This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent fintech developments and news from Sweden. Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a number of fintechs from Sweden, a country with a population of more than 10.5 million and the twelfth largest economy as measured by GDP.
Last month at FinovateEurope, we introduced Swedish embedded banking and payments company Visualizy to our audiences. Founded in 2022, the company offers a multi-bank platform that helps businesses lower costs, reduce errors, and boost security in their financial and payment operations.
Other recent Finovate alums headquartered in Sweden include StockRepublic (FinovateEurope 2023), Econans (FinovateEurope 2021), Minna Technologies (FinovateEurope 2019), and Trustly (FinovateEurope 2013. This week’s Finovate Global will include news from two older Finovate alums hailing from Sweden: Tink – which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014 – and Klarna, a Finovate alum since 2012.
Klarna rolls out open banking-powered settlements in the U.K.
Swedish payments network and shopping assistant Klarna has begun to introduce open banking-powered settlements in the U.K. This means that consumers in the U.K will be able to pay Klarna directly from their bank account rather than a debit card. It also means that the company is making good on its objective of building a payments network outside the traditional card networks.
“Open banking offers a huge opportunity for Klarna to reduce the cost of payments to society by cutting out the established card payment networks, and using up-to-date bank account data to make ever better lending decisions,” Klarna VP, Open Banking, Wilko Klaassen said. “This new launch builds on the success we have seen in 10 countries across Europe and will give U.K. open banking a major boost.”
Ease of use is one major advantage open banking settlements provide consumers. For example, there is no need to enter personal payment details into the website of retailer that the consumer might not know very well. Instead, all a consumer needs to do is click on the “Pay by bank” option. This delivers the consumer to their mobile banking app where they can complete their transaction quickly and securely.
Launching the service in the U.K. is expected to be a major boon for Klarna; approximately five million U.K. consumers currently use open banking payment each month. Outside of the U.K., Klarna’s “Pay by bank” solution is currently live in 10 countries. More than 20 million consumers each month are taking advantage of the technology.
Tink adds to U.K. leadership team
Speaking of open banking, Swedish open banking platform Tink announced this week that it is bolstering its leadership ranks. The company – which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2014 – has appointed Ian Morrin as Head of Payments & Platforms, Andrew Boyajian as Head of Products for Payments & CX, and Jack Spiers as Banking and Lending Director.
Of the three new hires, Jack Spiers may ring a bell with Finovate audiences. Spiers was a recent speaker at FinovateEurope, where he provided a Special Address on “Transforming Lending in the Cost of Living Crisis.” In his presentation, Spiers – whose ten years of fintech experience include tenures at both Klarna and Clearpay – discussed how traditional methods are falling short in their ability to accurately assess creditworthiness. Instead, he pointed to new research from Tink that showed how data-enriched affordability checks can do better.
The new hires come just days after Tink announced a partnership with German railway company Deutsche Bahn. Via the new agreement, Tink will offer Deutsche Bahn customers optimized direct debit setups. This will enable customers to use Deutsche Bahn’s modern mobility-sharing systems, which are run by Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Connect. The railway company will also leverage Tink’s Account Check technology for its car-sharing and bike-sharing networks, Flinkster and Call a Bike.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Tink most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2019. A two-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Tink was acquired by Visa in 2022 for $2 billion.
Swedish Central Bank looks to defend cash
If the Swedish Central Bank is for cash, then who can be against it?
That’s one of the questions the nation’s central bank is asking in the wake of 2023 survey that indicated that half of the survey’s respondents had run into circumstances in which they wanted to pay with cash, but merchant would not accept it. According to a report issued by Sweden’s Riksbank that is based on those results, this number was only 37% a year ago.
The report indicates that the supply of cash services in Sweden is decreasing and has been since at least 2016. Cash services refer to those locations for cash withdrawals, deposits of daily takings, as well as over-the-counter payments. This decline has slowed somewhat in the past five years, as new regulations have insisted that banks share the responsibility of providing cash services with other non-bank institutions. But the downward trend is clear.
“Payments must work for everyone, Riksbank governor and chairman of the executive board Erik Thedéen said in a press release. “In the longer term, all payments may be digital – but until then, cash plays an important role. We need legislation to ensure that cash can be used to pay. Banks must also ensure that more customers have access to payment accounts.”
To this end, in addition to calling for further research and study, the Swedish central bank proposed, for example, that banks should ensure that cash can be transferred to and from retail outlets at reasonable prices. At present, only one private company does this. Another proposal suggests that banks be obligated to accept banknote and coin deposits from private individuals. As noted above, there is not a current requirement for banks to do so.
These changes, along with others to help more individuals secure payment accounts, are likely to help Sweden increase financial inclusion as the country continues the rapid digitalization of its payment market. There will be no retreat from this drive for “faster, smoother, and more efficient payments.” But ensuring the availability and utility of cash, at least in the meantime, will both support that transition as well as ensure fewer Swedes are left behind on the way.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- U.K.-based fintech Unlimit secured a license from the Bank of Tanzania to do operate as a payments service provider (PSP) in the country.
- African fintech PalmPay launched a pair of new products in Nigeria: Unlimited Free Transfer and Target Savings.
- Mastercard and South African fintech SAVA teamed up to bring innovative payment options – including digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools – to small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
Central and Eastern Europe
- Berlin, Germany-based brokerage-as-a-service platform lemon.markets launched this week in partnership with Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and Tradegate.
- The Hungarian Ministry of the Economy has suggested new rules to codify the use of digital assets in the country.
- German fintech Naro emerged from stealth this week with $3 million in pre-seed funding.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Israel-based fintech Nayaz shared its plans for expansion in Latin America following its acquisition of Brazil’s VMtecnologia.
- Dunes Financial, headquartered in the UAE, agreed to acquire the technology assets of Be Mobile Africa.
- The Financial Brand profiled former Bank Leumi CEO Rakefet Russak-Aminoach.
Central and Southern Asia
- India’s UPI linked with Nepal’s largest payment network, Fonepay.
- Writing in IBA.org, Sahar Iqbal assessed the current fintech landscape of Pakistan.
- Courtesy of a partnership with Mastercard, India’s IndusInd Bank will launch an tokenizable wearable solution called Indus PayWear.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Aquis Technologies secured a contract to support the operation of the Central Bank of Colombia, Banco de la República.
- Mexican challenger bank Fondeadora turned to MeaWallet for tokenization services.
- Banco do Brasil teamed up with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to test offline payments for its CBDC project.
Asia-Pacific
- Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Muamalat) forged a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud en route to its transformation into a digital Islamic bank.
- Philippines-based Metropolitan Bank & Trust (Metrobank) partnered with Temenos to enhance its wealth management offerings.
- Australian regulators are looking to regulate Buy Now Pay Later products under the nation’s Credit Act.