Author: Fintechnews Baltic

OKEO helps customers save time and money by providing access to modern and professional banking services. Mambu’s composable platform enables OKEO to offer multi-currency foreign exchange payments, at rates up to five times better than traditional institution, and delivery times ranging from minutes to maximum one business day, irrespective of the currency chosen. Founded in 2019 in Vilnius, Lithuania, OKEO is an all-in-one payments platform designed to maximise cost efficiency and empower businesses with greater control over their finances. The fintech provides fully-fledged business IBAN accounts and online banking with an intuitive interface that allows teams to manage their profiles,…

Q2 2022 was a fructuous quarter for technology startups in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which closed more than EUR 2 billion in disclosed funding, a figure that’s double what was raised by CEE tech startups in the same quarter last year, a new report by Vestbee, a fundraising and deal flow platform for CEE startups, shows.In Q2 2022, fintech was one of investors’ favored sectors, accounting for 20% of the region’s 50 largest rounds of funding closed during the period. This indicates that investors are remaining bullish on the prospect of financial innovation in the region and are actively…

With more than 1,400 tech startups operating in the country, Estonia stands at the leadership position as Europe’s most vibrant startup hub in Europe. The country also has a world-class track record in building unicorns, having been the birthplace of no less than 10 billion-dollar tech firms, namely Skype, Playtech, Wise, Bolt, Pipeline, Zego, ID.me, Gelato, Veriff and Glia. Estonia’s thriving startup scene has made it an enticing location for investors. In 2021, Estonia startups raised a total of EUR 962 million, more than doubling 2020’s EUR 464 million, data from law firm Sorainen show. In 2022, it only took…

For digital nomads who travel internationally and on a regular basis, finding a banking solution that fits with their unique lifestyle can be a daunting task. Digital nomads travel the world and often live in several different countries with their own unique banking system and requirements. This means that going the traditional route would imply navigating those local banking systems, and having to endure tedious onboarding processes that require applicants to travel in-person to a branch, and present a bunch of paper documents each time. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who use traditional banking services…

Estonian-founded investment platform Lightyear announced that it has raised a US$25 million Series A equity round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company’s seed investors, Mosaic Ventures, Taavet+Sten and Metaplanet also took part in the round alongside a number of new and existing angel investors. Virgin Group had also joined in this investment round. The funds will be used to support the company’s plans to expand across Europe. The fundraise comes at the same time as Lightyear’s expands into 19 European markets, just nine months after it launched in the UK. Lightyear will be onboarding customers from these 19 European…

Payments company GoCardless announced it plans to acquire Nordigen, a Latvian open banking data provider. The deal is expected to close later in the summer. Further terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. GoCardless will incorporate Nordigen’s next-generation open banking connectivity, which connects to more than 2,300 banks in 31 countries, into its account-to-account network. The acquisition means the fintech will provide free open banking connectivity at scale, opening up self-serve access to account information services (AIS) to everyone. In addition, its suite of premium data products help improve outcomes across a range of use cases from credit assessments to…

Veriff, a global identity verification provider, announced its partnership with Twisto, a Zip-acquired buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform, to provide identity verification services for online merchants. With this partnership, Veriff expedites the identity verification process for Twisto customers, while ensuring compliance with know your customer (KYC) regulations. Veriff’s AI-powered identity verification technology is now available on Twisto’s platform, enabling consumers to quickly and seamlessly verify their identities. The company provides KYC verification with its video-first technology and offers an extra layer of protection for users through location verification. Since integrating Veriff’s technology, Twisto said that it has experienced a…

The Lithuanian identity verification and compliance company iDenfy, joined forces with Juni, the financial management platform made for ecommerce. iDenfy’s mix of built-in identity verification and Business Verification services will protect Juni from fraud. Reduced costs, personalization, greater convenience, or speed are all factors that make ecommerce and fintech players successful in today’s digital sphere. While the benefits paint a positive picture, there’s also a riskier part to online business. According to iDenfy, cybercrime takes a toll on the fintech and ecommerce markets, making fraudsters and their crimes an issue that’s hard to tackle. Juni follows a similar approach, and…

After Lithuania gained the second unicorn, Nord Security, this spring, Vilnius, the capital, is rapidly evolving into a point of attraction for new and established businesses. In light of the booming entrepreneurial environment and the expanding unicorn community, Vilnius is making certain adjustments to its urban layout. New technology campus expected to boost the startup ecosystem As one of the top 30 emerging startup ecosystems globally, the capital’s startup scene, valued at 7B, currently encompasses 767 active startups. With around 16K specialists employed in the country’s startup ecosystem, Vilnius is aiming to expand it by building a technology campus Cyber…

Today, the Dutch financial technology (Fintech) company Hyarchis announced that it is expanding and opening a new office in Vilnius. The company’s first Lithuanian branch has been operating in Kaunas since 2018. The office in the capital will serve as a new product development center, with the primary goal of providing cloud-based document and data management solutions for the financial sector. Hyarchis intends to hire more than 20 specialists over the next three years. Hyarchis develops document and data management software for the financial sector. The company’s products are used by more than 55,000 customers across Europe. Kaunas currently has…

AS Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), the flag carrier of Latvia, has released the “airBaltic Planies NFTs”, an artwork of 10 000 unique airplane cartoon images. Holders of the Planies NFTs will be able to receive airBaltic Club points and other loyalty program benefits. In order to get the airBaltic Planies NFTs, users will need to set up a MetaMask wallet and buy Ethereum (ETH) currency with MoonPay. They will need to have 300$ (~0.15eth) + gas transaction (gas price changes depending on the load of chain) in your wallet account. Following that, they can visit the Planies website and register for…

On 7–9 June, Europe’s largest Fintech conference will bring together the world’s most successful Fintech representatives and investors. This time they will be joined by a large team from Lithuania. For the first time, “Money 20/20” will mobilise and co-present Lithuania’s Fintech community − startups, associations, and institutions. At the event and expo in Amsterdam, under the name “LITHUANIA” will be presented Invest Lithuania, ROCKIT, Go Vilnius, Fintech Hub LT, EMBank, Fininbox, Ondato and Velmie. Also more than 100 representatives from 25 Lithuanian Fintech companies will also travel to attend the conference. “Money 20/20” is supported by Fintech industry players…

As the fintech sector continues to evolve in Lithuania, a growing number of women in leadership roles are helping propel the country’s most promising and fastest-growing fintech startups ahead in exciting new directions. We’ve curated a list of 10 of the most influential women fintech founders, leaders and venture capitalists (VCs) reshaping the Lithuanian financial landscape, recognizing them for their expertise, drive and leadership. Jekaterina Govina, Partner, Response Legal Jekaterina Govina is a partner at Response Legal, a Lithuanian law firm. At Response Legal, she specializes in fintech, startups and financial services regulation. Prior to joining the law firm, Govia…

DriveWealth, a global embedded finance pioneer that powers equity investing for fintechs,  announced the opening of its first international entity to serve the European market. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, the new DriveWealth Lithuania subsidiary will create innovative new partnerships with traditional financial service providers, DeFi companies, and startups to help give individuals worldwide more control over their financial lives. “The ability to easily scale with our partners and bring impactful wealth-creation opportunities to forward-thinking platforms around the world is a large part of why DriveWealth is different. So many Baltic and European Union platforms are looking for smarter ways to…

XREX, a Taiwanese blockchain Fintech company, has chosen Lithuania as its entry point to the EU market. After recently becoming a crypto asset service provider in Lithuania, the company plans to entrust operations, AML, and other functions to its Lithuanian office. Taipei-headquartered XREX has developed a series of blockchain-driven products, including BitCheck, an online escrow service, and XREX Exchange, the world’s only crypto-fiat exchange that supports both the US dollar and the Indian rupee. Co-founded by cybersecurity expert Dr. Wayne Huang and serial entrepreneur Winston Hsiao, XREX aims to build long-lasting bridges between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Raising…

Paystrax, a payment processing solutions provider, is planning to expand its team in Lithuania. With offices in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Reykjavik in Iceland, and Brighton in the UK, the company is looking to double its current 30-strong team in Lithuania over the next 12 months. “We have assembled a group of professionals with excellent knowledge of the environment that payment companies like Paystrax operate in. Our team has made a great start, and Paystrax is now ready to grow further,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO Johannes Kolbeinsson. Having developed successful Fintech ventures in Iceland, Paystrax co-founders chose Lithuania to establish…

The Bank of Lithuania has entrusted development issues to a specialised Centre for Financial Market Development in order to promote the continued successful growth of the country’s financial market. It will look for ways to strengthen the existing financial market participants and attract new ones, promote sustainable fintech development, implement capital market development measures. “Our country is known as one of the main fintech hubs in Europe. We want to go further and to boost the growth of the entire financial sector by increasing competition, access to services and strengthening the capital market, thereby creating high added value for our…

2021 was a record breaking year for the Baltic States’ startup landscape with a total of EUR 1.6 billion in capital raised, an amount that’s nearly three times the sum secured by the region’s startups in 2020, data from local seed stage venture capital (VC) fund Change Ventures show. The surge showcases a maturing startup ecosystem in the Baltics with growth rounds growing healthily and A rounds doubling versus the prior half year. Now, in 2022, it appears that the momentum is continuing, with Baltic startups, notably those in the fintech sector, securing significant rounds of funding to support their…

In the Baltic region, Estonia is emerging as a fintech powerhouse, having minted the most fintech unicorns and being home to the largest number of fintech minicorns, or startups on the rise to becoming billion dollar companies. A new infographic shared by Audrius Milukas, a venture capital (VC) investor at Open Circle Capital (OCC), showcases the Baltics’ booming tech startup ecosystem, putting the spotlight on the unicorns and minicorns that each country of the region has seen emerged over the years. Of the 13 startup unicorns founded by Baltic entrepreneurs and/or based in the region, three are fintech companies of…

Tink, Europe’s leading open banking platform, has announced the expansion of its open banking payments services to five new markets across Europe. Its Payment Initiation Services (PIS) product is now live in the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Finland and Latvia. Tink operates in 18 markets in total across Europe, connecting to over 250 million bank customers. Open banking payments, often called Pay by Bank, is a transfer of money from one bank account to another. The payment is initiated by Tink through an Application Programming Interface (API), but the user journey is completely embedded within the payment service provider (PSP) or…