With our first conference in Dubai last month, FinovateAsia back on the Finovate calendar and our first trip to Africa scheduled for later this year, Finovate VP Greg Palmer’s observation that “the sun never sets on the Finovate Empire”, rings all the more true.
Here’s a look at some of the latest fintech news from places where technological innovation helping create better life opportunities for those who need it help most.
Asia
- Ayondo to list on Singapore Exchange.
- Kreditech partners with PayU to launch PayU Monedo in India, which offers cardless EMI for online purchases.
- Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade for Vietnam (Vietcombank) picks trade finance platform from Finastra.
Africa
- Angola’s domestic payments processor EMIS migrates to EMV chip and pin courtesy of solution from Gemalto.
- Standard Chartered Bank launches digital bank in Cote d-Ivoire
- Partnership between Mastercard and Uganda’s M-Kopa brings QR payment technology to pay-as-you-go, pilot solar energy program.
MENA
- Turkish digital wallet firm, BKM introduces payment-without-checkout shopping experience.
- Riyad Bank in Saudi Arabia unveils contactless bracelets and stickers for tap-and-go shopping.
- Entrepreneur India looks at how a Bahrain-based payments firm, Arab Fianncial Services, is taking its business to India.
LATAM
- Banking Technology: Banpro launches Finn.ai’s first Spanish-speaking virtual banking assistant.
- Startupbootcamp Scale FinTech Mexico City introduces its inaugural cohort of startups: Billin from Spain, Facturedo from Chile, and Expediente Azul, Pagamobile, and Quotanda from Mexico
- Tech Bullion highlights the new report on international fintech’s expansion to the Latin American market from Finnovista.
CEE
- Money.pl looks at the number of Polish companies that demoed at FinovateEurope 2018 this month.
- The Bank of Lithuania reaches out to developers interested in its regulatory sandbox platform for blockchain projects, LBChain.
- Romanian bank Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) launches accelerator program, Elevator Lab with five startups, Gauss Algorithmics, SONECT, 360kompany, Asteria, and Moxtra.