BFC FinTech Monitor 8th – 15th May

Stay up-to-date on all the all the latest FinTech news and information from around the world in the BFC FinTech Monitor.

Around the World:

Samsung is partnering with SoFi for the development of Samsung’s own debit card. The card, which is scheduled for release this summer, will interact with the Samsung Pay system and be compatible with Samsung smartphones.
Venture capital investments in FinTech fell to USD 6.1 billion to kick off 2020. This marks the lowest amount in 4 years.
Chinese internet giant Tencent has introduced its own artificial intelligence-based credit scoring system that will assign a credit rating to each of the 600 million WeChat messenger users.
The European Central Bank is developing its own digital currency to be used in retail within the Eurozone.
Mastercard plans to improve the level of financial inclusion around the world by providing 1 billion people and 50 million SMEs (including 25 million women-owned SMEs) access to the digital economy.
Finextra, in close collaboration with experts from Deloitte, HSBC and BBVA, has published a report on the future of blockchain in the financial sector.
The launch of the Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain platform has been cancelled due to a ruling from a United States court that has banned the functioning of the Gram cryptocurrency.

Russia:

Neobank Point has launched a beta version of a mobile service for freelancers and entrepreneurs without employees. The service, called PointXS, features online bookkeeping, automatic transfers to personal cards and unlimited withdrawals.
Dmitry Petrov, general director of Kometrika, details how the current crisis opens up a window of opportunities for their company that FinTechs simply cannot take advantage of.
Anton Nikonorov, formerly of Sberbank Technologies, has announced his plans to launch a neobank for the self-employed in Europe, especially Gen Z streamers, influencers and bloggers.
Players in Russia’s financial market are openly discussing the possibility of supplying each Russian with his/her own QR code for payments in the Quick Payment System.

Ukraine:

For the 4^th time, FinTech company Moneyveo has been nominated for Best Finance/Business/IT Company in Ukraine in the all-Ukrainian Brand of the Year business competition.
Founders of Ukraine’s first digital bank Monobank are planning to launch digital banks in emerging markets. India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Egypt, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Singapore are all being considered.
Liga.net has published materials on how Ukrainian startups, including FinTechs, are being impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
A recent Fabrizio Ward study conducted for Visa has revealed that, of all biometric identification methods in Ukraine, fingerprints and retinal scans are considered to be the most reliable.

Belarus:

Digital Banking Conference will take place May 21-22, 2020 in an online format. The event will feature a number of experts discussing the creation of ecosystems, the elements of building architecture and the role of FinTechs in these processes.

Kazakhstan:

The volume of non-cash card payments increased by 16% in March 2020, exceeding KZT 2 billion in total. Most of these payments came in the form of online payments. The main reason for this uptick is the COVID-19 outbreak and the related quarantine measures to contain it.

Uzbekistan:

The HUMO payment system has failed due to an increase in the number of requested transactions, mostly stemming from the requested withdrawal of funds from cards. As a result, authorities have decided to reissue salaries, pensions and other benefits.
Uzpromstroybank has launched a new mobile application, JOYDA. In addition to traditional services, JOYDA allows users to purchase goods for home delivery.
Uzbekistan has established procedures regarding the use of its electronic currency, including roles, responsibilities and rights for its use.
The Apelsin application now offers users the ability to easily transfer from any HUMO card to any Uzcard and vice versa.

Azerbaijan:

PaySpace Magazine Ukraine has published a wealth of material on the current happenings of the Azerbaijani financial market, including the fact that two banks have recently lost their licenses.

Georgia:

Tracxn Technologies has published information on 10 of the most notable FinTech startups based in Tbilisi.

Armenia:

Ardshinbank has been recognized as the best Armenian bank in 2020 by Global Finance Magazine, joining winners from other countries such as Bank of America (USA), Barclays (Great Britain) and TBC (Georgia).
The State Revenue Committee has developed a platform to allow residents of Armenia to pay taxes online using bank cards.