Nordic Fintech Highlights – October
Before we dig into the monthly industry insights, we have two important dates for your calendar.
Slush – Helsinki Fintech Loop 30.11.2023
Slush takes over Helsinki at the end of November, which of course means it’s also time for our legendary after party. Be sure you apply to the Helsinki Fintech Loop as a participant – or, if you wish to guarantee your place at the best Slush party, as a partner!
Nordic Fintech Summit 16.5.2024
Our next year’s flagship event has been launched! The new and improved Nordic Fintech Summit will take place on May 16th, so save the date and check out our Lead Keynote speakers.
October in brief
As we’ve now firmly entered Q4, it’s time to reflect on the exciting industry news that unfolded in October. You can also check our monthly podcast with Fintech Daydreaming where we dig into some of the most interesting news from October.
Funding:
Like September, October had 6 funding rounds. Climate/Impact fintech companies stood out, as Klimate from Denmark and Cloover from Sweden raised multi-million early-stage rounds.
The biggest funding round of the month was Brite Payments’ $60M series A. The instant payment provider, founded in 2019, is already active in 25 markets and is connected to 3800 banks.
In conclusion, the fintech market has seen better times, but monthly funding rounds from pre-seed to series A show that the industry is alive and kicking.
Partnerships:
On the payments side, the biometrics companies Zwipe and IDEX Biometrics were very active. Zwipe signed two new deals, and IDEX Biometrics signed one in addition to securing Mastercard certification.
The BNPL industry is also on the move as Klarna strengthened its AI capabilities with Rokt, and the Swedish sell-first-pay-later company Treyd got a new customer from Stroodles.
Banks:
Nordic banks were generally releasing strong Q3 results.
Impact is trending in banks as well – Danske Bank started assessing its lending and investment portfolios that potentially negatively impact nature and biodiversity.
On the tech side, Aktia Bank partnered with Temenos to modernize their payments, and Ikano Bank partnered with cloud platform Qlik as part of its digital transformation strategy.
Also, two new challenger banks started operating when Qred activated their banking license, and Saldo Bank passported their banking license to Finland.
Have a look at the news from October below and stay tuned for more!
You can find all the monthly Nordic Fintech updates from the past over here.
Country specific news
Finland
Saldo Bank launches term deposits and digital loans in Finland
Tietoevry and the Maldives Monetary Authority launch instant payments and smart addressing system
Aktia partners with Temenos to modernise payments
Finland works on instant payments system, embraces digital euro
MuniFin’s second USD benchmark of the year attracted high-quality investors
HMD Global updates the Nokia 2660 with UPI Scan and Pay
Tietoevry collaborates with Kivra for innovative digital postal solutions in Finland
Denmark
Danish startup Klimate.co secures €3.5M for carbon removal platform
Dealflow, the AI-driven FinTech, secures $700k in a pre-seed round
Tellero raised $1.9M in Private Equity from Wealthes Capital
Softpay and Dotykacka launch Tap-to-phone payments
Pleo offers overdrafts to help businesses manage spending
Apax Funds acquire GAN Integrity
Monthio partners with BNP Paribas Personal Finance in Denmark
Lunar’s stratospheric plans for the Eurozone in 2024
Danske Bank maps potential impacts on nature and biodiversity
Sweden
Female-founded Brite Payments secures $60M investment despite the fintech slump
Quartiers invests SEK 12.6 million in Nowonomics and enters into co-operation agreement with
Nowonomics and QQM Fund Management
Juni opens payment corridors to the US and mainland China
Klarna unveils AI-powered photo tool for shoppers
Detection to safeguard AP processes
Swedish fintech Qred activates banking licence
IK Partners to sell Aspia to Vitruvian Partners
Swedish fintech partners with UK’s edible tableware pioneer to finance rapid growth
Bits Technology partners with Veriff
Ikano Bank partners with Qlik to improve performance
European Investment Fund and Invoier boost European SMEs with €58M support
Klarna faces strike action in Sweden over refusal to negotiate with unions
Loomis signs a 2-year Term Loan facility of EUR 115 million
SEB draws attention to carbon removal market and nature-related risk
Norway
Orbyt has acquired Telia’s eInvoice services in Finland
Zwipe partners with Schneider Electric
IDEX Biometrics partners with KONA I
IDEX Biometrics fast-tracks Mastercard certification
Iceland
Tonkeeper and Mercuryo Join Forces to Accelerate Toncoin’s Growth
Future events
30.11. Helsinki Fintech Loop
Slush/Helsinki
13.12. Talousrikollisuus & Teknologia
Helsinki
16.5.2024 Nordic Fintech Summit
Helsinki
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