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…

The Board of the Bank of Lithuania has granted an electronic money institution license to Curve Europe UAB, a subsidiary of Curve OS Limited, an electronic money institution licensed in the UK. This move authorises it to issue electronic money and provide certain payment services set forth in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Payments. Following Brexit, the activities of Curve OS will be transferred to Curve Europe UAB. The institution intends to provide electronic money services, execute payment transactions, offer cash withdrawal services, issue payment instruments, as well as provide payment initiation, account information and currency exchange services. It…

Estonian startup Garage48 has concluded its 4th Cyber Security Hackathon on the 23rd to 25th of October, announcing the list of winning startups. The hackathon was organised in collaboration with Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu, Sentinel, Telia Eesti, Rangeforce, Tele2 Estonia, Startup Wise Guys, NjordLaw among others. The aim of the event was to grow, nourish and expand the cybersecurity community and to secure cyberspace through solving various challenging problems by developing working prototypes with an intensive weekend hackathon marathon. The event brought in close to 170 applications and 29 ideas got presented. From those, 18…

PayRay Bank has continued its planned expansion and has started operations in Latvia. Factoring services and loans are already being offered to the businesses in that country. In the future, the range of services provided will be supplemented by other relevant lending solutions. “We base our activities on a long-term development strategy and we are currently implementing our geographical development plan by starting to provide services to business customers in Latvia. When we were planning actions and analysing the situation in this market, we could see many similarities with Lithuania – for example, the structure of the small and medium…

Lithuanian fintech startup SME Finance is planning to launch a neobank targeting small and medium-sized enterprises in mid-2021. The bank will only be operating online via a mobile app, providing financial services such as loans, transfers and deposits. Mindaugas Mikalajūnas, CEO of SME Finance said, ‘We were already thinking about a neobank when we were founding SME Finance but first of all we wanted to create a strong base of clients and capital, and to wait for the time when a bigger demand for banking services of this type is developed in the market. We believe that now is the…

PayRay, a Lithuanian fintech company, has now launched its banking operations after securing a banking license from the European Central Bank (ECB). The bank will soon start accepting deposits from Lithuanian customers (private individuals), which will be accepted in Euros for a period ranging from six months to five years. The deposits will take place via the online platform Raisin – the first pan-European deposit marketplace that currently cooperates with more than 90 banks. The business service portfolio of PayRay includes both factoring and loans. Credit is provided in cooperation with the company INVEGA, while solutions for farmers are developed…

Norway-based biometric fintech Zwipe and TietoEVRY, a provider of software and digital banking services in the Nordics, have agreed to jointly roll out biometric payment solutions based on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform. With the recent surge in demand for safer and more secure payments, TietoEVRY is embracing biometric payment innovations that enable more hygienic, secure and convenient payments for consumers. As part of this commercial agreement, Zwipe will provide TietoEVRY with technical support towards biometric payment card integration, enrollment solutions, and a complete end-to-end advisory offering aimed at helping banks to successfully deploy biometric payment solutions. TietoEVRY will source…

Xolo, announced the appointment of Elina Räsänen as their new Chief Marketing Officer starting from November, 2020. The Estonian-based company provides a SaaS platform for solopreneurs aimed at making starting and running a modern microbusiness easier. She brings over a decade of expertise in brand building and growth marketing to Xolo. In her new role, Elina will be responsible for scaling Xolo’s marketing activities and ramping up growth efforts across all markets. She will oversee the company’s marketing activities from performance and lifecycle marketing to brand, PR and content marketing, bringing these functions together to further establish Xolo as the…

The September edition of the “Payment Radar” by the Bank of Latvia revealed that the COVID-19 and related restrictive measures significantly affected payment habits in Latvia over this year. The central bank’s report found that the total volume of non-cash payments edged down for the first time. At the same time, the share of non-cash payments in the total volume of payments is gradually increasing. The “Payment Radar”, published semi-annually, contains the latest information on money usage habits of Latvia’s households, businesses and the public at large. Development of the proportion and interaction between non-cash and cash payments (as at August…

The Bank of Lithuania, together with ACAMS Baltics Chapter, Fintech Hub LT and the Association of Lithuanian Banks, organised a virtual international conference to discuss topical issues and ways for further improving the AML/CTF framework. The “Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing: From Challenges to Possibilities” conference revealed that anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) professionals strive for cooperation crossing not only institutional but also national borders. Experts from supervisory and financial intelligence institutions, together with representatives of various associations, shared their knowledge on AML/CTF measures, challenges they are currently facing and future opportunities to enhance the AML/CTF system. One…

Lithuanian payment processor Paysera announced that the company has started trading in physical gold, actual bars and coins rather than units of this precious metal sold on the exchanges. Buyers will be able to store their gold, purchased via the app, at the company’s storage facilities, pick it up at the company HQ, or order a home delivery. “Precious metals maintain their value and popularity even during an economic downturn. No wonder central banks hold gold in their reserves. Since the price of gold, by taking into account inflation, remains more or less the same in the long run, gold,…

In the first half of 2020, the number of payment transactions and income of electronic money and payment institutions (EMIs/PIs) has continued to grow at a rapid pace despite the pandemic. “The trends observed in the first half of the year show that the EMI/PI sector has withstood the shock of COVID-19. On top of that, the sector’s performance has even improved along with the digitalisation of payment services,” said Rūta Merkevičiūtė, Head of the Electronic Money and Payment Institutions Supervision Division at the Bank of Lithuania. In the first half of 2020, the total amount of payment transactions executed…

Stockholm based Fintech Klarna became the highest-valued private fintech in Europe after raising US$650 million in a funding round, at a post money valuation of $10.65 billion. The funding round was led by Silver Lake, technology investing firm with more than $60 billion in combined assets under management, alongside GIC, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and HMI Capital. Concurrently, Merian Chrysalis, TCV, Northzone and Bonnier have acquired shares from existing shareholders. They will join current investors such as Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group and Ant Group in…

Fintech company Factris has closed a new EUR 50 million secured financing agreement with asset manager NN Investment Partners (NN IP). The facility will be used to provide financing to European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via the purchase of their trade-related invoices, which allows companies to get paid quicker for their sales and thereby helps them to manage their liquidity position better. As invoice finance is said to be one of the fastest forms of funding available to small businesses, it is becoming an increasingly valuable tool in helping SMEs to manage their working capital requirements. This has taken…

Multiple UN agencies have joined hands with Copenhagen Fintech to bring Nordic fintech startups to Singapore to promote the exchange of innovation. The agencies involved are UNDP’s Global Center for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Singapore, UNDP’s Nordic Office and UNDP SDG Innovative Finance (UNSIF) in Bangkok. The program is meant to help fast-track their journey towards commercially scalable and sustainable impact-oriented ventures in the ASEAN region. Local startups tackling some of the world’s most urgent challenges and program partners will also be involved to foster new partnerships and even stronger ties between the two regions. Climate change and its…

The Bank of Lithuania urges electronic money and payment institutions (EMIs/PIs) to adhere to the established laws and capital requirements or face the consequence of having their infringements made public as part of their enforcement measures. “Capital requirements, along with the prevention of money laundering and safeguarding of customer funds, are the key areas that fall under our supervision. Unfortunately, some EMIs and PIs pay too little attention to this particular aspect, which is in fact an important indicator of their financial state. However, after having received a warning, they tend to quickly resolve all capital adequacy issues and accumulate…

Fintech Farm Helsinki came up with an updated listing of the largest fintech companies in Finland based on the recently published 2019 figures. They have now divided the companies into 3 different top 20 listings, which are startups founded since 2015, scaleups founded between 2010 and 2014, and established companies founded before 2010. “It was positive to see that the entire industry’s revenue has grown into 1.3 billion euros, and that the startups managed to increase their revenue with a praiseworthy 48%.” Fintech Farm Helsinki mentions in a newsletter announcement. Fintech startups leading the growth Altogether, the fintech sector in…