed $350 million in funding at a $4.35 billion valuation.
Erebor is a new digital bank that was founded by Palmer Luckey, billionaire and founder of Oculus VR and Anduril Industries. The new digital bank seeks to bridge traditional finance with the digital asset economy and has already obtained FDIC approval and conditional approval from US banking regulators. The bank is expected to launch this year.
Fiserv announced it is deepening its partnership with Mastercard, leveraging Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework to offer interoperable agentic commerce and empower merchants to embrace AI-driven payments.
December 23
JPMorganconsiders allowing crypto trading for institutional clients.
With Jamie Dimon’s negative comments about crypto far in the past, JPMorgan announced plans to allow institutional clients to trade crypto. The announcement comes weeks after the bank’s asset management arm launched its first tokenized money fund.
Global data, technology, and analytics company Experian announced that its commercial data is now available on its Ascend platform.
The news means that companies using Ascend will be able to access and analyze Experian’s full commercial data suite within a single platform.
Founded in 2006, Experian has been a Finovate alum since 2011. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland.
Data, technology, and analytics company Experian reported today that its commercial data is now available on its Ascend platform. The company’s cloud-based analytics and decisioning solution, Ascend, combines Experian’s data assets and advanced analytics tools. The newly announced integration will enable companies to access and analyze Experian’s full commercial data suite within a single platform. This alleviates the need for separate integrations as well as manual data pulls.
Experian UK&I Chief Product Officer, Business Information, David Gallihawk said that the enhanced offering will help customers using the Ascend platform keep pace with the “ever-growing number (of) lenders and new products entering the market.” Gallihawk added, “Experian Ascend helps lenders retain customers, identify new opportunities, launch new products, and leverage data to automate processes. Clients can have an even better view of their customers and businesses so they can make smarter, faster decisions—all within one integrated platform.”
The need for access to commercial data is clear; Experian data supported at least two-thirds of SME borrowing in the UK in 2024. Commercial data provides in-depth, granular information on the borrowing and repayment history of more than eight million businesses in the UK. Access to this data will give lenders, businesses, and other organizations a more holistic view of company performance, enabling them to make better, faster, and more accurate lending decisions. The integration will provide quick and easy access to more than six years of full-file commercial credit data, including Commercial CAIS, Risk Scores, and CATO—along with their own internal datasets. Users can access the data via the Experian Analytical Sandbox on the Ascend platform.
Founded in 1996 and established as a standalone public company in 2006, Experian has been a Finovate alum since 2011. Today, the company is a FTSE 100 firm that helps institutions improve lending and fight fraud with a unique combination of data, analytics, and software that enables them to secure deeper insights into their customers. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and boasting 25,000+ employees in 32 countries, Experian has more than 208 million customers on its free platforms alone. Along with fellow Finovate alums TransUnion and Equifax, Experian is one of the Big Three credit reporting agencies in the US. Of the three, it has the most extensive operations in the UK and Europe.
2026 begins in earnest today as the first full working week of the year gets underway. Be sure to check in with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown over the next few days to get you up and running with the latest in fintech news and announcements!
Universal Exchange (UEX) Bitgetopens its TradFi trading suite to all users.
TradeStationunveils the upcoming launch of TITAN X, its next generation of its flagship trading platform designed for active traders.
Crypto and DeFi
Telcoin, a digital asset bank that just won final charter approval from the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, launches its eUSD stablecoin.
Kast, a financial platform built on stablecoin rails, expands global payouts to 11 new local currencies including GBP, EUR, and CAD, as well as a multiple currencies in the Asia Pacific region.
Today, as the new year begins in earnest for many, we are officially saluting those companies hailing from outside the US that made the journey to our fintech conferences in London, San Diego, and New York in 2025. As you can see, Finovate continues to attract innovative fintech talent from around the world to be a part of our unique events.
Want to join the roster? FinovateEurope is currently accepting applications for the upcoming February conference in London, February 10 and 11. Wherever you and your team call home, we are happy to learn more about you and your ready-to-demo innovation. Check out our FinovateEurope Apply to Demo page to learn more!
Founded in 2014, APIMatic is a developer experience platform for APIs that enables organizations to drive fast, widespread adoption of their APIs. The platform supports every stage of the API journey, from design and dynamic SDKs to code sample generation and end-to-end automation. Headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, APIMatic made its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage at FinovateSpring 2025.
Founded in 2024, AQ22 offers an Agentic Orchestration Banking platform that enables banks to deploy AI agents to automate core banking processes and operations. Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, AQ22 made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2022, Aurem offers an intelligent operating system for retirement and wealth providers. Their platform helps institutions unify and optimize their products, processes, and data and deliver them globally in days. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Aurem made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 1989, b-next is a corporate software provider specializing in capital markets trading surveillance and compliance solutions. Headquartered in Herford, Germany, b-next made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2022, Cinareo Solutions offers a capacity planning platform that provides pro-active resource planning and financial analysis to cost-efficiently manage front- and back-office team members, as well as support staff. The company is a winner of Finovate’s Sustainability & Inclusion Scholarship Program. Headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Cinareo Solutions made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2025.
Founded in 2023, Copla is an ICT security and compliance automation platform that transforms paper compliance into real-world resilience. The platform provides the capabilities of a full cybersecurity and compliance department at a subscription cost. Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Copla made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2020, Deriskly provides AI-driven communication intelligence that deciphers customer feedback, automates compliance, and enhances trust by transforming complex regulations into actionable insights. Headquartered in London, England, Deriskly made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2020, Dimply enables organizations to optimize operations, enhance customer engagement, uncover growth opportunities, and accelerate digital transformation. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Dimply most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2021, Doshi App empowers financial institutions to deliver engaging, rewarding, and scalable financial education experiences that build money confidence. Headquartered in London, England, Doshi App most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2014, ebankIT empowers financial institutions to innovate quickly, reduce costs, and deliver personalized services across all channels, accelerating growth and future-proofing their digital strategy. Headquartered in Porto, Portugal, the two-time Finovate Best of Show winner most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2017, FintechOS enables banks and credit unions to launch any product faster, modernize customer experiences, and adapt quickly to market and regulatory changes—without replacing their core systems. Headquartered in London, England, FintechOS made its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2021, Homely is an AI-powered platform that empowers the journey to homeownership by combining education, spend management, and financial rewards in a hyper-personalized way. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Homely made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2022, Hyperdesk provides an AI-powered search engine that helps credit unions and community banks grow their loans and deposits by better engaging with local businesses. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, and Mexico City, Mexico, Hyperdesk made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2025.
Founded in 2016, ID-Pal facilitates business growth with AI-powered identity verification and AML screening, increasing operational efficiency and customer trust. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ID-Pal most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2024, Intrepid Fox leverages GenAI to make KYC 10x faster for banks and fintechs. The company’s technology streamlines onboarding by instantly processing documents and engaging in value-added interactions. Headquartered in London, England, Intrepid Fox most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2018, Intuitech uses agentic networks to automate complex workflows, maximize efficiency, and elevate the customer experience for companies in financial services. Based in Budapest, Hungary, Intuitech made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2019, Keyless replaces outdated MFA with biometrics, improving UX and saving millions. One bank saved $3.5 million by eliminating call centers for OTP-based recovery. Based in London, England, Keyless won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025. The company returned to the Finovate stage later in the year for FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2018, LemonadeLXP’s InsightAI improves staff and customer education while driving significant operational efficiencies. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, LemonadeLXP won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2022 and again at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2015, MDOTM specializes in analytical and GenAI solutions for banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and wealth management companies. Headquartered in London, England, MDOTM made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2022, Mifundo provides a data solution that offers cross-border credit information and standardized credit scores to help lower banks’ credit risk for international customers by up to 7x. Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, Mifundo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2021, MoneyPlanned empowers institutions to offer intelligent, automated financial planning—boosting advisor efficiency, reducing cost-to-serve, and delivering personalized client experiences at scale. Based in Bengaluru, India, MoneyPlanned made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2024, Moonjelly offers a scalable, transparent, and reliable GenAI platform that enables businesses to leverage AI agents and custom AI solutions to retrieve information, derive insights, and complete tasks. Headquartered in South Holland, Netherlands, Moonjelly made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2022, Offset Labs (formerly Byne) enables companies to build secure LLM agents and host LLM applications within their secure perimeter (on premise or private cloud) to ensure safe handling of sensitive data and integration with internal systems. Headquartered in London, England, the company made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2015, OPL’s cash-flow-based lending helps banks transform their operations through agile lending, AI-driven insights, and intelligent credit underwriting—expanding credit access to SMEs. Headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, OPL made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2021, PayIP is a specialized fintech provider that helps banks and financial services companies optimize both interchange and Visa and Mastercard billing costs. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, PayIP made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2016, Plumery offers a cloud-native digital banking experience platform that empowers financial institutions to build distinctive and customer-centric mobile and online experiences. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Plumery made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2023, Primer is an AI-powered financial analysis platform for investment professionals at banks, hedge funds, and asset management firms. Headquartered in London, England, Primer made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2024, PromoComply offers a comprehensive platform for financial promotions compliance. The company helps financial sector companies ensure their financial promotion campaigns are continuously compliant with UK FCA regulations. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, PromoComply made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2019, R34DY helps organizations transform their business by taking the pain out of integrations and making it easy for business owners to create use cases and reduce time to market. Headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, R34DY won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 and returned to the Finovate stage later in the year for FinovateFall 2025.
Founded in 2019, Regsearch AI offers a regulatory compliance solution that leverages AI agents to streamline compliance processes. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Regsearch AI made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2021, Torus is a SaaS intelligence platform for banks and fintechs that enables them to enhance profits on card transactions by up to 50%. Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Torus most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2024, Tweezr is an AI-powered developer assistant tailored for legacy environments that helps accelerate time-to-market and boost developer productivity. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tweezr won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Founded in 2023, Xaver offers a sales platform that enhances advisory quality and efficiency for financial institutions by delivering an AI-enabled, personalized, omnichannel customer journey. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, Xaver made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Commercial Bank of Dubai and Pay10 launched Open Finance services under the UAE’s Open Finance Initiative, AlTareq.
Middle East Economy looked at the potential for growth in the Oman fintech market.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) inked a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a pan African Gold bank.
Central and Southern Asia
Paytm secured approval from the Indian central bank, RBI to expand its payment aggregator license to include offline and cross-border transactions.
Freedom Bank Kazakhstan added eSIM services to its Freedom SuperApp courtesy of a partnership with Boxo.
VEON’s Mobilink Microfinance Bank launched Islamic banking operations in Pakistan.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Ecuadorean transactional network COONECTA teamed up with BPC to deploy the SmartVisa platform across 90 credit unions and 75 member institutions.
International IT solutions provider JMR Infotech joined the Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) as a Service Member.
Zigi, the digital innovation unit of Guatemala’s Banco Industrial, expanded its partnership with core banking software provider Thought Machine.
Last year’s FinovateEurope conference brought together fintech creators from around the world. At the event, our audience voted for three standout companies that took home Best of Show honors for their demos. Almost a year out from FinovateEurope 2025, and with FinovateEurope 2026 coming up on February 10 and 11, we’re taking a look at how last year’s three Best of Show winners in innovation have continued to grow, influence their markets, and shape the future of financial services technology.
Keyless
At FinovateEurope 2025, Keyless showcased its privacy-preserving biometric authentication solution that replaces traditional, multi-factor authentication with fast, passwordless identity verification using zero-knowledge biometrics.
Nine months later, the company agreed to be acquired by identity and access management company Ping Identity. Keyless’s biometric authentication technology will be integrated into Ping Identity’s platform to expand adoption of secure, privacy-first login experiences across enterprise environments.
This acquisition not only validates Keyless’s technology but it also demonstrates the importance of seamless, secure authentication.
R34DY & ABLEMENTS
Hungarian fintech R34DY and its ABLEMENTS integration platform won Best of Show in London thanks to its solution that aims to simplify complex integrations between legacy core systems and modern microservices architectures.
Since its FinovateEurope demo, R34DY has continued to build on both its product and presence. The company added four main modules to ABLEMENTS, each addressing critical needs in context engineering; completed eight proofs of concept, demonstrating real-world value; and found six flagship use cases for the product, demonstrating diverse applications of the solution.
Overall, R34DY’s platform has attracted attention for its ability to bring context-aware automation and faster time-to-market for banks and fintechs seeking to modernize complex workflows.
Tweezr
Tweezr took Best of Show honors at FinovateEurope 2025 for its AI-powered developer assistant, a tool built to help teams accelerate time-to-market while navigating legacy code and modernization efforts.
Over the past year, Tweezr has continued to refine and expand its platform to help organizations address the notorious difficulty of maintaining and modernizing mission-critical systems without sacrificing stability or productivity. Having been founded in mid-2024, Tweezr is still early in its growth journey, but its tools will be increasingly relevant as firms navigate the intersection of AI solutions and legacy systems.
Looking Ahead: FinovateEurope 2026
While these winners are just a snapshot of the new technologies available in fintech today, they show how the Finovate stage can serve as a springboard to real-world traction, strategic partnerships, and industry recognition.
Join us February 10 through 11 in London for FinovateEurope 2026 to see the next wave of fintech demos first-hand and learn how they will shape the future of financial services. Whether you’re a founder, builder, investor, or enterprise leader, the opportunity to meet, connect, and collaborate with tomorrow’s fintech leaders awaits.
Finovate alums raised more than $1.4 billion in the final three months of 2025. The funding total in the fourth quarter of the year is the best Q4 for alum funding in more than a decade. The historic Q4 also takes the annual total capital raised by Finovate alums to levels not seen since 2021.
As we learn more about the overall level of fintech funding in the fourth quarter and for the full year, it will be interesting to see if this impressive performance by Finovate alums reflects broader investment trends in the industry.
Previous Annual Comparisons
2024: $553 million
2023: $1.2 billion
2022: $2.7 billion
2021: $8.4 billion
A total of 46 Finovate alums reported funding in 2025, totaling more than $3.3 billion. This figure represents the largest fundraising year for Finovate alums since the blow-out year of 2021 in which more than $8 billion was raised.
Previous Quarterly Comparisons
Q4 2024: More than $132 million raised by seven alums
Q4 2023: More than $307 million raised by 11 alums
Q4 2022: More than $380 million raised by 15 alums
Q4 2021: More than $1.2 billion raised by seven alums
The pattern of billion+plus Q4s arriving every other year continued in 2025. 11 Finovate alums reported raising more than $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of this year. This includes one company’s investment (Qolo’s fundraising in October) for which the amount is unknown. The last time Finovate alums raised a comparable amount in funding in the fourth quarter was in 2014, when 26 alums raised more than $1.4 billion.
Top Quarterly Equity Investments
The top equity investments of the quarter were the $500 million secured by both Avalara and Ripple. Also among the top fundraisings of the quarter was the $280 million raised in two separate, back-to-back rounds by MoEngage.
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2025.
October: More than $108 million raised by four alums
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the fourth quarter of 2025, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at [email protected]. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.
Our Finovate Globalinterview series provides deep dives and extended conversations about fintech innovation around the world—especially in countries outside of the US. This year, we have featured seven different discussions on fintech topics ranging from payments and regtech to Islamic finance and workforce management solutions. Click the headlines below to access the interviews.
If you are a Finovate alum headquartered outside the US and would like to share your story with our readers, then consider being a part of our Finovate Global interview series in 2026. Reach out to me at [email protected]—we’d love to have you join us!
With that, we hope you enjoy these conversations and maybe even find one that you might have missed. And thanks to Jac, Karen, Kirill, Stav, Stuart, Maya, and Dilshod for being a part of our Finovate Global interviews of 2025.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
German fintech Trade Republic reached a valuation of €12.5 billion following a €1.2 billion secondary share sale.
Mastercardunveiled its WhatsApp chatbot for users in Azerbaijan.
Deutsche Bank has gone live with digital wallet and payments app, Wero.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israel VC firm Viola Ventures launched a pair of new funds totaling $250 million to invest in Israeli fintechs innovating in AI and fintech.
UAE-based Lucid Capital raised $2.5 million to expand AI-powered algorithmic trading.
PayTabs Egypt teamed up with Edita Trade, a subsidiary of Edita Food Industries, to integrate a unified cash collection and payments solution across the company’s distribution network.
Central and Southern Asia
Bangalore, India-based tax management infrastructure startup Prosperr.io raised $4 million in seed funding.
Google introduced its UPI-linked credit card in India.
Unlimit secured final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate with a payment aggregator-cross border license.
