Settle Launches Mobile App in Croatia; Sr. Pago Partners with American Express

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.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • RISQ Teams Up with Aion Digital to Boost SME Lending in MENA.
  • ACI Worldwide teams up with Egyptian Banks Company, which will leverage ACI’s UP Retail Payments solution.
  • The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has begun issuing digital banking licenses.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Bangalore-based neobank for workers NiYO raises $35 million in new funding.
  • WebMoney Transfer goes live with its WMY wallet in Uzbekistan.
  • India’s Recko, a company that provides AI-powered digital transaction reconciliation, picks up $1 million in seed capital.
  • Swiss payments technology company BPC opens offices in Pakistan.
  • Nikkei Asian Review highlights Vymo and its entrance to the Japanese market.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Jumio to power digital identity for Brazil-based BTG Pactual.
  • Mexico’s Sr.Pago announces partnership with American Express.
  • Mastercard Brazil partners with Airfox and banQi to bring lower-cost banking options to Brazilian customers.

Asia-Pacific

  • Bank of Thailand implements SimCorp Dimension to manage its reserve management and monetary policy operations.
  • Vietnam’s central bank warns against fraud in the P2P lending market.
  • Regulators in the Philippines introduce new rules governing crowdfunding.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Temenos to power digital transformation for Rwanda’s Bank of Kigali. The company will also replace core and front office legacy systems for South African microfinancier Barko
  • Ghana to launch universal QR code payment method later this year.
  • Mobile payments startup OPay raises $50 million in funding in round led by Sequoia China, IDG Capital, and Source Code Capital.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Settle launches its mobile payments app in Croatia.
  • Czech-based fintech developer Turing Technology closes second round of funding.
  • Slovenia’s Telekom Slovenije introduces its mobile wallet.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • InComm Makes Third Acquisition this Year with Purchase of Meridian Loyalty.
  • Email Security Specialist GreatHorn Locks in $13 Million Investment.

Around the web

  • Monzo partners with Xero and Free Agent.
  • Temenos to power digital transformation for Rwanda’s Bank of Kigali.
  • BuiltIn features HooYu in its look at how AI is changing the banking industry.
  • ACI Worldwide teams up with Egyptian Banks Company, which will leverage ACI’s UP Retail Payments solution.
  • Entrepreneur magazine names Lendio Franchising as a Top 100 Franchise for Less Than $50,000 in 2019 and as the Best Financial Services Franchise Brand for the second year in a row.
  • Yseop recognized as a representative vendor in Gartner’s first Market Guide for Natural Language Generation Platforms.
  • Saga selects FIS to deploy its Integrity SaaS solution.
  • iSignthis launches third European office in Gzira, Malta.
  • In June Personal Capital surpasses $10 billion in assets under management, an increase of more than $2 billion since Q4 2018.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

ACI Invests in Indian Payments; Brazilian Fintech Picks Up $200M from Japan

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.

Central and Southern Asia

  • ACI Worldwide invests in Mumbai, India-based payments innovator, Mindgate Solutions.
  • Pakistan’s Bank of Khyber to deploy new core banking system from Temenos.
  • Infosys earns recognition as a ‘leader’ in the IDC MarketSpace: Worldwide IT Service Management (ITSM) Implementation Services 2019 Vendor Assessment.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian fintech Creditas picks up $200 million investment from Japan’s Softbank, boosting the company’s valuation to $700 million.
  • Crowdfund Insider reveals the 3 Biggest Fintech Trends Shaping Latin America.
  • Amero-Isatek to open its first brick and mortar cryptocurrency exchange in Mexico’s Nuevo Leon, Monterrey.

Asia-Pacific

  • Splitit partners with EFTPay to bring installment payments to merchants in Hong Kong and Macau.
  • Vietnam’s MSB (Maritime Bank) picks SunTec for its customer centricity system.
  • Morocco-based BMCE Bank of Africa to leverage technology from Temenos to drive new corporate banking and trade finance operation in China.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Global Finance investigates the rise of Africa’s entrepreneurial class in the private banking industry.
  • Finextra looks at three reasons why fintech is driving change in Africa.
  • Standard Bank introduces new Mastercard-powered ditital trade solution, SimplyBlu, for SMEs in South Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Wallet, the PFM app from Prague-based fintech BudgetBakers, earns license from Czech National Bank to join the bank’s APIs.
  • New lending platform for “multi-credit” services, Omnicredit, goes live in Romania.
  • Global Finance interviews Alexey Krgulov, Acting Director of Digital Business Platform with Sberbank.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Turkey’s Isbank partners with Russian PSP Yandex.Checkout to support e-commerce between the two companies.
  • Disrupt Africa features MerQ, an Egyptian startup that leverages AI to promote financial literacy.
  • AMEinfo publishes its report on banking and fintech in the Middle East and Africa.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Tink Secures Strategic Investment from PayPal.
  • InComm Buys Hallmark Cards Subsidiary.

Around the web

  • ACI Worldwide makes strategic investment in Indian digital payments company Mindgate Solutions.
  • Currencycloud and VISA forge partnership to fuel innovation in cross-border and travel payments.
  • Trulioo partners with Refinitiv to improve access to digital identity solutions.
  • German open digital identity scheme yes.com to integrate into Signicat’s Digital Identity Platform.
  • Splitit appoints former Intuit and PayPal Exec to lead North American operations.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Marqeta Secures $260 Million in Series E Funding.
  • Fundopolis Turns to AlphaPoint for Tokenization Initiative.

Around the web

  • Mastercard partners with Samsung Electronics to develop mobile digital verification solutions.
  • YellowDog appoints James Stevens as its new Chief Commercial Officer.
  • Chile’s largest acquirer Transbank to deploy UP Retail Payments solution from ACI Worldwide.
  • ThetaRay adds Steve Mann as Chief Marketing Officer.
  • Spectrum Equity closes sale of Ethoca to Mastercard.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Temenos in Tunisia; Fenergo Backs Blockchain-based KYC in Bahrain

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.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based financial supermarket GoBear scoops up $80 million in new funding.
  • Wipro builds prototype for central bank digital currency project in Thailand.
  • Chinese fintech Pintec Technology opens international headquarters in Singapore.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Chipper Cash, an African cross-border payment startup, raiseded $2.4 million in funding – including a contribution from football Hall of Famer Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures.
  • Central Bank of Kenya and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to launch the first Afro-Asia Fintech Festival.
  • Remoney wins Innovation in Lending award at the Nigerian Fintech Awards.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Twisto closes $15.7 million capital raise.
  • Estonia tightens regulations on granting virtual currency licenses.
  • Partnership between Wirecard and Orange Money to bring digital payment services to Eastern Europe.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Fenergo supports Bahrain’s blockchain-based KYC.
  • ACI extends partnership with Vocalink into Saudi Arabia to facilitate the adoption of real-time payments through ACI’s UP Real-Time Payments solution.
  • Tunisian bank selects Temenos to drive digital transformation and future growth.

Central and Southern Asia

  • New Indian Express features digital piggy bank, Wizely.
  • Zawya looks at the potential for Islamic banking and finance in Uzbekistan.
  • YourStory profiles year-old fintech startup, Nira.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mastercard partners with Edenred and northern Mexico state of Sonora to trial biometric cards.
  • Brazilian fintech Nubank goes live in Mexico.
  • Bolivia launches interoperable payment solution using QR codes.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Simple’s Payments Go Analog with Paper Checks.
  • Fenergo Supports Bahrain’s Blockchain-Based KYC.
  • Flywire Offers Chinese Students and Patients Discounted FX Rates.
  • doxo and Plaid Team Up to Bring Overdraft Protection to Billpay.

Around the web

  • ACI extends partnership with Vocalink into Saudi Arabia to facilitate the adoption of real-time payments through ACI’s UP Real-Time Payments solution.
  • First National Bank selects ProfitStars’ Commercial Lending Center Suite.
  • Centrale Kredietverlening selects nCino for its Bank Operating System.
  • Wipro develops blockchain-based solution with R3 to power digital currency transactions for Thailand banks.
  • Klarna and Stripe partner to offer Klarna’s Pay in 3 to Hideout festivalgoers through ticketing platform Kaboodle.
  • Forbes highlights BioCatch’s behavioral biometrics fraud prevention technology.
  • Insuritas and Tower Hill Specialty partner to bring Tower Hill’s property products to market through Insuritas’ bank partner network.
  • NIIT Technologies partners with Blue Chip to bring its wealth management application to Blue Chip’s IBM POWER.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Amazon Pay Fuels P2P in India; Fenergo Makes Friends in Bahrain

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.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazil’s central bank issues open banking guidelines for the country.
  • Crunchbase News looks at VC funding trends in Latin America and their impact on fintech investment.
  • LATAM Tech explores Argentina’s investment in blockchain technology.

Asia-Pacific

  • ACI Worldwide to help Indonesia interbank network ALTO to expand its payment capabilities.
  • China makes moves to ease cross-border ecommerce settlement.
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Central Bank of Canada team up to trial DLT technology for cross border payments.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • ESI Africa reports on the potential for fintech to drive economic growth in Africa.
  • Kenya’s 4G Capital, a financial services solution provider for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) opens offices in Uganda.
  • Fintech News Switzerland profiles the fintech scene in South Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Token helps drive Open Banking with new Sberbank Croatia partnership.
  • Lithuanian fintech Paysera announces plans to raise €2.5 million in a security token offering.
  • Banks in Hungary and Slovakia choose core banking technology from Oracle Financial Services.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Fenergo working with Bahrain’s Electronic Network for Financial Transactions to design and implement a KYC solution that incorporates blockchain technology.
  • Wamda interviews Mohamed Okasha, co-founder of Egypt-based electronic payment gateway, Fawry.
  • Mercury Payment Services, a Dubai-based financial services company, to deploy AML technology from Fiserv.

Central and South Asia

  • TechCrunch: India tops China as destination for fintech investment.
  • Amazon Pay launches P2P payments for Android users in India.
  • Myamar-based financing platform Daung Capital closes Series A round after securing additional funding.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Feedzai and North American Bancard Partner to Fight Fraud.
  • FinovateSpring’s Friday Finale Tackles Fintech’s Toughest Topics.

Around the web

  • Aite Group’s 2019 report on fraud and AML machine learning platform vendors recognizes Featurespace as Best-in-Class.
  • Salt Edge releases 60+ PSD2 API sandboxes.
  • ACI Worldwide to help Indonesia interbank network ALTO to expand its payment capabilities.
  • Jack Henry & Associates unveils its digital account opening solution, JHA OpenAnywhere.
  • Worldpay to release FraudSight machine learning-powered fraud solution.
  • PAUL UK selects Yoyo to introduce a combined mobile payments and personalized loyalty app to its customers.
  • Mint rolls out a new app experience for Android users

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Onfido Raises $50 Million in New Capital.
  • Salt Edge Earns Account Information Service Provider License from FCA.

Around the web

  • Tinkoff Group of Russia builds supercomputer dubbed the most powerful in financial sector.
  • PayPal joins Series A round for Cambridge Blockchain.
  • EVRY partners with ACI Worldwide to enhance its mobile payment service in the Nordics and Europe.
  • ProfitStars wins 2019 FinTech Breakthrough Award for Best Business Lending Platform
  • Capsilon expands executive team, forms new product organization to drive mortgage innovation. Check out Capsilon’s newest tech at FinovateSpring in May.
  • SocietyOne launches new investor trust.
  • Portland Business Journal: Tyfone brings credit unions the digital tools members want.
  • Insuritas partners with Nymeo FCU to launch digital insurance agency.
  • NestReady to power integrated homebuying experience for Resource Financial Services.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

ACI Worldwide Partners with Solutions by Text

ACI Worldwide Partners with Solutions by Text

ACI Worldwide is bringing text-to-pay technology to billers courtesy of a new partnership with Solutions by Text. ACI will integrate Solutions by Text’s Pay-by-Text software into its UP Bill Payments solution, enabling businesses to receive payments from customers via SMS. The new option will give customers new payment flexibility, make on-time payments more likely, and keep collection costs low.

Pointing to the high open rate of text messages (98%) and the positive response customers tend to have toward text billing reminders, Solutions by Text founder and CEO Danny Cantrell highlighted the way the partnership will improve the “overall digital experience” for the customer.

“As smartphone use continues to advance,” Cantrell said, “offering customers the option to pay-by-text is quickly becoming a necessity as it improves the payment experience through payment reminders and mobile-enabled payment systems.”

ACI business leader for biller solutions Andrew Sajeski echoed Cantrell’s sentiments. He called the smartphone “the device of choice for digital payments,” and said the integration with Solutions by Text would “increase consumers’ ability to pay their bills on time in a more convenient way.”

A division of Marketing Response Solutions, a multi-service consulting firm which was founded in 1995, Solutions by Text was launched in 2008. The company streamlines and improves client communications by creating advanced, mobile-enabled business solutions using SMS. A member of the Inc 5000, the company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

ACI Worldwide presented Simple, Global, and Secure eCommerce Payments with ACI Worldwide’s Next Generation API at FinDEVr SiliconValley 2016. The company also demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2011, partnering with MShift to offer mobile delivery of ACI Enterprise Banker.

Last month, ACI Worldwide announced that it had agreed to acquire Speedpay, the U.S. billpay business of Western Union, in a deal valued at $750 million. Back in December, the company teamed up with fellow Finovate alum BioCatch to help provide enhanced online and mobile fraud detection using BioCatch’s behavioral biometrics technology.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • ACI Worldwide Partners with Solutions by Text.
  • Envestnet to Acquire PIEtech for $500 Million.

Around the web

  • Prepaid Technologies Acquires Dash from Karmic Labs.
  • Switch launches its issuer-branded CardUpdatr app.
  • Kinetica unveils its active analytics platform that makes it easier to deliver smart analytics applications at scale.
  • Forbes interviews co-founder and CEO of Onfido, Husayn Kassai.
  • Tinkoff Mobile, a subsidiary of Tinkoff Bank, announces service in six new regions.
  • DocuSign launches its DocuSign Agreement Cloud to help companies better manage business agreements digitally.
  • Capsilon announces the beta launch of its digital underwriter solution.
  • AlphaPoint adds DiamondBack stablecoin to its crypto exchange.
  • Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon goes live with Clari5 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution to address money laundering threats.
  • PYMNTS: Amazon and Worldpay team up on one-click commerce.
  • NetGuardians‘ AI fraud-prevention software available on Microsoft Azure.
  • TurnKey Lender signs partnership agreement with Refinitiv.
  • MX and Personetics partner to bring AI-driven insights to financial institution customers.
  • ICBA and Jack Henry’s ProfitStars expand preferred service provider program with remote deposit capture solutions.
  • Insuritas and Oregon Mutual announce partnership to offer auto and home insurance solutions through meta-agency platform.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.