'Smart Payments' start-ups dominate Lighthouse FINITIV 2022 fall program

Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV spring program was dominated by companies working within payment acceptance. As a result, the fall program will be focussed on enhancing transactions through smart solutions, loyalty, transaction monitoring and fraud prevention. Overall, 15 companies were selected to partake in FINITIV 2022 Fall program who will join the kick-offs in Sweden, Finland and Latvia.

Since its launch in 2018, the Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV has been the definitive showcase of trends in Nordic and Baltic Fintech. Disruptive alumni like Doconomy and Aiia have each gone on to create categories of fintech like “sustainability analytics” and “open banking” that are now fully mainstream.

This fall, the program’s key trend is “smarter payments”. Many of the program’s 15 admitted startups are focused on enhancing payment transactions through smart solutions, loyalty, transaction monitoring and fraud prevention. The program takes place in partnership with major banks in Sweden, Finland and Latvia.

Lighthouse FINITIV’s goal is to strengthen the financial services ecosystem across the region–and thus far the Nordics have made consistent contributions to payment innovation.

Meet the Lighthouse Fall Class of 2022:

Sweden

Gigapay is a scalable salary payments infrastructure for the gig and creator economy. (gigapay.co)

Econans provides white-label digital simulation tools for sustainable personal finance (econans.se)

Sossip is a payment solution that uses AI to create smart money management services. (sossip.com)

D2I Financial Services enables merchants to offer customers seamless payment experience with ease by offering payment facilitator functionalities with multiple partner-banks. With new innovative AI a merchant can choose the right acquiring bank for them (d2i.se)

Plexian is developing the loyalty platform for the future and through creative membership programs creating enhanced member values. (plexian.se)

Finland:

FPSystem is developing a seamless biometric payment and financing solution for events and holiday resorts. (fpsystem.fi)

Bcar.app is providing a global EV plugshare and charging mobile app including leasing of EV chargers and a community & EV sharing marketplace. (Bcar.app)

FinanceKey is building a payment and treasury operations platform for businesses to gain time, money and better control. (financekey.com)

Valega Chain Analytics work with Automated Compliance & Transaction Risk analysis for blockchains to prevent Money-laundering and other criminal activities which is associated with Digital Currencies. (valegachain.com)

Mobibank combines all of the end users banking needs in one hub removing the need for multiple apps to people. (mobibank.fi)

Latvia:

Huntli helps banks and fintechs by providing them with developed tools for risk management, live transaction monitoring & fraud prevention. (huntli.io)

Tailwind is a web app that makes it easier for small businesses to forecast their cash flows thanks to visualization & automation. (tailwind.lv)

CrowdedHero is an equity crowdfunding platform that gives the opportunity for growing companies to attract additional funding. (crowdedhero.com)

Lithuania:

Olpay (former SmilePay) offers a 360-degree payment solution to retailers replacing their legacy POS Terminal with a modern solution built on Tap-on-Phone and Facial Recognition Payment. (olpay.co)

Estonia:

Kwota is a Carbon Credits Marketplace that creates digital validation and trading of CO₂ emission savings derived from material recycling. (kwota.com)

Payments has always been one of the program’s focal points, and Mastercard continues to invest in improving the payment experience. During last spring’s program Mastercard, alongside leading banks in the region, explored partnerships with a number of fintechs focused on innovative technologies within payment acceptance. In line with the general theme of “smarter payments,” two fintechs, SmilePay and FPSystem, are building biometric payment solutions, and Sossip, FinanceKey, Plexian and D2I Financial Services are focused on enhancing payment capabilities.

• “Lighthouse showed us how innovative the Nordic and Baltic region is. Moreover, Mastercard’s multi-rail strategy in the region is in part driven through the acquisition of Aiia, another Lighthouse alumni. There is no slowing down, fintech sectors are reaching all-time highs with more capital being brought in and thus attracting even more entrepreneurs to build fintech products. Payments have been leading this innovation and thus proves to us the importance of this community. We want to do our part to strengthen the ecosystem through open innovation platforms such as Lighthouse. It was a tough decision to select 15 companies among all the applicants, but we are excited to start working together with some of the most promising fintechs in the region this spring. This time the majority of companies are within payments and we cant wait to explore what partnerships could come out of this program.” – Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation, Fintech and Impact Tech Engagement at Mastercard Nordics and Baltic

Lighthouse remains a competitive program for start-ups to enter.  This fall, 97 companies applied by submitting partnership proposals and company details. Twenty-one shortlisted FINITIV applicants pitched to Mastercard and its partner banks prior to the final class selection.

Sustainability continues to be high on the agenda, with companies like Kwota, Econans and Bcar.app working on solutions to off-set, manage and enhance mobility. One of the areas of focus has been building better services for SMEs and this time we have companies like Gigapay, Tailwind and CrowdedHero.

•   “Our team is looking forward to meeting new fintechs for the main purpose of exploring synergies and bringing even more value to our existing and future clients across segments. We have been one of the banking partners for Mastercard Lighthouse program since the beginning and thoroughly enjoy exploring mutually beneficial opportunities with innovative fintechs.” – Joakim Höglund, Partnership Manager at Swedbank

During the program, admitted start-ups will be able to present their solutions and discuss possible collaboration areas with Mastercard, SEB, Swedbank and OP Financial Group in a 1:1 setting. Mid-program, companies will be matched with relevant investors from the Lighthouse Investor Circle, a group of 40+ investors covering Europe and North America. Additionally, the companies will meet pro bono growth advisors including Fintech Mundi, Invenio Growth and AWS. The program also facilitates meetings with Mastercard Marketing and Communication teams for guidance in making their story and messaging clear and enticing.

About Lighthouse FINITIV

Mastercard Lighthouse is an open innovation platform designed to strengthen the entire financial services ecosystem. FINITIV is a free program designed to catalyze symbiotic partnerships between fintechs, Mastercard, and Tier 1 Nordic partners. Pairing the energy and innovation of fintechs with the stability and distribution at large financial service firms, FINITIV produces partnerships that strengthen the entire ecosystem. Each five-month the program hosts workshops for 15+ fintechs, and brings banks, investors, advisors and fintechs together to explore partnerships via open innovation.

Read more about Lighthouse at www.mclighthouse.com