Finovate Global

Fintechs Merge and Rebrand in Vietnam; Tinkoff Launches New Voice Assistant Oleg

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Braintri, Finovate Global, Tinkoff Bank

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Cross-border digital payments company PPRO acquires Latin American payments provider allpago.
  • Executives from financial cooperatives in Latin America meet with Denver, Colorado-area credit union leaders as part of immersion program sponsored by the World Council of Credit Unions’ Pasantia Tecnica.
  • Brazilian government and bank and insurance regulators agree to establish a regulatory sandbox to support fintech and insurtech development.

Asia-Pacific

  • Vietnam-based payments firms Vimo Technology and Vietnam MPOS Technology merge to become NextPay.
  • Learn more about Vietnam’s fintech ecosystem in this Fintech Startup Vietnam Map.
  • Indonesian fintech provider Achiko announces plans for direct listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • African Development Bank launches £100 million fintech fund focused on growing financial inclusion.
  • Ventureburn takes a look at the Nigerian fintech startup scene.
  • African payment service provider (PSP), DPO Group, introduces Africa’s first B2B prepaid, virtual and physical payment card: the DumaCard.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • “Hi Oleg!” Russia’s Tinkoff launches new voice assistant for its banking app.
  • Fintech Futures features Poland’s Braintri in a discussion of how fintechs are leveraging real-time data to help banks improve the customer experience.
  • Are regulations in Hungary an obstacle to fintech innovation? BNE Intellinews considers the case of Hungarian payments company Barion.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • S&P Global Ratings gives Gulf Cooperation Council countries the edge over their neighbors in the Middle East and Africa when it comes to the fintech adoption rates.
  • PayU acquires Turkish fintech Iyzico for $165 million.
  • Citi launches its MENA 2019 Challenge.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian challenger bank, Payzello, goes live.
  • Tez, a digital, non-bank microfinance startup based in Pakistan, took home $100,000 in prize money after winning the FinTech Challenge at the inaugural Visa Everywhere Initiative for Women.
  • Inc42 looks at the how India’s current fintech boom is contributing to financial inclusion.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

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

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Finovate Global, Infosys, Sberbank, SplitIt, Temenos

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and Southern Asia

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

Latin America and the Caribbean

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

Asia-Pacific

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

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

Central and Eastern Europe

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

Middle East and Northern Africa

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

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Qatar Backs SoFi; Ripple Powers Cross-Border Payments in Brazil

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BankBazaar, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Ripple, SoFi, Strands, Temenos

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • SoFi announces $500 million investment led by Qatar.
  • Emirates NBD to leverage technology from Amazon Web Services to build an AI-enabled “bank of the future”.
  • New partnership between Turkey’s Isbank and Yandex.Checkout to support transactions in rubles for Russians shopping online in Turkey.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Strands strikes digital banking deal with India’s Tech Mahindra.
  • BankBazaar to offer financing options for customers of furniture and home products marketplace Pepperfry.
  • Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, a premier think tank of the Indian government, sees a $31 billion Indian fintech market by 2020.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian exchange brokerage, Frente Corretora de Cambio, goes live with cross-border remittance solution powered by Ripple technology.
  • World Finance features Sao Paulo among its Top 5 Emerging Fintech Hubs.
  • IMFBlog looks at how fintech can lower remittance costs in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

  • The central bank of Indonesia, Bank Indonesia, unveils its Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS), a new QR code system.
  • Mastercard and UOB partner to introduce the UOB Retail Business Metal Card designed for APAC SMEs.
  • B2B cross border payments company TransferMate picks up payment license in Singapore.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Ghana’s ARB Apex Bank reups with Temenos.
  • Titan Trust Bank of Nigeria chooses Oracle FSS for its core and digital banking technology.
  • CNBCAfrica profiles South African payments and merchant acquiring solutions provider Crossfin.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Lithuania fintech Paysera goes live in Romania.
  • Polish “credit of fintech-as-a-service” innovator Symmetrical.ai raises $1.5 million (€1.3m) in funding.
  • Billon Solutions and Microsoft announce partnership with the University of Warsaw to develop academic use cases for DLT technology.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Brazil-Mexico Fintech Bromance Continues; Iran to Build Blockchain Network

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Boku, Finovate Global, Infosys, Temenos

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • FintechOS of Romania raises $1.23 million (€1.1 million) in post-seed funding.
  • Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Central Bank of Russia, talks about the state of Russian fintech.
  • Lithuania’s Evarest to launch a stock trading app in the second half of the year.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • B.R. Shetty’s BRS Ventures Investment backs Dubai-based NewBridge Fintech Solutions.
  • A partnership between Alipay and Turkish payment platform ininal will help Chinese shoppers transact with Turkish merchants.
  • Iran to develop national blockchain network based on IBM Hyperledger Fabric.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian B2B payments firm PayMate announces plans to expand to the Middle East
  • Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal, bans Chinese digital wallet Alipay and WeChat Pay over foreign currency earnings concerns.
  • Myanmar’s Global Treasure Bank (GTB) implements Infosys Finacle’s core banking solution.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • The fintech relationship between Mexico and Brazil grows stronger as Startup Mexico opens its first overseas campus in Sao Paulo.
  • The Association of Fintech Companies of Chile (FinteChile) reports on the “four pillars” of Chilean fintech: Talent, Capital, Regulation, and Demand.
  • The Financial Times looks at Brazil’s Nubank and its efforts to grow in the Mexican market.

Asia-Pacific

  • Temenos partners with UBX to bring digital banking to underserved communities in the Philippines.
  • Singapore-based cross-border payments firm Instarem teams up with Thailand’s KBank.
  • Bank of Shanghai and OCBC deepen strategic partnership.
  • Boku integrates with digital payments solution Grab in order to expand payment options in Southeast Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Equities.com features Flutterwave, the company that designed the payments platform for newly-public African e-commerce startup Jumia.
  • Nigeria’s OPay Mobile Money solution reaches 20,000 agents.
  • Safaricom teams up with Vodacom to acquire intellectual property rights to M-Pesa’s mobile financial service platform.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Revolut Seeks Banking License in Russia; Mastercard Pledges Partnerships with Indian Fintechs

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Uncategorized

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • DisruptAfrica profiles TeamApt and its role as the “go to” fintech startup for Nigeria banks.
  • Nairobi, Kenya-based CarePay International raises $44.7 million (€40 million) for expansion into new markets.
  • expressPay goes live with Visa on mobile in Ghana.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Austrian fintech Bitpanda launches gold and silver trading on its platform.
  • Revolut announces plans to pursue banking license in Russia.
  • Nayax introduces its new cashless payment integration, the Bluecode payments solution, in Austria and Germany.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Visa teams up with Bahrain FinTech Bay to drive fintech innovation in the country.
  • Saudi Payments inks memorandum of understanding to introduce QR code-based national payment system in Saudi Arabia.
  • National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) says it is the first MENA-based bank to launch an open banking offering.

Central and Southern Asia

  • PayPal India unveils its OneTouch feature which, integrated with Google Smart Lock, enables users to register their Android device with PayPal and remain logged in for all subsequent PayPall purchases on that device.
  • Mastercard pledges partnerships with Indian fintechs via its India Investment Fund.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Descendants of the Medici banking family launch a digital bank, Medici Bank, in Puerto Rico.
  • Japan’s SoftBank invests $20 million in Mexican payments innovator Clip.
  • Scotiabank’s fintech accelerator, FactoryA, introduces its incoming cohort of startups from Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based YouTrip raises $25.5 million for its multi-currency payments app.
  • Hong Kong Monetary Authority issues another four virtual bank licenses.
  • South Korea unveils new regulations to empower robo-advisory services.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

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

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Fenergo, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Temenos, Twisto, wipro

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Asia-Pacific

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

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

Central and Eastern Europe

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

Middle East and Northern Africa

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

Central and Southern Asia

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

Latin America and the Caribbean

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

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

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

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Fenergo, Finovate Global, Fiserv, Token

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

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

Asia-Pacific

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

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

Central and Eastern Europe

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

Middle East and Northern Africa

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

Central and South Asia

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

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Indian Fintechs Raise Capital; Expensify Partners with Asian RideShare Startup

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Expensify, Finovate Global, Fiserv, MasterCard

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and South Asia

  • India’s ZestMoney raises $20 million in new funding.
  • Fiserv to streamline and automate cash management processes for Eurasian Bank of Kazakhstan.
  • Indian digital investment advisor Kuvera raises $4.5 million in Series A financing.
  • Telecom operator Tcell and Wallet Factory launch mobile financial app, TezSum, in Tajikistan.
  • Cashfree, an Indian payments company, raised $5.5 million in a round led by Smilegate Investment.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian credit marketplace FinanZero raises $11 million in Series B funding.
  • Tencent Holdings invests in Argentine mobile payments app Uala.
  • Euromoney considers the battle for dominance in Brazil’s emergent fintech space.

Asia-Pacific

  • Expense management specialist Expensify integrates with Southeast Asia-based ride share company Grab.
  • WorldRemit initiates international transfers to UnionPay debit cards in China.
  • Singapore machine learning data analytics firm AIDA picks up investment from Mastercard.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Ghanan fintech KudiGO raises $450,000 in seed funding.
  • The Financial Times looks at the rise of mobile money in Kenya.
  • South African accelerator and incubator Founders Factory Africa (FFA) and Standard Bank welcome five fintech startups to their incoming class.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank partners with Digital Horizon and Gazprombank to support biometric technology company Speech Technology Centre.
  • Billon Solutions wins approval from Polish Financial Supervision Authority to operate as a registered e-money institution.
  • N26 announces plans to open a technology and innovation center in Vienna, Austria.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Vocalink brings real-time payments to Saudi Arabia courtesy of new partnership with Saudi Payments, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.
  • Investors from the Qatar Investment Authority believed to participate in SoFi’s $500 million funding round.
  • Financial Times looks at financial inclusion and “homegrown fintech” in Iraq.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

African Unicorn Jumia Opens on NYSE; UAE’s Finablr Eyes $200M IPO

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Fiserv, microblink, Turnkey Lender

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • UAE-based payments company Finablr prepares for a $200 million IPO.
  • Emirates NBD launches its WhatsApp Business Solution.
  • Awok.com, a mass market ecommerce platform based in the UAE, raised $30 million in Series A funding.

Central and South Asia

  • Indian fintech BharatPe secures $15.5 million in Series A round to help provide UPI QR codes to merchants.
  • TechCrunch: PayU’s $70 million acquisition of Wibmo signals the company’s interest in the Indian market.
  • Entrepreneur India takes a look at what investors like about Indian fintech.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian SME lender Weel raises $30 million courtesy of investment from Franklin Templeton.
  • Mexico’s Banco BASE partners with Volante Technologies for end-to-end payment processing solutions.
  • PaymentsJournal reviews the surge in the number of new unicorns among Latin American fintech startups.

Asia-Pacific

  • TurnKey Lender receives accreditation from the Singapore government’s IMDA, a certification that enables companies to expand into international markets easier.
  • WeLab, a Hong Kong based mobile lender, earns virtual banking license.
  • Fintech Singapore features its list of the top 10 fintech firms in Thailand for 2019.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • The ecommerce marketplace known as the “African Amazon,” Jumia, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • Top African finance app Branch lands $170 million in financing led by Foundation Capital and Visa.
  • Nigeria-based bank agent network Kudi raises $5 million in Series A.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Microblink introduces new document scanning app, BlinkCard.
  • Estonia to bid for developing national ID system, PhilSys, in the Philippines.
  • Fiserv helps Hellenic Bank streamline payments.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finn AI Powers Chatbots in South Africa; Token Drives Open Banking in MENA

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Asseco, Finn.ai, Finovate Global, NF Innova, Ripple, Tinkoff Bank, Token

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • NF Innova to power “Customer-First” experience for APS Bank.
  • Tinkoff Group of Russia builds supercomputer dubbed the most powerful in financial sector.
  • Raiffeisen Bank Serbia picks Asseco SEE as its strategic vendor.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Khaleeji Commercial Bank of Bahrain partners with Token.io.
  • AI chatbot maker Kasisto and UAE-based digital bank Liv partner to launch new conversational chatbot, Olivia.
  • Smart Dubai gives the nod to blockchain platform developed by Du, formerly known as the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company.

Central and South Asia

  • Indian point-of-sale terminal developer Mswipe raised $30 million in new funding.
  • Fintech startups are among those looking for capital from the new $20 million fund launched by China’s Gobi Partners and Pakistan’s Fatima Ventures.
  • India’s Federal Bank turns to Ripple to power cross-border remittances.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • The Paypers interviews allpago Founder and CEO, Philipp Bock, on ecommerce in Latin America.
  • HSBC Uruguay announces partnership with Spanish biometric authentication firm, FacePhi.
  • Latin American payments processor EBANX initiates local operations in Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

  • Hong Kong-based SME lender Qupital raises $15 million to fuel expansion to mainland China.
  • Krungthai Bank, EVX Holdings, and Shwe Rural and Urban Development Bank agree to launch the first blockchain-powered, cross- border money transfer service between Thailand and Myanmar.
  • UnionBank of the Philippines introduces the first cryptocurrency ATM in the country.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Finn AI Brings Conversational Banking to South Africa’s TymeBank.
  • Korepay helps Nigerian migrant workers in 12 U.S. states send money back home.
  • Xente, a fintech that enables Ugandan merchants to offer pay by installment, announces expansion to Nigeria.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Virtual Banks Launch in Hong Kong; Can Bitcoin Save Argentina?

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Temenos

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian payments company Amplify has been acquired by OneFinance (OneFi). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • Tech in Africa profiles Kenyan fintech Branch.
  • Compelo features insurtechs and savings platforms in its presentation of African tech startups “looking to go global.”

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Bank 131, Russia’s first new bank in four years, to specialize in serving online businesses.
  • Estonian cryptocurrency exchange Jubiter launches debit card.
  • Business Review looks at opportunities for Romanian entrepreneurs in the fintech market in the CEE region.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Etihad Credit Insurance teams up with First Abu Dhabi Bank to help UAE companies manage trade finance.
  • Egyptian cloud-based payroll service Dopay picks up €1 million line of credit from the Massif Fund.
  • Emirates NBD and Fintech Hive announced launch of API sandbox.

Central and South Asia

  • Pakistan’s first microfinance bank, Khushhali Bank, goes live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system.
  • Google Play to launch gold-backed investment plans in India.
  • Indian core banking system provider Nelito Systems inks deal with Myanmar’s Alliance for Microfinance.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mexico-based lender Credijuto announces $100 million credit facility courtesy of Goldman Sachs.
  • Investor Tim Draper makes the case for Argentina to embrace bitcoin.
  • T13 considers the slow progress of fintech regulation in Chile. In Spanish.

Asia-Pacific

  • ZhongAn earns virtual banking license from Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
  • ING and Bank of Beijing invest $447 million in a new digital bank in China.
  • Standard Chartered partners with Ctrip Finance to launch virtual bank in Hong Kong.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Instarem Raises Capital; TurnKey Lender Goes Live in Malaysia

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CustomerXPs, Finovate Global, Tinkoff Bank, Turnkey Lender, wipro

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Asia-Pacific

  • TurnKey Lender opens new office in Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
  • Instarem raises $41 million to fund global expansion.
  • Singapore FinTech Association and FinTech Australia ink Memorandum of Understanding.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian online lender OneFi to acquire Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify.
  • Finextra features its list of the top South African fintech startups to look out for in 2019.
  • Born2Invest highlights the fintechs in Africa’s emerging startup industry.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Tinkoff Mobile, a subsidiary of Tinkoff Bank, announces service in six new regions.
  • CEE fintech watchers are keeping an eye on the pending launch of the “first bank for the Russian Internet” VR_Bank.
  • Vienna, Austria-based fintech Bitpanda adds its first stablecoin, Tether, introducing the new asset class on its trading platform.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egypt’s central bank sets aside $58 million to fund fintech startups in the country.
  • Arabian Business looks at the continued dominance of cash in Saudi Arabia, despite the growth of the country’s fintech sector.
  • ZDNet reviews how new technologies like AI and automation represent challenge and opportunity for countries in the MENA region.

Central and South Asia

  • Wipro launches its AI and machine learning-powered accounts payable, KYC, and other solutions on Amazon Web Services.
  • Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon goes live with Clari5 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution to address money laundering threats.
  • Fintech Futures looks at Indian micro lending startup, Spoon, as it prepares to go live.
  • PakWired reviews the likelihood that Pakistan will legalize cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Analysts cast a wary eye at new cryptocurrency regulations from the Bank of Mexico.
  • Bob’s Guide features a deep dive into the evolving Brazilian payments market.
  • New Cayman Islands-based fintech consulting firm, Cartan Group, opens for business.

Top image designed by Freepik

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook