Paytrail, Nets Group’s subsidiary and Finnish online payment provider, has signed an agreement to acquire its competitor Checkout Finland from OP Financial Group. The acquisition supports Nets’ European e-commerce ambitions and further strengthens its presence in Finland. Checkout Finland, part of OP Financial Group, is a rapidly growing player in the Finnish payment landscape, serving both e-commerce and physical stores with a wide array of payment options, together with mobile payment solutions. Checkout Finland reportedly has around 8,000 ecommerce merchants. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA), and the transaction is…

Ondato, a Lithuanian digital and biometric authentication startup, raised $2 million in seed funding and announced its expansion into Europe naming London as its new headquarters. The business will now be based in London’s Canary Wharf district. Following the capital raise from B2B accelerator Startup Wise Guys and venture firm OTB Ventures, Ondato now looks to expand its product development at its research and development hub in Lithuania, while expanding to the UK, Germany, France and Spain this year. Ondato’s platform provides a compliance management solution with photo and live video identity verification, data monitoring, screening, due-diligence, risk scoring and…

Juni, a Swedish-based banking platform for e-commerce and online marketing companies, has announced plans to establish a product development hub in Vilnius, Lithuania due to its large pool of tech talent and a close-knit fintech ecosystem. The company also plans to hire software developers, compliance officers and other specialists to fuel its expansion plans. After looking at many European locations, Juni decided that Vilnius is the best place to establish a new development hub. “With an amazing pool of tech talent and a close-knit fintech ecosystem, Lithuania is a great location to develop our platform,” said Samir El-Sabini, co-founder and…

Fintech News Baltic would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. We will be taking a break from the 24th December 2020 to the 3rd January 2021. Until then, you can access some of our year-end articles that may be of interest to you. We look forward to seeing you all again on the 4th January 2021! https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/02/14/estonia-fintech-startups-map-2020-first/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/02/18/lithuanias-fintech-landscape-in-2019-and-2020-startup-map/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/03/25/8-baltic-fintech-startups-to-watch-in-2020/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/05/15/belarus-fintech-map-showcases-growing-ecosystem/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/01/27/latvia-fintech-startup-map-2020/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/12/21/2020-baltic-startup-scene-report-names-11-fast-growing-promising-fintech-startups/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/10/02/bank-of-latvias-report-revealed-changes-in-consumer-payment-habits/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/09/28/bank-of-lithuania-reports-digital-payments-pace-accelerating-despite-covid-19/ https://fintechbaltic.com/2020/12/23/lithuanias-fintech-industry-in-2020-review-of-this-years-key-developments/

Lithuania’s fintech ecosystem continued to grow in 2020 on the back of government-led initiatives, favorable regulations, and booming digital finance activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Q3 2020, Lithuania is home to more than 200 fintech companies and had issued 121 licenses going towards electronic money institutions (EMIs) and payment institutions (PIs). These figures make Lithuania one of the largest fintech hubs in Europe by number of licensed companies. The Bank of Lithuania is currently examining a total of 40 licensing applications, and in 2021, the central bank is expected to receive up to 100 new applications. Lithuania:…

Startup Wise Guys and EIT Digital have released their annual Baltic Startup Scene report, outlining the state of the Baltic startup ecosystem and the progress made over the past year. Amid COVID-19, the Baltics’ fintech sector saw a particular increase in the number of startups dealing with lending and debt, wealth management, insurtech, regtech and small and midsize business (SMB) finance, the research found. The year also saw the emergence of startups focusing on sustainable finance as well as finance for specific societal subsections, including the aging population, kids and unbanked individuals. One notable trend in 2020 was embedded fintech…

Over the first three quarters of 2020, the total number of payment transactions as well as income of electronic money and payment institutions (EMIs/PIs), which holds a significant share of the Lithuanian fintech sector, has continued to grow according to the Bank of Lithuania. “The performance results for the first nine months of 2020 show that the EMI/PI sector has not only withstood the COVID-19 shock but also continues to enjoy the benefits of electronic payments. The market is expected to grow further, as from the beginning of 2021 the activities of EMIs and PIs established in Lithuania after Brexit…

European open banking platform Tink announced it has raised €85 million during an investment round extension, following its €90 million investment round in January. This brings the total invested in Tink this year to €175 million. The investment round boosting its valuation to €680 million was co-led by a new investor, European growth equity player Eurazeo Growth, and current investor, London-based B2B software venture capital firm Dawn Capital. Existing investors PayPal Ventures, HMI Capital, Heartcore, ABN AMRO Ventures, Poste Italiane and BNP Paribas’ venture arm, Opera Tech Ventures, increased their investments in Tink. This funding top up will fuel Tink’s…

In collaboration with IDEMIA, an augmented identification provider, Swedish bank challenger Rocker plans to launch a pilot for debit cards with fingerprint ID as part of its strategy to offer smart payment solutions across platforms by the first quarter of 2021. IDEMIA’s F.CODE biometric payment cards will undergo a proof of concept with Rocker’s customers. The F.CODE payment card adopts a user-friendly biometric authentication procedure making transactions quicker, more hygienic and more secure as cardholders no longer need to enter a PIN or sign, thereby reducing touch points in public places. This IDEMIA-developed solution harnesses biometric technology and ensures security…

Finland-based startup Rundit, a platform for portfolio management and monitoring, has raised € 1 million in seed funding. The round was led by two new angel investors, including Pierre Weimerskirch, board member of several PE and VC funds and the LPEA Luxembourg Private Equity Association. The capital will be used for scaling across Europe and the US, while improving Rundit’s product offering for GPs. To date, Rundit has raised a total of €1.6M in funding. The company reportedly has customers worldwide in 28 countries, including over 300 VCs whose portfolio companies are valued from pre-seed to unicorn. “We are excited…

Meniga, an Iceland based AI-driven digital banking solutions provider, has partnered with Swedbank to launch new services to increase customer engagement. The new digital banking solution is now live at all of Swedbank’s markets in Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Utilising Meniga’s data-driven digital banking technology, the bank’s online banking portal and mobile app has been developed to boost customer engagement and improve the overall digital user experience of Swedbank’s customers. The new functionalities, which are driven by personalised banking data, will offer an easy-to-use and secure solution for everyday banking, helping users to better understand and take control of their…

Sberbank, state-owned Russian banking and financial services company, and 500 Startups, early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator, now accepts international entries for its third IT startup accelerator. The closing date for applications is January 10, 2021. The accelerator is a tech entrepreneur programme relying on the capabilities of Sberbank as well as the expertise and experience of 500 Startups. The third batch of the accelerator is said to differ from its previous ones. The accelerator has expanded its geography by accepting applications from startups from beyond Russia including countries like Israel, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. In addition to…

Nasdaq will expand its footprint in Lithuania by adding up to 100 new technology job at its Vilnius office through an initiative with Invest Lithuania, a non-profit organisation owned by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania. Since launching its Global Technology and Business Services in Vilnius in 2015, Nasdaq has expanded its employee base from 30 to 390 employees over five years, making the Vilnius office Nasdaq’s second largest office in Europe and third largest globally. The primary areas of growth and development for hiring talent will include software development, quality assurance, cloud engineering, cyber security, business…

The European Central Bank (ECB) granted its sixth specialised bank license to Crius LT, UAB following the assessment and proposal of the Bank of Lithuania. The main difference between a specialised and a full-range bank is that the former is not authorised to provide investment services. The opportunity to establish a specialised bank was introduced in 2017 and the authorisation process usually lasts for roughly a year. Having secured the license, Crius LT, UAB is expected to start its activities as a payment-focused bank and offer financial services to its business customers which includes small and medium-sized enterprises, e-commerce firms…

MUFG Investor Services FinTech Limited has announced its plans to open a representative office in Lithuania, it’s first office in the country. The location’s aim will be to attract new talent in the region to grow the firm’s existing team of technology professionals. The MUFG Investor Services gained a fintech arm following the acquisition of post-trade startup Point Nine and rebranded as MUFG Investor Services FinTech Limited (MUFG ISFT). According to Pavlos Christoforou, CEO and CTO at MUFG ISFT, the presence in Lithuania will allow the company to increase its agility and flexibility in the changing business landscape. MUFG ISFT…

The Bank of Lithuania issued electronic money institution licenses to UK companies FIDELIS EUROPE, UAB, and DiPocket, UAB. This authorises them to issue electronic money and provide payment services set forth in the Republic of Lithuania Law on payments. Following Brexit, the activities of two UK-based companies will be transferred to these licensed institutions. Activities of Probitas Fidelis Limited, a payment institution licensed in the UK, will be transferred to FIDELIS EUROPE, UAB. It will open accounts for its customers, provide cash deposit and withdrawal services, execute payment transactions, including where funds are covered by a credit line for a…

TechChill, a non-profit organisation fostering the Latvian and Baltic startup ecosystem, has singled out ten up-and-coming startups that we should keep an eye out for. The two fintech startups that made it on that list includes Nordigen and Jeff App. All of these startups are also featured in the online pavilion at Slush set up by TechChill and Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. Latvia has a booming startup ecosystem and a high number of up-and-comers and experienced startups, several of which have already proven themselves. There are several advantages that ensure that Latvia is a great place for startups…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has backed Lithuanian-based neobank, SME Finance, with a funding of EUR 80 million. It is said to be the largest investment awarded by EIB to a fintech lender. SME Finance had announced their intentions of launching a neobank targeting small and medium-sized enterprises by mid-2021. SME Finance will use the investment to meet the working capital financing needs of enterprises through its fully automated self-service factoring platform. “Given the current working capital constraints facing small and medium-sized enterprises and the substantially reduced availability of bank loans in the region, this is a timely and much-needed…

Amazon has launched its first Nordic online store with the domain name of Amzon.se as part of its expansion plan into Europe. “We are thrilled to launch Amazon.se and to be able to offer Swedish customers a selection of more than 150 million products, including tens of thousands of products from local Swedish businesses,” said Alex Ootes, Vice President, European Expansion for Amazon. “Today is only the start of Amazon.se. We will continue to work hard to earn the trust of Swedish customers by growing our product range, ensuring low prices, and providing a convenient and trusted shopping experience.” Swedish…

Nordic health company Terveystalo has turned billboards into disinfectant terminals that can supposedly clean a phone in only 15 seconds with UVC light. The billboards are located in Helsinki and Turku in southern Finland. There is a small hatch in the billboard where people can place their smartphone for cleaning. However, exposure to UVC light can cause skin irritation and in extreme cases loss of sight. Safety of the user is secured by the fact that the UVC light in the billboards turns on only when the hatch is closed. Terveystalo reassures the public that it is physically impossible for…