Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

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

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazil’s Nubank announces debit options for its digital savings account.
  • Infocorp spinoff Bankingly raises $5.25 million in Series A funding in round led by Elevar Equity.
  • Vocalink to modernize Peru’s electronic payments infrastructure courtesy of new deal with the company’s automated clearinghouse, Cámara de Compensación Electrónica (CCE).

Asia-Pacific

  • UNPay expands QR code payments.
  • Indonesian lending and payments firm, Pohon Dana, picks up investment from Mayapada Group.
  • PaySend launches transfers to bank accounts and Napas cards in Vietnam.
  • Fenergo wins Fintech Exporter of the Year award from Asia Matters.
  • Juvo expands across Asia with regional headquarters in Singapore.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Experian purchases South African credit information and analytics firm Compuscan for $263 million.
  • Ecobank partners with MFS Africa to offer cross-platform digital payments to customers.
  • Emergent Technology acquires Ghana-based Interpay Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank offers clients new strategies for investment life insurance.
  • Finastra opens new offices in Romania.
  • Backbase powers omni-channel digital services for Poland’s BGŻ BNP Paribas bank.
  • International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) to deploy technology from FICO to fight money laundering.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • UAE and Saudi Arabia launch blockchain-powered, cross-border payments proof of concept.
  • Temenos announces partnership with Tunisia’s Banque de l’Habitat.
  • Token brings open banking to MENA region.

Central and South Asia

  • James Finance, Ocrolus, Hydrogen, and iProov shortlisted for India FinTech Awards 2018.
  • Currencies Direct taps Ripple’s xCurrent for real-time remittances to India.
  • Fintech News Singapore features BankBazaar in its round up of 10 Hot Fintech Startups from India to Watch Closely.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Plaid Raises $250 Million Series C Round Led by Mary Meeker.
  • Bill.com Achieves NACHA Certification.

Around the web

  • Narrative Science introduces its new language-based augmented analytics product, Lexio, in beta.
  • Currencies Direct taps Ripple’s xCurrent for real-time remittances to India.
  • AlphaPoint to support Stellar Lumens.
  • Motive Partners acquires majority stake in Finantix.
  • Camden National Bank further leverages Jack Henry relationship to support demand for growth, innovation.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Pindrop Advances into Smart Devices with $90 Million in Funding.

Around the web

  • iSignThis begins accepting customer deposits to its own issued International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs).
  • Personal Capital moves headquarters to Redwood Shores.
  • Signifyd opens EMEA headquarters in London to support its ecommerce fraud protection business in Europe.
  • Juvo expands across Asia with regional headquarters in Singapore.
  • Ondot announces new digital card services platform to support U.K. banks.
  • Lighter Capital provides NinjaCat $1.1 million.
  • R3’s new Corda App supports Ripple’s XRP.
  • Upserve (formerly Swipely) releases newest point-of-sale device, Upserve POS, now available for Android.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

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

Asia-Pacific

  • MoneyTap, DLT-based payment app developed by SBI and Ripple goes live in Japan.
  • Indonesia’s biggest telecommunications company, Telkomsel, picks Kinetica to support its accelerated analytics, location-based visualization and AI.
  • Ayondo expands B2B offering in Asia with a new white label deal.
  • First Circle, a lending platform for SMEs based in the Philippines, has raised $26 million in new funding.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Daon Inks Deal with South Africa’s Capitec Bank.
  • Commercial Bank of Ethiopia deploys UP Retail Payments from ACI Worldwide.
  • Ivory Coast subsidiary of Togo-based Banque Atlantique goes live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank customers can now add “cash postcards” – automated images with sound – to their money transfers.
  • Payfone partners with Orange to fight identity fraud in four new global markets, including Poland and Romania.
  • Ukraine’s Akhmetov Bank leverages Corezoid’s cloud-based operating system.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Daon partners with Akbank, making the Turkish bank the first in the country to deploy facial recognition technology for mobile banking authentication.
  • Alcazar Capital Limited (ACL) to launch $100 million global fintech fund in collaboration with Fintech Consortium’s InQvest Partners.
  • Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange launches Sahmi, a new integrated digital platform for individual investors.

Central and South Asia

  • Bank of Punjab, based in Lahore, Pakistan, implements core banking technology from Oracle.
  • Entrepreneur.com considers the effect Indian fintechs have made on financial inclusion in India.
  • VC Circle looks at the rise in investment in insurtech innovators like India’s PolicyBazaar.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian challenger bank Nubank raises $180 million in funding.
  • UniBank Panama to implement biometric authentication technology from Ipsidy.
  • COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union (COKCU) of Jamaica to modernize its core processing technology courtesy of a new partnership with Smart Solution.

Top image designed by Freepik

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • OnDeck Launches Subsidiary to Help Banks with Small Business Lending.

Around the web

  • Daon partners with Akbank, making the Turkish bank the first in the country to deploy facial recognition technology for mobile banking authentication.
  • YellowDog shortlisted for Tech Company of the Year honors at the 2018 U.K. Business Tech Awards.
  • Bluefin teams up with data security tokenization vendor, TokenEx, to boost payment security.
  • Finicity selected as third-party service provider for Freddie Mac’s automated income and asset assessment solution, Loan Product Advisor.
  • Zenmonics earns a spot in the 2018 IDC FinTech Rankings.
  • FinTech Global recognizes Insuritas as a 2018 InsurTech100 Company.
  • Lendio announces facilitating $1 billion in financing to more than 51,000 U.S. SMEs since inception in 2011.
  • Indonesia’s biggest telecommunications company, Telkomsel, picks Kinetica to support its accelerated analytics, location-based visualization and AI.
  • Blockchain innovator identitii to list on the Australian Securities Exchange this week with anticipated market capitalization of $41 million.
  • Atlanta Business Chronicle interviews Kabbage’s Kathryn Petralia, highlighting her as a 2018 Women Who Mean Business honoree.
  • Sara Berg appointed Chief Operating Officer of Trustly.
  • Expensify launches training and certification program for accountants.
  • Ping Identity launches new Quickstart Private Sandbox for Open Banking and PSD2
  • Openfinance signs data partnership with Refinitiv.
  • Trustly partners with Ingenico for online banking payments.
  • Moneynetint partners with Ripple to leverage instant payment rails.
  • Coinbase expands with new Dublin office.
  • Native American Bank selects Jack Henry’s SilverLake system.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Daon Inks Deal with South Africa’s Capitec Bank.
  • Lighter Capital Launches Capital Client Perks Program.

Around the web

  • Ping Identity integrates its multi-factor authentication solution, PingID, with Microsoft Azure Active Directory.
  • MoneyTap, DLT-based payment app developed by SBI and Ripple goes live in Japan.
  • OutSystems appoints Tim MacCarrick as new Chief Financial Officer.
  • Baltic International Bank finishes upgrade of its private, corporate, and retail banking offerings courtesy of a partnership with Temenos.
  • Sberbank customers can now add “cash postcards” – automated images with sound – to their money transfers.
  • CNBC features Plaid: the startup you’ve never heard of.
  • Arxan begins a month-long initiative to raise awareness for improved application security and threat intelligence.
  • RightCapital launches white-labeled, native mobile app.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

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

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Banco Fassil is the first Bolivian company to migrate its ATM network to TranzAxis from Compass Plus.
  • Legal Tech News reviews the improved opportunity for investment in the Mexican fintech market.
  • Can blockchain technology fix Argentina’s financial crisis? VentureBeat considers the challenge.

Asia-Pacific

  • Siam Commercial Bank is the first bank on Ripple’s RippleNet to pioneer multi-hop, a feature that allows payment settlement on behalf of other financial institutions on the network.
  • Singapore and Hong Kong-based digital private banking clients of Credit Suisse now can communicate with their bank via Apple Business chat.
  • Singtel launches electronics payments alliance with a pair of Thailand-based partners.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Centbee announces beta launch of its bitcoin cash wallet.
  • BitCoinke looks at funding for African fintech startups in 2018.
  • Fintech Association of Nigeria begins fintech learning series in partnership with the SEC.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank to offer loans of up to RUB 300,000 without proof of income as part of new pilot program.
  • FICO to provide KYC and onboarding solutions for Belarus-based lender, Belgazprombank.
  • Alfa Group of Russia plans to launch online insurance company, Mango.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Cameroon’s biggest bank, Afriland First Bank, to deploy Temenos’ T24 core banking platform.
  • Qatar Islamic Bank to leverage solutions from Volante Technologies to help meet PSD2 and open banking standards.
  • ICS Financial Systems completes blockchain proof of concept for Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB).
  • Tunisia’s Banque de l’Habitat (BH) selects Temenos’ T24 core banking system.

Central and South Asia

  • KPMG releases its latest report: Fintech in India: Powering a Digital Economy.
  • Paytm secures 33% market share of UPI payments in India.
  • Medici looks at the state of financial inclusion in India.

Top image designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Cracking the Fintech Code: Secrets to Success for Fintech Start-ups.
  • Salt Edge Serves Up Open Banking Payment Infrastructure for Testing.

Around the web

  • Earnix forges strategic alliance with automated machine learning innovator, DataRobot.
  • IdentityMind Global partners with digital currency risk assessment specialist, CipherTrace.
  • HackerOne now accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payments for bug bounties courtesy of new partnership with BitPay.
  • Fiserv taps Lee Cameron as new managing director for EMEA.
  • Siam Commercial Bank is the first bank on Ripple’s RippleNet to pioneer multi-hop, a feature that allows payment settlement on behalf of other financial institutions on the network.
  • Danske Bank leverages Featurespace’s ARIC fraud hub to reduce fraud.
  • Risk Ident wins Best eCommerce Technology Innovation at the London eCommerce Awards.
  • Banco Fassil is the first Bolivian company to migrate its ATM network to TranzAxis from Compass Plus.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • DefenseStorm Forges Strategic Partnership with Alogent.
  • FinovateFall 2018: Be There … In Times Square.

Around the web

  • Ripple reaches milestone as its RippleNet network is now live in more than 40 countries across six continents.
  • Bambu, Exate Technology, and Market IQ are among the seven startups selected for Plug and Play ADGM’s three-month accelerator program.
  • AlphaPoint appoints Moishe Gubin to its board of directors.
  • CallVU to provide an international credit company with biometric authentication via its digital engagement platform.
  • Enveil and Payfone earn spots on the 2018 SINET 16 Innovators roster.
  • Fifth Domain features Hacker One in a look at how white hat hackers could help improve voting machine security.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

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

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Personality Biometrics Specialist Neener Analytics Partners with American Express as part of Accelerate Middle East initiative.
  • Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) launches its digital sandbox.
  • Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain and Eazy Financial Services partner to launch biometric payment network.
  • Al Salam Bank Bahrain (ASBB) leverages technology from Clayton to launch new mobile banking solution.
  • Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank partners with Ripple for instant settlement of cross-border money transfers.

Central and South Asia

  • Infosys to Acquire Fluido for $76 Million.
  • TPS and DigInc partner to support mircofinancing in Pakistan.
  • Bengaluru’s SlicePay, which provides credit to millennial consumers, announces Series A investment led by China’s FinUp Finance Technology Group.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Argentina-based digital financial services startup MONI raises $4.5 million in funding. In Spanish.
  • Mexico’s much-anticipated Fintech Law goes live.
  • Euromoney profiles Brazilian data management fintech, Quod.

Asia-Pacific

  • Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) launches its digital brand, Yolo.
  • Indonesia’s B2B marketplace Ralali raises $7 million in new funding.
  • Singapore introduces the first unified payment QR code.
  • ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) launches its API Exchange.
  • Moka, a business payments management startup from Indonesia, picks up $24 million in round led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Jumo, a fintech startup from South Africa that helps provide financing to the underbanked, raises $52 million in round led by Goldman Sachs.
  • Central Bank of Kenya to consider new regulations for the country’s digital lenders.
  • South Africa’s Click2Sure and Finovate alum Entersekt chosen to participate in AlphaCode’s accelerator program.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Nordigen, a credit risk assessment solution provider based in Latvia, announces $800,000 in new funding.
  • Forbes looks at the collaboration between IBM, PwC, and the Czech Republic’s Blockchain Connect Association.
  • Hackernoon makes the case for “developing your fintech solution in Poland.”
  • Which Eastern European country is making the biggest strides when it comes to innovating with blockchain technology? Bitnews Today shares its review of the region.

Top image designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • KPMG Acquires Minority Stake in Alternative Credit Scoring Specialist, AdviceRobo.
  • Thinking Capital, National Bank Expand Funding Options for Canada’s SMEs.

Around the web

  • Australia’s business bank Tyro to offer flexible same-day settlement and payroll integration courtesy of a partnership with Xero.
  • Spreedly unveils latest version of its Account Updater solution.
  • Dwolla discontinues its last branded solution Transfer; pivots to focus on Dwolla Platform, the company’s white-label API.
  • Klarna to acquire Close Brothers Retail Finance (CBRF).
  • Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank partners with Ripple for instant settlement of cross-border money transfers.
  • WorkFusion launches Partner Portal to support rise in AI-driven automation engagements.
  • Solna launches its intelligent invoicing tool powered by credit score data.
  • Personal Capital Promotes Craig Birk to Chief Investment Officer.
  • Moody’s Analytics partners with Cortera on a small business solution.
  • Arxan launches advanced protection for client-side eeb apps.
  • Checkbook celebrates topping two million user milestone.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Xero Learn Sets Stage for Next Generation of Number Crunchers.
  • SynapseFI Raises $17 Million in New Funding.

Around the web

  • iSignthis acquires core banking platform software business.
  • HooYu teams up with U.K. casino operator, Bear Group.
  • United Bank of Egypt leverages technology from Finastra to upgrade its core banking infrastructure.
  • Ripple and TransferGo partner on real-time, blockchain-enabled remittances.
  • Striata inks partnership with UK-based customer communications specialist Communisis.
  • Experian to launch comparison service feature that gives consumers the real rate charged when applying for a credit card.
  • Tibco has started a research lab to develop new products and services in emerging areas such as blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT).
  • BeSmartee integrates with Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter to Accelerate Mortgage Process.
  • Kasasa names Amy Gililland Chief Financial Officer.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.