As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Personality Biometrics Specialist Neener Analytics Partners with American Express as part of Accelerate Middle East initiative.
- Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) launches its digital sandbox.
- Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain and Eazy Financial Services partner to launch biometric payment network.
- Al Salam Bank Bahrain (ASBB) leverages technology from Clayton to launch new mobile banking solution.
- Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank partners with Ripple for instant settlement of cross-border money transfers.
Central and South Asia
- Infosys to Acquire Fluido for $76 Million.
- TPS and DigInc partner to support mircofinancing in Pakistan.
- Bengaluru’s SlicePay, which provides credit to millennial consumers, announces Series A investment led by China’s FinUp Finance Technology Group.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Argentina-based digital financial services startup MONI raises $4.5 million in funding. In Spanish.
- Mexico’s much-anticipated Fintech Law goes live.
- Euromoney profiles Brazilian data management fintech, Quod.
Asia-Pacific
- Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) launches its digital brand, Yolo.
- Indonesia’s B2B marketplace Ralali raises $7 million in new funding.
- Singapore introduces the first unified payment QR code.
- ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) launches its API Exchange.
- Moka, a business payments management startup from Indonesia, picks up $24 million in round led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Jumo, a fintech startup from South Africa that helps provide financing to the underbanked, raises $52 million in round led by Goldman Sachs.
- Central Bank of Kenya to consider new regulations for the country’s digital lenders.
- South Africa’s Click2Sure and Finovate alum Entersekt chosen to participate in AlphaCode’s accelerator program.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Nordigen, a credit risk assessment solution provider based in Latvia, announces $800,000 in new funding.
- Forbes looks at the collaboration between IBM, PwC, and the Czech Republic’s Blockchain Connect Association.
- Hackernoon makes the case for “developing your fintech solution in Poland.”
- Which Eastern European country is making the biggest strides when it comes to innovating with blockchain technology? Bitnews Today shares its review of the region.