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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Brazil-based digital bank Nubank is considering moving its legal domicile from the Cayman Islands to the U.K.
The domicile move is pending approval from HM Revenue & Customs, as part of the U.K.’s efforts to attract tech companies.
The potential move involves legal and tax registration changes rather than relocating management or operational offices, offering potential benefits like a favorable tax environment and better access to international markets.
According to a Bloomberg report yesterday, digital bank Nubank is considering moving its legal domicile to the U.K. This would shift the Brazil-based company’s domicile from the Cayman Islands, where its current holding company is based.
If finalized, the move, which is still pending approval from the U.K.’s HM Revenue & Customs authority, would be part of the U.K.’s initiative to bring more tech companies into the country.
“Nubank continuously reviews its corporate legal structure to align with the footprint of its operations,” a Nubank spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, no decision has been made regarding the redomiciliation of Nu Holdings Ltd. or any other legal entities within our group. As a publicly traded company, we are committed to transparency and will follow standard communication protocols if and when any such decisions are made.”
Relocating a domicile location is different from shifting headquarters location. The latter would mean moving primary executive offices and central operations to the headquarters location. A headquarters change would impact where the company’s management and administrative functions are based, while a domicile change would primarily come with tax implications.
Moving its domicile to the U.K. would involve Nubank changing its legal registration and tax residency to the U.K. This shift would subject the company to U.K. corporate laws and tax regulations, which could potentially come with benefits, such as a more favorable tax environment or enhanced access to international capital markets.
Since it was founded in 2013, Nubank serves 92 million customers in Brazil, over 7 million in Mexico, and close to 1 million in Colombia. The company surpassed 100 million customers earlier this year and has a strong foothold in Brazil, where its app is found on the phones of around 60% of all Brazilian adults. Nubank, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, has a current market capitalization of $65.7 billion.
This week in 5 Tales from the Crypto we look at a pair of acquisitions, an expansion into a new market, new guidelines for crypto providers, and a new solution for executing cryptocurrency swaps.
Crypto.com acquires Australia’s Fintek Securities
Cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com has acquired brokerage service and trading company Fintek Securities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition will help Crypto.com extend its services to crypto traders and investors in Australia. Fintek Securities holds an Australian Financial Services license and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
“The path of the Crypto.com roadmap is to ambitiously expand our offering by providing customers (with) the most comprehensive set of financial services, and this acquisition is the latest step in that journey,” Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said. “The goal is to create one destination for all financial services where users can simplify their experience and maximize rewards.”
Crypto.com offers eligible customers financial products including deposits, derivatives, securities, foreign exchange, managed investment schemes, and more. Investors and traders on its platform can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more than 350 other cryptocurrencies. They can also access, manage, and spend their funds at any time using their Crypto.com Visa Card, which offers 5% cash back on all purchases.
Founded in 2016, Crypto.com has its corporate headquarters in Singapore and American headquarters in Tyler, Texas. The company serves more than 100 million customers around the world, and is a leader in regulatory compliance, security, and privacy in the crypto space. Crypto.com’s latest acquisition comes less than a month after it announced the purchase of SEC-registered broker-dealer Watchdog Capital. In August, Crypto.com addedPayPal as a payment method to fund cryptocurrency purchases on its platform.
Cryptocurrency platform Gemini goes live in France
Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in hand, cryptocurrency platform Gemini has gone live in France. The platform secured its VASP registration earlier this year, and this week announced that it is taking advantage of growing interest in crypto in France to begin operations in the country.
Gemini Head of Europe Gillian Lynch wrote on the company’s blog that the percentage of crypto owners in France has grown to 18%, a two-point increase since 2022. Gemini’s 2024 Global State of Crypto report further revealed that trust in crypto is higher in France (23%) compared to both the U.S. (21%) and the U.K. (19%). Additionally, most crypto owners in France (62%) are so-called HODLers who see their holdings as part of their long-term investments rather than as short-term trading vehicles. Nearly half of those responding bought their first crypto assets more than three years ago.
“Gemini’s entry into France is a strategic choice for our next phase of growth,” Lynch wrote. “France’s proactive engagement with and support of the crypto sector has fostered the development of a crypto hub, making it a key market for us.”
Lynch credited regulators for much of the positive sentiment in France toward crypto. Specifically, Lynch pointed to France’s VASP regime, as well as the European Union’s passage of the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) in 2023. MiCA provides a comprehensive framework and regulatory guidance for E.U. companies involved in digital assets.
“We believe in empowering individuals through crypto, and our expansion into France marks a significant milestone in our mission to make crypto accessible to everyone,” Lynch said. “Gemini’s research into the French market shows its growing interest in digital assets. (A) robust regulatory framework presents a unique opportunity to introduce our platform to the trading community and extend our presence in the European market over the coming months.”
Founded in 2015, Gemini is headquartered in New York.
EBA publishes new regulations for crypto providers
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued two sets of guidelines that specify measures that Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) must adhere to when transferring funds or cryptocurrencies. In effect as of December 30, 2025, the regulations will require CASPs and PSPs that transfer funds or crypto assets to use a reliable screening system that will ensure compliance with their “restrictive measures” obligations.
“These Guidelines clarify how restrictive measures policies and procedures interact with financial institutions’ wider governance and risk management frameworks, to avoid operational and legal risks for financial institutions and ensure an effective implementation of restrictive measures,” the EBA wrote.
Further, CASPs and PSPs must screen relevant information to manage the risk that entities or individuals could violate the EU’s restrictive measures or seek to circumvent them.
The new compliance requirements are designed to address perceived vulnerabilities in the banking system that can lead to both legal and reputational risks for financial institutions. This can weaken the effectiveness of the E.U.’s restrictive measures regime and, ultimately, destabilize the region’s financial landscape.
The regulations build on legislation first issued in 2021 by the European Commission as part of a reform of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) program. These regulations, adopted in June of last year and going into effect on December 30 of this year, include a proposal for new rules with regard to fund and crypto asset transfers.
Coinbase acquires Utopia Labs
Digital currency wallet and platform Coinbase announced that the team from Utopia Labs will join its efforts to enhance Coinbase’s onchain payments roadmap within Coinbase Wallet.
“The Utopia team has been on the ground floor building onchain payments products for years. We’re pumped for them to join us to accelerate our goal of bringing low-cost, fast, and global payments to everyone around the world,” Coinbase Head of Base and Coinbase Wallet Jesse Pollak wrote on the company’s blog. “Together, we’ll create a future where individuals and businesses large and small use onchain payments to make their lives better every day.”
Specifically, the Utopia Labs team will join Base, Coinbase’s decentralized Ethereum Layer 2 scaling network. Base provides a secure, low-cost, and developer-friendly way to build decentralized apps onchain. Coinbase Wallet enables users to store and manage all of their digital assets — from cryptocurrencies to NFTs — as well as multiple digital wallets in a single location. The wallet provides support for hundreds of thousands of coins, as well as many decentralized apps, and can readily be funded from bank accounts, local payment options, or card payments in more than 130 countries.
As Pollak explained, the connection between the acquisition, Base, and Coinbase is a strong one. “There’s a natural flywheel here,” Pollak said. “Base is supporting developers who build onchain apps, those apps attract users onchain, Wallet onboards those users, and in turn more users incentivizes more developers to build onchain.”
Operating in more than 100 countries, Coinbase supports $185 billion in quarterly volume traded on its platform, and safeguards $273 billion in assets. The company was founded in 2012 and made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014. Brian Armstrong is CEO.
Earlier this month, Coinbase launched a new engineering hub in Singapore to support the local developer community. Also in November, Coinbase introduced USDC Rewards for Coinbase Wallet users. The new program enables them to earn 4.7% APY by holding USDC onchain in their wallets. Rewards are paid directly into user wallets on Base every month. Currently available “in most regions” around the world, U.S. Coinbase Wallet users are gaining access to the service this week.
Nubank introduces cryptocurrency swap tool
Brazilian fintech giant Nubank has introduced a new solution to help simplify cryptocurrency transactions for its customers. The new tool enables Nubank customers to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Uniswap for the digital dollar USDC and vice versa.
“Swap is in demand by customers as they start including crypto assets into their strategies,” Nubank Executive Director of Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets Thomaz Fortes said. “The initial implementation involving USDC and the four most popular cryptos is a way to ensure potential profits from value appreciation without losing market position and with a lower fee compared to selling for value in reais.”
Integrated into the firm’s Nubank Cripto solution, the new functionality will be released over the coming weeks. Additional token pairs will be introduced within the next few months.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, Nubank made its Finovate debut at our developers conference, FinDEVr New York in 2016. Today, Nubank offers one of the largest digital banking platforms in the world. In fact, the company’s swap tool news arrives a few days after it reported reaching the 100 million customer milestone in Brazil. This figure represents 57% of the country’s adult population. Nubank also recently noted major gains in other Latin American markets, reporting nearly nine million customers in Mexico and more than two million in Colombia.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features news from the fintech industry in Nigeria.
Africa’s newest fintech unicorn raises $110 million
African fintech Moniepoint is the continent’s latest fintech unicorn. The firm, Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, announced this week that it has raised $110 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Development Partners International (DPI). The round also featured participation from Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock. The infusion of capital boosts Moniepoint’s valuation above $1 billion, and is providing a positive light at a time when many fintechs in Africa are struggling to secure funding.
The funding takes Moniepoint’s total capital to more than $180 million.
Formerly known as TeamApt, the nine-year-old fintech will use the capital to accelerate the company’s growth across the continent. Moniepoint is building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses that features services including digital payments, banking, foreign exchange, credit, and business management tools. Speaking on behalf of DPI, Adefolarin Ogunsanya praised the company for its “combination of innovative technology, fast growth, and positive impact on the continent.”
CEO Tosin Eniolorunda co-founded the company in 2015. In the years since then, Moniepoint has grown into an all-in-one financial ecosystem that serves 10 million businesses and individuals. The company powers most of the point of sale transactions in Nigeria and, via its subsidiaries, processes $17 billion a month for its customers. Headquartered in London, Moniepoint maintains offices in Lagos, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya, as well as in the U.S.
“This milestone validates the work we’ve put in for almost a decade,” the company noted in a post on its LinkedIn page. “And with this raise, we’ll be making financial happiness a reality for every African, everywhere. This is just Day One, and we’re excited for where this takes us.”
CB Insights also named Moniepoint to its 100 most promising startups roster for 2024. The Nigerian fintech is one of seven African startups to make this year’s list.
MTN Nigeria aims for higher quality mobile wallet users
There’s good news and bad news in the latest financial report from African telecommunications company MTN Nigeria. The bad news is that the company reported a significant after-tax loss of $312.7 million (₦514.9 billion), due largely to volatility in the currency market. MTN also noted that though active data users grew by more than 5% to 45.3 million, the company’s mobile money wallet business declined by more than 21%.
The good news? MTN’s fintech division grew revenues by 18%, with much of the gains coming from its mobile money service, MoMo. The decline in active mobile money wallets noted above was attributed in part to a shift in the company’s sales strategy to focus more on “high-quality wallet users” rather than just maximizing the number of users in general. MTN Nigeria also noted that its MoMo service has recently added functionality to support cross-border transactions.
“In the fintech business, we focused on executing our growth strategy, prioritizing increasing wallet quality, focusing on advanced services, and the MoMo PSB app to enhance the user experience and engagement,” MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola explained. “We have introduced cross-border remittances with 13 fellow African countries to boost adoption and monetization. Taking advantage of their interoperability, we are now leveraging the existing network of agents and merchants … in the industry to bring our services closer to our customers.”
PalmPay wins recognition for financial inclusion
Lagos, Nigeria-based fintech platform PalmPay was recognized as the “Most Outstanding Fintech Driving Financial Inclusion” at the 2024 BrandCom Awards held late last month. Sponsored by Brand Communicator, the award acknowledges the fintech’s work in bridging financial gaps and promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria.
“At PalmPay, we believe financial inclusion is the foundation for economic empowerment, and we’re dedicated to ensuring that every Nigerian has access to secure, user-friendly, and reliable financial services,” PalmPay Head of Marketing and Communications, Hanson Femi said.
Founded in 2019, PalmPay has more than 35 million users. The company connects more than one million businesses via its mobile money agent and merchant network, and provides services ranging from instant transfers and billpay to its new USSD feature. This feature enables customers to perform a variety of banking transactions without needing internet connectivity by dialing *861# on their mobile phones.
“We aim to bridge the gap in digital access, and the introduction of our USSD service aligns with that mission,” PalmPay Managing Director for Nigeria, Chika Nwosu, said when the service was launched in September.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
South Korean fintech unicorn, Viva Republica, which operates the mobile financial super app Toss, announced plans to debut in the U.S. market.
Singapore has established a “Global Finance & Technology Network” (GFTN) to support the region’s reputation as an international fintech hub.
Wise became the first non-bank operating in Japan to earn approval to join the country’s domestic payment network, Zegin.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Stanbic Bank Kenya, in partnership with Mastercard, has launched a pair of new credit cards designed to serve the institution’s affluent customers.
Nigeria-based fintech Moniepoint achieved unicorn status after raising $110 million in new funding.
Côte d’Ivoire-based investment platform Daba Finance won the Ecobank Fintech Challenge.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian identity verification and fraud prevention company iDenfy partnered with O2Factoring.
Erste Group teamed up with Neterium to help the firm bring its transaction screening solution to markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Tech Times profiled Germany fintech billionaire and founder of Black Banx, Michael Gastauer.
Nubank has surpassed 100 million customers, stating that it is the first digital banking platform outside of Asia to reach this customer milestone.
Nubank serves 92 million customers in Brazil, over 7 million in Mexico, and close to 1 million in Colombia.
In 2023, Nubank achieved record financial results, reaching more than $1 billion in net profit and over $8 billion in revenue.
Brazilian challenger bank Nubankannounced this week it has surpassed 100 million customers across Latin America. The fintech estimates it is the first digital banking platform outside of Asia to reach this customer milestone. Nubank is currently active in three countries, serving 92 million customers in Brazil, over 7 million in Mexico, and close to 1 million in Colombia.
The company has a mission of “fighting complexity to empower people,” offering users a digital bank account, credit card, mobile phone insurance, life insurance, personal loans, and investing tools. The company launched business accounts in 2019 to offer small business users a bank account, credit card, and a phone-based payment acceptance app.
“In 2013, we had set ourselves the ambitious goal to reach one million customers in five years, which seemed almost impossible at the time,” said Nubank Founder and CEO David Vélez. “In a decade, we have surpassed 100 million, which is a testament to the trust our customers place in us and to the power of a truly customer-centric business model. These 100 million customers have written their stories together with ours, and we want to honor them in a special way.”
Since its inception, Nubank has been instrumental in helping its customers save more than 440 million hours of waiting in service queues. Additionally, the company estimated that it helped users save 11 billion dollars in banking fees in 2023.
Perhaps more notable than savings consumers on fees and their time waiting in line, Nubank has also been instrumental in promoting financial inclusion in Brazil, a region notorious for its high rate of unbanked adults. Between July 2021 and July 2022, Nubank added 5.7 million credit cardholders to the country’s credit card market. In a survey it conducted of accountholders from 2021, Nubank found that 60% of Brazilian customers improved their financial journey in the first 24 months, citing frequent and responsible use of credit cards and other financial products.
“Being customer-centric has been guiding us since the very beginning,”said Nubank Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Cristina Junqueira. “Today, we want our customers to see themselves the way we see them: at the center of everything. In reaching this milestone, we want to focus on the real people and individual stories of empowerment and advance our mission to help improve people’s lives.”
From a U.S. perspective, Nubank’s customer number is not the only impressive metric surrounding the fintech. The company closed last year with record financial results, recording more than $1 billion in net profit and over $8 billion in revenue. The positive financials are especially admirable, given that many U.S.-based challenger banks are still seeking to reach the break even point.
A few days ago, we highlighted the $25.7 million (€24.1 million) investment secured by Danish challenger bank Lunar. Also this week, we noted partnership news from Denmark-based real estate tokenization platform – and FinovateSpring alum – DigiShares.
With all this Danish fintech news, we are devoting this week’s edition of Finovate Global to the fintech scene in Denmark: a Nordic country with a population of nearly six million and a per capita GDP that’s among the top ten in the world. We’ll also highlight some of the Danish fintechs that have demonstrated their innovations on the Finovate stage.
Danish fintech unicorn Pleo raises €40m in debt financing
Pleo enables companies to centralize their business spending – expenses, reimbursements, invoices, and more. Pleo also offers physical, temporary, virtual, and vendor company cards to help businesses better track and manage spending. Pleo integrates readily with common business tools such as NetSuite, Xero, and Quickbooks, making its solution a viable option for companies ranging from start-ups to enterprises. With more than 30,000 customers using its spend management platform, Pleo notes that its technology saves administrative teams 138 hours every year and has a satisfaction rate of 90%.
“We are delighted to announce our partnership with HSBC Innovation Banking. Starting at €40 million, the debt financing available to us can extend based on future requirements – which will expand our existing reach even further into more countries, enable us to increase limits and offer more currencies,” Pleo VP of Credit and Treasury Amit Kahana said. “Beyond this milestone partnership and imminent launch in the Netherlands, Pleo is expecting to see exciting developments over the coming 12 months as Pleo prepare(s) to launch in even more markets.”
Pleo initially earned its unicorn status in the summer of 2021, courtesy of a $150 million investment that drove the company’s valuation to $1.7 billion. Pleo secured an additional $200 million in funding in an extension of its Series C round in December of that year, giving the company a valuation of $4.7 billion.
Ageras raises €82m in oversubscribed private placement round
From its origins in 2012 as an online marketplace to help small businesses connect with financial professionals like accountants and bookkeepers, Denmark-based fintech Ageras has grown into a more comprehensive financial services provider, offering cloud-based accounting services to more than 300,000 small businesses in Europe.
“We want to make it easier to be a small business in an increasingly difficult administrative and regulatory landscape by offering a fully integrated platform where companies can manage their banking, accounting, and tax in one financial cockpit,” Anderson said.
The investment takes Ageras’ total equity capital to more than $231 million, according to Crunchbase. The funds will also support Ageras’ plans for new acquisitions, with Anderson admitting that there are a number of potential targets already under consideration.
Ageras operates in more than 100 countries and boasts more than a million users of its technology. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Ageras was acquired by Investcorp, which took a minority stake in the company in 2017.
Here come Finovate’s Danish alums
Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a large number of innovative fintechs from Northern Europe, including a handful from Denmark. Here are some of the Danish fintechs that have demoed their innovations on the Finovate stage.
Cardlay Payment Systems – FS24 – Cardlay Payment Systems will make its Finovate debut later this month at FinovateSpring in San Francisco. The company offers a white-label card and expense management solution, Cardlay Expense, that delivers an exceptional, real-time experience for cardholders.
Subaio – FEU22 – Subaio made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany, and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateEurope 2022 in London. The company helps financial companies generate new revenue streams by identifying recurring payments and insights, and delivering different use cases based on this data.
Aiia – FEU21 – Aiia demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2021 in London. The leading open banking platform in Northern Europe, the company provides open banking services to a sizable number of financial instituitons including Lunar, Pleo, DNB, and Santander Consumer Bank. Aiia was acquired by Mastercard in 2021.
DigiShares – FS21 – DigiShares introduced itself to Finovate audiences at FinovateSpring 2021 in San Francisco. The company offers a white-label tokenization platform for real estate, bringing both automation and liquidity to the property market.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Vietnamese fintech startup M_Service, operator of mobile e-wallet Momo, secured $28 million (£ 19.7 million) in funding.
A new inclusive instant payment system (IIPS), Higala, launched in the Philippines.
Fintech Australia and the Thai Fintech Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding to foster fintech capabilities between the two countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa
The Central Bank of Nigeria paused account opening for new customers at four fintechs: Kuda Bank, Moniepoint, OPay, and Palmpay.
Digital financial solutions provider Payless Africa launched in Kenya.
FX and cross-border payments provider Crown Agents Bank teamed up with business platform Invest Africa.
Central and Eastern Europe
Norway-based digital identity solution provider Signicat became the first international aggregator to integrate mojeID Poland into its digital identity portfolio.
Romanian fintech Finqware teamed up with FwF to help European companies automate financial operations.
Lithuanian fintech Softloans raised $1 million (€1 million) in pre-seed funding.
Middle East and Northern Africa
National Bank of Iraq (NBI) went live with core banking and payments technology from Temenos.
Egypt’s Bokraraised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding for its platform that offers investment products via asset backed securities.
Central and Southern Asia
Bangladesh-based Eastern Bank (EBL) teamed up with Mastercard to launch a dual currency prepaid card for medical tourists in India.
Indian cross-border payments platform BriskPE secured $5 million in seed funding.
Bank of Thailand launched QR code cross-border payments to India.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazil-based banking-as-a-service company QI Tech became the country’s latest unicorn after securing an extension of its $200 million Series B round from last October.
Uruguyan cross-border payment platform dLocal partnered with online English-learning platform Open English.
Brazilian fintech Nubanklaunched its new banking experience Nubank+, offering cashback, streaming video courtesy of a partnership with Max, and more.
Brazilian fintech and financial services giant Nubank has teamed up with Wise Platform.
Courtesy of the partnership, Wise Platform will power a new global account and international debit card for Nubank.
Wise Platform offers banks, financial institutions, and businesses the ability to leverage its infrastructure to make cheaper, easier payments.
Brazilian fintech Nubank has partnered with Wise Platform to power its global account and international debit card. Wise Platform, Wise’s infrastructure solution for banks, financial institutions, and businesses, now counts more than 85 partners around the world, including Bank Mandiri, Monzo, and Google Pay.
The partnership will power Nubank’s new global account and international debit cards for the fintech’s premium tier, “Ultravioleta,” customers. The collaboration will also enable Nubank customers to hold both U.S. dollars and euros, as well as use their card to spend in local currencies in 200 countries and territories.
“Through this partnership, we’re helping Nubank customers access fast, transparent payments and the ability to easily manage money across currencies,” Wise Platform Global Managing Director Steve Naudé said. “Across the sector, we are seeing a real push from banks and financial institutions to provide their customers with best-in-class international payments services. By working with Wise Platform, banks are able to achieve this in a matter of months or even weeks.”
Wise’s partnership with Nubank represents continued growth for the company in Brazil; Wise reports that it has issued more than one million Wise cards within 15 months of its going live in the country. For its part, Nubank has more than 90 million customers in South America, with more than 85 million in Brazil.
Nubank introduced itself to Finovate audiences in 2016 with its presentation at FinDEVr NewYork. In the years since, the company has grown from a financial services startup to the largest digital bank in Brazil and the second largest financial institution in the country. Late last month, Nubank announced that it has reached the four million customer milestone for its Nubank PJ offering, launched in 2019, which provides solutions for entrepreneurs. This week, the firm’s subsidiary, Nu Colombia, secured a $150 million loan from DFC, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, to help expand its services in the country.
Making its Finovate debut as TransferWise in 2013, the company rebranded as Wise in 2021 to reflect its evolution beyond its origins as an innovator in the international money transfer space. Today, the company supports three main lines of business: its global money transfer service and international account; Wise Business, a global business account with features such as mass payouts and multi-user access; and Wise Platform, which enables companies to give their customers easier, cheaper payments by leveraging Wise’s infrastructure. Co-founder Kristo Käärmann is CEO.
Swiss fintech Temenoslaunched its end-to-end Temenos Enterprise Services on the Temenos Banking Cloud this week. The new offering will enable banks to lower the cost, complexity, and risk of modernization, and deploy new software solutions in 24 hours.
Temenos President Product and Chief Operating Officer Prima Varadhan called the offering “a game-changing approach.” Varadhan added, “the ability to deploy fast, take advantage of a functionally-rich system from day 1, and benefit from continuous updates, help banks to attack the largest cost elements of running core banking software.”
Temenos Enterprise Services features 120+ pre-packaged banking products, predefined customer journeys, and more than 700 pre-configured APIs. The offering enables banks, regardless of size, to launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and have a build and test environment within 24 hours. Whether the goal is the launch new business lines or to modernize legacy systems, Temenos Enterprise Services enables banks to benefit from continuous updates, optimal security controls, resilience, and high-performance Service Level Agreements. Banks and FI will also get immediate access to the Temenos Exchange ecosystem with another 115+ complementary solutions.
“Speed, security, and business agility are key for banks to compete and thrive in the digital world,” Varadhan said. “With our end-to-end Temenos Enterprise Services on Temenos Banking Cloud, banks of all sizes can have a ready-to-go system in 24 hours with pre-configured banking products, turn on new features, and benefit from faster time to value.”
A Finovate alum since 2013, Temenos counts more than 700 banks and 3,000+ FIs across 150 countries as users of its technology. The Swiss fintech’s offerings support retail, business, and corporate banking, as well as wealth management and services for fund administrators. Temenos ended 2023 with a new partnership with Lesha Bank, a Qatar-based investment bank that migrated to Temenos’ core banking platform in December.
Swiss payments technology company Riveroraised $7 million in Series A funding this week. Inference Partners and 6 Degrees Capital led the round. Kraken Ventures, Seed X Liechtenstein, the venture arm of PostFinance and angel investor and former Adyen COO, Robert Kraal, also participated in the funding. The company will use the capital to fuel expansion into new markets, enhance product development, and add to its workforce.
“We’re thrilled to share the news of our Series A round,” Rivero CEO and co-founder Thomas Müller said, “especially given the current challenging market conditions. We take this as confirmation of our strong business model and clear market demand for our products.”
A specialist in payment digitization and automation, Rivero makes payments easier for financial institutions, especially issuing banks. The company has two primary SaaS offerings: Kajo, a payment scheme compliance solution, and Amiko, which provides tools for fraud recovery and dispute management. Rivero has forged partnerships with more than 20+ financial institutions including Swiss bank Cembra, which deployed Amiko, and payment card issuer Cornercard, which deployed Kajo.
“Globally, banks spend billions of dollars on scheme compliance and payment dispute management,” 6 Degrees Capital partner Thibault D’hondt noted. “Rivero is the first of its kind to offer a suite of SaaS solutions to help banks and processors address the challenge.”
Founded in 2019, Rivero is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
German crypto custodian Fiona raised $15 million in strategic funding at a valuation of $100 million.
Estonian fintech Money Industries secured a $1.5 million investment led by Caucasus Ventures.
Omnicredit, Romania’s first micro financing, scoring and factoring company, won the “Best Digital Lending in CEE Among Fintechs” award from the SME Banking Club Association.
Middle East and Northern Africa
MENA-based Paymob teamed up with GCC-based shopping and payments platform Tamara.
Ooredoo, a Qatar-based fintech, forged a partnership with Commercial Bank to launch its direct debit solution.
MENA-based payments solutions provider Magnati collaborated with Oxinus Holdings to enhance payments in the food and beverage business.
Central and Southern Asia
Indian pay tech Mylapay raised $550,000 in seed funding.
nanopaybrought its remittance solution, Foree Remittance, to Pakistan courtesy of a partnership with the National Bank of Pakistan.
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integrated with Singapore-based PayNow to support remittance flows from Indian’s in Singapore back home.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Conta Simples, an expense management and corporate card services platform based in Brazil, secured $41.5 million in new funding.
Argentina-based fintech Ualá launched the country’s first no-fee credit card.
Our final Finovate Global column of 2023 celebrates the conversations we’ve had this year with fintech innovators from around the world.
Stay tuned in 2024 for more interviews with some of the most interesting founders, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in fintech and financial services.
“We developed BehaviorQuant because every financial decision is ultimately made by a person or a team. BehaviorQuant solves a core problem that underlies the entire investment industry: we don’t have systematic knowledge about the people and teams behind investment decisions. And that’s true for financial professionals and clients alike.” Dr. Thomas Oberlechner, founder and CEO of BehaviorQuant. Interview.
“Moniepoint solves the problem of fragmented, inaccessible, and low-quality financial services for businesses in emerging markets. It is a full-service business banking platform seeking to provide all the digital financial services a typical business needs.” Tosin Eniolorunda, founder and CEO of Moniepoint. Interview.
“Eight hundred million voice conversations are recorded daily in Europe and many more worldwide. A tiny 1% of these conversations are checked for quality control, employee training, and business results improvement. Ender Turing is a conversations intelligence and automation platform to close 99% of the conversation gap for business growth.” Olena Iosifova, CEO of Ender Turing. Interview.
“Capital raising is broken. Private companies spend months and even years in the fundraising process, learning how to raise capital and repeating the same mistakes, approaching the wrong investors and often spamming them with irrelevant investment opportunities.” Ulyana Shtybel, CEO of Quoroom. Interview.
“At Refine intelligence, our mission is to help banks regain that superpower of really knowing their customers’ life stories, so their financial crime teams can quickly clear AML or scam alerts triggered by legitimate customer activity. We work with Risk, Financial Crime, BSA and AML teams. Fraud teams look at our technology to help with scam operations.” Uri Rivner, co-founder and CEO of Refine Intelligence. Interview.
“It was an honor to be ranked by CB Insights in its Fintech 250 list and, as one of only seven African start-ups featured, it speaks to the pioneering approach we are introducing to the world – revolutionizing payments and creating a financial services ecosystem for Africa.”
“As sub-Saharan Africa gains recognition on the global stage, we are seeing innovative and pioneering products emerge and rise in popularity amongst consumers, diversifying the products they can choose from.” Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of Paga. Interview.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Singaporean fiat-to-crypto payment gateway Alchemy Pay forged a partnership with Worldpay from FIS.
Indonesian P2P fintech JULO added insurance coverage with the launch of its JULO Cares solution.
Hungary’s OTP Bank partnered with Intellect Global Consumer banking (iGCB), the consumer banking arm of Indian banking technology copany Intelltect Design Arena.
Standard Chartered has teamed up with Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) to launch the fifth cohort of Women in Tech accelerator program. The program is designed to empower female entrepreneurs in the UAE’s technology sector, and encourage innovation, diversity, and economic development. Participants in the program receive training, workshops, mentorship, and access to seed capital. Applications to join the accelerator can be submitted up until the end of July. Ten startups will be chosen to participate. The program ends with a demo day in October, giving each of the startups the opportunity to present their business model to a panel of industry thought leaders and experts, as well as potential investors. The top three startups in the program will be awarded a total of $100,000 in non-equity seed capital.
“By joining forces with DIFC Innovation Hub, we are also taking significant strides toward building a more inclusive and thriving tech ecosystem that supports women-led startups and harnesses the diverse talents and perspectives of women, ultimately shaping a brighter future for all,” Standard Chartered UAE CEO Rola Abu Manneh said.
Eligible companies must have a gender-diverse team. This includes a minimum of one female co-founder. Companies must demonstrate an innovative and scalable solution, as well as the technology’s sustainable impact. The program is for UAE-based startups only.
CFI Financial Group has partnered with Finovate Best of Show winner Capitalise.ai to bring AI-enabled, automated trading to clients in the Middle East. Capitalise.ai leverages code-free automation to enable traders and investors to implement their trading strategies more accurately and reduce human error. Capitalise.ai’s platform enables traders to plan trades in advance as well as take advantage of preset trading strategies. The platform then automatically executes trading decisions based on parameters decided in advance by the trader. This helps ensure that the trades taken are both timely and accurate.
In addition to executing trades, the Capitalise.ai platform also monitors the market for potential trading opportunities based on pre-set parameters. The platform notifies users when specific market conditions line up with their trading strategies, alerting them to potential opportunities in the market.
Capitalise.ai co-founders Shahar Rabin (Chief Product Officer) and Amir Shiovich (Chief Executive Officer) at FinovateSpring 2017.
“We are excited to introduce Capitalise.ai as a game-changer in the MENA trading landscape,” CFI Financial Group co-founder and MD Hisham Mansour said. “By offering this code-free AI trading technology, we are empowering our clients with the ability to automate their trading strategies effortlessly.”
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Capitalise.ai demoed its trading automation technology at FinovateSpring 2017, winning Best of Show. In the years since then, Capitalise.ai has forged partnerships with crypto spot and regulated futures market ErisX, accounting software company Clear Books, U.S. spot FX trading platform Forex.com, and CFD/Forex broker AvaTrade. Capitalise.ai has raised $10 million in funding, and includes Poalim Equity and Binance among its investors. Amir Shiovich is co-founder and CEO.
Egyptian cashless payments app Flash secured $6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Addition, and featured participation from Flourish Ventures as well as other angel investors. The company will use the capital to accelerate product development, as well as customer and business acquisition in Egypt. Additionally, Flash has secured approval from the Central Bank of Egypt – in partnership with Banque Misr – to serve as a technical payment aggregator.
Flash gives consumers and businesses a cashless payment option via a scan-and-pay service. By adding their existing bank card or digital wallet to the Flash app, consumers can make purchases using their phones simply by scanning the QR code provided by the business. Flash enables businesses to accept payments from consumers directly without requiring point-of-sale (POS) systems or complex technical integrations.
Uber alumni Erik Gordon and Sherine Kabesh founded Flash in 2021. “Our mobile application removes transactional challenges for businesses looking for an easier solution than the POS,” Gordon said. “Our goal is to make payments easier, safer, and faster for everyone. We are also excited to be releasing new features to help consumers make better spending decisions.”
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Stag, a financial education-related startup based in Vietnam, raised $600,000 in seed funding from Viet Capital Ventures, NH Securities Vietnam, and Singapore-based Resolution Ventures.
Hong Kong-based fintech Eddid Financial signed an agreement with Malaysian fintech MPAY establishing a joint venture to boost fintech expansion in Malaysia.
South Korean fintech U Fintech Hub secured $4 million in funding in a round led by Forest Partners.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ten Southern African fintech startups received grant funding from the World Bank as part of the Fintech Challenge initiative of the Southern Africa Innovation Bridge Portal.
African paytech Flutterwave launched a new payment solution, Tuition, to enable users to pay for educational fees using local currencies.
Global Brands Magazine recognizes Access Bank Mozambique as “Best Banking Brand” based on customer service, satisfaction, and digital innovation.
International remittance company Viamericas Corporation launched new program with Guatemala-based financial organization Banco GyT to promote financial inclusion for people with severe disabilities.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent fintech developments in Germany.
German fintech Blinglaunched its SavingsTrees solution this week. The new offering helps German families invest sustainably starting with as little as €1 a month. The solution is offered in partnership with wealthtech Evergreen, and represents an evolution in Bling’s product line, expanding from its origins as a family money management educational app and prepaid card.
“Simplicity and sustainability were paramount in the development of our investment offering,” Bling CEO and co-founder Nils Feigenwinter explained. “We prioritize families in our product development to offer a tailored solution that meets their needs. Everyone underestimates the market potential of families, which is why banks have neglected this area for decades. With Bling, we are addressing this.”
Cost savings was one of the reasons why Bling reached out to Evergreen. Cost is also one of the main reasons why more than 80% of German parents do not invest in the country’s capital markets, according to Bling. The complexity of investing and a lack of knowledge about investment products also have contributed to this lack of participation. To this end, Bling leverages visualizations and explanations from finance experts to make the investment process easier to understand.
Funds invested in SavingsTrees are globally diversified and are allocated specifically to sustainable investments. Direct investments in sustainable projects and companies, are available, as are investments in funds that support sustainability initiatives.
Read more about Bling in this TechCrunch profile from December.
Banxware, an embedded lending technology provider headquartered in Germany, has teamed up with Netherlands-based Rabobank to help SMEs secure the financing they need in order to grow. Rabobank will take advantage of Banxware’s embedded lending solution, which enables businesses to apply for short-term financing in as little as 15 minutes. After approval, funds can be available in the borrower’s account within 24 hours.
“This partnership brings Embedded Financing products tailored to the need of SMEs to popular business platforms,” Banxware CEO Miriam Wohlfarth said. “Together with Rabobank we now provide the full financing supply chain, including funds and end-to-end loan management to bridge cash flow shortfalls before they become an issue.”
The deployment will let business founders and owners apply for financing in familiar, everyday digital environments such as e-commerce platforms and booking software. Each firm will focus initially on marketing the solution in their home markets of Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.
Banxware’s partnership announcement follows news that the Berlin-based fintech had teamed up with liquidity management and financial planning company Agicap. Based in France, Agicap helps businesses automate, manage, and forecast their cash flows. Via its strategic partnership with Banxware, Agicap will add access to quick and tailored growth capital to its liquidity management offering.
“From now on, (SMEs) can not only see and manage their cash flows in a centered way, but they can also get new money when there are opportunities for growth,” Agicap Country Manager DE Stephan Krehl said.
Founded in 2020, Banxware is headquartered in Berlin. The company has raised $15 million (€14 million) in funding from investors including Varengold Bank and Element Ventures.
Finovate is proud to showcase fintech innovations from companies headquartered in Germany. This includes hosting our annual European fintech conference in Berlin in 2020.
Here’s a quick list of some of the Germany-based companies that have demoed their fintech innovations on the Finovate stage over the years.
aixigo
ayondo
Bitbond
BörseGo
Cash Payment Solutions
Coconet
collectAI
Device Ident
Ecolytiq
figo
Fincite
FinTecSystems
Fintura
HAWK:AI
iBrokr
IND Group
Kreditech
Mambu
Modifi
NDGIT
Nextmarkets
Open Bank Project (OBP)
payever
Payworks
Pockets United
Risk Ident
Scalable Capital
Smartify.it
SOFORT
SwipeStox
TeamViewer
TESOBE
Vaamo
YUKKA Lab
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Egypt-based fintech Axis launched its new digital payments platform, AxisPay
Dubai Islamic Bank launched its DIB ‘alt’ product, a new digital umbrella brand for the bank’s digital offerings.
UAE-based B2B fintech solutions provider FOO introduced its prepaid travel card and white label digital wallet.
Central and Southern Asia
India-based digital lender Lentra raised $27 million in a Series B extension round.
BNE Intellinews profiled Uzbekistani SME lender, Oasis.
India’s PayU partnered with Visa and Yes Bank to launch its Business Payment Solution Provider program.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina-based mobile banking company Uala launched a new saving account offering in Mexico.
Brazil’s Nubankreached one million accounts in Mexico milestone in one month.
Lanistar introduced crypto trading on its app for users in Brazil.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore-based B2B payment infrastructure platform Thunes raised $60 million in Series C funding.
International payments software provider OpenWay launched a second hub in Vietnam.
Wise platform inked its first Japanese partnership, teaming up with GMO Aozora Net Bank.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Nigerian fintech Flutterwave forged a partnership with account-to-account (A2A) payments company Token.io.
International payment solutions company Unlimit secured license to operate in Kenya two months after expanding to Nigeria.
Harvard Business Review asked and answered the question “What African Fintech Startups Can Teach Silicon Valley About Longevity?”
Central and Eastern Europe
Klarnabrought its Pay in 3 offering to Romania this week.
German identity verification company IDnow added automated document liveness capabilities, financial risk checks, and more to its platform.
International development agency USAID partnered with Albanian business solutions provider CBS to launch, Lores Plus, a platform to help Albanian SMEs get access to financing.
With FinovateSpring only days away (May 23 through May 25), this week’s edition of Finovate Global will showcase those innovators demoing at the event that are headquartered outside the United States.
There’s still time to register and join us in San Francisco, California for our annual Spring fintech conference. Visit our FinovateSpring 2023 hub today and get your ticket today!
9Spokes
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New Zealand, 9Spokes unlocks open banking and data, giving financial institutions a powerful set of tools to engage SMB customers. LinkedIn.
FinTech Insights by Scientia
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, U.K., FinTech Insights by Scientia offers a competitive analysis tool for banks and fintechs to help them create compelling digital banking experiences. LinkedIn.
FINTEQ
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Poland, FINTEQ removes credit risk from the supply chain, giving suppliers a healthy and sustainable trade finance alternative. LinkedIn.
Flybits
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Flybits offers a personalization platform that enables financial institutions to deliver best-in-class personalized digital banking experiences. LinkedIn.
Fundica
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Fundica is a government funding platform used by some of the largest financial institutions in North America to acquire clients at scale. LinkedIn.
Horizn
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Horizn helps financial institutions maximize the impact of digital and accelerate returns on digital investments with customers and employees. LinkedIn.
HyperSwitch
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in India, HyperSwitch is an open source payments switch designed to make payments fast, reliable, and affordable. LinkedIn.
Kani
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Newcastle, U.K., Kani offers end-to-end reconciliation and reporting, automating the back office for payments companies and fintechs, and ensuring accuracy and compliance. LinkedIn.
Lucinity
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, Lucinity combats financial crime with innovative GenAI technology for smarter and faster FinCrime compliance. LinkedIn.
PayTic
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Charlottetown, Canada, PayTic is a SaaS platform that automates and manages all key aspects of program management: network fees, reconciliation, reporting, and fraud. LinkedIn.
SESAMm
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Metz, France, SESAMm specializes in big data and artificial intelligence, providing analytics from more than 20 billion articles and messages using NLP. LinkedIn.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Earnix, an Israel-based company that provides insurers and banks with real-time, dynamic pricing and rating solutions, introduced a new Chief Executive Officer this week. Robin Gilthorpe will take over the top spot at the firm effective February 1st, replacing outgoing CEO Udi Ziv, who served as Earnix’s CEO for six years.
“Today’s end-customer demands unparalleled experience, alongside highly personalized and customizable solutions,” Gilthorpe said in a statement. “Earnix solutions serve as the go-to platform for financial services companies to address the growing demands of the world’s leading financial and insurance companies.”
Gilthorpe is a finance and insurance industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience at firms such as TIBCO, Vertexone, and Watersmart Software. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer at insurtech company Salty where he helped generate a “nine-figure outcome” in the firm’s sale to CDK Global.
Founded in 2001, Earnix made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateSpring in San Francisco. In the years since then, the company has forged partnerships with companies like AI cloud platform DataRobot, cloud insurance software company Majesco and, last fall, J.D. Power. Also last fall, Earnix unveiled its Underwrite-It solution which helps businesses build and manage rules and decision logic to enhance decision-making during the underwriting process.
Earnix has raised more than $100 million in funding. The company includes Insight Partners, Israel Growth Partners, and Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) among its investors.
The seed funding round was led by Team8 and featured participation from ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. ZIM also was the entity behind the $100 million credit facility 40Seas received this week. The agreement comes with an option to extend the credit facility to $200 million.
40Seas leverages AI and data analytics to determine creditworthiness, and offers flexible payment arrangements to provide small importers and exporters, freight forwarders, and sourcing agencies with critical working capital. The company made its soft launch in October of last year and says that it already has financed transactions for “dozens of SMEs.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that small businesses represent more than 40% of all cross-border trade volume. Nevertheless, compared to large, multinational corporations, SMEs are “seven times more likely to be denied trade financing,” according to the World Trade Organization. Among the obstacles to these firms are siloed banking jurisdictions, working capital constraints, legacy processes, and more. To this end, 40Seas helps exporters get paid as quickly as possible and gives importers payment options that enable them to grow their businesses without incurring sizable additional debt.
“Given today’s harsh macroeconomic conditions, now more than ever, SMEs need easy access to financing to have the best chance of survival,” 40Seas co-founder and CEO Eyal Moldovan said.
40Seas is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has offices in New York City, Toronto, and Shenzhen.
Last month CTech published a short list of what it called the “five most promising early-stage fintech startups” in Israel. The list was based on the opinions of “prominent investors in the Israeli market” and looked at both “business potential” and “managerial depth.”
The businesses represented included travel insurance (Faye), an automated accounting platform (Trullion), a compliance platform (Sedric), a loan exchange for SMEs (Lama AI), and a payments workflow automation company (Nilus). Combined, the five companies have raised more than $47 million in funding from investors including Viola Ventures, F2, Third Point Ventures, Greycroft, Homeward Ventures, StageOne, Foundational Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
We’ll keep an eye on these and other innovative fintechs that are helping build Israel’s unique fintech ecosystem.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
