The banking industry stands at the brink of a major transformation, driven by rapid technological advancements and changing customer expectations in a dynamic digital landscape. This transformation is not without its challenges, as banks grapple with the critical task of bridging the gap between traditional banking services and the demands of a digital-first customer base.  Factors such as the unbanked population, system outages, cybersecurity threats, and the rise of fintechs pose significant barriers to this connection, underscoring the urgent need for banks to fortify their operational resilience (OpRes) and Information Technology resilience (ItRes).  In this context, the notion of resilience…

Leading financial institutions, Fintech companies, and Latvian and European financial industry associations opens application opportunities for the international Fintech hackathon “OpenFin Hack”, which aims to promote innovation to make financial services more secure, inclusive and accessible. The OpenFin Hack hackathon will take place online from 9 to 13 April. Participants will also be able to meet in person at a networking event on the final day in Riga. The hackathon is open to new idea authors and early-stage startup teams. Industry expert support and assistance will be available to create innovative financial solutions together. The total prize fund for the…

CapitalBox, the Stockholm based alternative financing specialist for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), announced its acquisition of Copenhagen-based Omniveta Finance. Omniveta is an invoice purchasing company dedicated to improving lending liquidity for SMEs across Denmark. Founded in 2012, Omniveta specialises in invoice purchasing, complimenting CapitalBox’s current alternative finance solutions offering. In development since last year, this acquisition was spearheaded by CapitalBox Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Nemira Palaimienė. Omniveta will assume the name CapitalBox moving forward, and its entire team will be brought under the auspices of CapitalBox’s Danish division and Denmark Country Manager Anne Trampedach, who has led the…

2023 was a tough year for the Swedish fintech industry as companies continued to face a challenging fundraising landscape, fueling a slowdown in new recruitments, and as regulatory requirements persisted in burdening fintech operations, a new report by the Swedish Fintech Association (SweFintech) says. For Sweden to remain competitive in the face of rising fintech hubs including Lithuania and Estonia, several measures must be put in place to encourage innovation and support the growth of young ventures. The 2024 edition of the Fintech Report, released earlier this year, gives an up-to-date picture of the Swedish fintech industry, describing how the…

Brite Payments, a Stockholm based leader in instant bank payments, announced that it has partnered with Northe, a one-stop platform for electric vehicle (EV) charging, to provide customers with a more streamlined payments process. Founded in Stockholm in 2020, and buoyed by fresh funding in early 2023, Northe is connected to an extensive network of public, semi-public, and private partners. It provides customers with an all-in-one platform that facilitates and automates the management of everyday EV charging needs. Via the Northe charging app, private and business customers access thousands of charging stations, connecting multiple operators and removing friction in the payment and…

Over the years, the Nordic and Baltic regions have emerged as vibrant hubs for fintech innovation, fueled and facilitated by advanced digital infrastructure and digitally literate populations, government support, and strong collaboration between traditional financial institutions, startups and technology companies. The Baltics, which include Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, boast a skilled workforce, favorable taxation and a strong startup culture, a favorable landscape that has contributed to the advent of a burgeoning fintech ecosystem of 600 companies. The Nordics, which encompass Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, are home to more than 1,200 fintech companies, including some of Europe’s fastest-growing and…

Backbase has made an agreement with Danske Bank in Denmark. This agreement provides Danske Bank with access to Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform, which will progressively be implemented across their digital channels in the coming years. This will enable Danske Bank to offer its customers a continuously improved digital customer experience, as the enhanced flexibility allows it to tailor its business operations around customer journeys. Frans Woelders, Chief Operating Officer at Danske Bank, highlights: “This engagement is a testament to our customer focus and our commitment to ensuring the best digital banking experience for the future. A new platform that works…

J.P. Morgan’s Commercial Banking business has hired Kim Larsson Nyheim as Innovation Economy banking lead for the Nordics, based in Stockholm. In this role, Kim is dedicated to serving Nordic-based, early stage, venture-backed companies with high growth potential in industries like Disruptive Commerce, Technology, Life Sciences, Healthcare IT and ClimateTech. These companies benefit from the financial strength, scale, industry specialization, digital capabilities and investments that J.P. Morgan makes to support them from startup to IPO and beyond. This includes payments, capital raising and financing, liquidity solutions and strategic advisory for portfolio companies and more. Kim brings more than 10 years…

In an investment round co-led by new investor CNI and existing investor Opera Tech Ventures, Stockholm based Insurely has secured additional funding to accelerate its international expansion and product development. This investment aims to strengthen Insurely’s position as an open finance provider for insurance and pension solutions in Europe. On the back of a successful year, having added multiple established financial institutions to the client list, Insurely is now raising €8 million through a convertible note with CNI as leading external investor, accompanied by Opera Tech Ventures who is increasing its investment in the company, and with additional investments from…

Meniga, an Iceland and London based pioneer in Personal Finance Management solutions announced that it has raised €15 million in Series D funding. The new investment round included major European banks, Groupe BPCE and Crédito Agrícola, and the leading Icelandic VC group, Omega ehf, with participation from several existing shareholders. Total funding in Meniga to date amounts to €55 million. Part of the capital injection will be used towards clearing existing debt, rendering Meniga almost debt-free. The funding will also be invested in the roll-out of Meniga’s new strategy, focusing on further developing its core capabilities around Data Enrichment and…

Nordic challenger bank Lunar is joining forces with TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading open banking payments network, to redefine the payments landscape across Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This collaboration will enhance TrueLayer’s instant payment capabilities in the Nordics through seamless integration with Lunar’s payment infrastructure.  Lunar opened its Nordic payment infrastructure to partners in June 2023. By partnering with Lunar, TrueLayer will be able to access domestic payments across three markets in the Nordics, providing payment coverage across Denmark, Sweden and Norway. TrueLayer becomes the inaugural major partner to leverage Lunar’s Banking Services.  “In many ways the Nordics is a difficult…

Finland based Enfuce has secured an €8.5 million follow-on investment round led by Vitruvian Partners, with participation from Visa and Maki.vc. This funding, following Enfuce’s successful €45 million Series C round in 2021 and brings Enfuce funding to a total of €62m to date. Founded in 2016, Enfuce has grown to be an important player in the payments sector. Having been one of the first to bring payment processing to the public cloud, Enfuce is the partner of choice for innovative payments solutions for the likes of Pleo, OKQ8 and Memo Bank. As a global card issuer and payment processor…

Iceland’s largest bank Landsbankinn announced it is leading the way in Open Banking innovation by becoming the first bank in Iceland to offer its customers Payment Initiation Services (PIS) and Aggregation Services (AIS). The solution is powered by Meniga, a leading provider of digital banking solutions, paving the way for unique customer experiences and changing the way users can interact with their bank. This new solution will have a significant impact on the financial services landscape in the region. Landsbankinn’s Aggregation Service allows its customers to access a view of their accounts across other major banks in Iceland, seamlessly within…

Nexi has entered into an agreement with French IN Groupe which is to take over its eID business. This acquisition is in line with the strategy of both groups: to reinforce IN Groupe’s role as European leader in digital identity, and further strengthen the position of Nexi as the leading European PayTech. Nexi has entered into an agreement with IN Groupe, a specialist in identity and secure digital services, who will take over the ownership of the eID business. IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and trust solutions providing comprehensive solutions that address a broad variety of digital…

Jifiti, a global white-labeled embedded lending provider, today announced that it has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in Europe, following the Swedish regulator’s rigorous review and qualification process. As a white-labeled solution provider to banks, regulated lenders and financial service providers globally, Jifiti strictly adheres to multinational regulatory and security standards. The EMI license serves as comprehensive validation of the company’s robust compliance and regulatory standards, which also include PCI/DSS, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications. With its EMI license, Jifiti is able to serve the growing needs of its bank, lender, financial services and merchant clients…

In Sweden, fintech companies are finding it more difficult to secure funding, noting that investors have adopted a more cautious approach amid economic uncertainties, geopolitical turmoil and soaring inflation. But despite the challenging venture funding landscape, fintech entrepreneurs remain confident in the sector’s prospects and are expecting growth in the year to come, a new report by industry trade group, the Swedish Fintech Association (SweFintech), says. The report, titled the 2023 Fintech Report: From Growth to Profitability, provides an overview of the Swedish fintech industry, describing how the industry developed in 2022 and exploring the various challenges encountered by Swedish…

The competition for savings accounts is intensifying in Finland. Saldo Bank, a neo-bank with a Finnish background, brings term deposits and digital loan services to the consumer market. The Finnish deposit market gets more competition as fintech company Saldo Bank opens banking operations in Finland at the beginning of October. The first banking product launched by the company is a traditional term deposit account, with the highest interest rate on the market. Saldo Bank offers up to 4.00% interest for a 24-month deposit, which is about 0.5% higher than the second best offer. “Until now, Finns have lost their wealth…

Brite Payments announced a $60 million funding round led by specialist B2B software investor Dawn Capital and joined by Headline and existing investor Incore. Brite leverages open banking to offer businesses easy-to-integrate, instant account-to-account (A2A) payments and payouts. The fundraise follows a breakout year for Brite. The Stockholm-based company was founded by experienced payments exec Lena Hackelöer in 2019. During 2022, Brite more than doubled its transaction volume and revenue, and reached profitability. Today, its offering is available in 25 countries across Europe through connections with 3,800 banks, touching more than 350 million end consumers. Brite will use the fresh…

Placera Media is investing in Stockholm based Social Trading platform StockRepublic, Placera Media operates the financial news site Placera and the magazine Börsveckan. Avanza Bank Holdning AB owns Placera Media, but its content and editorial operations are independent from Avanza. Placera Media is now investing SEK 15 million in StockRepublic, which among other things has built the new and relaunched Placera Forum. The investment corresponds to 10 per cent of the shares in StockRepublic and links the company closer to Placera. “StockRepublic has posted impressive performance, both in Sweden and internationally. Placera today has Sweden’s largest stock forum with Placera…

Mitigram, the leading digital platform in global trade financing, today announces it has secured an additional $11m from its latest funding round, bringing the total amount raised to $38m. In 2014, Mitigram launched a digital exchange in global trade financing. Its advanced and interoperable digital platform is designed for corporations and financial institutions to price check and execute risk cover and financing transactions in cross-border trade. Current clients include Louis Dreyfus Company, Bridgestone, Vale, Ericsson, ArcelorMittal, Trafigura, Siemens Healthineers and over 150 banks. The investment will enable Mitigram to move into its next phase of growth, executing its product roadmap,…