This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases fintech innovation in Indonesia.
Thought Machine helps modernize Islamic finance
Core banking and payments technology company Thought Machine has partnered with BCA Syariah to bring digital, Sharia-compliant financial products and services to its customers. The bank, a subsidiary of Bank Central Asia (BCA), has deployed Thought Machine’s core banking platform, Vault Core, which has enabled the institution to launch a number of new solutions. These offerings include Wadiah savings, a top-up e-wallet, and an online service Hajj Fee deposits. BCA Syariah also plans to launch term deposit products and gold financing “soon.”
“(Vault Core’s) Universal Product Engine allows us to create Sharia-compliant products with precision and swift responsiveness to evolving customer needs,” BCA Syariah Director Lukman Hadiwidjaja said. “Our successful go-live marks an important milestone in our mission to contribute significantly to the development of Sharia banking in Indonesia.”
Thought Machine’s Universal Product Engine features out-of-the-box Sharia-compliant products, enabling institutions to develop and customize a broad range of integrated financial solutions on a unified platform. In operation since 2010 and headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, BCA Syariah was named “Best Performing Sharia Bank in 2024” at the 13th Infobank Sharia Awards in October.
“BCA Syariah has demonstrated exceptional foresight in leveraging modern technology for enhanced user experiences,” Thought Machine CEO and Founder Paul Taylor said. “This milestone underscores our unwavering commitment to empowering financial institutions to innovate, grow, and outperform in their markets.”
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018. At the event, the company demonstrated its Vault core banking product, which today is used by institutions ranging from global Tier 1 clients such as Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking Group to fintechs and challenger banks like Trust Bank and Atom Bank.
Finfra brings embedded lending technology to SMEs
Lending-as-a-Service infrastructure company Finfra is bringing embedded lending solutions to SMEs in Indonesia courtesy of a new investment and a new partnership.
The investment is a $2.5 million fundraising led by Cento Ventures and featuring participation from Accion Venture Lab, Z Venture Capital, and Avafin founder Matiss Ansviesulis. In a statement on LinkedIn Finfra CEO Markus Prommik, thanked his team and the company’s shareholders for their support and “for believing in this mission.”
Finfra also announced a new strategic partnership with Tyme which will bring the company’s embedded lending infrastructure to India. This, according to Prommik, will “unlock new opportunities for SMEs to access finance and drive meaningful impact. This partnership is more than a business collaboration; it’s a validation of our vision for Finfra and the future of lending!”
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Singapore, Finfra enables technology companies to seamlessly embed financial services — from application to decisioning to operations — into their platforms. Finfra offers invoice, payroll, and working capital financing, as well as healthcare financing to give patients an alternative way to pay for medical procedures. The company’s technology has disbursed more than 325,000 loans to date, valued at more than $50 million. Prommik noted in his statement that Finfra has doubled its gross profit year-over-year, as well as its client base.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Konsentus forged a collaboration with the Bank of Namibia to support the bank’s open banking initiatives.
- Visa announced strategic investments in four African startup graduates of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program.
- Techpoint Africa interviewed a handful of VC investors on which areas in African fintech are growing fastest.
Central and Eastern Europe
- German fintech MODIFI raised $15 million in funding in a round led by SMBC Asia Rising Fund.
- Brokerage-as-a-Service fintech DriveWealth secured a brokerage license from the Bank of Lithuania.
- Borse Stuttgart Digital turned to Fenergo to scale compliant crypto solutions across Europe.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- International money movement firm TerraPay teamed up with Suyool to enhance financial accessibility in Lebanon.
- Mastercard partnered with Arab Regional Payment System, Buna, to reduce friction in cross-border payments.
- Open API banking solutions company Codebase Technologies and AI-based identity verification specialist IDWise announced a collaboration to help banks in the MENA region fight financial crime.
Central and Southern Asia
- TBC Uzbekistan announced the soft launch of its new debit card offering, Salom card.
- The State Bank of India (SBI) partnered with Singapore-based fintech APIX to launch its SBI Innovation Hub.
- Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) teamed up with Ant International to launch a new cross-border payment capability.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Peru-based fintech B89 partnered with Brazil’s PagBrasil in an effort to bring Pix to countries in Latin America outside of Brazil.
- Mexican fintech Klar is planning for an IPO in 2026.
- Uruguayan cross-border payments platform dLocal teamed up with low-cost airline Viva Aerobus.
Asia-Pacific
- South Korean FX solutions provider SentBe implemented Visa Direct’s card transfer service.
- Nium fortified its partnership with Kinexys by J.P. Morgan to enhance cross-border payments in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
- Bank of New Zealand has acquired New Zealand-based open banking fintech BlinkPay.
Photo by Tom Fisk
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