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Finovate Global Canada: Wealthsimple’s $10 Billion Valuation and a Look at Investment Trends

Finovate Global Canada: Wealthsimple’s $10 Billion Valuation and a Look at Investment Trends
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Finovate Global, Nubank, Salt Edge, Tink

This week’s edition of Finovate Global features recent fintech news from Canada.

Wealthsimple secures $750 million at valuation of $10 billion

Canadian fintech Wealthsimple has raised CAD $750 million at a post-money valuation of CAD $10 billion. The funding round includes both a CAD $550 million primary offering and a secondary offering of up to CAD $200 million. Dragoneer Investment Group and GIC led the round, which also featured participation from new investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) as well as existing investors Power Corporation of Canada, IGM Financial Inc. ICONIQ, Greylock, and Meritech.

“This raise reflects deep confidence from new and returning investors in our mission and our role as a defining Canadian company,” Wealthsimple Co-Founder and CEO Michael Katchen said. “We were intentional in choosing partners committed to the long-term future of Wealthsimple. These are well-respected, global leaders with a proven track record (of) scaling category leaders, and who believe in our vision for the future of financial services.”

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Wealthsimple offers a suite of low-cost financial solutions to help Canadians build wealth. The company’s platform features self-directed investing, managed portfolios, digital asset investing, tax filing, advisor services, and more in a single, integrated experience. Wealthsimple serves three million Canadians and has $100 billion in assets under administration.

“Few companies have achieved what Wealthsimple has in the last few years,” Dragoneer Investment Group Partner Christian Jensen said. “The Wealthsimple team has built an expansive financial platform that millions of Canadians trust. They’re not just participating in Canada’s financial services industry; they’re redefining it.”

Earlier this year, Wealthsimple unveiled a waitlist for its first credit card, which topped 300,000 Canadians in the first six months. The company’s fundraising news follows a profitable 2024 and current profitability in 2025, as well. The capital infusion will help Wealthsimple accelerate its product roadmap in investing, spending, and credit, as well as support the company’s efforts to expand its platform.

Fintech investment slows in H1 ahead of potential rebound in H2

Speaking of investment and Canadian fintech, KPMG’s Canada Fintech Investment Report is a great way to get up to speed on the investment trends that are supporting fintech innovation in Canada. The report was published in August, and focuses on investment trends from the first half of 2025.

While the report indicates that Canadian fintech investment fell significantly compared to international trends, the report authors suggest that the first half of 2025 represented a normalization in the wake of record high levels of investment in 2024. Areas of investor interest include AI, especially agentic AI, and digital assets, which represent a continuation of trends from 2024. A more positive regulatory tone toward cryptocurrencies—especially stablecoins—in the US has been credited for this rebound in interest in digital assets. The report also noted some interest in quantum computing among insurers.

“Last year was exceptionally strong for fintech investment, thanks to two major take-private deals,” Dubie Cunningham, a Partner in KPMG in Canada’s Banking and Capital Markets Practice, explained. “Since then, investment activity has dropped to more stable levels. In fact, when you consider the economic shifts such as tariffs affecting global trade, investment in the first half was quite robust compared to historical levels. There’s still a lot of dry powder ready to be deployed by investors, but they are demonstrating more selective behavior than in previous years. They’re looking for quality companies and we’re seeing longer tails for maturing mid-to-large stage private equity deals.”

Read the full report.

Coming to Canada: Atlanta’s Rainforest and Lebanon’s Whish Money

This week reminds us of how attractive Canada is to a growing number of fintechs around the world. Rainforest, a embedded payments company based in Atlanta, Georgia, announced recently that it is looking to expand to Canada. The company, founded in 2022, secured $29 million in funding in September, taking its total capital raised to $57.5 million. The idea of expanding to Canada, as Rainforest Founder and CEO Joshua Silver explained to Global Atlanta, represents more than a regional expansion for the company itself. The move would also help Rainforest’s platform client expand their offerings in a new market.

Rainforest specializes in payments partnerships with software providers that target businesses in underserved industry sectors. These software providers themselves are an underserved segment of the industry—processing $50 million to $2 billion in annual payments. Rainforest offers an embedded payments solution that enables software platforms to provide a robust payments experience for their end merchants without having to register as a payment facilitator with card networks.

Hailing from even farther away than the Peach State where Rainforest resides is Whish Money. Headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, and regulated by the country’s central bank, Whish Money announced this week that it had secured financial services licenses in Canada. The regulatory approvals are the first for the company outside of the MENA region, and is part of a global expansion that includes entering markets in the US, the UK, the EU, and Australia.

“Securing our Canadian license is a monumental step that validates our compliant, customer-focused model and sets the foundation for our international expansion,” Whish Money board chairman Toufic Koussa said. “This move is about more than just entering a new market; it’s about strategically connecting high-diaspora communities with reliable financial infrastructure, beginning with North America. We are committed to building a regulated, transparent global ecosystem that truly serves our users.”

Whish Money offers a range of digital financial services including payroll, fund transfers, and billpay. Founded in 2019, the company’s e-wallet, money remittance, and e-distribution platform has a user base of more than 1.5 million. The company’s global expansion is being supported by partnerships with companies such as Visa, Mastercard, Ria, and Terrapay.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Pakistan-based fintech startup ZAR raised $13 million for its technology that enables consumer to convert cash into stablecoins.
  • Indian fintech infrastructure company Falcon announced a partnership with technology consulting firm Tech Mahindra.
  • Alipay+ and HUMO, Uzebekistan’s national payment system, teamed up to facilitate cross-border payments.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Blockchain infrastructure and cryptocurrency provider Binance unveiled QR code payments in Argentina
  • Kueski and dLocal team up to bring Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to merchants in Mexico.
  • Nubank and OpenAI partnered to launch ChatGPR Go in Brazil to give individuals greater access to ChatGPT’s advanced capabilties at a lower cost.

Asia-Pacific

  • Remittance provider Viamericas partnered with Dong Phuong Money Transfer to expand access to remittance services throughout Vietnam.
  • Japanese fintech JPYC launched the country’s first yen-denominated stablecoin.
  • Malaysian fintech Instapay earned a spot on CB Insights’ Global Fintech 100.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech SME Snapshot launched updated version of its business management dashboard.
  • Nigeria’s Flutterwave partnered with Polygon to launch a stablecoin payment network across 34 African countries.
  • Kenya’s Choice Bank teamed up with Safaricom to power cross-border money transfers.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Coinbase and Tink teamed up to bring Pay by Bank crypto payments to customers in Germany.
  • Lithuanian regtech IDenfy partnered with Australian remittance service provider J Forex Money Transfer.
  • Finlayer and Salt Edge annnounced a partnership to bring open banking to small and medium-sized businesses in Romania.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Saudi Arabian Buy Now Pay Later firm Tabby boosted its valuation to more than $4.5 billion in the wake of a secondary share sale.
  • Israel-based Viola Credit closed its third credit fund at $2 billion, topping its original target of $1.5 billion.
  • Lebanon-based fintech Whish Money secured financial services licenses in Canada.

Photo by Harrison Haines

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Autobooks, Experian, Fintech Rundown, Salt Edge

With Father’s Day behind us and the first official day of summer ahead, we keeping our eye on the fintech headlines as the summer news slump approaches. Be sure to check in with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest announcements in the industry.

Open banking

Crypto / DeFi

Credit unions

Payments

Fraud prevention

Lending

  • Baker Hill unveils enhancements to its platform to help financial institutions better manage commercial real estate, CECL compliance, AI-driven compliance, agricultural spreading and financial analysis.
  • Vine Financial secures seed funding, forms Board of Directors.
  • African remittance startup LemFi buys UK card issuer.
  • AKUVO automates repossessions and adds RDN.
  • Finastra’s Filogix boosts Gen AI capabilities to empower mortgage brokers.

Digital banking

  • Digital banking solution provider for small businesses, Autobooks, introduces Autobooks Capital, powered by Fundbox, integrating business lending directly within the Autobooks platform.

Regtech

Photo by Josh Willink

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AMLYZE, Experian, Jack Henry, LeapXpert, Plaid, Plumery, Salt Edge, Temenos

The dust is still settling in the wake of Circle’s “buzzy IPO” in the words of MarketWatch. We’ll see if the fintech headlines can keep up this week!

Digital banking

  • KAF Digital Bank goes live with Temenos SaaS to bring Islamic digital banking services to customers in Malaysia.
  • ABN AMRO’s payment app Tikkie has developed a full-service bank, BUUT, that caters to younger customers.
  • Digital bank N26 unveils an updated version of its premium subscription, N26 Go.
  • Open banking solutions provider Salt Edge partners with digital banking experience platform Plumery.
  • Farsight raises $16 million in funding, announces Series A to automate financial workflows and decision-making.

Fraud prevention and identity verification

  • FrankieOne launches new risk and compliance platform that offers fraud detection and identity verification.
  • Cybercrime consultancy We Fight Fraud partners with Salv to facilitate intelligence sharing between financial institutions in Europe.
  • Regtech iDenfy teams up with international hosting provider SpaceCore to bring optimized customer verification to global hosting.
  • The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of England (BoE) collaborate on testing to see if AI can spot fraudulent activity in retail payments data.
  • AML and CFT solutions provider AMLYZE onboards Advanzia Bank as part of its European expansion.
  • Velera adds real-time account validation functionality to digital channels.

Payments

Crypto

  • The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposes allowing individual, retail investors to receive crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs).
  • Legislation in California moves forward to give the state authority to seize unclaimed cryptocurrency assets held on exchanges after three years of inactivity.

Credit unions

Business communications

  • Business communications platform LeapXpert acquires AI-powered, cross-platform messaging startup, StartADAM.

Lending and credit

Global technology and data company Experian and financial data network Plaid announce strategic collaboration to help lenders to better assess risk.

Photo by Ambreen Hasan on Unsplash

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Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation

Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Salt Edge
  • Canada-based open banking platform Salt Edge has teamed up with UK-based trading platform Tradu.
  • The partnership will help Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations.
  • Founded in 2013, Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017. Garri Galanter is CEO.

Open banking platform Salt Edge will help multi-asset trading platform Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations courtesy of a newly announced partnership. The collaboration will help Tradu better defend itself and its customers from fraud while providing a frictionless experience for the platform’s traders and investors.

“Secure and compliant access to financial data is no longer optional; it’s essential,” Salt Edge Senior Open Banking Solutions Expert Dan Martalog said. “Collaborations like the one between Salt Edge and Tradu are crucial for enabling innovative platforms to scale confidently while meeting strict PSD2 requirements. By providing seamless SCA and compliance tools, we’re helping Tradu focus on what matters most: delivering a trustworthy and efficient trading experience to its users.”

Salt Edge’s full-stack open banking compliance solution will ensure that Tradu is fully aligned with PSD2 regulations and provide the platform with a streamlined user authentication process that leverages secure, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)-ready flows. The partnership will also enable Tradu to offer additional services such as the MCI exemption, as well as a custom, third-party provider (TPP) portal.

Additionally, Tradu is completing adoption of Salt Edge’s Open Banking Gateway for Payment Initiation Services (PIS). This will enable Tradu traders and investors to top up their accounts directly from their UK and EU bank accounts, providing a funding experience that is fast, secure, and low friction.

“Security and compliance are at the core of our financial services,” Tradu Product Director and Founding Employee Tomasz Stupnicki said. “Our collaboration with Salt Edge enhances user trust, ensuring a seamless and protected financial experience.”

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in London, Tradu offers active traders and investors access to thousands of tradable assets including equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, foreign exchange, treasuries, and indices. The company’s partnership with Salt Edge comes as the firm prepares to bring its wallet services to additional markets in Europe. Tradu expects its alliance with Salt Edge will support connections to and simplify integration and compliance efforts for more than 500 financial institutions across more than 20 countries. Brendan Callan is Tradu’s CEO.

Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 and most recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2019. The Ottawa, Ontario-based fintech was founded in 2013 and today provides access to real-time account data from 5,000 financial institutions across 50+ countries via its open banking gateway. Salt Edge also offers an open banking and PSD2 compliance solution with APIs, third-party provider verification tools, mobile Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), consent management technology, and more to help banks and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) become compliant with PSD2 and open banking requirements.

Salt Edge’s partnership news with Tradu comes one month after the Canadian company announced that it had teamed up with full-service product development firm Thinslices. The two companies have agreed to merge capabilities in order to streamline financial data aggregation and power account-to-account (A2A) payments for businesses. In March, Salt Edge announced that it was working with fellow Finovate alum Backbase to help foster broader and faster adoption of open banking.

“Regulatory compliance should not be a bottleneck for banks but rather a catalyst for growth and innovation,” Salt Edge Head of Partner Ecosystem Iulian Mitrea said. “By partnering with Backbase, we are equipping financial institutions with the tools they need to effortlessly thrive in the evolving open banking landscape.”

Photo by Markus Winkler

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Blackhawk Network, DataVisor, Feedzai, Finastra, Fintech Rundown, Fiserv, Highnote, Jack Henry, Marqeta, Ocrolus, Salt Edge, SumUp, Wise

This week marks Eid al-Fitr, the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan and the breaking of a month-long fast. Similarly, the close of this quarter feels like fintech is breaking its own fast, with Klarna filing its IPO prospectus, Rocket Companies announcing major acquisitions of Mr. Cooper and Redfin, and regulatory frameworks beginning to ease in the U.S. As we enter into the second quarter, here’s a look at this week’s fintech news as we leave the time of fasting behind. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!

Digital banking

Border Bank chooses Jack Henry for technology modernization.

Y-12 Federal Credit Union upgrades ATM fleet to enhance self-service banking with NCR Atleos.

Lending

Financial services document automation and analysis company Ocrolus announces strategic partnership with digital consultancy Entech.

Finastra‘s cloud-based loan document preparation system LaserPro unveils enhanced features and sees further adoption by community-based financial institutions.

Business financial management

Tesorio launches AI agent that autonomously manages portal-based invoicing.

Enterprise spend management platform Mendel closes $35 million Series B round led by Base10 Partners with participation from PayPal Ventures.

Open Banking

Backbase now enables customers to integrate open banking compliance solutions from Salt Edge.

Mortgagetech

Rocket Companies agrees to acquire Mr. Cooper Group in an all-stock transaction for $9.4 billion.

Payments

Ingo Payments chooses card issuing platform Marqeta as its issuer processing partner.

SumUp and FreedomPay partner to enhance payment capabilities for retail and hospitality sector businesses.

Wise Platform teams up with Brazilian bank, Itaú Unibanco, to enable instant global currency transfers.

PayJunction integrates with Zapier to help businesses build custom payment workflow automations.

Payments and financial services technology provider Fiserv launched Clover, its point-of-sale system and software platform, in Australia.

Viamericas launches open payment network in the Philippines.

Fraud prevention

Fraud and risk platform DataVisor introduces its first Chief Operating Officer, Tony Kueh.

Highnote teams up with Feedzai to integrate AI-powered fraud prevention technology into its acquiring business.

Loyalty and rewards

Rewards and branded payments provider Blackhawk Network partners with consumer loyalty program company Exchange Solutions.

Crypto and Defi

Crypto payments firm MoonPay unveils new Recurring Buys feature to enable customers in the US to automate repeat cryptocurrency purchases.

Wealth management

Global wealth platform Arta Finance launches its intelligent suite of AI agents, Arta AI.

Photo by Thirdman

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Finovate Global South America: Investment, Partnership, and Innovations in Embedded Finance

Finovate Global South America: Investment, Partnership, and Innovations in Embedded Finance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, MasterCard, Salt Edge, Sumsub, VISA

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

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.
  • Mastercard extended its collaboration with London-based Paymentology to boost financial inclusion in South Africa.
  • Compliance and fraud prevention platform Sumsub announced 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.
  • MENA-based payment service provider Telr secured a Retail Payment Services license from the UAE’s central bank.

Central and Southern Asia

Photo by Juan Cruz Palacio Mir

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FICO, Fintech Rundown, InComm, Mambu, MasterCard, OneID, Salt Edge, Token

Partnerships and collaborations in the payments space lead fintech headlines at the beginning of this holiday-shortened week. Be sure to check Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest updates in fintech and financial services.

Payments

Account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure provider Token.io teams up with payment orchestrator Fabrick.

InComm Payments collaborates with Mastercard to offer Mastercard “Give Hope” gift cards in support of the American Red Cross.

Real-time payments framework Payfinia partners with B2B2C SaaS embedded finance solutions provider TAPP Engine.

Card issuer and processor Paymentology forges strategic partnership with UAE-based fintech Mamo.

Transaction management software company Redpin opens new payments corridor to Brazil.

Open banking

Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partners with open banking services provider Salt Edge.

Digital identity

OneID and Adobe announce partnership to enhance identity verification for Adobe digital signatures.

Lending, credit, and underwriting

TransUnion Kenya and FICO team up to offer two new risk solutions to help expand access to credit.

Digital banking

SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu announces strategic partnership with Spain’s Ibercaja Banco.

Armalytix unveils its bank statement scanning tool.

Photo by May Guo

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Finovate Global: An Introduction to Islamic Finance with Musaffa’s Dilshod Jumaniyazov

Finovate Global: An Introduction to Islamic Finance with Musaffa’s Dilshod Jumaniyazov
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Finovate Global, Salt Edge

Last year, we published an edition of Finovate Global that featured new developments in Islamic finance. This week’s column will explore further the world of Islamic and Shariah-compliant financial services with Dilshod Jumaniyazov, CEO and co-founder of Musaffa.

Launched in 2020 and headquartered in New York, Musaffa offers a comprehensive platform for ethical investing, Halal stock trading, and financial education. More than 487,000 Muslim investors in 195 countries use Musaffa’s platform, which provides access to stocks in countries ranging from the U.S., U.K., and Australia to Malaysia, the UAE, and Turkey.

Musaffa recently launched its Purification Calculator, which enables Muslim investors to confidently identify and invest in Shariah-compliant businesses. And at a time when more investors are looking for investments that align with their values, Musaffa’s advanced screening tools, financial education, and other solutions can be useful to ESG-oriented investors as well as faith-based ones.

In our extended conversation, Jumaniyazov helps us understand the size and scope of Islamic and Shariah-compliant finance, the unique needs of the customers in this growing market, and how enabling technologies are bringing innovation to Islamic financial services in areas such as banking to wealth management.

How big is the market for Shariah-compliant financial solutions? How has this market grown in the West in particular? Are there countries in the West where the demand for Shariah-compliant financial solutions is especially strong?

Dilshod Jumaniyazov: The market for Shariah-compliant financial solutions is not just big—it’s growing fast. In 2022, the global Islamic finance industry expanded by 11%, reaching $4.5 trillion in assets, and it is expected to grow to $6.7 trillion by 2027, according to the ICD-LSEG Islamic Finance Development Report 2023.

In the West, Islamic finance has gained significant traction, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis, when it emerged as a more stable and ethical alternative. In the U.K., Islamic banks have doubled their assets over the past decade, reflecting a growing demand for Islamic finance. Sukuk issuances have also increased across Europe, with countries like Luxembourg and Germany leading the charge. The broader trend of sustainable and values-based investing has played a crucial role in driving this growth.

Certain Western countries stand out for their strong demand. According to Global Finance Magazine, the U.K. is a clear leader, serving as a global hub with five Islamic banks and more than 20 conventional banks offering Shariah-compliant products. Luxembourg, the first Eurozone country to issue a sovereign sukuk, hosts a wide range of Shariah-compliant funds. Germany has made significant strides by issuing sukuks and licensing its first Islamic bank, highlighting its growing interest in the sector. Meanwhile, France, with Europe’s largest Muslim population, holds enormous untapped potential despite its relatively underdeveloped Islamic finance market.

This combination of ethical investing and increasing demand in key regions has positioned the West as an emerging force in Shariah-compliant finance.

What are we talking about when we talk about Shariah-compliant finance? How is it different from financing in the West?

Jumaniyazov: Shariah-compliant finance is rooted in Islamic principles that emphasize fairness, transparency, and social responsibility. It prohibits earning or charging interest (riba), excessive speculation (gharar), and investments in harmful industries such as gambling, alcohol, and weapons. Instead, it focuses on ethical investing, risk-sharing, and linking all financial transactions to real economic activities. For example, rather than relying on traditional interest-based loans, Shariah-compliant finance uses models like mudarabah (profit-sharing) and musharakah (joint ventures), where risks and rewards are shared among all parties. This approach ensures that financial activities create tangible value and benefit society.

What sets Shariah-compliant finance apart from Western finance is its deeply embedded ethical framework. While Western finance often revolves around interest-bearing loans and speculative investments, Shariah-compliant finance requires every transaction to align with moral principles and economic justice. It’s not just about profit — it’s about creating shared prosperity and avoiding harm. This focus on equity, accountability, and real-world impact makes Shariah-compliant finance a compelling alternative, especially for those seeking a more values-driven approach to managing wealth.

How has digital transformation impacted the market for Shariah-compliant finance. Has technology made it easier to innovate and create new solutions for the community?

Jumaniyazov: Digital transformation has completely reshaped the landscape of Shariah-compliant finance, making it more accessible and innovative than ever before. With the rise of digital banking and mobile payment platforms tailored to the needs of Muslim consumers, financial services are now reaching communities that were previously underserved. This has opened up opportunities for growth and inclusion on a global scale.

Technology has also sparked exciting developments like digital sukuks and blockchain-based smart contracts, which align perfectly with Islamic principles. These innovations have not only made processes more efficient, but have also introduced entirely new ways to approach halal and ethical finance. By breaking down barriers and reducing costs, digital transformation has turned Shariah-compliant finance into a dynamic, forward-thinking sector that’s more relevant than ever in today’s world.

Is there a role for AI in Shariah-compliant finance?

Jumaniyazov: AI is revolutionizing Islamic finance by making it more efficient, innovative, and accessible while staying true to its ethical principles. One of its most significant contributions is in screening stocks and ETFs for Shariah compliance. AI can analyze large datasets to assess whether investments meet Islamic criteria, streamlining a process that would otherwise be time-intensive and complex. This ensures that investors can confidently align their portfolios with their faith.

AI is also transforming Islamic financial products, such as sukuk. By enabling smart contracts, it has improved the transparency, efficiency, and trustworthiness of sukuk issuances. With applications like blockchain integration and advanced analytics, AI is not just addressing operational challenges but also opening doors for innovation, making Islamic finance more dynamic and globally relevant while adhering to Shariah principles.

You are CEO of Musaffa, a company that has developed Shariah-compliant solutions. Can you tell us a little about Musaffa and how you came to co-found the company?

Jumaniyazov: Of course. The journey to founding Musaffa began with a deeply personal challenge. Over my 16 years of investing, I often faced a dilemma — questioning whether my investments aligned with my faith and values as a Muslim. Every time I ventured into the stock market, I carried the weight of uncertainty, wondering if I was compromising my principles. As I shared my experiences with friends and colleagues, I realized this was not just my struggle — it was a challenge faced by millions of Muslims worldwide in a financial landscape that offered little guidance or transparency for faith-aligned investing.

This realization sparked a vision over a decade ago: to create a platform that would empower Muslims globally to invest ethically and confidently while staying true to their faith. However, I quickly recognized that making this vision a reality required more than just ambition. It demanded deeper knowledge, broader experience, and substantial capital.

Determined to bridge these gaps, I pursued an MBA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned my CFA designation to strengthen my expertise in finance. I gained invaluable experience working with the technology team at Wells Fargo Securities, where I contributed to launching several trading platforms. Alongside this, I saved diligently, setting aside funds from my paychecks and 401(k) savings over the years. By late 2020, with $250,000 of my own savings, I was ready to bring Musaffa to life.

Musaffa is more than just a platform — it’s a solution to a deeply felt problem. At its core, Musaffa provides access to over 90,000 stocks and 9,000 ETFs globally, all meticulously analyzed for Shariah compliance. The platform enables users to seamlessly buy and sell halal stocks through an integrated network of brokerages. 

Education is another cornerstone of our mission. Through Musaffa Academy, we offer tailored courses in financial literacy and Islamic finance, equipping our users with the knowledge to make informed decisions. These tools are designed not just to help Muslims invest, but also to empower them to understand and take control of their financial journeys.

As a result, Musaffa has grown to serve over 482,000 users across 195 countries. Our users trust us to provide peace of mind and a way to align their investments with their faith. With features like advanced Shariah compliance screening, integrated trading options, and a robust educational platform, Musaffa has become a trusted partner for Muslim investors worldwide.

Looking ahead, we are excited to expand our offerings by launching proprietary Shariah-compliant ETFs and further integrating into global markets. Our goal is to make halal investing even more accessible and to continue simplifying access to the $30 trillion Shariah-compliant market.

What sets Musaffa apart are not just the tools we provide but our unwavering commitment to solving real challenges. We’re not just offering a platform; we’re creating a global financial ecosystem rooted in faith, trust, and ethics.

Today, I am incredibly proud of how far Musaffa has come. It stands as a testament to years of dedication, the belief that financial success should never come at the expense of one’s values, and a vision that’s empowering Muslims around the world to invest with confidence and purpose.

Who are Musaffa’s primary customers and how do you reach them?

Jumaniyazov: Musaffa’s primary customers are individual investors worldwide who seek to invest in alignment with their values, as well as both Islamic and traditional financial institutions. We engage with them through a strategic mix of targeted digital campaigns, partnerships with Islamic organizations, and our robust education platform, Musaffa Academy, which drives the majority of our traffic. Additionally, we leverage the Musaffa Ambassador Program, which empowers passionate individuals to represent our brand and bring more users to the platform. Word-of-mouth referrals also play a pivotal role in building trust and expanding our reach within this values-driven audience. Together, these channels foster a strong and authentic connection with our customers.

You recently launched a Purification Calculator? Can you tell us about this solution: why you launched it, what it does, and how the reception of it has been so far?

Jumaniyazov: The Purification Calculator is an indispensable tool designed to ensure that Muslim investors can maintain Shariah compliance in their investments. Purification is a mandatory condition for any investment to be considered Shariah-compliant, as it involves cleansing portfolios of any unintended non-compliant income. The calculator simplifies this process by determining the exact amount that should be donated to charity, enabling investors to align their earnings with Islamic principles.

We launched this solution to address a critical concern for Muslim investors and to simplify a process that many found complex or uncertain. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, as the tool empowers users to invest with confidence, knowing their financial activities align with both their faith and values.

What are some of the most interesting things going on in Islamic finance right now to you personally?

Jumaniyazov: For me, one of the most exciting developments in Islamic finance is the growing focus on halal investment research. With more Muslims wanting to align their financial decisions with their faith, the demand for tools and analyses to identify Shariah-compliant opportunities is stronger than ever. This isn’t just about screening stocks; it’s about providing in-depth research and actionable insights that help investors make confident, informed decisions in a complex market.

Another area I find fascinating is how digital platforms are transforming access to halal investments. From sukuk to Shariah-compliant ETFs and stocks, technology is making it easier for people to find and invest in Shariah-compliant and ethical assets. This combination of research and innovation is bridging a critical gap for Muslim investors, helping them grow their wealth while staying true to their values; it’s an exciting time to see how the industry is evolving to meet both faith-driven and financial needs.

What can we expect to hear from Musaffa in 2025?

Jumaniyazov: In 2025, at Musaffa, we plan to launch a comprehensive Islamic finance education platform, introduce our proprietary Shariah-compliant trading platform, and begin offering exclusive Shariah-compliant ETFs following SEC licensing approval. Our goal is to solidify our position as the premier global platform for halal investments while significantly expanding our user base.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure company Binance won approval from the Central Bank of Brazil to acquire a locally licensed broker-dealer.
  • Union Bank of India introduced new accessibility features to its Digital Rupee app.
  • Chilean fintech Tanner Servicios Financieros raised $40 million in funding from the International Finance Corporation.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Sourcefin raised $8.2 million in funding to support SME financing.
  • Financial services provider Mukuru secured a Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institution (DTMFI) license in Zimbabwe.
  • Nigeria-based Bankit MFB launched its new web banking platform.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Digital asset infrastructure company Taurus expanded its operations in Turkey.
  • Serbian IT company Saga teamed up with Salt Edge to help banks in Serbia take advantage of opportunities in open banking.
  • German fintech Cleversoft announced its intention to acquire Turkish financial messaging and AML compliance solutions provider Fineksus.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Qatar-based Doha Bank to go live with Visa Commercial Pay, the first bank in the market to do so.
  • Iraqi fintech company Qi Card launched its app SuperQi, which serves as both a lifestyle super app and a digital bank.
  • Italian software company TeamSystem acquired Israeli fintech Morning for $150 million.

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope 2025 in London? Applications are still being accepted from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.

Photo by Aa Dil

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Fintech Rundown, Salt Edge, Tink, VISA

It’s going to be hard to avoid the avalanche of news coverage of the U.S. Presidential election this week. But if you’re looking for a respite from the political headlines, Finovate’s Fintech Rundown is here for you! Be sure to check back all week long for the latest in fintech news.

Open banking

Financial API platform Salt Edge partners with Central Bank of Bahrain to enhance corporate banking with open banking.

Tink teams up with international money app Zing to launch automatic and one-tap top-ups leveraging open banking.

Digital banking experience platform Plumery announces partnership with payments and open banking solutions provider Payment Components.

Cryptocurrency / DeFi

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget introduces a new contactless, P2P payment service, Bitget Pay, via its Bitget app.

Commercial Bank International, a UAE-based financial institution, inks a Memorandum of Understanding with digital asset platform Zumo.

Cryptocurrency platform Kraken appoints Stephanie Lemmerman as Chief Financial Officer.

Identity verification / fraud prevention

ID verification specialist iDenfy partners with O2Factoring to improve financial security for entrepreneurs.

U.K.-based Starling Bank unveils new solution to help customers defend themselves against bank impersonation scams.

E-commerce

E-commerce payment network Affirm launches its pay-over-time options in the U.K.

Lending

Document AI platform Ocrolus teams up with Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) origination and servicing platform LendSaaS.

Lending-as-a-service infrastructure company Finfra secures $2.5 million in funding to bring embedded lending solutions to SMEs in Indonesia.

Payments

European banking group Intesa Sanpaolo and Visa renew their strategic partnership to accelerate and support the growth of digital payments.

Integrated payments and commerce technology company Shift4 announces new partnership with payments platform ConnexPay.

Personal Finance

BMO partners with Personetics to help customers reach personal savings goals.

Photo by Tara Winstead

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Fenergo, Finastra, Fintech Rundown, Prelim, Revolut, Salt Edge

Fresh from FinovateFall in New York, we’ve got a raft of fintech news to share and catch up on. Be sure to check Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest in industry news, announcements, and headlines.

Credit unions

Formerly PSCU/Co-op Solutions, Velera will provide card processing solutions for BrightStar Credit Union courtesy of a new partnership.

Open banking

International fintech Ebury teams up with Salt Edge to expand its open banking presence in the EU and U.K.

Payments

CloudPay announces integration with Workday to launch its Global Payroll Connect solution.

Revolut integrates with Spain-based digital payments platform, Bizum.

Boost Payment Solutions launches, Boost 100XB, its new cross-border payments solution for U.S.-issued commercial cards.

JPMorgan advances in its discussions with Apple to take over the Apple credit card from Goldman.

Brex launches Brex Embedded to help B2B software vendors accelerate customer workflows at a global scale with Brex virtual cards. 

Regtech, Fraud, and Security

Germany’s largest state bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), partners with Ireland’s Fenergo to upgrade its client onboarding operations.

Oracle launches the Oracle Financial Crime and Compliance (FCCM) Management Monitor Cloud Service. 

Banking-as-a-Service

Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider Intergiro launches its no-code, white label app development platform.

BaaS platform NymCard partners with Mastercard to enhance global money transfers from the UAE to 47 countries.

The parent company of Five Star Bank announces plans to wind down process for its Banking-as-a-Service offerings.

E-commerce

DNA Payments unveils Apple Pay Express Checkout to give merchants additional payment acceptance options.

iPhone and iPad users can now choose their monthly payment at checkout with Monzo Flex on Apple Pay.

KYC/AML

PwC Norway deploys Strise’s AML Automation Cloud to enhance its AML processes.

Financial software company Finastra integrates with Prelim to enhance retail and commercial deposit account opening.

Insurtech

AI-based insurance pricing company Akur8 secures $120 million in Series C funding.

Digital transformation

Metro Bank collaborates with Infosys to accelerate digital transformation.

Crypto and DeFi

SC Ventures leads investment in One Trading.

Business financial management

Intuit launches Intuit Enterprise Suite to help businesses grow, streamline operations, and scale.

Investing and wealth management

Investment accounting solutions company Clearwater Analytics unveils new peer benchmarking solution, Clearwater Insights, for CFOs and treasury teams.

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Fintech Rundown, Hawk:AI, Ledger, Marqeta, Salt Edge, SpyCloud

As we enter into the last few days of July, there’s a lot to think about. The days are slowly getting shorter, but the list of tasks needed to complete 2024 objectives by the end of the year isn’t shrinking. Fintech news is set to pick up its pace as summer slows down, and we’ll be here to cover it. Stay tuned throughout the week to read the latest news this week as we post updates and evolutions.

Payments

Marqeta becomes certified to enable Visa flexible credential.

Billie integrates with Stripe, making the B2B BNPL solution available in Europe.

Spendbase partners with Thredd to shake up subscription management in the U.S.

AppBrilliance brings real-time payments to digital wallets with RTP and FedNow.

Crypto and DeFi

Ledger launches Ledger Flex, a mid-range hardware crypto wallet.

Metallicus, core developer of foundational Layer 0 blockchain, Metal Blockchain, welcomes KeyPoint Credit Union to its Banking Innovation Program.

Small business finance

Sage partners with Stripe to help SMBs control their cashflow.

Rillet raises $13.5 million to automate accounting.

Insurtech

iPipeline introduces former Microsoft executive Steve Cover as Chief Technology Officer.

Open banking

Salt Edge forges partnership with Lithuanian paytech SDK.finance.

Cybersecurity

AI-powered fraud prevention and AML platform Hawk announces a further extension of its Series B funding round.

Cybercrime analytics company and Finovate Best of Show winner SpyCloud adds Consumers’ Risk Module to its Check Your Exposure tool for banks and financial institutions.

Regtech and compliance

Intelligent automation and compliance solutions provider Kompliant announces strategic partnership with the Equifax Digital Solutions team.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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Salt Edge Launches API Upgrade to Support Open Banking

Salt Edge Launches API Upgrade to Support Open Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Salt Edge
  • Open banking solutions provider Salt Edge has released the latest version of its Open Banking Gateway API.
  • The new version, the company’s sixth, features enhancements designed to make integration easier and quicker.
  • Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Salt Edge most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2019.

Canadian open banking solutions provider Salt Edge is back in the fintech headlines. This week, the company unveiled the latest version of its Open Banking Gateway API. Within the package, Salt Edge will make its Account Information API available initially, with its Payments API scheduled to be launched “in short order” afterward.

The latest release features a number of updates and enhancements, which the company says are a direct result of listening to clients, as well as the company’s in-house team. The new version provides endpoints optimization to make integrating with Salt Edge’s API easier and quicker. Salt Edge has also put in the effort to ensure the consistency of the API environment regardless of the license clients use. This facilitates easier and more accurate navigation through the documentation, and those clients that do use Salt Edge’s license will benefit from enhanced access and control with API V6. A third enhancement provides real-time updates, notifications, and event triggers, offering a more dynamic and responsive system that enables clients to monitor activity and quickly address issues as they arise.

Salt Edge’s product enhancement news comes one month after the Ottawa, Ontario-based fintech announced partnerships with Italian API-based e-document management platform A-Cube API and Moldovan financial institution Moldindconbank. A-Cube API, which had been using Salt Edge for its account information services, has now integrated Salt Edge’s Payment Initiation solution. This will facilitate the linking of A-Cube API’s e-invoicing system with account-to-account payments, making the invoicing process faster, more secure, and more accurate.

The company’s partnership with Moldindconbank will help the financial institution ensure that it meets regulatory requirements with regard to open banking. The bank, like all financial institutions in the country, has until February 2025 to comply with new open banking regulations issued by the National Bank of Moldova. To this end, Salt Edge’s full-stack Open Banking Compliance solution will enable Moldindconbank to, in the words of the bank’s Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board Mihail Iovu, “quickly comply with local open banking requirements while elevating our digital solutions, furthering our dedication to providing top-notch services to our clients.”

Founded in 2013, Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 and returned the following year for FinovateEurope 2019. Garri Galanter is CEO.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

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