This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Finovate’s Fintech Rundown is back with the fintech headlines you need to know as the working week begins!
We’ve got news of a funding in the consumer financing world, new products for financial wellness and credit trading, a collaboration in the money movement market and more. Be sure to check back all week long for the latest in fintech headlines.
Financial wellness
The US arm of BMO launches an new app developed by MSN Holding, DollarGPS, to help users improve their financial health.
Lending
Egyptian Buy Now, Pay Later firm Blnkraises $37 million in combined debt and equity funding.
TP ICAPunveils new credit trading and data platform, RealQ.
Credit intelligence platform OctusacquiresLevPro, a front-office software provider for public and private credit markets.
Agentic AI
Spend management software provider ExpensifylaunchesExpensify MCP, a new integration that enables AI assistants and other MCP-compatible clients to securely access Expensify data via natural language queries.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the Eastern European nations of Bulgaria, Albania, and Hungary.
Bulgarian Fintech Paypercut Raises €5M
Paypercut, a fintech based in Sofia, Bulgaria, has secured €5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Concentric, Passion Capital, and Araya Ventures, and featured participation from additional investors including SMOK Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, BrightCap Ventures, BlackWood, SABAH.fund, MFG Invest, Main Set, and Matt Doka, a payment entrepreneur. Paypercut’s total funding now stands at €7 million.
Founded in response to the fragmentation of payments in Central and Eastern Europe, Paypercut has grown from a Buy Now, Pay Later aggregator into a more comprehensive payments platform. The company offers merchants access to card payments, local payment options, Buy Now Pay Later products, payment links, QR code payments, multi-currency settlement, and billing tools via a single integration. Paypercut raised €2 million in pre-seed funding in July 2025 and has onboarded more than 200 merchants in eight CEE markets since that time.
This week’s investment will help fuel Paypercut’s continued expansion across Central and Eastern Europe. The funding will also enable the firm to meet the capital requirements for an EMI license with the Central Bank of Ireland.
“CEE has always been treated as an afterthought by the payments industry, seen as too fragmented, too many local specifics, too complicated,” Paypercut Co-Founder and CEO Stoil Vasilev said. “We built Paypercut to fix that. This round gives us the resources to go further and faster: more markets, more payment options for merchants, and the infrastructure to move money in the way it should have always worked, instantly and at a fraction of the cost.”
In addition to its merchant payments operation, Paypercut is also developing stablecoin-based infrastructure for cross-border transfers in the region. The company will initially target high-volume corridors such as those between the Euro and the Polish Zloty (EUR-to-PLN) and the Euro and the Romanian Leu (EUR-to-RON).
Albania’s Tirana Bank Goes Live with Backbase
Tirana Bank, named “Best Bank in Albania” in 2025 by Euromoney, has gone live with a “complete omnichannel retail banking experience” built on the Backbase AI-native Banking OS. The launch covers accounts, deposits, online loan and credit card applications, internal and outgoing transfers, card management, billpay, and financial insights. Tirana Bank will also enable Digital Assist in the employee app.
“This launch marks a significant step in our digital transformation journey, as we continue to invest in solutions that bring real, everyday value to our customers. TiBank+ is designed to deliver a seamless and intuitive banking experience, combining convenience with the trust and human connection that define our model,” Tirana Bank Chief Retail Business Officer Lila Canaj said. “Through our partnership with Backbase, we have accelerated this transformation, bringing to market a modern and scalable platform built to evolve with our customers’ needs.”
One feature that Tirana Bank anticipates its customers will appreciate is real-time spending insights, courtesy of Backbase’s personal finance management capabilities. Offering customers these insights is not a common occurrence in the region and will help Tirana Bank differentiate itself from its competitors. The institution is also going live with Apple Pay, becoming one of the few Albanian banks to offer the service via a mobile app.
“Albania is on its path to EU membership, its government has made digitalization a national priority,” Backbase Regional Vice President for South East Europe Robert Mihaljek said. “Tirana Bank looked at that moment and decided to lead it. They came to us with a clear ambition. Twelve months later, they are live with not only an MVP but a full retail APP. This is a first for Albania, and a reference for the Balkans.”
A four-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Backbase has been a Finovate alum since 2009. The Amsterdam-based fintech offers an AI-native banking operating system that converts fragmented banking operations into a unified frontline for the benefit of customers and employees alike. Founded in 2003, Backbase counts more than 150 leading banks and financial institutions around the world as users of its solutions for retail, small business, commercial, and private banking, as well as wealth management. Riddhi Dutta is CEO.
Can Crypto Make a Comeback in Hungary?
For many observers, liberal democracy was one of the big winners in the recent Hungarian election that saw the end of the Orbán regime. But could the victory of Péter Magyar and his pro-EU Tisza Party also be a good sign for crypto and digital assets in the country?
In 2025, Hungary announced an amended Crypto Act that criminalized unauthorized exchange services and established a validation regime on all crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions. This incentivized some firms, such as Revolut, to withdraw from the Hungarian market entirely, while others suspended services due to regulatory uncertainty.
This also set off a confrontation with the EU, with the European Commission initiating infringement proceedings against Hungary’s validation regime, saying that it was in conflict with the EU’s MiCA framework. Interestingly, Orbán had previously been relatively pro-crypto, with his regime offering some of the lowest tax rates on crypto in Central Europe. This made Hungary—at least before 2025—an attractive jurisdiction for retail crypto investors in the region.
There are many reasons offered to explain the shift toward a more restrictive attitude in recent years—from the influence of MiCA and its mandates to the regime’s well-known preference for state control and supervision of key financial and industrial activities. But the question now is whether or not new politics will result in new policy? The correct answer, at this point, is that no one knows. What some observers have noted, however, is Magyar’s relatively more pro-EU stance on other issues and his general interest in re-aligning with European institutions more broadly. To this end, even something as straightforward as revising the country’s crypto policy to match MiCA’s mandates—and remove or revise current criminal penalties for policy violations— might be an initial positive sign toward restoring crypto’s status in Hungary.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
India travel fintech Scapia, which combines co-branded cards with travel booking, secured $63 million in funding in a round led by General Catalyst.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Limited (RIDBL) has been granted a Retail Banking License by the State Bank of Pakistan.
Via its Alipay+ gateway, Singapore’s Ant International announced the launch of cross-border mobile payment services in Latin America.
ACI Worldwide looked at the impact of real-time payments on growth in Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
Tearsheet profiled Brazilian digital financial institution Agibank.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore-based Crypto payments network Moonpay and controlling shareholder Seoryong Electronics announced a joint investment in Korean fintech Finger.
Vietnam Bank OCB selectedBackbase AI lead Chris Shayan as its Acting CEO.
African financial infrastructure company Anchor launched its Anchor MCP Server, becoming the first Nigerian fintech to make. its API documentation natively available to AI systems.
The Africa Report reported on the rise of mobile money in Ghana and how it is challenging the country’s incumbent banks.
Business Insider Africa looks at the fate of small business banking platform Brass which announced that it will be migrating its customers to Paystack Microfinance Bank.
Central and Eastern Europe
PayPalintroduced a pair of Buy Now, Pay Later products for its customers in Austria.
Ripplelaunched its RLUSD stablecoin in Turkey courtesy of partnerships with local platforms BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo.
Equifax UK forged a partnership with Polish credit bureau BIK to boost access to identity verification and fraud prevention technology.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Saudi Arabia-based fintech Stitch announced a pivot to focus on infrastructure and offering a financial operating system for banks.
UAE-based fintech Comfi AI secured pre-Series A funding from Yango Group’s Yango Ventures.
Backbase and Ninth Wave have announced a strategic partnership to enable banks to connect their business clients ERP and accounting systems to their banking data.
The partnership follows research from Ninth Wave that indicated that an overwhelming number of Chief Financial Officers and their teams would consider switching banks in order to access open finance capabilities.
Amsterdam-based Backbase was founded in 2003 and is a four-time Finovate Best of Show winner. Ninth Wave, headquartered in New York and launched in 2018, most recently demoed its technology at FinovateWest 2020.
Banking technology provider Backbase has announced a strategic partnership with open finance connectivity specialist Ninth Wave. The two companies will work together to enable banks to offer a seamless connection between their business customers’ ERP and accounting systems and their banking data. This will enhance the customer experience by providing better cash flow visibility, improved reconciliation, faster payment execution, and more efficient banking operations.
Courtesy of the partnership, Backbase’s bank customers can offer their corporate clients direct, permissioned access to banking data used by their financial systems, while Ninth Wave’s connectivity layer serves as a bridge between the bank and the corporate client’s ERP or accounting software. Managing consent, activity logs, and API governance within a single platform, the solution provides accurate, real-time data transfer with comprehensive audit trails and integrated compliance controls. The technology also eliminates the need for manual workarounds, batch uploads, and unreliable data scraping.
“Commercial clients prefer not to log into a portal and re-enter data that their ERP system already has,” Backbase Global VP for Marketplace Mayank Somaiya said. “By partnering with Ninth Wave, we give banks a direct integration path into how their corporate clients actually operate. That’s what keeps relationships sticky and opens the door to real value-added services.”
The partnership between Backbase and Ninth Wave comes in the wake of research conducted by Ninth Wave that pointed to growing interest in Open Finance functionality among Chief Financial Officers and their finance teams. In 2025, Ninth Wave research noted that 86% of those surveyed would consider changing banks in order to access open finance features. Those surveyed who were connected reported saving more than five hours a week due to the greater efficiency of direct bank access.
Going forward, Backbase and Ninth Wave will expand ERP connectivity features, support multi-country corporate payments, and develop real-time cash management dashboards for international businesses.
“Backbase offers a robust, modern foundation for commercial banking, and Ninth Wave simplifies connectivity by managing API connections, ensuring strong security, and providing a management hub to oversee their open finance operations,” Ninth Wave VP of Strategic Partnerships Joe Fiorillo said. “Together, we are delivering the modern banking services that business clients require.”
A Finovate alum since 2009, Backbase is a four-time Finovate Best of Show winner. Headquartered in Amsterdam and founded in 2003, the company offers an AI-native banking operating system that transforms fragmented banking operations into a unified front line. This enables customers, employees, and AI agents to work as one across digital channels, front office, and operations. More than 120 banks around the world use Backbase’s technology across retail, small business, commercial, and private banking, as well as wealth management.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York, Ninth Wave most recently demonstrated its technology on the Finovate stage at our all-digital event, FinovateWest 2020. The company provides secure data connectivity between financial institutions and third-party applications such as aggregators, fintechs, accounting and ERP systems, and other business tools. Ninth Wave works with financial institutions throughout North America, offering an open finance Hub that links more than 120 bank accounts via secure, reliable, and scalable connections to the open finance ecosystem.
We’re fresh off an outstanding FinovateEurope conference in London (meet our Best of Show winners!) and already gearing up for our Spring event in San Diego. In the meanwhile, here’s a look at some of the fintech headlines that have crossed the wire in recent days. Be sure to check back here at the Fintech Rundown all week long for updates!
Digital banking
Oklahoma-based Blue Sky Bank partners with Jack Henry, deploying the fintech’s Banno Digital Platform along with other integrated solutions.
UK-based embedded insurance company Wriskacquired real-time financial intelligence platform Atto to build an integrated embedded finance platform.
DeFi
Payoneerteams up with stablecoin infrastructure platform and Stripe company Bridge to support its launch of new embedded stablecoin capabilities.
Netherlands-based paytech and stablecoin issuer Quantozteams up with Visa, enabling the firm to issue irtual Visa debit cards as serve as a BIN-sponsor for third-party fintechs and platforms.
A strategic partnership between Jet Bank and banking platform Backbase will power the launch of Albania’s first digital-only bank. A greenfield digital bank able to leverage modern, enabling technologies, Jet Bank chose Backbase to serve as its digital engagement layer, orchestrating customer interactions across channels while integrating with core banking, card processing, and third-party services.
“Our ambition is to set a new standard for digital banking in Albania by building a bank that feels intuitive, reliable, and relevant in everyday use,” Jet Bank CEO Fatbardha Rino said. “This partnership with Backbase gives us the digital foundation to launch quickly while maintaining the trust and discipline expected from a licensed bank. We’re not just launching an app—we’re building a platform that can continuously evolve with our customers.”
So far, the collaboration between Backbase and Jet Bank has enabled the institution to transition from setup to User Acceptance Testing in three months, and gain full operational capability as a licensed digital bank within six months. The platform also supports monthly product releases, enabling Jet Bank to launch new products and services based on actual customer demand while ensuring uninterrupted customer journeys.
The solution provides end-to-end banking capabilities ranging from customer onboarding and lending to wealth management and intelligent assistance—all orchestrated via a single unified experience. Additionally, Jet Bank noted that Backbase’s marketplace-driven approach was a major reason why the institution sought out the collaboration. Specifically, the bank pointed to the ability to quickly launch new products and third-party services within a consistent digital experience, a critical capability for a digital bank.
“Jet Bank represents the future of digital banking—fast to market, built for continuous innovation, and designed around customer needs from day one,” Backbase Regional Vice President Robert Mihaljek said. “Their strategic choice to partner with a single, unified platform rather than assembling disconnected channels demonstrates the discipline required to build a truly scalable digital bank. We’re proud to support their vision and help them bring world-class digital banking to Albania.”
A Finovate alum since 2009, Backbase is a four-time Finovate Best of Show award winner, most recently securing top honors at FinovateEurope 2018. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Backbase offers an AI-powered banking platform that unifies all servicing and sales journeys into an integrated suite. Backbase’s technology enables banks to modernize operations across retail, SME, commercial, and private banking, as well as wealth management. More than 150 financial institutions around the world use Backbase’s solutions and services.
This week’s collaboration is not the first between Backbase and an Albanian bank. Last spring, Backbase announced that Albania’s Tirana Bank would deploy Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform to power its digital transformation. The five-year strategic partnership will enhance Tirana Bank’s suite of solutions including new capabilities for web and mobile banking, digital lending, and other services.
Founded in 1996 as the first bank in Albania launched entirely with private capital, Tirana Bank surpassed total assets of €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2024. The institution is located in Tirana, Albania’s capital city with an estimated 542,730 residents—more than 800,000 in the greater metropolitan area.
Backbase and Unblu have forged a new strategic partnership to transform self-service banking into a trusted, human-connected experience that combines the best of both worlds.
The partnership will integrate Unblu’s Conversational Engagement Platform with Backbase’s AI-powered banking solution, adding features such as live chat, voice and video calling, and AI-powered chatbots.
Both Unblu and Backbase most recently appeared on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2021 in New York. Backbase is a four-time Best of Show winner that first demoed on the Finovate stage in 2009.
A new strategic partnership between Backbase and Unblu is designed to help transform self-service banking into a trusted, human-connected experience. The two companies will offer a joint solution that combines Unblu’s Conversational Engagement Platform with Backbase’s banking platform, adding features such as live chat, voice and video calling, co-browsing, and AI-powered chatbots.
“Digital banking should never come at the expense of human connection,” Backbase Global VP of Marketplace Mayank Somaiya said. “By embedding Unblu’s collaboration tools into our ecosystem, banks can deliver effortless transitions from automated service to expert guidance, helping customers feel supported throughout their digital journey.”
The goal is to enable customers to transition seamlessly from digital self-service to human-assisted interactions in a single engagement. The solution will enable relationship managers, case workers, and frontline service agents to access the customer’s individual context in order to better serve them. A unified employee workbench connects capabilities that were previously isolated across the bank’s tech stack. This empowers bank employees to deliver seamless human-digital interaction within the Backbase platform, benefit from AI-enhanced productivity that automates routine tasks and produces real-time insights, and maintain complete regulatory compliance via encrypted communications, audit trails, and built-in data residency controls.
Use cases for the joint offering include onboarding and account opening, wealth management, customer service, and enabling hybrid branch experiences. The pre-integrated solution will be available to Backbase customers around the world in early 2026.
“We’re excited to partner with Backbase to help financial institutions deliver the kind of personal, frictionless customer experiences today’s users expect,” Unblu Co-CEO Jens Rabe said. “By bringing our digital interaction tools directly into the Backbase platform, we’re enabling banks to build deeper relationships while maintaining the compliance and security standards they can’t compromise on.”
A Finovate alum since 2009, Backbase is a four-time Finovate Best of Show winner. Based in Amsterdam, Backbase offers an AI-powered banking platform that helps banks modernize their operations across retail, SME, commercial, and private banking, as well as wealth management. Backbase has enabled financial institutions to achieve year-over-year increases in retail transactions by 51%, customer satisfaction rates of 78%, and app onboarding in less than five minutes. Founded in 2003, Backbase forged a partnership with Facilization, a consulting, system integration, and financial services software firm, in October. The company also teamed up with Akkuro, a core banking technology provider, and Prove, a digital identity company, in September. Founder Jouk Pleiter is Backbase’s CEO.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Unblu most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2021. At the conference, the company showed how its technology helps 170+ financial institutions around the world deliver an “in-person” experience online. The company’s customers include UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo, and the firm has forged partnerships with fintechs—and fellow Finovate alums—such as Temenos, Avaloq, Q2, and ebankIT.
Just days after the company announced its partnership with Backbase, Unblu reported that founder and Co-CEO Luc Haldimann would be transitioning into the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer. Rabe, who joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer and later served as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, has been serving as Co-CEO and will become the company’s sole CEO as of January 2026.
“Luc built Unblu from the ground up and shaped it into an internationally respected technology leader,” Rabe said. “As CEO, I look forward to continuing the collaboration with Luc in his new strategic role to ensure Unblu remains at the forefront of secure, human-centered digital engagement.”
This week’s edition of Finovate Globalreviews the latest fintech news from Hong Kong.
RD Technologies raises $40 million in advance of stablecoin licensing
Hong Kong-based stablecoin infrastructure firm RD Technologies has secured $40 million in Series A2 funding. The round was jointly led by a consortium of both new and existing investors. Participating in the investment were ZA Global, China Harbour, Bright Venture, and Hivemind Capital. HSG, Eternal Digital, CMSC Partners, and Guotai Junan International Private Equity Fund were also involved in the funding. RD Technologies raised $40 million in a Series A1 round in September 2024.
The funding comes as Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing regime takes effect. This regime provides a framework for stablecoin issuers, including the necessary licensing requirements as mandated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for companies seeking to issue fiat-backed stablecoins. The new Stablecoins Ordinance also requires these firms to maintain proper reserve asset management, robust stabilization mechanisms, and the capacity to process redemption requests at par value under ordinary conditions. Companies also must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations as well as maintain obligatory risk management, disclosure, and auditing standards.
Founded in 2020, RD Technologies provides technology to help bridge the Web2 and Web3 worlds. An early advocate of stablecoins, RD Technologies drives responsible and sustainable innovation in digital finance via open networks, real-world use cases, and industry-wide collaborations. The company participated in the stablecoin sandbox launched by the HKMA earlier this year, and is developing HKDR, a stablecoin backed 1:1 by the Hong Kong Dollar, via its subsidiary RD InnoTech.
“We are thrilled with the passage of the Stablecoins Ordinance, which sets a clear and robust framework for the sustainable growth of Hong Kong’s virtual asset ecosystem as a global financial hub,” RD Technologies Rita Liu said earlier this year when the stablecoin legislation was passed. “As pioneers in the stablecoin space, with RD InnoTech Limited’s participation in the HKMA’s sandbox, we are dedicated to building trust by aligning with these regulations to deliver secure and innovative solutions for virtual asset trading, cross-border payments, and tokenization of real world assets.”
As part of the investment, RD Technologies and Hong Kong-based virtual bank ZA Bank inked a new partnership through which the two companies will investigate regulated stablecoin use cases in financial services.
Airwallex Launches Yield in Hong Kong
International payments and business financial platform Airwallex has introduced its Airwallex Yield solution in Hong Kong. Airwallex Yield is designed to enhance treasury management by enabling businesses to earn returns on their suplus funds held in multi-currency accounts. There are no lock-up periods with Airwallex Yield, which provides access to highly rated money market funds such as those managed by firms like Fullerton Fund Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The launch of the new solution, which also went live in Singapore recently, makes Airwallex the first global payments institution to secure a Securities and Future Commission (SFC) license for asset management services in Hong Kong. Yield currently enables companies to generate returns of up to 3.97% on multi-currency balances via discretionary portfolio management services. Airwallex also has partnered with JP Morgan Asset Management to leverage short-duration money market funds in order to provide liquid returns without minimum lock-up periods. Launched in Australia in the fall of 2023, Yield reached more than $67.3 million in funds under management.
“We’re excited to announce the full launch of Airwallex Yield to businesses in Hong Kong,” Airwallex Asia-Pacific General Manager Arnold Chan said. “We’ve seen growing demand from businesses looking for more effective ways to maximize the value of their capital. In today’s dynamic market environment, businesses are actively seeking ways to make their capital work harder. Airwallex Yield gives them a seamless and flexible way to earn returns on their balances, all from within the Airwallex platform. We’re not just looking to help businesses make the most of their surplus balances—we also want to encourage them to bring new funds to Airwallex because of the value Yield provides.”
Chocolate Finance, WeBank, Syfe Announce Hong Kong Entry and Expansion
A number of fintechs have announced plans to enter or expand their presence in Hong Kong of late.
First, Singapore-based Chocolate Finance has secured regulatory approval to being operations in Hong Kong. The news comes as the savings app announced that it has added $19.4 million in Series A+ funding to its coffers courtesy of a round led by Nikko Asset Management. The round also featured participation from existing investors Peak XV, Prosus, and Saison Capital, along with company founder Walter de Oude. Along with the funding news, Chocolate Finance announced a limited time Double Referral Program from July 22 to August 31, offering additional rewards and limited-edition merchandise.
Founded in 2022, Chocolate Finance delivers returns of up to 3% on savers’ first ($15,500) SGD 20k, 2.7% on the next ($23,250) SGD 30k, and 2.7% on any additional amount.
Next up, Chinese digital bank WeBank has won approval to set up its Hong Kong subsidiary, which will manage the institution’s overseas operations there and offer services to businesses covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.
WeBank was launched in 2014 by Tencent in partnership with a handful of other Chinese companies. The financial institution is the largest online-only lender in China, and is one of the world’s largest unicorns with a valuation of $32.4 billion (235 billion yuan).
WeBank’s Hong Kong subsidiary is expected to investigate potential opportunities in fintech such as real-world asset tokenization. The firm will also be a part of Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s “architecture community” for Project Ensemble, the HKMA’s wholesale central bank digital currency initiative.
Lastly, Chocolate Finance isn’t the only Asian company leveraging the occasion of a recent funding to announce increased engagement with Hong Kong. Singapore-based digital wealth platform Syfe recently announced that its $80 million Series C round in June will help fuel the firm’s regional expansion, including further inroads into Hong Kong.
“This fund raise comes at an exciting time as we grow our presence across the region and expand our offerings,” Syfe Founder and CEO Dhruv Arora said. “In our markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, nearly half of all adults are in the ‘mass affluent’ segment, meaning those who have between a few hundred to a few million dollars in investable assets, and this segment is growing fast. As a platform built in the region, for the region, we have a deep understanding of what these investors need. We’re in a great position to serve them with personalized, accessible, and high-quality wealth management at scale.”
Syfe will use the capital, which includes an all-equity C2 round of $53 million, in part to fuel its expansion in Hong Kong. In a statement, the company noted that its business in Hong Kong has “doubled in size” since the beginning of the year. Syfe currently has more than $10 billion in assets under management as of end-of-year 2024 and has raised a total of $132 million in funding. The company was founded in 2019.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Orange Money and BaaS fintech JUMO have teamed up to offer credit services in Africa.
MoneyBadger and Peach Payments partnered to make it easier for merchants to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Forbes looked at the connection between African mobile money service, M-Pesa, and Western-based services such as Venmo and PayPal.
Central and Eastern Europe
Estonia-based AI-powered investing tools company Lightyear raised $23 million in funding after topping $1 billion in assets.
Backbase unveiled its new, AI-powered banking platform this week.
The new offering combines Backbase’s unified data foundation, Intelligence Fabric, with Agentic AI technology.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, Backbase is a four-time Finovate Best of Show winner. The company most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2021.
Calling the launch of its new, AI-powered banking platform “the next phase” of its vision, Backbase pledged that its latest offering will help bankers take advantage of the opportunities in technologies like Agentic AI.
Backbase’s banking platform enhances customer engagement with AI-powered self-service and real-time support, and hardwires AI into employees’ daily operations to maximize productivity and improve decision-making. The technology streamlines and helps scale sales efforts thanks to intelligent activation and end-to-end automation, and provides up-sell and cross-sell pathways, driven by AI, that can grow revenues and deepen customer relationships.
“This isn’t proof-of-concept AI,” Backbase CEO and Founder Jouk Pleiter said. “This is a packaged, production-ready, operating model to move banks from experimentation to execution, fast. AI waits for no bank. It’s not a wait-and-see—it’s here, now, and it’s rewriting the rules of the industry. The time to act is now.”
Backbase’s platform combines the company’s unified data foundation, Intelligence Fabric, with Agentic AI. Intelligence Fabric converts behavioral signals, transactional data, and operational insights into real-time, actionable intelligence. Agentic AI delivers modular, intelligent, purpose-built agents designed specifically for banking and financial services. These agents embed into a variety of operations to automate tasks, indicate next-best actions, and increase productivity.
Backbase also announced the availability of AI Factory, an embedded delivery model to help financial institutions bridge gaps in their AI skills. AI Factory integrates Backbase’s AI experts directly into development teams, enabling them to quickly co-create and then execute innovative use cases and solutions.
“Banks do not need more pilots—they need outcomes,” Pleiter added. “With our AI-powered Banking Platform, we’re going all-in on the AI opportunity and empower banks to boost productivity, automate intelligently, and unlock unprecedented growth faster than ever.”
Founded in 2003, Backbase is headquartered in Amsterdam and maintains offices in Atlanta, Singapore, London, Sydney, Toronto, Dubai, Kraków, Cardiff, Hyderabad, and Mexico City. The company has been a Finovate alum since 2009, has won Best of Show four times, and most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2021 in New York.
Backbase’s announcement comes one month after the company teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Salt Edge in a strategic partnership designed to help banks accelerate compliance with open banking regulations and pursue new revenue opportunities. Also in March, Backbase forged partnerships with Albania-based Tirana Bank and with financial services consulting firm Synpulse.
This week marks Eid al-Fitr, the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan and the breaking of a month-long fast. Similarly, the close of this quarter feels like fintech is breaking its own fast, with Klarna filing its IPO prospectus, Rocket Companies announcing major acquisitions of Mr. Cooper and Redfin, and regulatory frameworks beginning to ease in the U.S. As we enter into the second quarter, here’s a look at this week’s fintech news as we leave the time of fasting behind. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!
Finastra‘s cloud-based loan document preparation system LaserProunveils enhanced features and sees further adoption by community-based financial institutions.
Business financial management
Tesoriolaunches AI agent that autonomously manages portal-based invoicing.
Enterprise spend management platform Mendelcloses $35 million Series B round led by Base10 Partners with participation from PayPal Ventures.
The Finovate team is back from another successful FinovateEurope fintech conference. We will share our event reviews, including key moments and top takeaways, on the Finovate blog in the days to come.
In the meanwhile, the Fintech Rundown is here to help us all catch up on the latest fintech news and announcements.
Payments
Bluefinforges collaboration with Fiscal Systems to leverage PCI-validated point-to-point encryption to boost payment security and data protection in the fuel industry.
Bay Federal Credit Union joinsMetallicus’ Metal Blockchain Banking Innovation Program.
London-based Netmind.AIunveils its decentralized AI agent society, NetMind XYZ.
Risk management
Risk and business intelligence solutions provider SRA Watchtowerraises $4 million in funding in a round led by FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and EJF Capital.
FinovateEurope 2025 kicks off this week at the Intercontinental O2 in London. Learn more about the conferences’s keynote speakers, power panels, demoing companies and more in our pre-show briefing.
In the meanwhile, here’s a look at some of the news making fintech headlines as the week begins. Be sure to check back all week long for more updates.
Payments
Backbase and MeaWalletteam up to bring advanced tokenization solutions to Australia and New Zealand.
Payments orchestration platform Yunopartners with Invest Qatar to as the company opens its new Middle East headquarters in the country.
Digital banking
Digital banking experience systems provider Plumeryannounces partnership with African digital identity verification provider, Smile ID.
Engagement Banking company Backbase has announced a strategic partnership with financial intelligence solutions provider Feedzai.
The partnership will integrated Feedzai’s Digital Trust solutions with Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform.
Backbase most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2021. Feedzai made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014 in London.
A newly announced strategic partnership between Backbase and Feedzai aims to bring advanced financial crime prevention technology to engagement banking. The integration of Feedzai’s Digital Trust solutions with Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform will empower financial institutions to fight fraud more effectively while preserving the customer experience.
Feedzai’s Digital Trust platform analyzes user behavior, device health, and potential threats in real-time. The cloud-based solution operates in the background, enabling financial institutions, financial services organizations, and fintechs to detect and counter online identity impersonation and manipulation attacks, while allowing legitimate users to conduct their activities unimpeded. Feedzai’s Digital Trust is effective against account takeover (ATO) attacks as well as new account fraud attempts during onboarding. It combines behavioral biometrics, behavioral analytics, advanced malware detection, and network and device assessment to provide active and preemptive defense against threats. The integration with Backbase’s engagement banking platform will provide banks with real-time, AI-powered, proactive fraud prevention, plus lower operational costs thanks to AI-powered risk assessment that minimizes false positives.
“By combining Backbase’s engagement banking expertise with Feedzai’s advanced security capabilities, we’re giving financial institutions the complete package — superior customer experience and intelligent fraud prevention in one integrated platform,” Backbase CEO and Founder Jouk Pleiter said. “Together, we’re setting a new standard for how banks can build trusted digital relationships with their customers.”
Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Feedzai offers technology that leverages AI to help businesses fight fraud and financial crime. The company’s RiskOps platform uses machine learning and Big Data to detect and defend the world’s largest banks, payment providers, and merchants from malicious online actors. Founded in 2011 and now reaching 900 million people in 190 countries with its technology, Feedzai began 2025 by announcing a partnership with Credibanco to help the Colombian payment processing company strengthen its defenses against fraud.
“As the financial services industry evolves, security can no longer be an afterthought — it must be woven into the very fabric of the customer journey,” Feedzai CEO and Co-Founder Nuno Sebastiao said. “By partnering with Backbase, we’re empowering financial institutions to deliver a unified, seamless journey that not only protects customers from fraud but also ensures they feel valued, understood, and safe.”
Backbase has been a Finovate alum since 2009. The company has won Finovate’s Best of Show award four times, including back-to-back wins at FinovateEurope in 2017 and 2018. Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform is a composable solution that empowers banks to accelerate their digital transformations by progressively modernizing each step of the customer journey, including onboarding, servicing, lending, and investing.
Backbase’s partnership news comes a few weeks after it announced it was teaming up with Alliant Credit Union, a digital-only financial institution with $20 billion in assets and more than 900,000 members. The company also recently partnered with Nordic digital transformation consultancy Knowit. Founded in 2003, Backbase is headquartered in Amsterdam.
