Finovate Global Archives - Page 10 of 24

Latin American Payments Giant EBANX Expands Operations in Mexico; Itaú Unibanco to Acquire Brazilian Broker Ideal

By David Penn Posted on January 14, 2022
Categories: Daily news, Finovate Global

Latin American payments company EBANX is doubling down on its commitment to its business in Mexico, opening its first office in Mexico City and introducing a range of solutions designed to help Mexican companies offer new payment experiences for their customers in-country. These solutions include credit and debit cards, installments, OXXO and OXXOPay, SPEI, and digital wallets like Mercado Pago.

“The launch of these local solutions and the opening of the new office are part of our strategy for continuous growth in Mexico, a country where e-commerce is one of the most dynamic and relevant sectors,” EBANX co-founder and CEO João Del Valle said. “With these new initiatives, we became the ideal strategic ally to help e-merchants grow their operations in Mexico or other LatAm markets.”

For EBANX, bringing broader payment options to Mexican consumers is a way to better serve the country’s unbanked population. According to the Association of Mexican Banks, 53% of Mexican adults not have a bank account as of 2020. At the same time, the company’s own study on digital commerce in Mexico revealed that as much as 60% of the digital commerce in Mexico is conducted using payment methods ranging from digital wallets and cash vouchers to debit and credit cards. By enabling more merchants in Mexico to process both cash-based transactions as well as these methods preferred in digital commerce, EBANX believes it can help merchants in the country increase their reach and sales potential by 2x and increase their total addressable market faster.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Curitiba, Brazil, EBANX has been active in the Mexican market since 2015. Last year, the company grew the number of transactions processed in Mexico by 115%. Hibobi, SHEIN, Shopee, and Wish are among EBANX biggest customers in the country.

Earlier this week we announced the decision by Canadian fintech FundThrough to acquire rival BlueVine’s invoice factoring business. Today we learned of another big acquisition in the fintech space in the Americas: Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco announced on Thursday that it would acquire Brazilian cloud-based brokerage firm Ideal.

The acquisition is slated to take place in two parts. First, Itaú will acquire 50.1% of the share capital of Ideal, which was founded in 2019 and is one of the leaders in traded volume on the Brazilian stock exchange, B3. Second, the bank plans to execute its right to purchase the remaining 49.9% of the brokerage’s shares for approximately $117 million (R$651 million) securing control of the company. Stage two of the acquisition plan is reportedly not scheduled to take place for another five years.

“This investment materializes our mantra of client centrality because they are the ones who will get the most out of the transaction,” Itaú Unibanco president Milton Maluhy Filho said. “Ideal is going to help us expand and standardize the offer for different channels. Customers from various segments of the bank, such as iti, ion, or even Itaú Corretora, will be able to have access to the same products on whichever platform they prefer.”

The acquisition will add to the talent base for the 60-million customer financial institution, which bills itself as a digital bank with the convenience of physical banking. Ideal CEO Nilson Monteiro will continue to oversee operations at the company with Itaú serving essentially as one of Ideal’s financial institution clients. Itaú Unibanco’s Carlos Constantini, who runs Wealth Management and Services for the bank, underscored the importance of maintaining Ideal’s autonomy, citing the company’s market position and “well-defined strategy for its segment of activity.” Constantini added, “the company will play an important role in consolidating Itaú Unibanco’s investment ecosystem and maintaining our market leadership.”

Founded in 2008 via the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco, Itaú Unibanco is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. With total assets of more than $377 billion and 90,000 employees, Itaú Unibanco is the largest private sector bank in the country. The institution is publicly traded on the Brazilian stock exchange and has a market capitalization of $41 billion.

FinovateEurope 2022 is right around the corner. If you are an innovative fintech company with new technology to show, then there’s no better time than now and no better forum than FinovateEurope. To learn more about how to demo your latest innovation at FinovateEurope 2022 in London, March 22-23, visit our FinovateEurope hub today!

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

German payment processing company Denario secured $1.5 million (EUR 1.3 million) in funding in a round led by 468 Capital.
Buy Now Pay Later outfit Anyday partnered with Latvian open banking platform Nordigen.
Pliant, a company credit card startup based in Germany, announced expansion into Austria.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Iraqi Middle East Investment Bank (IMEIB) launched its new digital banking platform, CapitalDigital.
Saudi Arabian social trading platform Dawul raised $5 million in seed funding in a round led by RAED Ventures.
A new report from Citi – Africa & Middle East FinTech & eCommerce – pointed to a surge in fintech funding in Egypt last year.

Central and Southern Asia

A partnership between India-based private sector bank RBL Bank and Google will enhance the customer experience and potential for expansion for its digital platform Abacus 2.0.
Pune, India’s FPL Technologies raised $75 million in Series C funding at a post-money valuation of $750 million.
Kaleidofin, a neobank operating out of India, secured $10 million in Series B funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Spreedly announced that its Latin American transaction volume has more than doubled year-over-year.
Mercado Libre acquired Chilean payments company, Redelcom.
ViewTrade teamed up with Peruvian retail broker-dealer Seminario to enable investors in the country to buy and sell U.S. shares.

Asia-Pacific

Indonesia’s KoinWorks locked in $108 million in Series C funding to help finance the country’s SMEs.
Singaporean cross border payments company Thunes announced plans to expand in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau.
Pluang, a fractional investing app based in Indonesia, raised $55 million in a follow-up Series B round.

Sub-Saharan Africa

African Business looked at how African banks can take advantage of the Banking as a service trend.
Lipa Later, a Buy Now Pay Later company based in Kenya, secured $12 million in combined debt and equity funding.
Disrupt Africa profiled Nigerian remittance company Lemonade.

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Will 2022 Be the Year Central Bank Digital Currencies Break Out?

By David Penn Posted on January 7, 2022
Categories: Avaloq, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Tinkoff Credit Systems

The news is flying a bit under the radar. But from China to Bahrain to Jamaica, central banks are beginning 2022 having made major moves recently in support of digital assets.

We covered China’s CBDC announcement earlier this week. In short, the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, made its digital yuan wallet available via both the Android and Apple app stores. Select Chinese citizens in a wide range of provinces – including Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Chengdu – will be able to download the e-CNY wallet. The Chinese government hopes that there will be significant use of the technology in the weeks leading up to the Winter Olympics in Beijing, which could represent a showcase for the digital currency.

Halfway around the world, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced that it has successfully completed its test with Onyx by JPMorgan’s JPM Coin System. The test, the first of its kind in the MENA region, enabled Bank ABC to launch real-time payments for Aluminum Bahrain (ALBA) in the U.S. JPM Coin is a permissioned system that provides payment rail and deposit account ledger services that allow participants to transfer U.S. dollars that are held on deposit with JPMorgan.

“We at the Central Bank of Bahrain are extremely pleased to announce the success of this test which aligns with our vision and strategy to continually develop and enrich the capabilities extended to the stakeholders within our financial services sector in the Kingdom using advanced and leading emerging technologies,” Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed Al Maraj said in a statement.

JPM Coin is the inaugural product offering from JPMorgan’s Onyx, a blockchain-based platform that facilitates the exchange of value, data, and digital assets. Onyx was formed in 2020.

Several hundred miles to Bahrain’s west, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) announced that it also has completed a cryptocurrency pilot. Here, the digital asset is a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which has been undergoing testing in the island nation for the past eight months. The project was conducted in partnership with Irish fintech eCurrency Mint, a company with a 10+ year pedigree in innovation on CBDCs. The stated goal of the initiative was to determine “whether a central bank digital currency along with the attendant technology solution could be successfully implemented in Jamaica.”

Three specific tasks were part of the test: minting of the CBDC, issuing the CBDC to wallet providers, and distributing CBDCs to retail customers. This final component of the test involved wallet provider NCB, and the successful onboarding of 57 customers who conducted person-to-person, cash-in, and cash-out transactions with small businesses as part of an NCB-sponsored event in December called “Market on the Lawn.”

In the wake of the successful test, the Bank of Jamaica has planned a national roll-out of its new CBDC in the first quarter of 2022. The roll-out will feature the continued onboarding of new and existing customers by NCB, the introduction of two additional wallet providers, and a test of transactions between customers of different participating wallet providers to establish interoperability.

Note that Jamaica’s Caribbean neighbor, the Bahamas, launched its CBDC, the Sand Dollar, in October of 2020. The Sand Dollar is the the world’s first official central bank digital currency to reach full circulation.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Cash payments platform Pipit Global extends its partnership with pan-African payments company Cellulant.
When the debate over mobile payment taxes got tough, a few members of the Ghanaian parliament got rough.
Nigeria-based ethical credit recovery firm Bfree raised $1.7 million to fuel international expansion.

Central and Eastern Europe

Russia’s Tinkoff Investments became the first broker in the country to offer an online stock gifting service.
Veriff, an identity verification provider based in Estonia, joined the AWS Partner Network.
Visa underscored its support for SMEs in Azerbaijan that are embracing fintech and financial digitization.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Google acquired Israeli enterprise cybersecurity firm Siemplify for $500 million.
A partnership between Mastercard and Saudi Arabia’s Banque Saudi Fransi will enable the launch of a customizable cashback credit card.
Payments innovator Stripe went live in Israel this week.

Central and Southern Asia

Kathmandu-based Mega Bank Nepal partnered with MOCO digital wallet.
Indian merchant commerce company Pine Labs secured $20 million in funding from the State Bank of India (SBI).
An investment of $375 million took Indian banking and payments platform Razorpay to a valuation of $7.5 billion.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexican card manufacturer Forzacard partnered with biometric solutions company Zwipe to create and launch biometric payment cards.
Uruguayan payments platform dLocal teamed up with McDonald’s franchisee Arcos Dorados to power its in-app payments in the country.
The Jamaican central bank announced the end of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) test.

Asia-Pacific

Vietnam-based digital bank Timo raised $20 million in funding.
Among the country’s largest commercial banks, Taiwan’s Taipei Fubon Bank teamed up with Avaloq to build a wealth management platform for its private banking business in Hong Kong. Avaloq won Best of Show at FinovateAsia in 2018.
Indonesia’s central bank unveiled a new retail payments system, BI-Fast, that will reduce the cost of money transfers.

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Fintech in the Nordics: Innovations in Authentication and Opportunities in Acquisition

By David Penn Posted on December 17, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global, IDmission, MasterCard

Norway-based biometric startup Mobai won $3.16 million (EUR 2.8 million) in funding to enhance the protection of personal biometric data in coalition with Vipps BankID, Sparebank1 Østlandet, KU Leuven, and NTNU. The project, named SALT for “Secure privacy preserving Authentication using faciaL biometrics to proTect your identity,” will bring new functionalities to Mobai’s facial recognition solution, and improve the quality of the technology to help firms meet eiDAS and AML regulations.

The project will drive innovation in the field of facial biometrics, particularly in the areas of biometric template protection, face quality assessment, and presentation attack detection. Mobai CEO Brage Strand noted in a statement that innovation in facial biometrics is especially urgent insofar as vulnerabilities in current authentication strategies such as passwords and even two-factor authentication increasingly have been exploited by fraudsters and cybercriminals.

“Our aim is to offer consumers a unique opportunity to prove who they are, as a way to combat the surge in phishing and identity theft we currently experience,” Strand said. He added the goal of the project was to move “beyond comparing a photo you store on a device with a selfie” to bring the same level of trust found in ePassports “into a digital domain.” Strand also emphasized the importance of leveraging “privacy-preserving technology” to ensure GDPR compliance and the integrity of personally identifiable information.

Mobai’s partners represent an interesting cross-section of the country’s financial services industry. Sparebank1 Østlandet is the fourth largest savings bank in Norway. Vipps is a payments and electronic ID provider with more than four million electronic ID users. NTNU is the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the largest university in the country with more than 40,000 students; Mobai was spun out of NTNU’s Norwegian Biometrics Laboratory in 2019. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a research and educational institution, one of the oldest universities in Europe, with a reputation for pioneering scientific research.

“We see face recognition as a very promising and effective way to add an extra layer of security that will help combat identity theft, fraud, and money laundering,” Sparebank1 Østlandet EVP for Innovation and Business Development Dag Arne Hoberg said. “Imagine a situation where you may actually sign a mortgage electronically and use a ‘selfie’ as part of this process to confirm that your are the right person to sign.”

Meanwhile, in nearby Denmark, leading business automation software and services provider Visma announced its acquisition of expense management company Acubiz. Term of the transaction were not immediately available.

Visma will integrate Acubiz’s expense management solution into its Visma Enterprise HRM, but Acubiz will continue to function as an independent brand. The company, which has a 20% market share in Denmark and more than 200,000 users, offers solutions to help businesses better manage employee and travel expenses, as well as mileage reimbursement, invoice management, and time registration.

“I am excited to welcome another strong, Danish company into the Visma family,” Visma Enterprise A/S Managing Director Monika Juul Henriksen said. “There is no doubt that Acubiz is a perfect match not only businesswise but also in their culture and DNA. Acubiz wants to be the best – and so do we. Together, we will be even better.”

Founded in 1997 by Lars de Nully, Acubiz is based in Birkerød north of Copenhagen. This year, the company has forged partnerships with accounting firms Tal & Tanker and Tietotili, as well as with financial administration services provider Fiscales, HR software company Sympa, and Jutlander Bank.

In a year-end statement published on the Acubiz blog, the company noted that, in addition to its acquisition by Visma, it plans to unveil a new financial interface in 2022. The new UI will feature upgrades in performance, user-friendliness, and the ability to customize.

“By becoming a part of Visma, we do not only get a shortcut to new customers, markets, segments, and partners, we will also benefit from the knowledge and skills within legal, HR, marketing, and sales,” Acubiz Managing Director Henrik Malling said. “Being able to counsel with these experts is immensely valuable for us as a relatively small organization. So we honestly cannot wait to get started and to get to know all our new colleagues within Visma.”

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

Japanese credit card network JCB teamed up with Keychain to offer offline payments using near-field communication (NFC), self-sovereign identity, and blockchain technology.
Indonesia-based consumer payment platform Flip raised $48 million in Series B funding.
Singaporean digital financial services provider Neofy chose IDmission to help ensure KYC and AML compliance, as well as identity verification.

Sub-Saharan Africa

ImaliPay, a financial services platform geared toward freelancers and workers in the gig economy, went live in South Africa.
Kenyan fintech Kwara secured $4 million in seed funding to help credit unions achieve digital transformation.
Standard Bank announces Apple Pay as an alternative payment method for its customers in South Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

A partnership between Lithuania-based PAYSTRAX and European intelligent transaction monitoring platform Sentinel will enhance anti-money laundering practices for businesses in Europe.
In collaboration with 40 banks, the Central Bank of Russia began testing its KYC platform this week.
German AI-based asset management solution provider Othoz raised $11.2 million (€10 million) in Series A funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) introduced a new remittance service in partnership with Visa called Visa Direct.
Arab Monetary Fund inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard.
Qatar-based telecom Ooredoo teamed up with i2c to launch a new digital payment initiative in Qatar.

Central and Southern Asia

Pakistan’s TAG partnered with IDEMIA to introduce the country’s first green debit card.
Indian fintech Uni, which offers consumers a pay-later solution called the Pay 1/3rd card, raised $70 million in Series A funding.
Pakistan-based fintech JazzCash launched new digital-first shopping experience called AlaCart.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina-based fintech Uala launched its own brokerage service.
The Market Research Telecast profiled Latin American cross-border payments fintech Global66.
Brazilian fintech Ebanx acquired international money transfer company Remessa Online for $229 million.

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Brazilian Digital Bank Nubank Raises $2.6 Billion in U.S. IPO

By David Penn Posted on December 10, 2021
Categories: Diebold, Entersekt, Finovate Global, Nubank, VISA

Selling nearly 290 million shares priced at $9 in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange this week, Brazilian digital bank Nubank has raised $2.6 billion, reaching a market value of $41 billion. An alumni of Finovate’s developer’s conference FinDEVr in 2016, Nubank is now the most valuable financial institution in Latin America in addition to being the world’s biggest digital bank. CEO David Vélez, who co-founded the company in 2013 with an initial investment of $2 million from Sequoia Capital and Kaszek Ventures, now owns a stake in the company worth $8.9 billion at the IPO price.

“We don’t think the banking branch will survive the way it is,” Vélez said to CNBC this week. “It is too costly to serve the majority of users, especially in emerging markets where you have a very high cost of operations, so a lot of that physical infrastructure will probably disappear.” Vélez predicted that most financial services providers will transition into digital entities in the next five to ten years because of this, leading to an increased focus on customer service as well as lower costs and interest rates.

With more than 48 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, and onboarding more than two million new customers a month on average, Nubank offers financial products for spending, savings, investments, loans, and insurance. The company claims to have provided more than five million people with their first credit card or bank account as of September 30, and to have saved its customers more than $4 billion (R$27 billion) in bank fees and more than 113 million hours of waiting time since inception.

Vélez said that the capital from the IPO will help fuel Nubank’s expansion in Mexico and Colombia, en route to becoming a truly pan-Latin American banking services provider. “There is a lot of opportunity to build the next generation of financial services, so we will continue to invest and grow for a very long time,” Vélez said an interview with the Financial Times.

This fall, Nubank acquired AI-powered assistant company Olivia, announced partnerships with a number of retailers to add a digital commerce section to its app in November, and purchased e-commerce payments company Spin Pay.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexican spend management platform Clara raised $70 million in new funding to earn unicorn status and announced its launch in Brazil.
Visa announced an investment in Mexico-based open finance platform Belvo.
Latin American fintech infrastructure company Dock completed its acquisition of Mexican card processing solution provider Cacao.

Asia-Pacific

Diebold Nixdorf inked an agreement with Cambodia retail bank Acleda Bank.
Malaysian digital asset exchange Luno onboarded more than 600,000 customers by the end of November.
Low code API lifecycle management platform Apiwiz partnered with Philippines-based neobank Tonik.

Sub-Saharan Africa

CinetPay, a digital finance platform serving merchants in French-speaking Africa secured $2.4 million in seed funding from 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave.
Online fraud prevention company SEON inked an agreement with a pair of African neobanks, Carbon and FairMoney.
South African device identity and authentication solutions provider Entersekt announced a “significant investment” from U.S. private equity firm Accel-KKR.

Central and Eastern Europe

VTB has become the first Russian bank to launch a video banking service.
German biometrics and digital identity verification company Passbase secured $10 million in Series A funding, as well as another $3.5 million in seed-2 investment.
Moss, a Berlin-based payment and credit card platform, entered the Dutch market this week.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Israel-based fintech Tipalti earned a $8+ billion valuation after locking in an investment of $270 million.
Mastercard partnered with Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB) to offer a biometric card in Jordan.
Egyptian fintech Sympl raised $6 million in seed funding for its “Save Now Pay Later” offering.

Central and Southern Asia

India’s Bank of Maharashtra collaborated with NPCI to launch its first credit card on RuPay’s card payment network.
Pakistan’s largest bank, HBL, teamed up with Telenor Pakistan to drive greater financial inclusion.
Reserve Bank of India to introduce a UPI on-device digital wallet that can be used off-line.

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Jefa Brings Financial Empowerment to Women in Latin America

By David Penn Posted on December 3, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global, Tinkoff Bank

With plans to launch initially in Mexico before expanding to Colombia and Central America, fintech startup Jefa is out to do what even the most innovative challenger banks have so far failed to do: bring better financial opportunities to women in Latin America.

Company CEO and founder Emma Sanchez Andrade Smith highlights the fact that nearly 1.3 million of the world’s 1.4 million underbanked people are women. Add to this the problem that the majority of new, digitally-oriented financial institutions are focused on mature markets in Europe and the United States rather than in emerging markets. Combined, these two facts represent a major challenge for women in developing markets – and a potential opportunity for creative fintech entrepreneurs.

Jefa announced earlier this week that it has secured $2 million in seed funding to bring financial empowerment women in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than a dozen investors participated in the round, including The Venture Collective, partners of DST Global, Foundation Capital, Amador Holdings, The Fund, FINCA Ventures, Rarebreed VC, Siesta Ventures, Springbank Collective, Bridge Partners, Hustle Fund, Foundation Capital, Latitud, J20, and Magma Partners. A number of angel investors such as Daniel Bilbao, JP Duque, Ricardo Schaefer, Jean-Paul Orillac, and Allan Arguello were also involved in the financing.

Founded in 2020, and an alum of TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, Jefa has 115,000 women on its waitlist and the backing of Visa, with whom the firm forged a seven-year strategic partnership. The alliance will enable Jefa to launch a Visa card for the Mexican market, where more than half of the country’s women are unbanked.

“Visa believes in empowering women – from entrepreneurs to home-makers,” Visa Latin America and the Caribbean Senior Director of Fintech Partnerships Sonia Michaca said. “Financial and digital inclusion transform economies. Women, who control the lion-share of everyday household spending, should be at the core of this transformation, yet women are vastly underserved by traditional banks.”

Visa sees the partnership also as a way to help respond to growing demand for contactless payment options. A recent study led by the company underscored rising interest for contactless payments from women in Latin America, with 44% of female consumers in Brazil reporting more frequent use of contactless payments and 58% saying they would not shop at a store that did not offer them. With Jefa, women need only a government-issued ID to open a free, “no minimum balance required” account and access built-in savings apps as well as other “women-tailored features.”

“Jefa is a solution for women that empowers them with the tools they need to create a better livelihood,” Smith said. “At Jefa, we take a multifaceted approach that addresses the numerous barriers women face to entering the global economy. This includes using gender-disaggregated data to inform our product, designing distribution channels to reach women in place they trust, and providing services that are tailored to their distinct financial behavior.”

A graduate of Duke University and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Smith previously co-founded Eversend, Africa’s first neobank, in 2018. She was also the director of Togo-based Microfinance des Jeunes de Farende where she launched and ran the first microcredit organization for youth in West Africa.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Indian payment card startup Slice raised $220 million in Series B funding.
Pakistan-based fintech and logistics firm PostEx closed its seed funding around after raising $8.6 million.
Barron’s looked at the challenges faced buy Indian fintech PayTM in its recent IPO.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexico-based Buy Now Pay Later company Kueski raised $202 million in equity and debt financing this week.
A partnership between Bexs Banco and Thunes will bring new real-time payment services to Brazil.
Jeeves teamed up with Mastercard to launch physical and virtual business cards in Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

South Korean commercial bank KB Kookmin introduced a new branch in virtual space that is accessible via virtual reality technology.
GoPay, an Indonesian e-money wallet, integrated with Jago Bank, enabling account opening directly from inside the Gojek superapp.
Digital wealth app Endowus raised $35 million in new funding to drive growth in Singapore and across Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Will Tanzania be the next country to launch its own CBDC? The country’s central bank may be ready to go.
Africa-based payments company Fluttterwave partnered with Mono to enhance its pay-with-bank method.
South African payments processor Adumo acquired alternative payment provider SwitchPay.

Central and Eastern Europe

Open Banking Exchange launched in Ukraine to promote the development of open banking and open finance in the country.
Russia’s Tinkoff acquired a majority stake in automated payments platform for freelance workers, Jump.Finance.
Austrian crypto exchange Bitpanda partnered with French mobile payments app Lydia to enable the company’s customers to buy and sell digital assets.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Israel-based fintech Neema secured an investment of $10 million from Bank Hapoalim, earning the digital wallet company a valuation between $40 and $50 million.
National Bank of Kuwait unveils Weyay, a new digital bank designed to serve younger customers.
UAE-based payment gateway provider Telr scored a $15 million investment from India’s Cashfree Payments.

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South African Payment Gateway Ozow Scores $48 Million in Round Led by Tencent

By David Penn Posted on November 19, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global

Ozow, a payment gateway based in South Africa, has secured $48 million in Series B investment in a round led by Chinese fintech Tencent. The funding boosts the company’s total capital raised to more than $51 million. The company said the funding will be used to promote fintech regulation – particularly open banking – to help more people gain access to payment services. The new capital will also enable the seven-year old fintech to enter new markets throughout sub-Saharan Africa and add employees. Namibia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria are among the countries Ozow is currently targeting for expansion.

Co-founded by current CEO Thomas Pays, Ozow enables consumers to pay for transactions directly from their bank accounts. This kind of service has special potential in a country like South Africa where only 20% of those who have bank accounts have and use credit cards. Ozow has six million users of its technology and Pays claims that the company is adding 140,000 users and processing $100 million in transactions every month.

Also participating in Ozow’s latest round were Endeavor Catalyst and Endeavor Harvest Fund.

Using Ozow is straightforward. Consumers choose Ozow as a payment option when making purchases either online or in-person. Then they select their bank, log in with their online banking credentials, and allow Ozow to automate the actual payment process. Free to use for individual consumers, merchants are able to use Ozow’s platform for free for the first 12 months – or a maximum of $65,000 in processing value each month. In order to receive payments, merchants only need a bank account and a smartphone or similar device. Ozow includes Vodacom, MTN, Takealot, and Uber among its enterprise clients.

Pays said that his team had been “engaging with Tencent” since the spring, and that the company understood “the scale and opportunity” available in investing in a company like Ozow.

“It’s an honor to bring on board Tencent, Endeavor Catalyst, and Endeavor Harvest Fund,” Pays said in a statement. “This is a validation of our role in transforming the banking industry through the development of innovative, convenient, and more inclusive payment solutions for everyone.”

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Pakistan-based financial wellness platform, Abhi, secured $30 million in pre-Series A funding.
Tel Aviv, Israel-based chargeback mitigation company Justt emerged from stealth with $70 million in funding.
Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain announced a partnership with digital banking platform provider Layer.

Central and Southern Asia

Indian digital financial solution provider Comviva forged a strategic partnership with Strands.
Pakistan-based housing fintech Trellis picked up an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round featuring participation from Fatima Gobi Ventures.
Savyour, a Pakistan-based fintech that offers the country’s first cashback app, raised $3.3 million in seed funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexican digital financial service provider Stori raised $200 million in financing.
Contxto looked at the role played by Mexico and Argentina in driving fintech innovation in Latin America.
Argentina-based exchange Buenbit introduced crypto trading on its app in Peru.

Asia-Pacific

Malaysian payments network PayNet and Bank Negara Malaysia collaborate on cross-border payments.
Philippines-based alternative credit scoring provider FinScore earned recognition at Global SFF FinTech Awards in Singapore.
Singapore-based corporate services platform Sleek locked in $14 million in Series A funding in a round led by Jungle Ventures and White Star Capital.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigerian consumer credit company CredPal launched its point-of-sale financing solution CredPal Pay.
JUNO, a fintech headquartered in South Africa, secured $120 million in new funding, earning a valuation of $400 million.
Paga, a payments company based in Nigeria, announced a partnership with proximity verification company LISNR to support authentication via contactless ultrasound.

Central and Eastern Europe

Bulgarian software-as-a-service company Crypto API launched its Wallet-as-a-Service solution for SMEs, businesses, and institutions.
German digital bank N26 announced plans to withdraw from the U.S. in January.
Australian Buy Now Pay Later firm Zip completed its acquisition of Czech BNPL company, Twisto.

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The Philippines’ Lone Fintech Unicorn Secures $300 Million in New Funding

By David Penn Posted on November 5, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global, Mambu

In a round led by Warburg Pincus, Insight Partners, and Bow Wave Capital Management, Philippines-based mobile payment company Mynt has secured $300 million in new funding. The investment, which also featured participation from Itai Tsiddon, Amplo Ventures, Globe Telecom, and Ayala Corporation, gives Mynt a valuation of more than $2 billion and solidifying the company’s status as the biggest technology unicorn based in the Philippines.

“We have been able to continuously expand by introducing game-changing innovations while improving our profitability profile,” Mynt president and CEO Martha Sazon. “We are excited about our new partnership with Warburg, Insight, Itali Tsiddon, and Amplo, as they each bring strategic value to our team in the pursuit of our vision towards finance for all.”

Owned by Philippine mobile operator Globe Telecom, Mynt is the company behind the GCash app. The popular solution enables customers to buy prepaid airtime; pay bills at more than 600 partner billers throughout the Philippines; send and receive money anywhere in the country; as well as access savings, credit, insurance, and investment products and services. GCash currently has more than 48 million users.

Most recently, Mynt has piloted a new cash loan offering, GLoan, that enables qualified borrowers to take out loans of up to PHP25,000 (approximately $500 USD) that can be repaid over 12 months. GLoan joins the company’s GCredit offering, which disburses more than PHP1 billion ($200 million USD) in loans every month and has disbursed PHP15 billion ($3 billion USD) as of June of this year. Mynt notes that its GCredit solution has the best repayment rates with the lowest number of past-due and non-performing loans locally. Unsurprisingly, Mynt is also looking to offer Buy Now Pay Later services “within the year” as well.

Mynt’s GCash is also one of the growing number of financial apps to incorporate pro-environmental functionality into its solution. The app has a feature, GForest, that serves as a gamified environmental stewardship program that enables users to convert points earned from using GCash into a virtual tree. These virtual trees are then planted as actual trees in specific locations in the Philippines. Mynt says that it has 8.7 million users of GForest within the GCash app.

Founded in 2015, Mynt has been recognized as a leader in the digital transformation of payments and other financial services in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. With nearly half the country’s population using its technology, Mynt is on pace to reach a gross transaction value of PHP3 trillion, more than triple of what was achieved last year. The company has reported peak daily app log-ins of 19 million and daily active transactions of 12 million.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

Grover, a German technology rental platform, partnered with Solarisbank and Visa to launch a new Visa-branded debit card.
Kazakh fintech giant Kaspi announced plans to acquire the Ukrainian subsidiary of BTA Bank.
German-based Raisin Bank leveraged cloud banking technology from Mambu to launch its own Banking-as-a-Service offering.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Egyptian B2B ecommerce company Kuzlo raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding.
Israeli fintech HoneyBook secured $250 million in Series E funding, earns $2.4 billion valuation.
Saudi Arabian fintech Neo Leap granted right to manage transactions via Saudi Payments.

Central and Southern Asia

Indian fintech Paytm inked more than 100 institutional investors for its upcoming IPO.
Pakistan-based private bank Bank Alfalah collaborated with Adal Fintech to offer digital supply chain financing for SMEs in Pakistan.
The Express Tribune profiled Pakistani, women-led fintech startup Oraan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina-based fintech Ualá acquired Mexican bank ABC Capital.
Chilean asset manager Fintual raised $39 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital.
São Paulo, Brazil-based Banking-as-a-Service fintech Swap scored $25 million in Series A funding in a round led by Tiger Global Management.

Asia-Pacific

Hong Kong based payment infrastructure provider XanPool secured $27 million in Series A funding.
Singapore-based loyalty platform ShopBack acquired Buy Now Pay Later company hoolah.
Siam Commercial Bank holding company SCBx Group purchased a 51% stake in Thailand-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Payhippo, a Nigerian fintech that helps small businesses secure financing, closed a $3 million seed funding round this week.
South African payments company Peach Payments entered the Mauritian market as part of its pan-African expansion.
African cross-border payments company Chipper Cash raised $150 million in a Series C extension round, earning a valuation of $2 billion.

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Instant Payments, TED, and PIX: Open Banking Advances in Brazil

By David Penn Posted on October 29, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global, MasterCard, Nubank, Payoneer, VISA

This week marks the beginning of Phase 3 of Brazil’s embrace of open banking. Phase 3 is the second-to-last stage of the implementation plan set out by the Brazilian Central Bank. According to reports, Phase 3 arrives about one month late – the original date was September 30th – but the changes that the newest phase of the open banking initiative will bring are significant enough to be worth the wait.

Divided into four parts, the goal of Phase 3 is to usher in the regulation of payment initiation from any online platform. This will initially involve enabling consumers to pay for products and services using PIX – without the consumer having to use their bank’s app. PIX is the smartphone-based, instant payments technology launched by the Brazilian central bank almost a year ago. The second part of Phase 3, enabling payments made with TED (transferência eletrônica disponível) and transfers between accounts of the same bank, is set to begin in mid-February of 2022; the third part, enabling payments via bank slip, is slated to begin in late June; and the fourth and final part of Phase 3, enabling payment by debit account, is set to go live at the end of September.

Payment initiation is only one component of the open banking project Brazil has undertaken. Giving consumers the ability to make price comparisons, as well as compare rates and credit offers, are also major new possibilities for consumers that will be available thanks to the introduction of open banking in the country. These elements are expected to begin at the end of March 2022.

“The initiation will have a great impact especially on fintechs, which may offer more practical solutions for consumers or improve your internal financial processes from direct payment,” Belvo General Director Albert Morales explained. “Large banks, on the other hand, should start to rethink prices and solutions offered, both to attract new users and to retain users.”

Brazil’s open banking project, approved in 2019 by the country’s central bank, is part of a larger modernization effort for the Brazil’s entire financial system. And while the global pandemic has played a major role in complicating the project’s original timeline, officials expect open banking to be fully implemented in the country by September of next year.

Read more about Brazil’s open banking project in this interview with Otávio Damaso, Regulation Director for Brazil’s central bank, conducted by The Paypers last month. Damaso explains why Brazil has embraced open banking, and how open banking fits into the larger context of regulatory changes and trends in the country.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank, and African payments company Flutterwave collaborate to enhance digital payments in Nigeria, Zambia, and six other African countries.
South African fintech Stitch announced an expansion into Nigeria and a $2 million seed round extension investment.
Zambian fintech Union54 secured an investment of $3 million in a round led by Tiger Global.

Central and Eastern Europe

German B2B, Buy Now Pay Later solution provider Billie secured $100 million in Series C funding, earning a valuation of $640 million.
Latvian loan management system FIS teamed up with Money.Jo (Money for Finance) to help bring new lending options to consumers in Jordan.
Paysafe announced a partnership with Hungary-based mobile development company Bitrise.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Dibsy, a payment service provider based in Qatar, integrated Apple Pay for online purchases.
Israeli fintech Futora secured $6 million in funding to support its personal investment solutions for HNW individuals.
Saudi Arabian money management company Tweeq announced partnership with French augmented identity company IDEMIA.

Central and Southern Asia

Indian investment platform Groww earned a valuation of $3 billion after picking up $251 million in funding.
Pakistan-based mobile account provider JazzCash partnered with Mastercard to power innovation in the country’s digital payment ecosystem with a new virtual debit card offering.
Indian SaaS fintech Clear (formerly ClearTax) picked up $75 million in Series C funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazilian payments company Hash raised $40 million in Series C funding in a round led by QED Investors and Kaszek.
Latin American payment solutions provider Ebanx finalized its acquisition of Brazilian B2B payments firm Juno.
Sao Paulo-based Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Latin America, filed for an IPO in the U.S. this week.

Asia-Pacific

Payoneer announced a collaboration with South Korean ecommerce platform Coupang.
Netbank, a banking-as-a-service fintech based in the Philippines, partnered with Chekk for KYC and KYB services.
Malaysia-based Touch ‘n Go Group makers of the Touch ‘n Go eWallet, entered into a strategic partnership with Visa.

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A Look at the Fintech Unicorns of Southeast Asia

By David Penn Posted on October 22, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global

This week’s Finovate Global List Series feature takes a look at the roster of Southeastern Asia-based technology unicorns compiled by Credit Suisse’s ASEAN research team in a recent report to see how many of these 35 billion-plus valuation companies are fintech firms.

“The number of unicorns in ASEAN has continued to increase over the last two to three years, now adding up to 35 unicorns,” the report authors noted. Scaling New Heights: ASEAN’s 35 Unicorns reveals that Singapore and Indonesia are home to the lion’s share of the region’s unicorns and that fintech represents the most common sector, followed by e-commerce.

In terms of factors fueling the growth of these firms, the report highlights the role of private equity/venture capital funding, strong demographics – particularly populations with a high number of citizens under the age of 34 – and supportive regulations. The report also underscored the role of COVID-19 in stimulating innovation: “Fintech is still relatively nascent given that 25% to 50% of the region’s adult population remains underbanked or unbanked, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital financial services.”

Read the full report here. In the meanwhile, here is our look at the fintech unicorns from Credit Suisse’s ASEAN unicorn roundup.

Indonesia

Akulaku: a banking and digital finance platform providing digital banking, consumer credit, digital investment, and insurance brokerage services to underserved consumers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
OVO: a digital payment service, headquartered in Jakarta, that offers one of the biggest e-wallets in Indonesia.
Xendit: an end-to-end digital payments solution provider for small businesses and large enterprises alike.

The Philippines

Mynt: a fintech partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial focused on payments, remittances, loans, business solutions, and platforms.

Singapore

Advance Intelligence Group: an AI-driven technology parent company offering buy now pay later services, digital lending, and e-commerce products and services.
Matrixport: a digital assets and financial services platform that supports investing and trading in cryptocurrencies.
NIUM: an international payments platform for cross-border payments, local accounts, and card issuance.

Thailand

Ascend Money: a digital payments and financial services company providing wealth management, lending, and insurance products to 50 million users in six countries in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam

Vietnam Payment Solution (VNPAY): a Hanoi-based electronic payments solution provider offering mobile banking, phone recharge, and billpay for banks, e-commerce businesses, and telecoms.

Not included in our round-up are a handful of companies characterized by Credit Suisse ASEAN Research as “e-commerce” or “real estate tech.” These firms include Blibli and JD.ID of Indonesia, Carsome of Malaysia, and Carousell, Carro, Lazada, and Moglix of Singapore among the e-commerce unicorns. The region’s real estate technology unicorns featured include Singapore’s JustCo and PropertyGuru.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

Hong Kong-based payments infrastructure company XanPool secured $27 million in Series A funding in a round led by Valar Ventures.
LOTTE Finance Vietnam, a subsidiary of South Korean credit card company LOTTE Card, introduced a Buy Now Pay Later service for online Vietnames consumers.
CNBC profiled Tessa Wijaya, co-founder of Indonesian digital payments company Xendit.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigerian digital bank, Brass, locked in $1.7 million in funding to help fuel expansion to South Africa and Kenya.
Kenya-based digital lending platform Asante picked up $7.5 million in Series A funding.
Forbes looked at the rise of the super app in African markets like South Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

German digital bank N26 raised more than $900 million in Series E funding, earning a valuation of more than $9 billion.
Lithuanian account-to-account payments company Kevin announced receiving a seed investment of $10 million.
Bling Card teamed up with Treezor to build a prepaid pocket money card and financial education app for German youth.

Middle East and Northern Africa

UAE-based open finance platform Fintech Galaxy secured $2 million in funding.
Bahrain’s Infinios Financial Services inked a strategic partnership with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD).
Jerusalem Post looked at the prospect of fintech cooperation between Israel and the UAE in the wake of a conference sponsored by Bank Hapoalim and the Israel Export Institute.

Central and Southern Asia

India-based fintech CRED achieved a valuation of $4 billion after receiving a Series E investment of $251 million from Tiger Global and Falcon Edge.
Business Recorder examined recent comments from State Bank of Pakistan governor Dr. Reza Baqir about granting additional fintech licenses in the country.
Paytm won regulatory approval for a $2.2 billion stock market listing that would represent India’s largest IPO to date.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazilian core banking and payments platform Pismo secured $108 million in Series B funding.
Latin American fintech-as-a-service platform Pomelo raised $35 million in Series A funding in a round led by Tiger Global Management.
IBS Intelligence highlighted “four promising fintech companies in Mexico” this week: Bitso, Clip, Klar, and Konfío.

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Emerging Markets Lender Tala Scores $145 Million in Series E Funding

By David Penn Posted on October 15, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global

In a round led by Upstart, and featuring participation from DeFi network Stellar Enterprise Foundation and new investors Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group, emerging markets digital lender Tala has raised $145 million in funding. The Series E round takes the company’s total capital raised to more than $350 million. The investment also gives the company a valuation estimated at more than $800 million.

The new capital will help the company continue to offer lending services to both consumers and small businesses. The additional funding will also enable Tala to “accelerate the rollout” of a new offering: a financial account designed to make it easier for its customers to “grow, save, and manage” their money. Tala currently provides loans between $10 and $500 and noted in a blog post that more than six million people have used its app since inception. The company has customers in Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India who have borrowed a total of $2.7 billion. Tala added that more than 12,000 new users are signing up for the service every day.

Tala is also looking to expand into the digital asset business, as well. “We’ll also work to develop one of the first mass-market crypto products for emerging markets to help make crypto solutions more affordable and equitable for those who need them most,” the company added. Tala will use its new relationship with the Stellar Network to pursue this project.

Tala evolved from InVenture, a company launched by Tala founder and CEO Shivani Siroya to help micro-entrepreneurs in Africa and India build credit histories. The rebrand was an effort to move “beyond building just credit scores to become a company that will also take the first risk on our customers and lend to them directly.” Tala leverages applicant phone data and activity (such as the timeliness of bill payments) to establish creditworthiness and to determine appropriate lending amounts. Via the Tala app, borrowers can apply for funding in minutes and, once approved, can have funds deposited in their accounts or sent to a preferred cash out location in seconds.

This week’s investment also featured participation from existing investors including IVP, Revolution Group, PayPal Ventures, and Lowercase Capital. Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, Tala is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Colombia-based fintech Movii raised $15 million in a Series B round.
HID Global introduced its biometric multi-factor authentication platform for banks in the Latin American market.
Brazilian fintech infrastructure provider Dock acquired Brazilian banking-as-a-service provider BPP.

Asia-Pacific

Courtesy of a partnership with SAS, Bangkok Bank Limited has deployed a new AML solution across its 300 branches around the world.
Instarem upgraded its app to enable customers in Hong Kong to send money to China in Yuan.
HSBC Malaysia introduced its in-app investment dashboard.

Sub-Saharan Africa

African open finance company Mono raised $15 million in Series A funding to supports its technology that connects customer bank accounts to financial apps.
Nigeria-based B2B fintech Alerzo acquired Shago Payments.
Sparkle, a Nigerian fintech app, secured $3.1 million in seed funding.

Central and Eastern Europe

German-based neobank N26 secured $800 million in new funding.
Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) inked a cooperation agreement with Raisin.
German B2B fintech iBanFirst announced an expansion to Southeast Europe.

Middle East and Northern Africa

UAE’s Central Bank issued new licensing guidelines for payment service providers.
Mashreq NEO, based in the UAE, introduced a facial biometric digital account opening solution in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Interior.
Global Finance featured Egypt and the rise of its fintech sector.

Central and Southern Asia

India-based payment service provider Pine Labs launched a new online payments service for merchants, Plural.
China’s OPay announced a strategic collaboration with Pakistan’s United Bank Limited (UBL).
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted a Small Finance Bank license to Centrum and BharatPe.

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Cryptocurrencies, Financial Inclusion, and a Look at El Salvador’s Big Bitcoin Bet

By David Penn Posted on October 8, 2021
Categories: BioCatch, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Nordigen, Scalable Capital

One of the biggest experiments in bringing cryptocurrencies to the mainstream is taking place in the small Central American nation of El Salvador. Earlier this summer, the country’s legislative assembly authorized granting Bitcoin status as legal tender inside El Salvador beginning September 7th. One month after Bitcoin joined the U.S. dollar as the second official currency in the country, what can be said of the project so far?

This morning, Reuters took up the question of Bitcoin adoption in the country and discovered that the initiative has boosted use of the cryptocurrency, but that increase in use has come with more than a few “headaches” for many Salvadorans who have attempted to withdraw cash from Bitcoin wallets or make other transactions with the digital asset.

On the adoption front, Forbes reported late this week that the Bitcoin project has resulted in more Salvadorans having digital, Bitcoin wallets than traditional bank accounts. According to the article, approximately three million Salvadorans have downloaded Chivo, the new, government-sponsored digital wallet to facilitate Bitcoin transactions. This adds up to 46% of the country’s 6.8 million population. “By contrast,” Forbes noted, “as of 2017, only 29% of Salvadorans had bank accounts.” The Forbes account also observed that Chivo is not the only option available to those seeking to transact in the cryptocurrency; the availability of other digital wallets suggests that the estimates on early Bitcoin adoption by El Salvador’s citizens could be significantly higher.

El Salvador president and long-time Bitcoin backer Nayib Bukele boasted recently of negotiations with the country’s largest gas stations to offer reduced prices for those paying for gasoline using the Chivo app. But widespread adoption by the country’s retailers will still be one of the initiative’s biggest hurdles. Part of this issue is likely timing- a Reuters story reported that, according to the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development, 12% of consumers have used Bitcoin in the month since the Bitcoin Law was implemented, and that 93% of the 233 companies it surveyed were reporting no payments in Bitcoin over the same time period. But another part of the issue may be easily explained by Chivo itself, which provides instant conversion from Bitcoin to dollars – meaning Salvadorans who own Bitcoin can still readily pay for transactions in dollars if they choose to.

Nevertheless, early indications are that the project may accomplish its most important role of promoting financial inclusion – especially among the country’s poorer, rural-based citizenry. While some in the business community remain skeptical – and more aggressive opponents of the measure have resorted to vandalizing and defacing Chivo ATMs – others point to the possible use of Chivo as a way for expat Salvadorans living in places like the U.S. to send money to family still in El Salvador as a use case that could help drive Bitcoin adoption in the country. Potential cost savings of using Chivo instead of traditional money transfer services – as well as the Salvadoran government’s willingness to incentivize Chivo use with Bitcoin bonuses of up to $30 – could help Bukele’s Bitcoin brainchild sustain the momentum it already has achieved in its first 30 days.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

India’s ICICI Bank launched a new contactless payment option on its iMobile Pay banking app.
Pakistan-based fintech and logistics startup PostEx raised $1.5 million in seed funding.
TechCrunch looked at the growing VC interest – including from Tiger Global – in Indian fintech startup Slice.

Latin America and the Caribbean

ICYMI: Latin American Buy Now Pay Later company Addi secured a $75 million extension to its Series B, taking the round’s total to $140 million.
Mexican digital payment and commerce platform Clip earned a spot on CB Insights 250 roster of top fintech startups.
Uruguay-based payments platform dLocal launched its Direct Issuing service that enables merchants to issue their own branded prepaid cards.

Asia-Pacific

China-based Union Smart Card chose fingerprint authentication technology from IDEX Biometrics.
Singaporean equity management SaaS solution provider Qapita raised $15 million in seed funding.
Wirex launched its crypto platform in Vietnam this week.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mastercard teamed up with Digital Paygo, a fintech based in Zambia, to launch a new merchant mobile payments solution.
Standard Bank introduced its EasyScan mobile payments offering for South Africa’s Pick n Pay customers.
Nigerian blockchain infrastructure startup Bitmama secured $350,000 in pre-seed funding.

Central and Eastern Europe

Lativan open banking innovator Nordigen partnered with Authologic to help the company’s clients verify their identities online.
Germany-based Scalable Capital announced plans to expand to France, Spain, and Italy.
Web Shield, an onboarding and monitoring solution provider based in Germany, launched its High-Risk Verification tool which meets Mastercard Revised Standards.

Middle East and Northern Africa

BioCatch launched its Age Analysis account opening protection capability.
Areeba, a Lebanon-based, issuing and acquiring service provider to financial services companies in the Middle East, teamed up with Netcetera to implement the latest 3-D Secure protocol 2.2.
Egyptian fintech Z-Walet announced plans to introduce a new prepaid card and app for youth aged six to 18.

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QisstPay Secures Funding for Pakistan’s Biggest Buy Now Pay Later Offering

By David Penn Posted on October 1, 2021
Categories: Finovate Global

Pakistan-based Buy Now Pay Later platform QisstPay has secured $15 million in seed and pre-seed funding. The round was led by MSA Capital and featured institutional investment participation from Global Founders Capital, Fox Ventures, and First Check Ventures – as well as strategic angel investments from Scalapay co-founders Simone Mancini and Johnny Mitrevski.

The capital, a combination of debt and equity financing, will help the company expand both its services and workforce, ideally boosting its team to more than 100 people by year’s end. QisstPay also believes the funding will accelerate its ability to fund transactions and partnerships with traditional financial institutions in Pakistan, as well as expand its services to neighboring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

QisstPay was founded less than a year ago, in November 2020, to solve a very basic problem for consumers in emerging market economies in general and in Pakistan in specific. Many citizens in developing countries do not have the financial means to get approval for credit cards and other forms of consumer financing popular in the West and the more developed economies in Asia. This impacts not only their ability to purchase recreational and luxury goods, but also impairs their access to everyday necessities.

As QisstPay co-founder and CEO Jordan Olivas explained: “After moving here to Pakistan, I noticed how badly the people of this country need a financial tool to help them purchase goods and services that they not only want, but actually need.”

QisstPay offers an installment payment service that responds to this problem by enabling consumers to pay for their purchases in four installments without having to pay interest or worry about late fees. Purchases of between 1,500 and 500,000 PKR (approximately $9 to $3,000 USD) are eligible, and consumers can use both debit and credit cards to make their repayments. The company noted that it plans to enable repayment via digital wallet soon.

The low penetration rate of credit cards and the dominance of cash are some of the reasons why QisstPay has caught on. Add to this the high population of young, digitally-savvy people in countries like Pakistan, and it is easy to see why the company has more than 500 retailers in Pakistan using its service. This includes brands such as Samsung, Diesel, Philips, Xiaomi, and Lenovo, as well as the largest Shopify store in the country.

“Over 60% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30, which means that the majority of the country is adopting new technologies,” Olivas said. “Yet so many people still believe that Pakistan isn’t ready to adopt a BNPL system. The rapid growth and use of a platform like QisstPay proves otherwise.”

Tim Chen, General Partner at MSA Capital underscored this point. “Pakistan is one of the most often overlooked countries when it comes to fintech investments,” Chen said. “However, it’s also one of the countries with the most potential.”

For more insight into the fintech ecosystem in Pakistan, check out Tracxn’s highlight of ten of the top fintechs in the country, as well as this list from LocalWriter. One of the most comprehensive looks at the fintech industry in Pakistan in recent times is available in the landscape study by Mohsin Termezy, founder and CEO of Finclude, and Hussam Razi, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist with Karandaaz Pakistan, published this summer.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Identity verification company Veriff teamed up with Cards-as-a-Service platform for MENA and Pakistan, SimpliFi.
Paytech innovator Global Processing Services (GPS) announced new MENA headquarters in Dubai.
Citi launched a dedicated technology hub in Bahrain to further development of its Citi Velocity and Citi FX Pulse platforms.

Central and Southern Asia

Pakistan-based fintech Oraan secured $3 million in seed funding to boost financial inclusion for women.
India’s Federal Bank teamed up with the National Payments Corporation of India to launch RuPay Signet contactless credit card.
Capital Float, a Buy Now Pay Later platform based in India, raised $50 million in a round led by Lightrock India.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexican B2B payments platform Higo scored $23 million in Series A round led by Accel.
Brazilian e-commerce platform Infracommerce acquired rival Synapcom for $224 million.
Mexico-based SME lender Konfio raised $110 million to earn a valuation of $1.3 billion.

Asia-Pacific

Thailand’s Ascend Money, which offers an e-wallet service called TrueMoney, raised $150 million in Series C funding to achieve a valuation of $1.5 billion
China’s Alibaba Group to begin offering payment services from Tencent’s WeChat after mandate from the government against blocking each other’s services.
ICYMI: Indonesian digital payment infrastructure company Xendit earned unicorn status earlier this month courtesy of a $150 million investment in a round led by Tiger Global.

Sub-Saharan Africa

South African digital lender Payabill introduced a new payment solution to help SMEs settle the bills of international suppliers.
Yellow Card, an African cryptocurrency exchange, secured $15 million in Series A investment.
Nigera’s central bank announced that it will introduce its digital eNaira next week on October 4th.

Central and Eastern Europe

Austrian payment orchestration platform IXOPAY partnered with acquirer and payment processor MultiSafepay.
Lithuania-based payment gateway service provider Paysera unveiled its new carrier-neutral parcel locker network, Lockers.
Kinguin, a gaming digital marketplace based in Poland, teamed up with cryptocurrency trading platform Bitcoin Vault to market NFTs.

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