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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases fintech news from companies operating in Germany.
Aufinity raised $26 million in Series C funding
A specialist in the field of payment management for the automotive market, Aufinity Group announced this week that it has successfully completed a $26 million Series C round of funding. The round was led by BlackFin Capital Partners, and featured re-investments from current investors PayPal Ventures and Seaya Ventures. The German fintech will use the funds to power its European expansion and to help forge partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
“With this round, we are focusing on accelerating our growth across Europe even further, “Aufinity Group Co-Founder and CEO Lasse Diener said. “Through new strategic partnerships with leading OEMs and by continuing our focus on dealerships, we are preparing to redefine the industry standard for the whole of Europe.”
Aufinity Group’s eponymous platform offers car dealers and OEMs a digital payment management solution that is optimized and white-label-capable. The technology serves both vehicle sales and after-sales, and features optimized payment processes to provide faster incoming payments, greater liquidity and efficiency, and a superior customer experience. Founded in 2018, Aufinity Group is headquartered in Cologne; the company pointed to growing demand for its technology and a successful expansion to Italy and Spain in 2024 in explaining its goal to pursue more international markets in 2025.
“Our core business in Germany is already solidly positioned,” Diener added. “However, the high level of interest from the international market has prompted us to push ahead with our expansion into more countries earlier than planned, which is a great market confirmation for our business and platform.”
YouLend and eBay Germany team up to help finance marketplace sellers
Embedded financing platform YouLend has partnered with eBay Germany to provide integrated financing to sellers on the platform. Part of the eBay Seller Capital Program, the partnership will enable German eBay sellers to access pre-approved financing of up to €2 million ($2.26 million). Financing is based on the sellers’ performance data, and does not require an additional, separate application process.
“Sellers benefit from a chain reaction: quicker inventory restocks, improved product listing, or targeted marketing leading to greater visibility, higher sales, and more growth opportunities—all of which can be financed through YouLend,” Leonard Strigel, YouLend General Manager Germany, said. “This cycle of funding, growth, and reinvestment helps increase seller revenues.”
The partnership will give sellers personalized, pre-approved financing offers, informing them of exactly how much capital they are eligible for before they apply for funding. Direct integration of YouLend’s technology into the eBay platform supports a seamless application process that is “simple, digital, and reliable,” Strigel added.
Founded in 2016, YouLend launched in the UK and Ireland in 2018, entered Europe in 2022, and went live in the US the following year. In 2024, YouLend announced a £4 billion financing investment from J.P. Morgan.
eBay has maintained a presence in Germany since the company’s 1999 takeover of auction platform Alando. eBay Germany currently has more than 150 million visits per month.
German expense management platform Circula secured €15 million
An extended Series A round has given Berlin-based, AI-powered expense management platform Circula €15 million ($17 million) to help bring autonomous finance workflows to medium-sized business in Germany and beyond. The investment will enable the firm to boost its AI capabilities and offer additional automation features for finance teams.
Participating in the funding were existing investors Alstin Capital, Capnamic Ventures, Peak Capital, Wenvest Capital, and Storm Ventures. CIBC Innovation Banking also participated in the investment.
“We have a clear goal: to become Germany’s AI-based champion in expense and spend management for small and medium-sized businesses,” Circula CEO Nikolai Skatchkov said. “With hundreds of millions of euros in transaction volume, hundreds of thousands of active users, and the trust of countless tax advisory firms, we are in an ideal position to realize our vision of a seamless workday for finance teams in the coming years.”
Circula, founded in 2017, counts firms such as Aston Martin, DATEV, and Securitas among its customers. The company’s modular SaaS platform streamlines business expense management with features including AI-powered receipt capture, automated tax-compliant data extraction, and real-time booking verification. More than 150,000 workers throughout Europe rely on Circula’s technology to manage their business travel expenses, credit card transactions, employee benefits, and more.
Circula’s announcement comes at a time when less than 9% of medium-sized businesses in Germany report fully automating their expense workflows, according to research from ERP firm Diamant. In contrast, Circula captures 70%+ of employee expenses when they happen, and enables companies to reduce manual work by 80% and reduce monthly closing cycles.
“Circula is transforming traditional paperwork into smart, AI-powered processes—setting new standards in digital expense management,” CIBC Innovation Banking Director Charlotte Goggin said. “We are excited to support this growth.”
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
CIMB Bank, Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider, teamed up with payments technology innovator ACI Worldwide.
Philippine-based universal bank EastWest Bank turned to Temenos to modernize its core.
Sub-Saharan Africa
International remittance company Panda Remit announced a strategic partnership with Uruguay-based cross-border payments platform dLocal to expand into Africa.
Fayda wallet went live in Ethiopia, advancing adoption of biometric-based digital ID and enhancing financial access.
Payment infrastructure company areeba and digital banking solutions provider Foo forge strategic partnership to enhance digital payments in the Middle East.
This week, Finovate Global travels to Lithuania to talk about payment card optimization with Torus’ Kirill Lisitsyn.
The payment card business is among the most competitive areas of financial services. But are some of the greatest opportunities for companies to profit being overlooked? A growing number of fintechs have developed strategies and technologies to help card issuers and acquirers access millions of dollars in cost savings and missed revenue by better controlling card network fees and enhancing transactional profitability.
Lithuania-based Torus is one such fintech. Founded in 2021 and making its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024, Torus offers a SaaS intelligence platform for banks and acquirers that enhances profits on card transactions by up to 50%. The company enables card issuers and merchant acquirers to optimize card scheme fees and boost transactional earnings via pricing optimization and profitability analysis at the card and merchant level.
To discuss this field, and the opportunities it presents for card issuers and merchant acquirers, we caught up with Torus Co-Founder and CEO Kirill Lisitsyn (pictured). Lisitsyn brings to bear more than 15 years of experience leading payments consulting projects at firms such as Accenture and Mastercard.
What problem does Torus solve and who does it solve it for?
Kirill Lisitsyn: Torus is a SaaS platform for in-depth analysis and optimization of scheme fees (Visa, Mastercard) for issuers, merchant acquirers, and now large merchants. We automate the collection, forecasting, and reconciliation of both transaction flows and invoice data, so that our clients can see accurate cost and profit metrics at the level of transaction, product, merchant, region—and beyond.
How does Torus solve this problem better than other companies or solutions?
Lisitsyn: We provide nearly 98% fee prediction accuracy, and our plug-and-play setup enables end-to-end analytics with minimum resources needed from the customer side. Torus goes beyond pretty dashboards to deliver optimization recommendations backed by industry benchmarks and detailed “what-if” simulations.
Who are Torus’ primary customers. How do you reach them?
Lisitsyn: Our clients include banks, fintechs, BaaS providers, PSPs, and large merchants across Europe, the UK, Central Asia, and Japan. We reach them through targeted outreach, industry conferences, high-visibility publications, and strategic partnerships with top-tier industry players.
We’re also building a community around card economics. I run a LinkedIn page where I share insights on scheme fee mechanics, analysis pitfalls, and market updates.
Many clients come to us after seeing just one number: $1M+ in annual losses that could be avoided with better visibility.
Can you tell us about a favorite implementation or deployment of your technology?
Lisitsyn: One EU-based e-commerce acquirer used to assess profitability by portfolio averages—and was losing up to 10% on hidden merchant-level losses. With Torus, they switched to granular analysis, identified low-margin segments, updated pricing, and increased overall portfolio margin by 30%. These are real, realized gains—not slideware.
What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?
Lisitsyn: We have productized over a hundred years of joint team expertise in the card payments industry—coming from different segments of the industry, players like Mastercard, Global Payments, Societe Generale, Worldline, and various other banks. This is our unfair advantage which gives us a deep understanding of where the pain points are. When your team includes former scheme insiders, “scheme fees” stop being scary and start becoming manageable.
What is the fintech ecosystem in Lithuania like? What is the relationship between fintechs, banks, and traditional financial services companies in Lithuania?
Lisitsyn: Lithuania is a magnet for fintech startups: a responsive regulator, fast-track licensing, and tech-forward infrastructure. Banks here are increasingly open to partnerships, and startups are learning to scale responsibly and operate under real-world pressures.
Torus is a great example of how legacy banking know-how and fintech velocity can combine into something powerful. We are proud to both actively contribute to the Lithuanian ecosystem and represent it internationally.
You demoed at FinovateEurope earlier this year. How was your experience?
Lisitsyn: This year we demoed our product for BaaS providers. We showcased how Torus enables these players to accurately calculate scheme fees and interchange per transaction, allocate costs, and build margin-based pricing for their fintech partners.
We demonstrated that BaaS can move beyond volume games and become a margin game.
Finovate is built for showing working products to real decision-makers—and our demo generated several highly relevant inbound requests for our BaaS module.
What are your goals for Torus? What can we expect to hear from you in the months to come?
Lisitsyn: We’re scaling fast. This year includes multiple product launches and major feature updates. Just a month ago, we released our new product, Merchant Cost Indicator—a tool that estimates transaction costs without needing real data. It predicts interchange and scheme fees based on country, MCC, and channel, giving acquirers and BIN sponsors instant, reliable margin calculations.
Coming next is a dynamic profit-based pricing module, embedded analytics for BaaS, and AI agents to support profitability control, pricing and decision workflows.
We’re shaping a new standard of transparency and profitability controls in card economics. Our strength lies in combining deep industry expertise with true product velocity. We know where the market is heading—and we’re already moving to clear the path.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian digital banking company NubankintroducedTap-to-Pay Pix.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand announced deployment of risk and surveillance platforms courtesy of its expanded strategic technology partnership with the Nasdaq.
Adyen selected Fiskil as its data-sharing partner to enhance onboarding and account verification for merchants in Australia.
Vietnam-based securities company Kafi went live with Horizon Trading Solutions.
Sub-Saharan Africa
African proptech Nawy secured $52 million in Series A funding.
Payment solutions provider Cross Switch partnered with Pesawise to bring its services to Kenya.
If our European fintech conference, FinovateEurope, is our most international event, then FinovateSpring—which kicks off next week in San Diego, May 7 through 9—is our most homegrown. This year, for example, only two of the 40+ companies that will be demoing their innovations live on stage are headquartered outside the United States.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global leads off with an introduction to these three fintechs. Hailing from New Zealand, Canada, and Mexico respectively, these innovators will provide insights into the kinds of financial challenges faced and solutions sought by businesses and consumers alike.
Founded in 2014, APIMatic is a developer experience platform for APIs that enables organizations to drive fast, widespread adoption of their APIs. The platform supports every stage of the API journey, from design and dynamic SDKs to code sample generation and end-to-end automation. Adeel Ali is Founder and CEO.
Cinareo Solutions offers a capacity planning platform that provides pro-active resource planning and financial analysis to cost-efficiently manage front- and back-office team members, as well as support staff. Launched in 2022, the company is a winner of Finovate’s Sustainability & Inclusion Scholarship Program. Karen Elliott is CEO.
Hyperdesk – San Francisco, California and Mexico City, Mexico
Founded in 2025, Hyperdesk provides an AI-powered search engine that helps credit unions and community banks grow their loans and deposits by better engaging with local businesses. Eric Yáñez is Founder and CEO.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
Mongolia-based digital lender LendMN secured $20 million in debt financing from Lendable.
TBC Uzbekistan launched its new SME lending product this week.
Business Today India profiled Indian fintech Nucleus Software.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Uruguay-based cross-border payment platform dLocal announced a strategic partnership with online international education platform 51Talk.
International identity verification firm Veriff opened new offices in São Paulo, Brazil.
FinMont, an international payment orchestration platform, unveiled new offices in Bogotá, Colombia.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore fintech Surfin raised $26.5 million to provide financial solutions for the underbanked.
Hong Kong-based Airstar Bank partnered with Tencent Cloud to migrate its operations to the cloud.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features the latest fintech news and headlines from Brazil.
Nubank unveils Recomeço to help borrowers renegotiate debt
Brazilian fintech Nubankunveiled its latest and largest campaign to help customers with outstanding payments renegotiate their debts. The program, Recomeço, enables eligible customers to receive discounts of up to 99.9% for a limited time. These customers will be notified via the Nubank app, where they will be provided personalized details about their renegotiation options and next steps.
“At Nubank, our customers and their financial well-being are our priority,” CEO of Nubank in Brazil, Livia Chanes, said. “This was the main reason for creating Nubank: to combat complexity and empower people. We are committed to providing personalized solutions with the best possible conditions, contributing to long-term financial health. We want to support our customers, who have trusted Nubank, to start over.”
Eligible customers will need to have a “generally good credit history” and engagement with Nubank. The fintech hopes that the program will benefit those customers who do not tend to have recurring debts, but may have recently experienced financial difficulties. Recomeço also features resources and tools to support credit recovery and smart financial decision-making. These resources include a blog with tips on financial wellness and education.
Nubank’s Recomeço news comes less than a week after the fintech unveiledNuScore, a credit rating tool for its customers. NuScore provides customers with a score from 0 to 1,000, a classification—very high, high, average, low, and very low—and access to the behavioral and historical factors that guided the scoring. These factors include credit card usage, savings patterns in Nubank’s personalized digital savings accounts called Caixas, the amount of debt in the market, and the customer’s score analysis from credit bureaus. Customers will also benefit from recommendations on how they can improve their credit profile and overall financial health.
“Our goal is to establish a solid partnership with our customers to build a robust credit profile, promoting satisfaction, increasing eligibility and engagement with credit products that meet their needs in a responsible manner,” said Arthur Valadão, general director for Nubank’s Roxinho (credit card) segment.
Founded in 2013, Nubank is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. The company is an alum of Finovate’s developer conference, FinDEVr, having participated in the event in New York in 2016. Today, Nubank offers one of the region’s and the world’s biggest digital banking platforms, with more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Brazilian BNPL provider raises $26.7 million in series A funding
Capim, a startup that offers a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment option for Brazilians paying for dental services, has secured $25.7 million in Series A funding. The round, which consisted of two parts, featured Valor Capital and QED Investors as co-leads. Existing investors ONEVC, Canary, and NXTP also participated, along with new investors Endeavor, Saison, and Actyus. The Series A takes Capim’s total capital raised to $29 million. Valuation information was not disclosed.
A vertical SaaS company specializing in the dental sector, Capim helps dentists leverage digital technology to better manage their offices. In addition to providing payment options like BNPL, Capim helps dental patients schedule their appointments digitally at connected clinics. The funding will help Capim expand its offerings to include a point-of-sale (POS) terminal that will offer dentists lower merchant discount rates. Terminals will accept credit and debit cards, and payments from Brazil’s real-time payment system, PIX. The terminals will be fully integrated with Capim’s SaaS financial management module.
“At Capim, we know that being a dentist is much more than taking care of smiles—it is transforming lives every day,” the company noted on LinkedIn when the investment was announced. “With our verticalized software, we develop, with our customers, incredible products, ensuring resources and all the support that really make a difference.”
Founded in 2021, Capim is headquartered in São Paulo.
Méliuz proposes expanding bitcoin reserves
Brazilian fintech Méliuz is considering an expansion of its Bitcoin holdings and making the digital asset a strategic asset on the company’s ledger. The company initiated its bitcoin strategy earlier this year, devoting 10% of the company’s cash to purchase 45.7 Bitcoin worth $4.1 million. According to the Brazil Crypto Report, this marks the first time a Brazilian, publicly listed company used cash funds from its treasury to buy Bitcoin for investment purposes.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Belo Horizonte, Méliuz provides digital solutions via a platform that integrates marketplaces and financial services. With more than 800 partner stores, Méliuz promotes discounts, services, and coupons through its website, app, and browser extension. The company also builds special cashback programs for its marketplace and financial services partners.
The final decision on expanding Méliuz’s Bitcoin holdings will be based on a shareholder meeting and vote on May 6, the company noted in a securities filing.
Earlier this year, Méliuz reaffirmed its strategic alliance with Banco Votorantim (banco BV), initially forged in 2022. Also that year, Méliuz announced a partnership with Liqi, a blockchain-based asset tokenization startup.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Emirates NBD teamed up with Visa to enhance international money transfers.
Egyptian fintechs Basata Holding for Financial Payments and Connect Money launched a new card to boost payment security.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Spain.
Payments and liquidity solutions company Wannme raises €7M
Wannme, a Madrid-based fintech that specializes in payments and liquidity solutions, announced a €7 million strategic financing from IDC Arena Credit Ventures, a division of IDC Network, with Arena Investors also participating in the funding.
The company will use the financing to continue providing marketplace sellers with instant payment advances. This allows them to secure earnings on a daily basis instead of having to wait more than 14 days, as is typically required by marketplaces. Wannme Founder and CEO Jaime de Villa said that the credit facility will enable the company to “empower more sellers with the liquidity needed to sell more and grow.”
“This partnership marks an important milestone for Wannme as we scale our impact in the marketplace ecosystem in Europe,” de Villa added. “IDC Arena Credit Ventures understood our business model and structured a financing solution aligned with our growth strategy.”
Founded in 2017, Wannme facilitates e-commerce by automating and optimizing payment flows to help solve payments and liquidity issues for online merchants. The company provides merchants with advances of up to 90% of their net sales daily, and also offers an online payment gateway that enables them to accept a wider variety of payment methods, including recurring and automated payments. These methods also include both Apple Pay and Google Pay, which Wannme integrated into its platform in February.
Mortgage platform Wypo partners with financial app Plazo
Wypo, a Spanish mortgagetech platform that helps would-be homeowners locate and sign customized mortgages online, has struck a strategic partnership with financial wellness app Plazo. A division of Spanish fintech ID Finance, Plazo will offer Wypo users access to credit lines of up to €5,000 through its Plazo Credit solution directly from the Plazo app.
“This partnership is a great opportunity to deliver complete and accessible financial solutions to our users,” Wypo CEO Elena Ansótegui said. “At Wypo, we are committed to offering resources that meet real needs. The alliance with Plazo strengthens our focus on continuously improving the customer experience and enables us to go a step further in offering key financing options when users need them most.”
Wypo customers will benefit from digital access to both debit and credit solutions courtesy of the partnership with Plazo. Also included are the ability to participate in an extensive cashback program and access to free, online legal and medical advice through a service called MeetingPros.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Wypo and to provide added value to new homeowners, helping them cover initial expenses for refurbishments or repairs, buy furniture, appliances, home decor items, and more,” Plazo CMO Carlos Martín said. “They’ll also benefit from all the additional features offered by Plazo, designed to bring greater financial peace of mind.”
Founded in 2021, Wypo is headquartered in Torrelavega, Cantabria. The mortgagetech’s partnership news comes amid a significant increase in home purchase loans in Spain, reflecting an 11% year-over-year gain. This has been accompanied by a comparable rise average housing prices in the country. Wypo’s partnership with Plazo will help the firm provide additional services to its customers, further differentiating its offering from competitors.
CaixaBank and Salesforce team up to leverage AI to personalize CX in banking
A newly signed agreement between Spain’s CaixaBank and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution provider Salesforce will help “jointly advance artificial intelligence projects for the digital transformation of banking services.” More specifically, CaixaBank will leverage Salesforce technology to enhance its customer relationship channels to improve the customer experience.
This technology includes solutions such as AI-based Agentforce—the integrated AI assistants on the Salesforce platform—as well as Salesforce Data Cloud for data management and analysis. Agentforce enables the deployment of AI agents to offer specialized assistance to CaixaBank employees and customers alike. These agents operate proactively and continuously across apps, chatbots, physical offices, and call centers, processing large amounts of data quickly to optimize decision-making and improve the efficiency of task execution.
By implementing Salesforce Data Cloud, CaixaBank will leverage the cloud data management and analysis technology to manage the transmission of data produced by the institution to ensure it is immediately available for any query. The data will be recorded securely and will allow for real-time consultation.
Based in Valencia, CaixaBank is the leading financial group in the Spanish market. With a digital customer base of nearly 12 million, the company provides banking, insurance, and investment services. CaixaBank’s partnership with Salesforce is part of the firm’s overall digital transformation strategy, which has enabled the institution to earn recognition as the Best Bank in Western Europe and Best Bank in Spain in 2024 by Global Finance.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
Munich-based, AI-powered anti-money laundering and fraud prevention firm, Hawk, raised $56 million in new funding.
Nets, a division of European payment technology company Nexi Group, teamed up with Latvian financial institution, BluOr Bank.
Turkish embedded finance company Sipay secured $78 million in funding at a valuation of $875 million.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Canada.
Float Unveils Float FX to Help Canadian Businesses Save on Currency Conversion Costs
Toronto, Ontario-based business finance platform Floatunveiled a new solution for Canadian businesses this week. The new offering, Float FX, will enable Canadian companies to instantly convert funds at rates as much as 90% lower than with traditional banks. Float noted that the solution is part of the company’s broader goal to help support businesses that do business in the US as they navigate volatility in both currency markets and US trade policy.
“With the Canadian dollar under pressure and potential trade disruptions looming, we designed Float FX to give Canadian businesses an advantage when operating across the border,” Rob Khazzam, Co-Founder and CEO of Float, said. “Combined with offering high-yield interest on CAD and USD balances, Float provides material opportunities for companies to save on costs and protect margins—at a time when every dollar counts.”
Even before recent trade tensions with the US, businesses in Canada were facing significant challenges when it came to currency exchange. According to a recent survey—The Financial Outlook of SMBs in 2025—Float learned that more than half of the Canadian businesses queried said that they struggled to deal with high fees and poor exchange rates. In their report, Float pointed to legacy banking infrastructure and inefficient processes as the culprit, noting that many companies continued to patronize financial institutions that required time-consuming in-person visits and manual reviews, or long settlement times. This leaves businesses with exposure to fluctuations in potentially volatile exchange rates, as well as increasing their vulnerability to hidden fees.
Float FX will offer fees of 0.25% all-in, a figure that is up to 90% lower than that offered by Canadian banks. Companies will also benefit from seamless, built-in currency conversion within the Float platform, enabling them to convert, hold, and spend USD in a single location.
With more than 4,000 Canadian companies as customers, Float offers a business finance platform that helps businesses spend, save, and scale. Founded in 2019, the company provides corporate cards, automated expense management, next-day billpay, high-yield accounts, and more.
Float began the year securing $70 million CAD in Series B financing in a round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. OMERS Ventures, FJ Labs, Garage Capital, and Teralys also participated in the investment. The funding brought the company’s total funding to more than $120 million CAD in the past year. Float has used the capital to expand its product offerings and recruit talent.
Banco Santander, Kraken Secure Key Canadian Approvals to Fuel Expansion
Canadian regulators are in a “yes” mood of late when it comes to helping fintechs expand operations in the country. This week we learned that Banco Santander has secured a Canadian banking license as part of the financial institution’s effort to grow its footprint in the Americas. Also this week, crypto exchange Kraken reported that it had obtained a Restricted Dealer registration from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
First up, Banco Santander. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada’s banking regulator, authorized Banco Santander’s Santander Consumer Bank to begin operations in March. Banco Santander has been active in the Canadian market since acquiring car financing company Carfinco Financial Group in 2014. The firm applied for a Schedule II banking license in 2019, which allows subsidiaries of foreign banks to offer financial services including deposits, lending, wealth management, and credit cards. Santander Consumer Bank was incorporated as a federally regulated financial institution in 2024 by Canada’s Minister of Finance, with OSFI approval being the final step.
Second, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has secured a Restricted Dealer registration in Canada that will enable the firm to better serve its customers in the country. As part of the announcement, the exchange announced that it would offer free Interac e-Transfer deposits to all of its Canadian clients.
“This achievement marks the culmination of a rigorous pre-registration undertaking (PRU) process, during which Kraken consistently enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to meet the highest industry standards,” the Kraken blog stated this week. “As a result, our Canadian clients now benefit from a solid regulatory foundation, ensuring access to some of the most innovative and secure crypto products in the local ecosystem under the supervision of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).”
In addition to securing its restricted dealer registration, Kraken also announced the appointment of Cynthia Del Pozo as the company’s new Canadian General Manager. With nearly 15 years of experience in corporate development, operations, and fintech consulting, Del Pozo will guide an operation that has grown significantly in recent years, including surpassing $2 billion CAD in combined client assets under custody and a doubling of both team size and the number of monthly transacting users during the PRU process.
“Canada is at a turning point for crypto adoption, with a growing number of investors and institutions recognizing digital assets as a vital part of the financial future,” Del Pozo said in a statement. “The Restricted Dealer registration is a testament to the high bar Kraken has always set for consumer protection, client service, and robust security.”
Founded in 2011, Kraken enables more than 10 million traders and investors to buy and sell more than 200 digital assets and six different national currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, and AUD on its platform. David Ripley and Arjun Sethi are co-CEOs.
Meet Finovate’s Newest Canadian Alums!
Over the past year, Finovate has been proud to host a handful of innovative fintechs headquartered in Canada. Below is a look at four firms, all Canada-based, that have demonstrated their fintech innovations live on the Finovate stage of late.
PromoComply – Montreal, Quebec – FEU 2025: Offers technology that automates compliance for financial promotions, reducing legal risks, and enhancing transparency for consumers in real time.
TRIYO – Toronto, Ontario – FS 2024: Offers a work intelligence platform that integrates with existing systems, processes, and workflows to bring visibility to high-value processes across financial services.
Brim Financial – Toronto, Ontario – FF2024: Works with financial institutions, fintechs, and brands to enable them to offer their customers an end-to-end credit card and payments platform.
ZayZoon – Calgary, Alberta – FF2024: Offers an embedded Earned Wage Access (EWA) solution to enable small and mid-sized businesses to offer EWA directly from their own platforms.
Next month at FinovateSpring, we’re happy to introduce our audience to one more Canadian fintech, Cinareo Solutions (Toronto). For more about our upcoming FinovateSpring conference, visit our FinovateSpring hub today!
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features an interview with Stav Levi-Neumark, CEO and Co-Founder of revenue workforce solutions provider Alta.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Israel, Alta leverages data and AI to help drive revenue growth at every level for businesses. The company’s AI Revenue Workforce agents ensure that everyone on the team is connected, aligned, and equipped with the data insights and AI automation they need to enable their businesses to scale efficiently and grow faster. Alta’s agents have helped produce a 3x increase in qualified leads, a 15% increase in win rates, and a 80% reduction in costs.
Our conversation with Levi-Neumark is also a part of Finovate’s and Finovate Global’s commemoration of Women’s History Month. Be sure to check out her thoughts on gender diversity, current opportunities for women in fintech, as well as her advice for female CEOs.
Can you tell us a little bit about Alta and the revenue workforce solutions business?
Stav Levi-Neumark: AI is impacting almost every industry now. But go-to-market and revenue teams across many vertical markets are struggling to fully harness AI for sustained growth. Choosing the right tools to enhance capabilities of salespeople while also automating relevant tasks is a real challenge.
Alta is an AI revenue workforce that is data-driven. It supports revenue teams, allowing each person to be like a 10x version of themselves.
Alta agents automate repetitive and mundane tasks that require limited human oversight, such as researching potential leads and conducting personalized outreach across multiple channels. The agents also provide actionable insights based on real-time data across all revenue functions. This streamlined workflow helps companies achieve improved revenue growth by working more efficiently, accelerating their sales cycle, and enabling humans to focus on relationship-building opportunities, strategic, and creative work.
Who are Alta’s primary customers and how do you reach them?
Levi-Neumark: Alta has really diverse customers across virtually every business sector, and they range from SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. We’ve been able to ramp up the number of clients we have really quickly as well, adding almost 100 customers in less than six months.
Your latest solution—AI Revenue Workforce—leverages innovations in agentic AI. Can you talk about how this technology and new product empower go-to-market and revenue teams?
Levi-Neumark: Agentic AI has endless potential to dramatically improve efficiency and drive revenue growth. By leaving automated tasks to AI agents, human-led go-to-market and revenue teams can work smarter and faster, focusing their attention where it matters most: developing strategy, building relationships, closing deals, and increasing ROI through creative thought.
AI agents in Alta’s workforce include Katie, a Sales Development Representative (SDR), Luna, an AI RevOps agent, and Alex, an AI Calling agent. The workforce can integrate into more than 50 internal and external marketing, sales, and revenue systems that include CRMs, ERPs, payment, advertising, social media tools, and more.
Alta is a very young company, founded in 2023. There has been a lot of discussion about the current environment for tech startups. How would you characterize the climate for startups today?
Levi-Neumark: The founders who thrive will be those who can harness technological advancements while building businesses with solid foundations that can stand on their own, beyond the AI hype. Here’s the advice I typically share when talking with other tech founders:
Success means your customers attribute significant revenue growth directly to your product. When they look at their business results and can clearly see your impact on their bottom line, that’s when you’ll know you’ve truly succeeded.
Maintaining balanced, healthy growth is key. While it may be tempting to focus more attention on one specific area of your organization, it’s critical to ensure all departments grow at an equal pace.
Be proactive rather than reactive to market shifts to position yourself ahead of certain trends. When deeply focused on product development and customer acquisition, it’s easy to miss emerging signals from the broader ecosystem.
Alta recently secured $7 million in seed funding. What does this investment mean for the company and what will it enable Alta to do?
Levi-Neumark: This funding solidifies Alta’s position as an industry leader in workforce intelligence automation. It will allow Alta to continue developing out-of-the-box solutions that redefine the relationship between AI and sales teams to unlock limitless revenue growth opportunities.
We plan to utilize the investment to expand into new markets, grow operations, scale R&D, and accelerate product development to meet increasing market demand from enterprise and mid-market customers. In fact, we are currently developing our newest AI agent, Greg, a sales assistant for account executives, to further bolster our workforce’s capabilities.
You are one of very few female CEOs in the enterprise AI space. Are there unique challenges to greater gender diversity in enterprise AI compared to other areas of technology, fintech, or financial services?
Levi-Neumark: I don’t feel there are unique challenges specific to the AI space compared to other tech sectors. The gender diversity issues we face in enterprise AI mirror what we see across technology, fintech, and financial services more broadly.
The fundamental challenges remain consistent: representation gaps, unconscious bias in hiring and promotion, and the need for more visible role models.
That said, I prefer to focus on the opportunity. AI is still a relatively young field, and at the end of the day, our success is what will define us. I hope more female founders and women will enter this market and look forward to welcoming them.
What advice would you give to female CEOs, especially those who are new to the role?
Levi-Neumark: I would advise female CEOs, especially those new to the role, to build strong support networks early. Connect with other female founders and executives who understand your specific challenges—these relationships become invaluable resources for candid advice and emotional support that you can’t always find within your company.
Trust your unique leadership style and perspective. There’s often pressure to conform to traditionally masculine leadership traits, but the most effective leaders bring their authentic selves to the role. Your different viewpoint is actually a strategic advantage that can help identify opportunities others might miss.
Be strategic about which battles to fight. As a female CEO, you’ll likely face additional scrutiny and challenges. Learn to distinguish between issues that are worth addressing directly and those where it’s better to let your results speak for themselves.
Prioritize building a diverse leadership team from the start. This not only leads to better decision-making, but also creates a culture where different perspectives are valued.
Finally, remember that your visibility matters. By succeeding in your role, you’re creating pathways for others. Share your journey, mentor upcoming leaders, and when possible, be the voice and representation you wished you had when starting out.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
UK-based open banking payments company Atoa announced an integration with New Zealand-based small business platform Xero.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Ualá Raises $66 Million at $2.75 Billion Valuation
In a funding round that featured participation from Mexican media titan TelevisaUnivision, Argentina-based fintech Ualá has added $66 million in funding to its Series E round. The additional funding brings the round’s total to $366 million and gives the company a valuation of $2.75 billion.
The capital comes via an equity sale and will be used to fuel Ualá’s growth throughout Latin America—with a particular emphasis on expansion in Mexico. Ualá Founder and Chief Executive Officer Pierpaolo Barbieri praised the participation of TelevisaUnivision, which he called a “very relevant and influential outlet, across Spanish-speaking markets but especially in Mexico.” Barbieri added, “It will help us create confidence and closeness with a lot of Mexicans that still don’t know us.”
The first close of the Series E round was led by Allianz X, German insurance company Allianz SE’s venture capital arm. Also participating in the first close were Stone Ridge Holdings Group and Pershing Square Foundation. Additional investors in the extension round were not named.
Founded in 2017 in Argentina, Ualá offers financial services including payment accounts connected to an international Mastercard prepaid card, as well as savings accounts, loans, investments, business collection solutions, and more. The company has nine million users in the region, including in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
Ualá began the year by announcing the availability of six new mutual funds in its ecosystem, including one fund denominated in dollars. In February, the company integrated an advanced artificial intelligence platform, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, into its customer service process.
dLocal partners with Temu, Belmoney
Uruguayan fintech and cross-border payments company dLocal announced a pair of partnerships in recent days. First, dLocal launched a new collaboration with Europe-based, remittance-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Belmoney. The goal of the partnership is to facilitate cross-border payouts, leveraging the integration of more than 900 local and alternative payment methods (APMs) such as credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and instant transactions. The collaboration is also designed to boost service reliability and efficiency for those making cross-border transactions in countries including Bangladesh, Ecuador, Peru, and Pakistan.
“Our partnership with dLocal is a game-changer in the remittance space,” Belmoney CEO and Founder Bruno Pedras said. “By integrating with dLocal’s comprehensive network, we can significantly lower costs, improve transaction speeds, and provide a better cross-border payments experience for both senders and recipients.”
Second, dLocal announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Temu, the international e-commerce platform of China’s PDD Holdings. Together, the two companies seek to provide shoppers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with new seamless and secure payment options that are suited to local preferences. Millions of customers in 15 emerging markets in these regions stand to benefit from the collaboration.
“By partnering with dLocal, we’re excited to extend these benefits to millions of customers in emerging markets, ensuring that more people can enjoy accessible, convenient shopping experiences,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.
Launched in 2022, Temu is an online marketplace that offers consumer goods at significantly discounted prices. Shipping goods directly from the People’s Republic of China, Temu reportedly has more than 292 million monthly active users of its app worldwide. The app was among the most popular in US app stores for both iOS and Android in 2024.
Founded in 2016, dLocal is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The country’s first unicorn, dLocal offers an all-in-one payment platform that enables companies to accept and disburse a wide range of local payment methods and currencies. In 2024, the company processed more than $25 billion worth of payments. dLocal works with 700+ merchants, supports 900 payment methods, and operates in more than 40 countries. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker DLO, dLocal has a market capitalization of $2.7 billion. Sebastián Kanovich is CEO.
Ant International’s Bettr brings embedded finances services to ecommerce merchants in Brazil
Speaking of partnerships between businesses in Asia and Latin America, we learned this week that Bettr, Ant International’s AI-driven lending business, has gone live in Brazil. Bettr will help expand lending opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by working with local partners such as AliExpress. Through this partnership, Bettr will introduce a new financing solution, Bettr Working Capital, for local merchants working on AliExpress’s platform.
“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive by providing accessible and efficient financial tools that can take their operations to the next level,” LatAm director of AliExpress Briza Bueno said. “In this way, we are not only supporting the individual growth of these entrepreneurs but also contributing to the advancement of e-commerce in the country.”
Bettr Working Capital will be introduced gradually; the first round of disbursements began this week. The technology analyzes merchant sales records and other unstructured business data from AliExpress to make smarter, tailored, more affordable loan solutions. This will help small and medium-sized businesses better manage cash flow and expand into new markets.
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International is an international digital payments and financial technology provider. Bettr is the company’s digital lending business, which specializes in serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The firm combines emerging technologies like AI and data-driven credit modeling to offer secure financial solutions that better fit borrower needs.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina-based fintech Uala raised $66 million at a valuation of $2.75 billion in an extended Series E round.
Remittance company Pomelo integrated with Visa clearing house in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Indonesian ride-hailing service InDrive teamed up with Singapore’s Fingular and Indonesia’s Sharia-compliant P2P lending platform Ammana to launch its new inDrive.Money app.
Malaysian wealth management platform Versa raised $6.8 million in Series A funding.
Japan’s international payment brand JCB partnered with integrated payment provider First Cash Solution, expanding JCB Card acceptance in Germany.
Sub-Saharan Africa
African payments technology giant Flutterwave integrated with Pay With Bank Transfer to support businesses in Ghana.
Mastercardextended its collaboration with London-based Paymentology to boost financial inclusion in South Africa.
Compliance and fraud prevention platform Sumsubannounced a partnership with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian identity verification provider iDenfy announced a collaboration with mobility provider Evemo.
Estonian fintech Hoovi raised €8 million in funding via a structured bond issue from Finland’s Multitude International Bank.
Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partnered with open banking services provider Salt Edge.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israeli fintech FINQ became the first Israeli company to secure a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered Investor Advisor (RIA) license without relocating to the US.
Egyptian fintech Fawry inked a strategic agreement with Contact Financial Holding to expand access to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
What happens when an ongoing revolution in payment innovation meets a regulatory regime determined to ensure secure and safe transactions for individual consumers, business entities, and even governments? This is the payments landscape in the UK and EU in 2025. As a proliferation of payment options promises to streamline banking and commerce, regulators, fintechs, and financial services companies are looking for ways to make sure that the challenges to these new payment options—from technical complexity to new forms of fraud and financial crime—are met.
To discuss these and other issues involving payments and the emerging regulatory environment, we caught up with Stuart Neal, Chief Executive Officer of Boku. Appointed CEO in January of 2024, Neal previously served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Boku’s Identity Division. A champion of payment choice, Boku supports a global network of localized payment solutions, including Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), digital wallets, and account-to-account connections. Founded in 2008, Boku is headquartered in London.
Local Payment Methods (LPMs) have proliferated around the world over the past decade. Socially and technologically, what has powered this growth?
Stuart Neal: Local Payment Methods (LPMs) have had a meteoric rise over the past decade. It’s hard to overstate what a significant and rapid change we’ve seen, and behind it are two main driving forces: changing consumer preferences and rapid technological innovation.
Payments as an industry is finally beginning to reflect the diversity of people’s preferences around the world. And that’s a really positive development. It’s fair to say that traditional financial systems left many people and communities underserved, but LPMs—from mobile wallets in Africa to RTP schemes like UPI in India—bridge this gap, and they’re empowering billions of consumers to participate in the digital economy. This financial inclusion is great for society, for merchants and for the payments industry as a whole.
At Boku, we want to be at the heart of this transformation. People just want convenience, and we’re here to help them buy what they want, the way they want. With one of the biggest LPM networks in the world, we’re making it easier than ever for global merchants to meet consumers where they are.
Looking at Europe specifically, what role has the European Payments Initiative (EPI) played in driving this trend?
Neal: While still in its early stages, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) is playing a crucial role in reshaping the EU payment landscape. Its focus on creating a unified, pan-European payment solution, fostering instant payments, acquiring established players like iDEAL and Payconiq, and advocating for regulatory changes positions it as a future leader in European payments. By competing with global giants, EPI is pushing Europe toward a more integrated, efficient, and competitive payment system. However, full market transformation will likely take a few more years, with real change expected in 2025.
So far the EPI has excelled in laying the groundwork for this payments evolution by clearly articulating its vision and aligning strategically with the key pillars of ecommerce. By fostering strong relationships with merchants, PSPs, and issuing banks, EPI is now in a great position to effect significant change and shape the future of digital payments across Europe.
Part of this was the launch of the real-time payment system Wero last summer. Can you tell us a little about the significance of the Wero launch and how adoption has been so far?
Neal: The Wero Wallet, launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), serves as a strong entry into the EU market with the goal of unifying Europe’s fragmented payment landscape. Initially focusing on person-to-person (P2P) payments, Wero will expand to e-commerce in 2025 and in-store payments by 2026, offering various options such as instant payments, installment plans, and subscriptions. With the acquisitions of Dutch payment solution iDEAL and Luxembourg-based Payconiq International or the transition of the former Paylib P2P user base in France to Wero, EPI / Wero is well-positioned for success. However, EPI has opted for a phased market rollout, like what we have seen by other payment schemes in the past, starting with smaller-scale P2P launches in countries like Germany and France, while the true transformation is expected to unfold in 2025. Notably, these acquisitions continue to operate under their original brands, allowing for organic user growth before transitioning fully to Wero.
Has adoption of Wero been uniform across Europe or have some markets remained more reluctant? What distinguishes the eager adopters from the more cautious?
Neal: This is an interesting question, and one that will be clearer by the end of 2025, when we can fully assess the impact of Wero’s initial e-commerce launches. However, what we can say so far is that Wero’s adoption has been strongly shaped by key market dynamics. Starting in July 2024, users of participating German banks were able to sign up for Wero, with Belgium following suit by the end of 2024, also seeing gradual, organic growth. Around the same time, Wero benefited from a significant boost in France, where the transition from Paylib to Wero provided a built-in user base of approximately 35 million registered Paylib users. Looking ahead, the exit of local payment schemes like Giropay in Germany is expected to reshape the competitive landscape, presenting new opportunities for Wero to establish itself as a leading player in the market.
What can be done to encourage broader acceptance of solutions like Wero and less reliance on cards?
Neal: Accessibility is key to the adoption of anything. And if solutions like Wero are to be more broadly adopted, they must become more accessible for consumers and merchants. So to start with we need to integrate these solutions seamlessly into merchant payment ecosystems and do so in a way that matches–or ideally betters–the convenience of cards. You need a frictionless experience for people on both sides of the counter, as it were, if you want to drive adoption.
And then trust. When it comes to sending and receiving money, trust is non-negotiable. Wero and other solutions like it must be really secure, have robust fraud prevention, and partner with regulators to ensure compliance. When consumers and businesses feel confident, they’ll naturally shift to these modern, local payment methods.
The final piece is education and awareness. A lot of consumers, especially in places like the UK and the US, stick to cards out of habit. If it’s familiar and it works, why change right? That being said, in the last year we’ve seen a huge shift in payment habits and greater awareness and adoption of alternatives. Research by Juniper reveals that 60% of all ecommerce transactions will happen via local payment methods by 2028. To put that into context, it’s equivalent to $7 billion a year flowing through hundreds of different payment methods and away from the legacy card networks. Merchants and payment providers need to highlight the benefits of solutions like Wero—whether it’s lower fees, faster transactions, or better alignment with local preferences.
You have just concluded your first year as CEO of Boku. What are your biggest takeaways from the first year and what are you hoping for in 2025?
Neal: It’s been a whirlwind year for sure. I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made, which has been underpinned by the demand for more convenient payment solutions from consumers. From where we were at the start of 2024, we’ve positioned ourselves as one of the world’s largest and most innovative global networks for Local Payment Methods with significant expansion in key global markets and more significant launches planned for this year.
I think my biggest takeaways would be the size of the opportunity for LPMs and the interwoven nature of the industry. Collaboration is so important, between merchants, PSPs, local payment providers, and indeed consumers. All of these need to be on the same page for digital commerce to flow smoothly, which is why the breadth and depth of our network is so important.
Looking ahead to 2025, ecommerce is going to continue to grow as you’d expect. Research that we’ve commissioned actually estimates that the industry will reach an astonishing $10.6 trillion in value by 2028 (from $5.75 trillion today). Local payment methods are no longer an alternative, they are mainstream. For my part, and for Boku, our focus will be on continuing to innovate and scale our offering across Europe, APAC, Africa and Middle East, as well as some exciting planned launches for Latin America, all as part of our push and our mission to give people the freedom to buy what they want, the way they want.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
Indian B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company Perfios acquired financial crime detection and risk management platform Claris5.
Pakistan fintech ABHI launched its microfinance bank.
Indian insurtech InsuranceDekho raised $70 million in a funding round co-led by existing investors including Beams Fintech Fund and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).
International enablement and payments platform Nayax announced its strategic acquisition of Brazilian digital payments firm UPPay for $5.3 million.
Chilean fintech Banca.me locked in $3 million in new funding.
Asia-Pacific
CTBC Bank Philippines turned to Hitachi Asia to upgrade its digital corporate banking platform.
inDrive partnered with Fingular to launch its inDrive.Money solutions for customers in Indonesia.
Malaysia’s central bank and finance ministry granted licenses to a pair of new digital banks: KAF Digital Berhad and YTL Digital Bank Berhad.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Flutterwave secured a payment system license from the Bank of Zambia.
The Bank of Ghana and the National Bank of Rwanda inked an MoU to provide companies with a license passporting framework and cross-border payment interoperability.
Nigerian fintech ProsperaVest EGG introduced eNsc, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Nigerian Naira.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian identity verification service iDenfy announced a partnership with Highvibes to help protect artists from fraud.
Online payment and checkout solutions provider Montonio expanded its partnership with Inbank to bring BNPL and Hire Purchase options to customers in Latvia and Lithuania.
Austrian Reporting Services (AuRep) teamed up with the Nasdaq to provide regulatory reporting technology and support to companies in Austria’s financial services industry.
Middle East and Northern Africa
UAE fintech Flow48 raised $69 million in combined debt and equity funding.
Egyptian fintech Khazna secured $16 million to power its expansion into Saudi Arabia.
Sadad teamed up with Mastercard to enhance digital payments in Qatar.
This year at FinovateEurope 2025, our 32 demoing companies represent a baker’s dozen of countries from around the world. Of the 32 companies, nine are headquartered in the UK, and seven of them are making their Finovate debuts this year.
Last year, FinovateEurope featured companies from 15 different countries. This year, we’re thrilled to see a similarly diverse group. Here’s where the rest of our FinovateEurope 2025 demoing companies are based.
FinovateEurope is right around the corner: 25-26 February at the Intercontinental O2 in London. Friday, 14 February is the last day to take advantage of big, early-bird savings on the price of your ticket. If you haven’t registered yet, visit our FinovateEurope hub today and save your seat!
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Tabby, a financial services and shopping app in MENA, announced a $160 million Series E funding round that brought the company’s valuation to $3.3 billion.
Qatar-based Islamic financial institution Al Rayan Bank partnered with financial software application provider Finastra to launch its new Islamic core banking solution.
Israel fintech BitStock raised $400,000 in seed funding.
Central and Southern Asia
The Banker featured Golomt Bank and the rise of open banking in Mongolia.
Indian digital payments firm ToneTag secured $78 million in new funding.
Rippleteamed up with Portuguese currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to support cross-border payments between Portugal and Brazil.
Brazilian payments and banking technology provider Dock introduced new Chief Technology Officer Thiago Teixeira.
Latin American global collections firm Takenos launched its Spicy Card, enabled by Pomelo, in Argentina.
Asia-Pacific
Malaysian Earned Wage Access (EWA) specialist Payd raised $400,000 in an extension of its seed funding round.
New Zealand’s Inland Revenue service issued a Request for Information (RFI) as part of an effort to influence the growth of open banking in the country.
Bangladesh-based commercial bank Trust Bank teamed up with TerraPay to help students pay tuition fees.
South African fintech Stitch acquired ExiPay, a company that enables brick-and-mortar stores to securely accept in-person payments via point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
Advanced Television looked at the evolution of South African fintech marketing.
Central and Eastern Europe
Berlin-based invoicing and payables automation management platform Monite unveiled iFrame solution to help SMB platforms deliver financial products and services.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech news and headlines from Australia.
Digital private equity manager Moonfare goes live in Australia
Eligible investors in Australia stand to benefit from the arrival of digital private equity investing platform Moonfare. The Berlin-based company announced that it is bringing its wealth management technology to what is now its 23rd country. Moonfare Asia Pacific head Adam Banks, who joined Moonfare in October, noted that the firm’s APAC investor relations team is already “in active discussions with potential clients” in Australia.
Founded in 2016, Moonfare enables eligible investors to access a selection of curated funds from managers such as KKR, EQT, and the Carlyle Group. The company’s proprietary portfolio investments provide diversification and low minimums across a range of strategies, including buyout, growth equity, venture, and infrastructure. Investors on the platform can also participate in secondaries, private credit, and co-investments.
“There is clearly a growing appetite for private equity investing in Australia,” Moonfare Founder and Co-CEO Steffen Pauls said. “But so far access has been limited, especially for people wanting exposure to non-domestic managers and strategies. Moonfare’s digital private equity platform plans to fill that gap by providing seamless access to globally leading top-quartile managers.”
Moonfare boasts more than €3.3 billion ($3.4 billion) in assets under management and access to more than 110 funds. The company began the year with the appointment of Heike Hövekamp as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer. Hövekamp joins Moonfare from Société Générale, where she was Head of Compliance.
Australian regtech Nuj raises $4 million in seed funding
Is there any debate that 2025 is shaping up to be the year of regtech? The fact that regtech increasingly seems to provide fertile ground for new fintech startups may be yet another indication of the growing importance of this subsector.
Australia’s Nuj is another fintech startup that is taking advantage of interest in regtech. The company announced that it has raised $4 million in equity and debt financing to develop its superannuation data platform. A superannuation is Australia’s pension program, created to benefit of employees. They are similar in many respects to an individual retirement account (IRA) or a 401(k) in the US.
Mimecast Co-Founder Peter Bauer led a $2 million seed round as part of an overall $4 million equity and debt package. He praised Nuj’s “powerful data platform that addresses an expensive challenge across the super industry — one of staying ahead in compliance with regulations.” Founded in 2020 by Matthew McKenzie, Nuj is a data platform and insights engine that sits between superannuation funds and the regulator. The technology provides real-time insights to superannuation trustees and executives, enabling them to better manage their risk programs. The company’s platform is used by institutions such as MUFG, AMP, and Equity Trustees.
The investment in Nuj comes as regulatory reporting requirements and calls for increased transparency for superannuation funds are growing. McKenzie noted that funding will help “fuel (the platform’s) capabilities for faster data processing and sharper insights, empowering funds to make informed decisions, and driving better financial outcomes.”
Headquartered in Sydney, Nuj was founded in 2020.
Ozone API and ProductCloud team up to help Australian firms meet open banking regulations
A new partnership between Ozone API and ProductCloud will help companies in Australia comply with Open Banking API regulations, specifically Consumer Data Right legislation. The partnership will provide Australian companies with a technology platform that enables them to quickly and securely deliver open APIs aligned to the most recent version of the Australian Consumer Data Standard.
“Our platform is already helping banks and financial institutions around the world to deliver standards compliant with open banking APIs, including in line with the CDR standard,” Ozone API Co-founder and CEO Huw Davies said. “We’re really excited to combine our global expertise in open finance with ProductCloud’s innovative product management platform. Together, our solutions remove the complexity of achieving and maintaining CDR compliance, allowing organizations to focus on their core business.”
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, Ozone API is a leading standards-based platform designed to take the complexity out of open banking and help companies meet regulatory and commercial requirements for open APIs. In addition to its partnership with ProductCloud, Ozone API also recently announced its collaboration with FinovateEurope 2024 alum ShareID to, in the words of ShareID CEO and Co-founder Sara Sebti, “enhance the Open Banking ecosystem” and, as Ozone API GM for Europe James Bushby put it, “strengthen trust in open finance.”
Melbourne-based ProductCloud offers a cloud-based, SaaS solution that streamlines product information management for financial institutions. Serving banks, neobanks, mutuals, and non-bank lenders, ProductCloud provides a single tool for both Open Banking Product Reference Data and Design and Distribution Obligation compliance. The company was founded in 2020.
“Since launching ProductCloud back when CDR kicked off, we had our sights on being the go-to Product Information Management and CDR Compliance platform for financial institution product managers,” ProductCloud Co-founder and CEO Mark Evans said. “Partnering with Ozone API is an exciting development because they have also been a pioneer in Open Finance. Collaborating with our respective SaaS platforms and out-of-the-box APIs will provide a unique offering for rapid and cost-effective open banking compliance.”
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
Romanian crowdfunding service provider, Venevo, partnered with regtech solutions hub iDenfy.
Lithuanian fintech ArcaPay agreed to be acquired by UK-based financial services provider Ebury.
International money movement firm TerraPay partnered with airport retailer Dubai Duty Free.
Central and Southern Asia
India-based payments and API banking firm, Cashfree Payments, raised $53 million in funding at a valuation of $700 million.
Egyptian fintech Halan Microfinance Bank expanded into Pakistan with a pledge to invest $10 million in 2025.
Indian fintech Cred became the first fintech platform to provide access to India’s central bank digital currency project.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Payment orchestration provider Yuno to launchMastercard Payment Passkey Service across Latin America.
Kuady teamed up with BridgerPay to enhance payment solutions throughout Latin America.
Latin American ecommerce company MercadoLibre now offers transactions using its payment processors in Argentina via Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix.
The regulatory landscape for fintechs and financial services companies operating in the European Union is expected to undergo significant changes this year, with new standards, guidelines, and rules governing payments, data privacy, digital assets, and more.
In this week’s edition of Finovate Global, we caught up with Maya Shabi, Senior Risk Strategist with EverC, a firm that provides tech-driven risk management solutions for ecommerce companies. In our extended conversation, Shabi discusses the policy and regulatory changes that are expected in the EU in 2025, what these changes are designed to achieve, and how they will impact fintechs, financial services companies, and their customers.
Founded in 2015, EverC offers a fully-automated, AI-driven, cross-channel risk management platform that helps drive growth for innovators in the online seller ecosystem. With domain expertise in risk intelligence, data science, and payments, EverC scans 30 million items a day — more than 10 billion products since inception — helping businesses detect and remove high-risk merchants, products, and services so they can safely grow and expand into new verticals and new markets.
In your opinion, did the regulatory environment of 2024 help or hinder innovation in fintech and financial services in the EU?
Maya Shabi: The EU’s regulatory push has been a double-edged sword for innovation in fintech and financial services. On the one hand, clear and consistent rules across member states have lowered barriers to entry, making it easier for fintech companies to collaborate, innovate, and scale across the EU. On the other hand, tighter regulations come with higher compliance costs and can limit the flexibility that’s often critical for driving rapid innovation. Given how quickly crime risks evolve in the financial sector, especially with the advent of AI, I see the overall impact of EU regulations as balanced — supporting innovation in some areas while slowing it down in others.
One early issue will be compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR). What is this policy about? What are the implementation challenges and what are the opportunities for those that get it right?
Shabi: The Instant Payment Regulation (IPR) is designed to make instant euro payments secure and accessible across the EU. Its goal is to modernize the region’s payments landscape by improving the speed and efficiency of transactions within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). SEPA is a broad payment integration initiative that allows consumers and businesses to make cross-border euro payments under the same conditions as domestic transactions, simplifying and unifying payments across EU member states and a few neighboring countries.
With the IPR in place, PSPs must offer instant payment services that process transactions within 10 seconds and are available 24/7 for all euro payments. For European consumers, this means faster, more reliable payments without delays —even during weekends or holidays. It enhances convenience, supports smoother online shopping experiences, and improves cash flow for businesses by eliminating waiting times for fund transfers.
Implementing the IPR presents several challenges for PSPs and other financial institutions. Many FIs need to significantly upgrade their payment processing systems to handle real-time transactions, which also need to uphold fraud detection and AML/CTF rules in real time. The cost of upgrading systems alone is huge, not to mention the added technical challenge of ensuring interoperability between different PSPs and banks across borders. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that not all FIs have the same level of digital maturity, leaving many to play catch-up.
That said, there are several opportunities for those who comply with the IPR sooner rather than later. Early adopters of IPR-compliant systems can position themselves as leaders in innovation and customer service. Offering seamless, instant payments can attract more customers and build trust. Additionally, faster cross-border payments lower barriers for businesses to expand across the EU.
Another policy that will kick in early in 2025 is DORA, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act. What does this policy call for and why is it important?
Shabi: The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a pivotal regulation aimed at strengthening the financial sector’s ability to withstand digital disruptions and cyber threats. It sets clear IT security standards, focusing on managing information and communication technology (ICT) risks, improving incident reporting, and overseeing third-party ICT service providers. Financial institutions will be required to assess “concentration risk” when outsourcing critical or significant operations to external vendors.
For some added context, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) emphasizes protecting personally identifiable information (PIII) through consent and data security, whereas DORA shifts the focus to the digital supply chains of financial institutions. This introduces a new and potentially more challenging regulatory environment that pushes firms to strengthen their defenses against IT disruptions. It is designed to prevent major outages, like the devastating CrowdStrike software update last summer, from crippling banking, payment, and investment services. Under DORA, similar service interruptions will be met with stricter oversight and accountability, driving firms to prioritize digital resilience. Otherwise, non-compliance could lead to fines of up to 2% of a firm’s annual global revenue, and individual managers could face personal penalties of up to €1 million for breaches.
In terms of new open banking regulations, what are your expectations?
Shabi: Open banking regulations opened the door for greater innovation and competition, but they also brought meaningful friction as FIs worked to keep up with rising fraud risks. Under the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), banks are required to share customer data with third-party providers through APIs — a move that, while promoting transparency and choice, also widens the attack surface for cybercriminals. It increases the risk of data breaches, identity theft, and payment fraud.
To counter these threats, PSD2 and its upcoming successor, the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3), mandate stronger security measures like enhanced customer authentication and tighter oversight of third-party access. While these safeguards are critical, they can slow down user experiences and complicate partnerships. Still, this added friction is necessary to strike a balance between the advantages of open banking and the growing need to protect consumers and the broader financial system. Given that the PSD3 is expected to take hold in late 2025 or early 2026, FIs must prepare to ensure they remain compliant.
The EU AI Act passed in 2024. What kind of impact will this regulation have in 2025 and what should companies in financial services be doing now?
Shabi: Governments worldwide are racing to regulate the perceived risks of artificial intelligence. The US issued an AI Executive Order, the UK released a non-binding Declaration of Principles, and China introduced what appears to be a business-friendly AI framework. The EU’s AI Act marks the most significant step yet toward bringing structure to an industry that has largely operated like the Wild West, at least for now.
What makes the EU AI Act stand out is its risk-based approach. Instead of applying blanket regulations to all AI technologies, it scales oversight based on the potential for societal harm — the greater the risk, the stricter the rules. This method strikes a crucial balance between fostering innovation and protecting fundamental rights. In the payments industry, we’re no strangers to how effective a risk-based framework can be when navigating the fine line between managing risk and driving innovation.
Notably, over 100 companies – from global corporations to smaller financial institutions – have already pledged to comply with the AI Act ahead of its full enforcement. This early buy-in signals broad industry support or, at the very least, an interest in collaboration. Even critics who argue the law is either too sweeping or too narrow recognize that engaging with regulators and key stakeholders is often the smarter path. By collaborating early, companies can help shape the conversation surrounding AI instead of being sidelined and forced to comply without having a voice.
Other areas that are likely to receive regulatory scrutiny in 2025 in the EU are crypto and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). What developments are most likely for businesses in these spaces?
Shabi: Complying with the MiCA framework is the first thing that comes to mind when cryptocurrency and the EU are mentioned in the same sentence. MiCA is the EU’s first comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets that introduces clear and consistent rules across member states. Although it’s been in development for several years, key compliance deadlines took effect in 2024 and will continue through 2025. We’re already seeing major crypto firms like Coinbase adjusting their operations to meet MiCA’s requirements, while others are reassessing their market strategies — some even shifting focus to countries with more relaxed crypto regulations. For any crypto business operating in the EU, heavy compliance standards are becoming the norm, much like other industries that come with significant AML/CTF risks.
BNPL, however, presents a different regulatory challenge. In many ways, BNPL is just a modern spin on subprime lending — a long-standing issue in financial services when it comes to consumer protection. The explosive growth of BNPL services has raised concerns about rising consumer debt, as the lack of transparency about fees, terms, and penalties leaves consumers exposed to hidden costs. Additionally, weak credit checks and poor due diligence practices heighten the risk of users falling into financial overextension. These issues harm individual financial stability and pose systemic risks, especially since BNPL providers often operate across borders with inconsistent oversight.
To address these concerns, regulators across the globe are scrambling to regulate BNPL providers similarly to traditional credit frameworks. EU regulators updated the Consumer Credit Directive to strengthen consumer protections in the credit market, explicitly covering BNPL services. For businesses operating in this space, this means significant regulatory changes are on the horizon. EU member states must implement the directive into national law by November 20, 2025, with full enforcement beginning on November 20, 2026.
By this time next year, what areas of fintech/financial services do you think will have benefitted the most from greater regulatory clarity? Where do you anticipate that more work will be needed?
Shabi: By this time next year, crypto-assets, payments, and RegTech will likely be the biggest winners from greater regulatory clarity in the EU. The full rollout of the MiCA will finally bring consistency across member states, giving crypto firms the green light to develop secure, consumer-friendly products without second-guessing compliance. Likewise, updates to the Payment Services Directives are set to streamline open banking, tightening data security while making it easier for fintechs to access and use consumer data — fueling innovation in payments.
Simultaneously, the growing complexity of EU compliance is driving up demand for RegTech solutions. Fintech companies offering tools to automate compliance, manage risk, and strengthen cybersecurity will be well-positioned for growth as firms scramble to meet evolving requirements under regulations like DORA as well as AML/CTF directives. Ideally, this regulatory progress will create a more stable, trustworthy environment that supports responsible innovation across the financial sector.
However, several areas still need more attention. The EU AI Act doesn’t fully address how AI is used in financial services — especially in critical areas like credit scoring and fraud detection — leaving gaps around transparency, data use, and risk management. Cross-border payments and digital identity systems also remain fragmented, making it harder to streamline transactions and verify users across the EU.
Emerging asset classes like NFTs and tokenized assets are another blind spot, lacking comprehensive oversight and leaving both consumers and markets exposed to risk. Smaller fintechs, too, may struggle to keep up with strict cybersecurity and operational resilience requirements under DORA, highlighting the need for more scalable compliance pathways. Closing these gaps will be key to ensuring the EU can balance innovation with long-term financial stability and consumer protection.
How will this evolving regulatory landscape impact your customers and the work EverC does for them?
Shabi: As platforms and payments continue to evolve, bringing more of our finances (and our lives) online, fraudsters will continue to exploit these opportunities, and regulators will continue to create structures to protect consumers. The evolving regulatory landscape is a challenge that marketplaces and payment providers must meet to continue doing business successfully.
The cost of noncompliance — in terms of enforcement actions and fines, lawsuits, decreased revenue, and loss of reputation and consumer trust — will always outweigh the cost of creating and maintaining a solid risk and compliance strategy. With technology, we can fight fraud and make ecommerce and digital finance safer while allowing our customers to benefit from operational efficiencies and more effective resource allocation.
EverC enables payment providers, ecommerce players, and financial institutions to meet these challenges with customer-centric innovation. That innovation is accelerated with the power of GenAI for scalable, tech-forward solutions. Our experts stay current with regulatory trends so we can anticipate and meet our customers’ needs as they navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
German fintech 21X partnered with AllUnity, a joint venture between DWS, Flow Traders, and Galaxy Digital.
Lithuania-based Urbo Bank (formerly Medicinos Bankas) announced a collaboration with certified payment technology company DECTA to go live with Visa card issuing services.
Dubai-based cybersecurity firm CyberHive inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with business planning and operations smart solutions provider Meerana.
Israel-based conversational AI innovator and Finovate Best of Show winner eSelf.ai raised $4.5 in seed funding.
Egyptian financial services company Paymob secured a Retail Payment Services (RPS) license from the Central Bank of the UAE.
Brazilian fintech Nubank partnered with Mexican convenience store chain Oxxo to expand its cash deposit and withdrawal network.
El Salvador bought twelve Bitcoin this week despite an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce its activity in the cryptocurrency market.
Philippines-based Netbank partnered with Discovery Credit Solutions Corporation (DCSC) to launch a new solution to optimize loan management.
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) fined KakaoPay and ApplePay $5.8 million for violations of the country’s Personal Information Protection Act.
Revolutlaunched its robo-advisor service in Singapore.
