Our Finovate Global interview series provides deep dives and extended conversations about fintech innovation around the world—especially in countries outside of the US. This year, we have featured seven different discussions on fintech topics ranging from payments and regtech to Islamic finance and workforce management solutions. Click the headlines below to access the interviews.
If you are a Finovate alum headquartered outside the US and would like to share your story with our readers, then consider being a part of our Finovate Global interview series in 2026. Reach out to me at [email protected]—we’d love to have you join us!
With that, we hope you enjoy these conversations and maybe even find one that you might have missed. And thanks to Jac, Karen, Kirill, Stav, Stuart, Maya, and Dilshod for being a part of our Finovate Global interviews of 2025.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
- German fintech Trade Republic reached a valuation of €12.5 billion following a €1.2 billion secondary share sale.
- Mastercard unveiled its WhatsApp chatbot for users in Azerbaijan.
- Deutsche Bank has gone live with digital wallet and payments app, Wero.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Israel VC firm Viola Ventures launched a pair of new funds totaling $250 million to invest in Israeli fintechs innovating in AI and fintech.
- UAE-based Lucid Capital raised $2.5 million to expand AI-powered algorithmic trading.
- PayTabs Egypt teamed up with Edita Trade, a subsidiary of Edita Food Industries, to integrate a unified cash collection and payments solution across the company’s distribution network.
Central and Southern Asia
- Bangalore, India-based tax management infrastructure startup Prosperr.io raised $4 million in seed funding.
- Google introduced its UPI-linked credit card in India.
- Unlimit secured final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate with a payment aggregator-cross border license.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Mexican fintech Plata secured a $500 million line of credit courtesy of an arrangement with Nomura Securities International.
- Payment infrastructure company Juspay launched Visa’s Click to Pay in Brazil.
- Contxto looked at recent venture capital investment trends in Latin America, with an emphasis on the rebound in fintech investing.
Asia-Pacific
- Fintech holding company Fingular established a new hub in Malaysia.
- Invoice Lifecycle Management company Basware acquired Australian AP automation vendor Redmap.
- A debate over which entities can issue KRW stablecoins will determine how the digital asset is regulated in South Korea, CCN reported.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Payments, cash management, and capital markets solutions company Montran opened its African regional headquarters in Kenya.
- Zawya profiled South African SME financing company Bridgement.
- Ghama officially legalized cryptocurrency trading as the country’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill is passed.
Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash
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