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Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
According to a report in Bloomberg, JP Morgan is going to make fintechs pay up if they want access to customer financial data. Fighting words? Or just signs of what’s to come? Check out this news and more in this week’s edition of Finovate’s Fintech Rundown!
Identity management
Digital identity platform Signicatacquires Dutch NFC-based digital identity verification solutions provider Inverid.
Lending
Digital lending platform Yabxlaunches GenAI-powered voice solution designed to increase financial literacy among its underserved borrowers.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American nation of Peru.
EBANX partners with Peruvian digital wallet Yape
Brazilian payments company EBANX announced a direct integration with Peruvian digital wallet, Yape. Designed for cross-border commerce and relying on an easy user enrollment process, Yape enables users to pay for purchases on international ecommerce websites using either their Yape wallet balance or a linked card. The wallet supports recurring, one-click and on-file payment solutions and, in 2024, was responsible for the largest share of the volume transacted online through a digital wallet in the country. This is according to research from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI).
“With over 14 million active Peruvian users, Yape empowers millions of consumers with reliable daily transactions,” Yape Head of Payments Claudia Silva said. “This direct integration with EBANX marks a significant step in expanding our reach to global merchants, allowing them to tap into the vast potential of the Peruvian market.”
Digital wallets are a major component of Peru’s payment ecosystem. The fourth most commonly used payment in the country, digital wallets represented 10% of all digital commerce transactions in Peru in 2024. PCMI anticipates a digital wallet annual growth rate of 17% by 2027 and much of this growth, according to Silva, can be credited to Yape. According to the firm’s own data, Yape’s digital wallet delivers a 93% approval rate on transactions, an especially valuable achievement as digital wallets are increasingly becoming the preferred payment method for recurring transactions.
“Through its partnership with Yape, EBANX enables merchants to access a seamless, secure, and high-conversion payment solution that drives immediate results for one-time purchases as well as for subscription-based services and recurring payments,” said Juliana Etcheverry, Director of LatAm Country Growth—South Cone at EBANX. “This partnership goes beyond payments; it’s about fostering scalable, long-term growth for merchants in a rapidly evolving market.”
Founded in 2016, Yape is headquartered in Lima, Peru. The company’s payment app has more than 20 million users and more than 2.5 million affiliated businesses. Yape expanded to Bolivia in 2023, reaching two million users (“Yaperos”) a year later.
Paysafe goes live with PagoEfective ewallet in Peru
As if to underscore the rising popularity of digital wallets in Peru, payments platform Paysafe announced that it is expanding its eCash brand, PagoEfectivo, into a digital wallet. As a brand, PagoEfectivo has been a major force in Latin America’s eCash payment ecosystem, supporting the transactions of millions of online consumers. As a digital wallet, the brand will enable users to load funds instantly, make online transactions, receive payouts from participating merchants, transfer funds to others, and more.
“Our recent survey with Peruvian consumers found that 81% would use a digital wallet from PagoEfectivo,” Paysafe Head of Latin America Estaban Sarubbi said. “With that strong sign, we’re launching a solution that meets consumers’ payment needs.” Paysafe CEO Bruce Lowthers added, “Consumers in Peru already trust PagoEfectivo for everything from iGaming and digital goods to travel and ecommerce. With the launch of our new digital wallet, we’re giving them a more convenient way to pay—one that reflects Paysafe’s commitment to powering the experiential economy.”
Headquartered in London, Paysafe processed $152 billion in annualized transactional volume in 2024. A leading payments platform, Paysafe empowers businesses and consumers to connect and transact through its capabilities in payment processing, digital wallets, and online cash solutions. Delivering services across 260 payment types in 48 currencies, Paysafe’s integrated platform is designed for mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics, and facilitating the convergence between in-store and online payments.
Do Payment launches pay-in service Do Pay in regional expansion
Peruvian paytech Do Payment has launched its own pay-in service, Do Pay. The new offering is designed bring greater speed, lower costs, and more flexibility to the payments process by enhancing liquidity for clients and reducing reliance on intermediate parties. Do Pay also creates a single provider for both pay-in and pay-out payment solutions thanks to leveraging its own proprietary infrastructure and direct connections with banks, acquirers, and local payment networks.
“In Latin America, companies face a critical challenge: the slowness of fund availability, with delays of 48 to 72 hours and even up to one week, directly impacting their liquidity,” Do Payment Chief Product Officer Valentina Brero said. “Against global solutions poorly adapted to the region, Do Pay emerges as a service specialized in payment collection with the fastest settlement in the market, ideal for operators who need to use the funds for daily operations.”
Do Payment’s new offering enables firms to better manage a range of problems faced by companies in Latin America when it comes to collecting and making payments. These challenges include having to work with multiple partners—often different providers for both collecting and disbursements—as well as multiple technologies, high fees, and long waiting times. Do Pay, in contrast, enables firms to leverage a single platform for both collection and dispersal, which enhances operational liquidity and ensures that funds are credit faster.
Founded in 2022 by CEO Cristian Valderrama, Do Payment is based in Lima, Peru. The company is already active in seven countries—Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the US—with its pay-out service. In addition to Peru, Do Payment will go live with its Do Pay pay-in solution in Mexico and Ecuador, with the goal of expanding to both Chile and Colombia subsequently. Do Payment also noted that it plans to grow its footprint in Brazil in the second half of 2025.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Payments platform Paysafe launched its digital wallet, PagoEfectivo, in Peru.
Mexican fintech and edtech Mattilda partnered with payment orchestration platform Gr4vy to power its new white-label payments solution, Mattilda Pay.
Uruguay-based paytech dLocal announced plans to acquire Kenyan cross-border payments solutions provider AZA Finance.
Asia-Pacific
Revolutpartnered with Ant International to enable its customers to send money to China.
Visaunveiled its Security Roadmap for New Zealand, featuring a three-year plan to leverage AI to fight fraud and other cyberthreats against consumers and businesses in the country.
Worldpaywent live with domestic acquiring services in Thailand.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu acquired Kenyan crypto startup Flitaa as part of its expansion into East Africa.
Daily Investor profiled South African entrepreneur Lungisa Matshoba, co-founder of Yoco.
South African paytech Stitch acquired Efficacy Payments in order to offer card acquiring services directly to merchants.
Central and Eastern Europe
Clarity AI acquired Berlin, Germany-based Sustainability-as-a-Service innovator ecolytiq.
Azerbaijan-based fintech PashaPay inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard.
German online bank N26 announced plans to offer stock trading to customers in Austria and Germany.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Egypt’s Faisal Islamic Bank partnered with Intellect to launch its Shariah-compliant digital transformation.
According to research from Mordor Intelligence, the fintech market in the United Arab Emirates is expected to grow to more than $6.4 billion by 2030.
Egyptian digital investment platform Thndr raised $15.7 million in a round led by Prosus Ventures.
Central and Southern Asia
Pakistan-based ecommerce startup Bazaar Technologies announced that it is nearing profitability following its acquisition of Pakistani paytech Keenu.
Indian cross-border investing and financial management platform Belong is now available to non-resident Indians living in the UAE.
Central Asian digital banking ecosystem TBC Uzbekistan launched a new insurance vertical, TBC Insurance.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases recent fintech news from three countries in southeast Asia: Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Visa brings Click to Pay to Vietnam
A growing number of Vietnamese banks have become early adopters of Visa’sClick to Pay service. Click to Pay provides a faster, more secure, and convenient checkout experience for online transactions by enabling cardholders to make their purchases with fewer clicks—including relieving them of the need to manually enter card and shipping details. Instead, Click to Pay allows users to identify themselves through their email address or mobile phone number. The service uses advanced security technology—including the Visa Token Service—to keep transaction data secure and is designed to meet EMVCo standards for digital checkout.
“With e-commerce being so prevalent in Vietnam and aligning with the Vietnamese government’s digitization objectives, we are pleased to introduce this solution through our banking partners,” Visa Country Manager for Vietnam and Laos Dung Dang said. “Click to Pay with Visa has the potential to transform online shopping and support the development of a more connected digital economy.”
Cardholders with Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) and Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) can enroll in the Click to Pay service through their banking apps or with participating online merchants. Visa has also teamed up with Vietnamese payment platform Payoo, which will integrate Click to Pay across its merchant ecosystem. Visa announced that cardholders using Click to Pay at Payoo-affiliated merchants will be eligible for exclusive promotional offers “in the near future”. Additional merchants are expected to be added in the coming months.
BNPL provider Atome secures $75 million to support Philippines operations
“The Philippines is a key growth market for Atome,” Atome Chief Commercial Officer Andy Tan said. “This financing reflects the continued confidence in Atome’s ability to deliver inclusive, risk-managed credit at scale.”
Atome is part of Advance Intelligence Group, a fintech and AI platform backed by investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, and Singapore-based EDBI. This week’s funding comes as the company has been expanding its BNPL offering throughout Southeast Asia, bringing alternative credit solutions to unbanked and underbanked populations in the region. The financing also arrives one year after Atome secured a three-year term loan facility from EvolutionX Debt Capital.
“The launch of innovative and fit-for-market solutions like the Atome Card (PayLater Anywhere) and lending products demonstrates their ability to expand offerings while leveraging local market expertise,” EvolutionX Partner Rahul Shah said.
Malaysia’s KAF Digital Bank goes live with Temenos
The growth of Islamic digital banking is one of the most underappreciated developments in international fintech. Helping power this trend are companies like Temenos which recently partnered with Malaysia’s KAF Digital Bank as the institution launches its new Islamic digital bank in the country.
“Powered by Temenos SaaS, KAF Digital Bank is redefining Shariah-compliant banking with smarter, simpler financial solutions and a seamless, customer-first digital experience,” KAF Digital Bank CEO Rafiza Ghazali said. “The successful go-live and early access customer launch marks a key milestone in our journey, enabling Malaysians to take control of their financial futures with greater confidence.”
Temenos SaaS will enable KAF Digital Bank to offer a range of Shariah-compliant financial solutions that make financial management easier for customers who require or simply prefer Islamic banking. The offering includes comprehensive core and digital banking services with payments, analytics, and Temenos Data Hub on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. In a statement, Temenos APAC Managing Director Will Dale noted the growth and importance of the Islamic banking customer in the country.
“This go-live not only strengthens Temenos’ regional footprint in SaaS, but also shows the unique breadth of functionality and advanced technology we deliver,” Dale said. “With proven capabilities tailored to the Malaysian market and Islamic banking, Temenos SaaS empowers KAF Digital Bank to achieve faster time-to-market, greater efficiency, and drive future growth.”
KAF Digital Bank secured approval to operate as a digital bank at the beginning of the year, and will be the fourth digital bank to operate in the country. The bank was launched by KAF Investment Bank Berhad, in partnership with Carsome, MoneyMatch, Jirnexu, and StoreHub. KAF Investment Bank Berhad was established in 1975.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Saudi Arabian finance app tiqmo partnered with global payments network MoneyGram.
Revolutreported that it has entered talks with the Bank of Israel to expand operations in the country.
MENA-based financial institution Mashreq launched its NEO PLUS Saver Account.
Central and Southern Asia
India-based MSME lender FlexiLoans raised $44 million in an expanded Series C round.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at fintech headlines from companies headquartered in North Africa.
Fayda wallet goes live in Ethiopia
Designed to revolutionize the way Ethiopians access digital services, Ethiopia’s National ID Program (NIDP) has launched its FaydaPass wallet. The solution, developed in partnership with TECH5 and Visa, will help promote financial inclusion and address the need for verified electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) services throughout society.
The wallet makes it easier for Ethiopians to secure a digital copy of the Fayda credential by enabling them to download the official app and request their digital ID credentials via the wallet. The Fayda ID system uses its data to generate the secure credential, which is delivered directly to the user’s mobile device as a verifiable credential (VC). The verifiable credential supports secure on- and offline verification for a wide range of use cases including payments and digital access to government services.
“A credential wallet would be a container for government and private sector issued standardized verifiable credentials,” NIDP Executive Director Yodahe Zemichael said. “It’s an exciting new way of delivering value to citizens and extending the functionality of Fayda Digital ID.”
Ethiopian digital-first Coopbank announced that it would leverage the Fayda app and its advanced biometric eKYC verification to enable customers to open new bank accounts. The institution’s CEO Deribie Asfaw said that the new offering will help it “reach financially marginalized communities who have long been excluded from the formal financial system due to the absence of such robust infrastructures.” Asfaw added, “This brings us one step closer to the community and reinforces our commitment to leaving a meaningful mark on the country’s digital transformation journey.”
Founded in 2005, Coopbank (Cooperative Bank of Oromia) was established by farmers and still counts farmers as more than half of its shareholders. With a focus on the country’s micro, small, and medium-sized farming and agricultural sector businesses, the institution has assets of ETB 139.56 billion ($1.04 billion), operates 745 branches, and has more than 14.5 million accountholders.
TerraPay, Wave Mobile Money partner on remittances to Mali
A partnership between international money movement company TerraPay and African mobile money provider Wave Mobile Money will enhance cross-border remittances services in Mali. The collaboration will enable Malians to receive funds from family and friends living and working abroad directly into their Wave mobile wallets. This will provide for a faster, more accessible, and cost-effective international remittance experience.
Mobile phone penetration in Mali is high, with more than 80% of the population using the technology. Many Malians rely on mobile phones for mobile money and digital wallet services, making the devices a key component of financial inclusion in the country for millions—especially the un- and underbanked. The partnership between TerraPay and Wave Mobile Money will facilitate remittance flows from Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) through the US, Canada, and Europe to Mali via a single integration.
“Our partnership with Wave Mobile Money marks a significant milestone in our mission to power borderless money movement,” TerraPay Vice President—Sub Sahara Africa, Willie Kanyeki said. “By enabling instant, cost-effective, and fully compliant remittances from key markets like the US, Canada, and Europe, we are simplifying financial access and driving financial inclusion in Mali.”
TerraPay enables payments to 150+ receiving countries and 210+ sending countries. The company’s platform facilitates payments to more than 3.7 billion mobile wallets, 7.5 billion bank accounts, and more than 12 billion cards. Founded in 2014, TerraPay is headquartered in London. Co-founder Ambar Sur is CEO.
Founded in 2018 and operating in Mali since 2021, Wave Mobile Money offers domestic and cross-border transfers, bill payments, and business services to customers in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, Wave Mobile Money is on a self-described mission to make Africa “the first cashless continent.” Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk are Co-Founders.
Tunisia’s Konnect Networks secures investment
Tunisia’s Konnect Networks has raised an undisclosed amount from Attijariwafa Ventures. The investment was part of a wider fundraising effort that featured Utopia Capital Management, 54 Collective, Visa, Plug and Play Tech Center, Renew Capital, Digital Africa Ventures, and Sunny Side Venture Partners as investors. The company said it would use the capital to help fuel both its continued expansion and further innovation in payments technology.
Founded in 2021 by Amin Ben Abderrahman, Konnect Networks provides payment links, e-commerce plugins, and APIs. Serving both retail and business customers, the firm’s payment orchestration platform covers online and point-of-sale payments, payment aggregation, and real-time transaction capabilities. The company’s funding news comes in the wake of it being approved as a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) by Tunisia’s central bank. Konnect Networks currently has 2,000 users of its technology in Tunisia.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features an interview with Stav Levi-Neumark, CEO and Co-Founder of revenue workforce solutions provider Alta.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Israel, Alta leverages data and AI to help drive revenue growth at every level for businesses. The company’s AI Revenue Workforce agents ensure that everyone on the team is connected, aligned, and equipped with the data insights and AI automation they need to enable their businesses to scale efficiently and grow faster. Alta’s agents have helped produce a 3x increase in qualified leads, a 15% increase in win rates, and a 80% reduction in costs.
Our conversation with Levi-Neumark is also a part of Finovate’s and Finovate Global’s commemoration of Women’s History Month. Be sure to check out her thoughts on gender diversity, current opportunities for women in fintech, as well as her advice for female CEOs.
Can you tell us a little bit about Alta and the revenue workforce solutions business?
Stav Levi-Neumark: AI is impacting almost every industry now. But go-to-market and revenue teams across many vertical markets are struggling to fully harness AI for sustained growth. Choosing the right tools to enhance capabilities of salespeople while also automating relevant tasks is a real challenge.
Alta is an AI revenue workforce that is data-driven. It supports revenue teams, allowing each person to be like a 10x version of themselves.
Alta agents automate repetitive and mundane tasks that require limited human oversight, such as researching potential leads and conducting personalized outreach across multiple channels. The agents also provide actionable insights based on real-time data across all revenue functions. This streamlined workflow helps companies achieve improved revenue growth by working more efficiently, accelerating their sales cycle, and enabling humans to focus on relationship-building opportunities, strategic, and creative work.
Who are Alta’s primary customers and how do you reach them?
Levi-Neumark: Alta has really diverse customers across virtually every business sector, and they range from SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. We’ve been able to ramp up the number of clients we have really quickly as well, adding almost 100 customers in less than six months.
Your latest solution—AI Revenue Workforce—leverages innovations in agentic AI. Can you talk about how this technology and new product empower go-to-market and revenue teams?
Levi-Neumark: Agentic AI has endless potential to dramatically improve efficiency and drive revenue growth. By leaving automated tasks to AI agents, human-led go-to-market and revenue teams can work smarter and faster, focusing their attention where it matters most: developing strategy, building relationships, closing deals, and increasing ROI through creative thought.
AI agents in Alta’s workforce include Katie, a Sales Development Representative (SDR), Luna, an AI RevOps agent, and Alex, an AI Calling agent. The workforce can integrate into more than 50 internal and external marketing, sales, and revenue systems that include CRMs, ERPs, payment, advertising, social media tools, and more.
Alta is a very young company, founded in 2023. There has been a lot of discussion about the current environment for tech startups. How would you characterize the climate for startups today?
Levi-Neumark: The founders who thrive will be those who can harness technological advancements while building businesses with solid foundations that can stand on their own, beyond the AI hype. Here’s the advice I typically share when talking with other tech founders:
Success means your customers attribute significant revenue growth directly to your product. When they look at their business results and can clearly see your impact on their bottom line, that’s when you’ll know you’ve truly succeeded.
Maintaining balanced, healthy growth is key. While it may be tempting to focus more attention on one specific area of your organization, it’s critical to ensure all departments grow at an equal pace.
Be proactive rather than reactive to market shifts to position yourself ahead of certain trends. When deeply focused on product development and customer acquisition, it’s easy to miss emerging signals from the broader ecosystem.
Alta recently secured $7 million in seed funding. What does this investment mean for the company and what will it enable Alta to do?
Levi-Neumark: This funding solidifies Alta’s position as an industry leader in workforce intelligence automation. It will allow Alta to continue developing out-of-the-box solutions that redefine the relationship between AI and sales teams to unlock limitless revenue growth opportunities.
We plan to utilize the investment to expand into new markets, grow operations, scale R&D, and accelerate product development to meet increasing market demand from enterprise and mid-market customers. In fact, we are currently developing our newest AI agent, Greg, a sales assistant for account executives, to further bolster our workforce’s capabilities.
You are one of very few female CEOs in the enterprise AI space. Are there unique challenges to greater gender diversity in enterprise AI compared to other areas of technology, fintech, or financial services?
Levi-Neumark: I don’t feel there are unique challenges specific to the AI space compared to other tech sectors. The gender diversity issues we face in enterprise AI mirror what we see across technology, fintech, and financial services more broadly.
The fundamental challenges remain consistent: representation gaps, unconscious bias in hiring and promotion, and the need for more visible role models.
That said, I prefer to focus on the opportunity. AI is still a relatively young field, and at the end of the day, our success is what will define us. I hope more female founders and women will enter this market and look forward to welcoming them.
What advice would you give to female CEOs, especially those who are new to the role?
Levi-Neumark: I would advise female CEOs, especially those new to the role, to build strong support networks early. Connect with other female founders and executives who understand your specific challenges—these relationships become invaluable resources for candid advice and emotional support that you can’t always find within your company.
Trust your unique leadership style and perspective. There’s often pressure to conform to traditionally masculine leadership traits, but the most effective leaders bring their authentic selves to the role. Your different viewpoint is actually a strategic advantage that can help identify opportunities others might miss.
Be strategic about which battles to fight. As a female CEO, you’ll likely face additional scrutiny and challenges. Learn to distinguish between issues that are worth addressing directly and those where it’s better to let your results speak for themselves.
Prioritize building a diverse leadership team from the start. This not only leads to better decision-making, but also creates a culture where different perspectives are valued.
Finally, remember that your visibility matters. By succeeding in your role, you’re creating pathways for others. Share your journey, mentor upcoming leaders, and when possible, be the voice and representation you wished you had when starting out.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
UK-based open banking payments company Atoa announced an integration with New Zealand-based small business platform Xero.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Ualá Raises $66 Million at $2.75 Billion Valuation
In a funding round that featured participation from Mexican media titan TelevisaUnivision, Argentina-based fintech Ualá has added $66 million in funding to its Series E round. The additional funding brings the round’s total to $366 million and gives the company a valuation of $2.75 billion.
The capital comes via an equity sale and will be used to fuel Ualá’s growth throughout Latin America—with a particular emphasis on expansion in Mexico. Ualá Founder and Chief Executive Officer Pierpaolo Barbieri praised the participation of TelevisaUnivision, which he called a “very relevant and influential outlet, across Spanish-speaking markets but especially in Mexico.” Barbieri added, “It will help us create confidence and closeness with a lot of Mexicans that still don’t know us.”
The first close of the Series E round was led by Allianz X, German insurance company Allianz SE’s venture capital arm. Also participating in the first close were Stone Ridge Holdings Group and Pershing Square Foundation. Additional investors in the extension round were not named.
Founded in 2017 in Argentina, Ualá offers financial services including payment accounts connected to an international Mastercard prepaid card, as well as savings accounts, loans, investments, business collection solutions, and more. The company has nine million users in the region, including in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
Ualá began the year by announcing the availability of six new mutual funds in its ecosystem, including one fund denominated in dollars. In February, the company integrated an advanced artificial intelligence platform, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, into its customer service process.
dLocal partners with Temu, Belmoney
Uruguayan fintech and cross-border payments company dLocal announced a pair of partnerships in recent days. First, dLocal launched a new collaboration with Europe-based, remittance-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Belmoney. The goal of the partnership is to facilitate cross-border payouts, leveraging the integration of more than 900 local and alternative payment methods (APMs) such as credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and instant transactions. The collaboration is also designed to boost service reliability and efficiency for those making cross-border transactions in countries including Bangladesh, Ecuador, Peru, and Pakistan.
“Our partnership with dLocal is a game-changer in the remittance space,” Belmoney CEO and Founder Bruno Pedras said. “By integrating with dLocal’s comprehensive network, we can significantly lower costs, improve transaction speeds, and provide a better cross-border payments experience for both senders and recipients.”
Second, dLocal announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Temu, the international e-commerce platform of China’s PDD Holdings. Together, the two companies seek to provide shoppers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with new seamless and secure payment options that are suited to local preferences. Millions of customers in 15 emerging markets in these regions stand to benefit from the collaboration.
“By partnering with dLocal, we’re excited to extend these benefits to millions of customers in emerging markets, ensuring that more people can enjoy accessible, convenient shopping experiences,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.
Launched in 2022, Temu is an online marketplace that offers consumer goods at significantly discounted prices. Shipping goods directly from the People’s Republic of China, Temu reportedly has more than 292 million monthly active users of its app worldwide. The app was among the most popular in US app stores for both iOS and Android in 2024.
Founded in 2016, dLocal is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The country’s first unicorn, dLocal offers an all-in-one payment platform that enables companies to accept and disburse a wide range of local payment methods and currencies. In 2024, the company processed more than $25 billion worth of payments. dLocal works with 700+ merchants, supports 900 payment methods, and operates in more than 40 countries. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker DLO, dLocal has a market capitalization of $2.7 billion. Sebastián Kanovich is CEO.
Ant International’s Bettr brings embedded finances services to ecommerce merchants in Brazil
Speaking of partnerships between businesses in Asia and Latin America, we learned this week that Bettr, Ant International’s AI-driven lending business, has gone live in Brazil. Bettr will help expand lending opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by working with local partners such as AliExpress. Through this partnership, Bettr will introduce a new financing solution, Bettr Working Capital, for local merchants working on AliExpress’s platform.
“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive by providing accessible and efficient financial tools that can take their operations to the next level,” LatAm director of AliExpress Briza Bueno said. “In this way, we are not only supporting the individual growth of these entrepreneurs but also contributing to the advancement of e-commerce in the country.”
Bettr Working Capital will be introduced gradually; the first round of disbursements began this week. The technology analyzes merchant sales records and other unstructured business data from AliExpress to make smarter, tailored, more affordable loan solutions. This will help small and medium-sized businesses better manage cash flow and expand into new markets.
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International is an international digital payments and financial technology provider. Bettr is the company’s digital lending business, which specializes in serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The firm combines emerging technologies like AI and data-driven credit modeling to offer secure financial solutions that better fit borrower needs.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina-based fintech Uala raised $66 million at a valuation of $2.75 billion in an extended Series E round.
Remittance company Pomelo integrated with Visa clearing house in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Indonesian ride-hailing service InDrive teamed up with Singapore’s Fingular and Indonesia’s Sharia-compliant P2P lending platform Ammana to launch its new inDrive.Money app.
Malaysian wealth management platform Versa raised $6.8 million in Series A funding.
Japan’s international payment brand JCB partnered with integrated payment provider First Cash Solution, expanding JCB Card acceptance in Germany.
Sub-Saharan Africa
African payments technology giant Flutterwave integrated with Pay With Bank Transfer to support businesses in Ghana.
Mastercardextended its collaboration with London-based Paymentology to boost financial inclusion in South Africa.
Compliance and fraud prevention platform Sumsubannounced a partnership with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian identity verification provider iDenfy announced a collaboration with mobility provider Evemo.
Estonian fintech Hoovi raised €8 million in funding via a structured bond issue from Finland’s Multitude International Bank.
Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partnered with open banking services provider Salt Edge.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israeli fintech FINQ became the first Israeli company to secure a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered Investor Advisor (RIA) license without relocating to the US.
Egyptian fintech Fawry inked a strategic agreement with Contact Financial Holding to expand access to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
X (formerly Twitter) has selected Visa as its first payments partner to launch the XMoney Account.
X’s new payments feature will be powered by Visa Direct, which will enable instant P2P payments, transfers to bank accounts, and creator monetization within the social media app.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino expects that X’s in-app payments will debut later this year.
Visa and X (formerly Twitter) have partnered to facilitate payments on X, or what the company owner Elon Musk refers to as the “everything app.” According to a tweet from X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the XMoney Account, which will facilitate in-app payments, will debut later this year.
X will leverage Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to instantly send and receive money directly to an eligible debit card or X Wallet. Once users connect their debit card to allow for P2P payments, they will have the option to transfer the funds to their bank account.
A payment partnership has been in the works for a long time. Musk purchased X (which was then called Twitter) in 2022 for $44 million. That same year, the company filed with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and began obtaining necessary state licenses, as well. The move was one of the first steps Musk took to create an “everything app” that he envisions will help users manage their entire financial lives. Today, X Payments is licensed in 41 states.
According to CNBC, which spoke to someone familiar with the matter, “The X Money service is expected to launch in the first quarter, and deals with more financial partners are likely. One of the first use cases for X Money is to allow creators on the site to accept payments and store funds without external institutions.”
Once launched, XMoney will compete with formidable players such as Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Zelle. XMoney may be able to differentiate itself in this competitive space by integrating social media, content creation, and financial tools. This would position it as more than just a payments platform, but rather as a central hub for digital interactions, creator monetization, and financial management. Its success, however, will depend on its ability to gain user trust, ensure security, and offer functionality that rivals established players.
Reports of a major breakthrough in Chinese AI technology sent stocks reeling in the U.S. to begin the week. Here at Finovate’s Fintech Rundown, we’ve got one eye on the latest from DeepSeek and another eye on the latest developments in fintech.
As Monday begins, we share news of a partnership in the open banking space, an expansion into the APAC, and both new funding and new tools for business banking.
Open banking
Tink and Adyenteam up with prepaid platform Recharge to offer its German customers Pay by Bank services.
Payments
Visa and South Korean fintech DealMeteam up to offer cross-border card installment payments.
Canadian paytech Nuveiexpands into the APAC region on the completion of its acquisition of Paywiser Japan and granting of its acquiring license from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
Skipifypartners with Retail Realm to launch identity-powered payments for Microsoft Dynamics 365 merchants.
Cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions, Alkami Technologylaunches its Business Banking Digital Maturity Assessment tool.
Shanghai Commercial Bank partners with Hong Kong-based digital banking solutions provider Planto.
Alliant credit union selectsBackbase to accelerate banking innovation.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Ireland.
NomuPay secures $37 million at a valuation of $200 million
Dublin, Ireland-based fintech NomuPay announced an investment of $37 million this week. The funding round, which began in September, gives the company a valuation of $200 million. The company will leverage the new capital to help accelerate the expansion of unified payment access in Asia.
“Over the past two years, we’ve grown our revenue by 100% annually and are on track to become profitable this year with an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $20 million,” NomuPay’s Faye Duncan wrote on the NomuPay website. “Our valuation has reached $200 million, and with this latest funding round, our total funding now stands at $90 million. We’re proud to support over 1,600 merchants — including Ikea — and look forward to expanding into markets like Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam, while continuing our M&A efforts.”
Founded in 2021, NomuPay offers state-of-the-art, unified payment solutions to help businesses scale in high-growth regions in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The company’s uP Platform offers high-penetration alternative payment methods; real-time payout disbursements; and compliant, end-to-end marketplace funds management.
This week’s investment will help NomuPay assist international acquirers, merchants, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) as they seek to expand in markets such as those in Asia, where differences between local regulations and a broad variety of payment methods add to both cost and complexity.
To this point, NomuPay CEO Peter Burridge noted that many organizations are stymied by the offerings of the dominant international gateway acquirers that, in some instances, provide limited access or fewer payment options. Burridge called for a more “sophisticated and less prescriptive approach.”
Experian acquires debt consolidation technology from Paylink
To help millions of consumers better manage their debts, international data and technology company Experian announced this week that it will acquire ReFi, the debt consolidation innovation from Paylink Solutions. ReFi, which specifically helps manage the “double counting” challenge in lending, will become a part of the Experian Consumer Services Marketplace.
“Our research shows that millions of consumers are stuck in a revolving debt trap, due to the systemic issue of ‘double counting’ when consumers apply for debt consolidation products,” Experian Consumer Services Managing Director Edu Castro explained. “ReFi’s innovative solutions will play a crucial role in addressing the debt challenges faced by many consumers, unlocking access to debt consolidation products that could help them save money on their debt and even pay it off sooner.”
Double counting can occur when an individual applies for a debt consolidation loan and a lender counts both the individual’s original debts and their new consolidation loan as part of the affordability assessment. Lenders “double count” because there is no guarantee that the funds from the new consolidation loan will be deployed to retire existing debt. This means that otherwise creditworthy individuals can be denied consolidation loans to help them more affordably pay off their debts.
ReFi provides this assurance for lenders, working with both parties to settle debts directly with existing creditors. This enables applicants for consolidation loans to be assessed solely on the basis of the consolidation loan amount. And as debt is paid off, old accounts are closed, providing convenience for customers and further bolstering confidence for lenders.
“The team who built ReFi feel tremendously privileged to already have helped thousands of people reduce their monthly outgoings and cut the amount of interest they have to pay overall,” Paylink CEO Jake Ranson said. “Becoming part of Experian will enable us to further innovate, accelerate, and grow the impact ReFi will have on delivering better outcomes for lender and borrower alike.”
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Grantham, Lincolnshire, U.K., Paylink Solutions launched its ReFi solution in the fall of 2023. Piloted by financial wellness company Salary Finance, ReFi has saved Salary Finance customers more than £10 million in interest payments.
With its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, Experian helps businesses around the world enhance lending practices, fight fraud, and better engage their customers. A Finovate alum since 2011, Experian is a FTSE 100 Index company, publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker EXPN.
Data privacy firm Dataships raises $7 million in Series A funding
Data privacy software company Datashipssecured $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Osage Venture Partners, and featured participation from Lavrock Ventures and the Urban Innovation Fund. In a statement, the company said that the funding will help “accelerate our mission to help merchants dramatically grow their marketing lists while maintaining ironclad data privacy compliance.”
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Dublin, Dataships began as a compliance technology company and has since transitioned to compliance management. The company notes that it has helped its merchant customers realize a 10x increase in SMS opt-in rates, a 3x to 4x boost in email marketing contacts, and $112 million in additional revenue generated via 1.1 million repeat purchases. Dataships recently announced a pair of new innovations to its platform: SMS Easy Opt-in, which replaces “Reply Y” with in-checkout verification, and A/B Testing Engine that provides transparent measurement of baseline versus opt-in rates.
“We’re building Dataships to be the essential growth platform for modern e-commerce brands,” the company’s Matt Gottron noted in a blog post. “One that transforms compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage, helping merchants build larger, more engaged marketing lists that drive sustainable revenue growth.”
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin American payments service processor Kuady introduced its new physical prepaid Mastercard for users in Peru after launching a virtual version in September.
Onchain finance solutions provider Tokeny has teamed up with El Salvador-based Digital Asset Service Provider Ditobanx.
Visalaunched its 2025 Accelerator Program for African fintechs.
BusinessDay Nigeria examined the impact of cybercrime on Africa’s fintech and digital banking industries.
Central and Eastern Europe
Germany-based fintech unicorn N26 announced its first profitable quarter to close out 2024.
Lithuania and Romania earned praise for their growth potential in sustainable banking in a recent report from the International Sustainable Finance Centre (ISFC).
Financial Times featured German fintech Trade Republic as the firm announces it has no intention to go public at this time.
It’s a holiday-shortened week here at the Fintech Rundown. But rest assured that we’ll have you covered on the the top fintech news headlines as 2024 moves toward a close.
We’re starting off with a series of stories in the embedded finance front, including an acquisition, a new launch, and a major fundraising.
Digital banking
Data-driven statement provider HC3forges strategic partnership with digital banking solutions company Apiture.
Visa’s Flexible Credential card is now available in the U.S. and U.A.E., offering cardholders flexibility to pay from multiple account funding sources.
In the U.S., Affirm will integrate VFC into its buy now, pay later (BNPL) Affirm Card, while UAE-based Liv will leverage VFC to enable multi-currency transactions through a single card.
The VFC is similar to Curve’s multi-payment card offerings, however, Visa’s VFC requires users to select the payment type before transactions.
Payments giant Visaannounced earlier this week it has expanded its Visa Flexible Credential (VFC) payment card to launch in both the U.S. and the U.A.E. The unique credit card allows users to pay from different account funding sources, ultimately offering cardholders more options and greater control over how they pay.
In the U.S., VFC will roll out in partnership with buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Affirm. The BNPL company will use VFC for its Affirm Card. With 1.4 million consumers, the Affirm Card offers consumers flexibility to pay at the time of their transaction or pay over time in the Affirm app.
“We’re excited about the partnership we’ve formed with Visa,” said Affirm CEO Max Levchin. “Since our founding, our mission has remained the same — build honest financial products that improve lives. Part of building better financial products also means giving consumers more control and flexibility, which has always been a key feature of the new Affirm Card. We look forward to bringing millions more people a product that seamlessly brings debit and credit together, without late or hidden fees.”
In the U.A.E., the VFC card will launch in partnership with digital banking platform Liv, which will enable cardholders to access multiple currency accounts from a single card. The VFC will automatically route the transaction to the account with the selected currency. Cardholders can use the Liv mobile app to move money between local and foreign currency accounts.
“At Liv we stay true to our promise of providing the most innovative products to our customers,” said Emirates NBD Chief Digital Officer, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Pedro Sousa Cardoso. “As the UAE’s first digital bank, we are pleased to collaborate with Visa to offer our customers a simple, flexible card solution that better serves their evolving financial needs.”
“Working with innovative partners like Affirm, Liv and SMCC helps us turn that idea into a reality. Together we’re enabling more ways to pay and adapting to the unique needs of consumers – wherever they are in the world, or in their financial journey,” said Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell.
VFC first launched just over a year ago in Japan through a partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company (SMCC), which uses VFC to power its Olive card. Today, SMCC has more than three million cardholders using the Olive card, 70% of which use the card to toggle between different account funding sources like debit, credit, and prepaid.
Visa plans to roll out its VFC to other geographies in the future.
Overall, there are not many card companies competing on Visa’s VFC. COIN, a digital smart card that promised to replace all of the cards in consumers’ wallets, tried and failed in 2016.
Today, the strongest competition in the multi-payment type card market comes from U.K.-based Curve, which offers a credit card that allows users to toggle between different payment cards. Unique to Curve, users can spare themselves from embarrassment at the point of sale with the Anti-Embarrassment mode that allows the payment to go through even if the card is declined (with restrictions). Curve also offers a Go Back in Time feature that enables users to change which card is used for a transaction up to 30 days after the fact.
With Visa’s VFC, however, cardholders must choose the funding source or payment type for their transaction before they initiate the purchase. It does not allow them to retroactively change the payment type or card type after a transaction is completed.
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 Edgepartners with Central Bank of Bahrain to enhance corporate banking with open banking.
Tinkteams up with international money app Zing to launch automatic and one-tap top-ups leveraging open banking.
