Payment Firms Dominate Mastercard’s Lighthouse FINITIV 2022 Programme

Five payment acceptance startups were among the 15 selected to meet Mastercard in the Lighthouse FINITIV programme.

Since its launch in 2018, Lighthouse FINITIV has created a forum for selected startups to enter partnership discussions with Mastercard and its largest Nordic and Baltic partner banks.

This spring, the programme returns to Denmark, Norway and Lithuania, where once again “acceptance startups,” or startups focused on helping merchants accept payments, stood out as the most prominent theme.

Since the programme’s founding, about 22 participating startups (18% of the 120 total companies admitted) have focused on payment acceptance, with the rest focusing on other verticals like issuing, crypto, lending, and compliance.

This year, Danish companies Vibrant and Groo join Tipit, Vority and Vayapay to form the longest list of acceptance focused startups ever admitted to a single Lighthouse class.

“Payment acceptance has always been one of the programme’s focal points, and Mastercard continues to invest in improving the merchant experience through acceptance and acquirer initiatives.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can also say that some of our most successful alumni – including Aiia, Shopbox, Unwire (now Softpay), GoAppified and Kevin – have come from the acceptance side. We’re excited to spend even more time on acceptance initiatives with the help of this class.”

said Programme Manager, Lana Brandorne.

“During the past 3 years, Lighthouse showed us how innovative the Nordic and Baltic region is. There is no slowing down and the fintech sectors is reaching all-time highs with more capital being brought in and thus attracting even more entrepreneurs to build fintech products.

Payments have been leading this innovation and thus proves to us the importance of this community. This time the majority of companies are within payments vertical and we cant wait to explore what partnerships could come out of this program”,

said Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation and Fintech Engagement, Mastercard Nordic and Baltic

This spring, 167 companies applied by submitting partnership proposals and company details.

Twenty-six shortlisted FINITIV applicants pitched Mastercard and its partner banks prior to the final class selection.

During the programme, admitted start-ups will be able to present their solutions and discuss possible collaboration areas with partners in a 1:1 setting.

Mid-program, companies will be matched with relevant investors from the Lighthouse Investor Circle, a group of 40+ investors covering Europe and North America.

Additionally, the companies will meet pro bono growth advisors including Fintech Mundi, Invenio Growth and AWS.

The programme also facilitates meetings with Mastercard’s marketing and communication teams for guidance in making their story and messaging clear and enticing.

Here are the Lighthouse Spring Class of 2022:

Denmark

GROO is an innovative loyalty community platform, which enables consumers to pay their bills/subscription via cashback.

Vibrant is a payment app using tap-to-phone technology to transform smartphones into a contactless payment terminal.

FellowPay is developing a solution that raises the credit limit of its customers’ Mastercards.

Sepior provides key management and wallet solutions for Digital Asset management and security using MPC.

Paiblock is a platform that provides a secure place to gather and connect all the dots of the digital life.

Norway

Lendwill is developing a mobile app to help young adults build a globally verifiable credit history on the blockchain.

Stack by.me is the new investment app for the young and inexperienced, helping you get started through knowledge and network.

Zeipt is an open API SaaS platform for sending smart receipts from checkout directly to the consumers applications in real-time.

Lithuania

Tipit collects, allocates and distributes cashless tips straight into a waiter’s bank account with 0 integrations.

Kernolab helps companies create bespoke banking and payment experiences within their products, without the hurdles associated with traditional banking.