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.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Capetown, South Africa-based digital lender Lulalend raises $6.5 million in Series A.
- Techpoint Africa looks at how fintechs are “democratizing investment opportunities” for Nigerians across the income spectrum.
- The Catalyst Fund announces that three Africa-based fintechs – Turaco, Chipper Cash, and Salutat – will join its accelerator program.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Estonia’s Tallinn Business Bank (TBB) partners with Icefire and Token to deliver PSD2 compliance.
- Cointelegraph profiles Warsaw, Poland’s Alior Bank leverages Ethereum blockchain to authenticate client documents.
- Polish Netflix subscribers will soon be able to pay for their viewing via the country’s Blik payment system.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Bahrain’s Bank ABC partners with Jumio, making it the first bank in the MENA region to offer biometric-based, digital KYC.
- Egypt’s Banque du Caire to deploy omni-channel banking technology from Temenos.
- Wamda interviews Elie Nasr founder of Lebanese fintech startup FOO.
Central and Southern Asia
- The Bank of Mongolia will implement Intellect Design Arena’s Quantum Central Banking Solution as part of its digital transformation.
- Indian SME-based neobank Open raises $30 million in Series B funding.
- India’s Wizely introduces a new mobile savings account.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Contxto looks at the current fintech landscape of Mexico.
- How will Facebook’s Libra project impact Latin America?
- BBVA announces major changes to mortgage portfolio, including a rate reduction.
Asia-Pacific
- U.K. regtech firm ClauseMatch teams up with Singapore-based consultancy Ingenia, the company’s first client in the country.
- Axinan to work with PT Sompo Insurance to provide on-demand insurance options to Indonesian millennials.
- The Monetary Authority of Singapore to issue as many as five new digital bank licenses.