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.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Gazprombank plans to offer crypto asset custody services later this year in collaboration with Metaco and Avaloq.
- PYMNTS.com looks at how B2B payments companies in Russia are leveraging the successes of the country’s B2C payments industry.
- Czech banks anticipate the availability of Apple Pay in the Czech Republic by February or March of 2019.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- UAE-based financial product comparison portal, Yallacompare, raises $8 million in funding.
- Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) goes live with Tata Consultancy Services’ TCS Bancs.
- Al Bawaba examines the reasons behind Egypt’s relatively slow adoption of fintech.
Central and South Asia
- Telenor Microfinance Bank unveils Pakistan’s first blockchain-based cross-border remittance service with technology developed by Alipay.
- PYMNTS.com looks back at a “huge year” for funding for Indian tech startups in 2018, including $300 million raised by mobile wallet app Paytm.
- Commercial Bank of Ceylon teams up with Tenpay Payment Technology to launch WeChat Pay in Sri Lanka.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Bloomberg discusses the relationship between Chinese investment in mobile commerce and the growth of Latin America’s tech sector.
- Brazilian energy holding company Cosan introduces digital wallet, Payly, for QR code payments and mobile transfers.
- Chilean government considers levying a tax of up to 19% on global e-commerce companies with local operations.
Asia-Pacific
- Seven Bank of Japan to adds face recognition functionality to its ATMs to enable “on the spot” account opening.
- New $200 million investment to support KinerjaPay’s expansion into P2P lending and mobile payments.
- Reuters reports that China is examining ways to provide lower cost financing, including via bonds and bank lending, to the nation’s small businesses.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- South African government establishes crypto task force to develop a comprehensive government response to cryptocurrencies, including the taxing of crypto asset transactions.
- Fintech Circle partners with the African Fintech Network to launch its fintech education courses for African countries.
- Coin Idol considers the prospect of a crypto bubble developing in Africa.