This week’s version of Finovate World appears at current fintech headlines from India.
CRED raises $900 million in spherical led by Meta
CRED, a membership-based, credit score rewards platform that gives options throughout funds, lending, insurance coverage, wealth, and way of life, has secured $900 million in Collection H funding. The spherical was led by Meta, and will likely be structured by a mixture of main and secondary share purchases. Meta will be a part of the CRED cap desk as a minority investor; CRED will earn a post-money valuation of $4.5 billion.
With 1.7 million members participating with its platform each month, CRED processes greater than 40% of bank card invoice funds in India, and has seen its lending enterprise develop to greater than $2.5 billion in managed belongings. The funding will allow the corporate to speed up development, construct “institutional muscle,” and lengthen its management throughout verticals. The corporate introduced that its founder, Kunal Shah, will transition from his working function as CEO to move WhatsApp internationally. India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with greater than 500 million customers. Miten Sampat, who has led technique and finance for CRED since 2020, will take the helm as interim CEO.
“I began CRED in 2018 with a perception that creditworthiness deserves to be rewarded,” Shah mentioned. “In below eight years, that perception has changed into a brand new class: thousands and thousands of members, $325 million in income, profitability, a full stack of licenses, and a robust model. On this basis, with further capital and an awfully gifted crew, CRED is poised to develop into an everlasting establishment for many years to return.”
CRED is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The corporate’s funding announcement comes because the agency launches a brand new AI-powered credit score teaching answer for CRED members. The AI credit score coach gives personalised, real-time steerage primarily based on the consumer’s credit score profile to assist them higher perceive their credit score standing and enhance their credit score well being.
Navi UPI enhances fraud safety capabilities
Navi UPI, a well-liked UPI app, has unveiled Navi Safe, a brand new unified framework that mixes the platform’s current fraud prevention, danger monitoring, and consumer safety capabilities. The providing is designed to assist retailers and customers cope with the proliferation of more and more subtle fraud assaults that leverage social engineering, compromised units, false retailers, and extra.
With clever danger indicators, contextual alerts, and preventive safeguards embedded within the buyer journey, Navi Safe helps companies cut back danger throughout a spread of fraud eventualities, together with scam-driven funds and manipulation-based fraud; compromised units and apps; unsafe networks and environments; and high-risk entities and transaction conduct.
“Given digital funds have develop into central to on a regular basis life, fraud prevention must be actual time and contextual. Navi Safe displays our dedication to constructing trust-first monetary infrastructure, the place security is embedded into each transaction, not added as an afterthought,” Navi Restricted MD and CEO Rajiv Naresh mentioned. “By combining superior danger intelligence with user-friendly safeguards, we’re making certain that prospects can use UPI with confidence, realizing that Navi is actively working within the background to guard their cash.”
Navi UPI is among the many quickest rising monetary companies firms in India. The corporate’s UPI transaction volumes grew from greater than 709 million to greater than 824 million between January and Might 2026. The corporate at the moment has 3.6% of India’s UPI market share; a market dominated by PhonePe (46.2%) and Google Pay (32.7%).
Bengaluru-based Navi is a monetary companies firm that gives private and residential loans, insurance coverage, mutual funds, and gold investing, in addition to UPI, India’s flagship instantaneous real-time funds system (Unified Funds Interface). Navi UPI is the corporate’s cash switch answer, which leverages UPI to ship cash transfers anytime, anyplace. Navi was based in 2018.
Indian paytech Skydo expands to Canada
Funds platform Skydo has received its first regulatory approval outdoors of its native India. The Bengaluru-based firm has secured a global cost license in Canada that may allow the corporate to supply two-way cost flows, together with native collections and payouts, between India and Canada.
“Securing our first worldwide license marks Skydo’s evolution from an India-focused cross-border funds platform to a multi-country funds operator,” Skydo CEO and Co-Founder Srivatsan Sridhar mentioned. “With Canada, we’re increasing past collections to allow seamless two-way cost flows and help rising India-Canada commerce.”
Based in 2022, Skydo is a cross-border B2B funds specialist, decreasing overseas alternate fees for companies by greater than 50%. The corporate companions with main banks around the globe, offering companies with their very own overseas digital accounts to allow them to obtain funds with out tax or compliance problems. Supporting greater than 150 nations, Skydo’s platform processes greater than 200,000 funds a yr and is utilized by 40,000+ Indian exporters.
Skydo has referred to Canada as a strategic market, given the size of commerce exercise between India and Canada. In 2025, India and Canada reached $10.9 billion in bilateral merchandise commerce. Each nations have indicated that they wish to greater than double two-way commerce, at the moment at simply over $30 billion yearly, to $70 billion by 2030.
“Our ambition is to construct for the world, from India,” Skydo Co-Founder Movin Jain mentioned. “Canada strengthens our international footprint, allows native collections and payouts, and creates a robust basis for future enlargement throughout North America.”
Skydo’s regulatory win in Canada comes only a month after the corporate acquired in-principle approval to function as a Cost Service Supplier (PSP) within the Worldwide Monetary Companies Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat Worldwide Finance Tec-Metropolis.
Right here is our take a look at fintech innovation around the globe.
Asia-Pacific
Japanese monetary big SBI Holdings agreed to amass crypto alternate Bitbank for $298 million.
Singapore-based fintech platform Airwallex earned a valuation of $11 billion after securing $320 million in Collection H funding.
Mynt, the dad or mum firm Philippine cellular funds and finance superapp GCash, has filed for an $1.5 billion IPO on the Philippine Inventory Trade.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Nigerian fintech Daya secured $2.4 million in pre-seed funding to increase its stablecoin funds know-how for African companies.
Kenya-based fintech WapiPay acquired a Cash Companies Enterprise license from Canada’s Monetary Transactions and Reviews Evaluation Heart (FINTRAC).
Pan-African fintech DigiPay and French fintech Belmoney launched DigiTransfer, a cellular app that permits cash transfers between France, Belgium, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Central and Japanese Europe
Albania launched its first totally digital financial institution, Jet Financial institution.
Mastercard and PrivatBank introduced completion of Ukraine’s first cost executed by AI agent.
Austrian-Swiss international payout infrastructure startup Talentir raised €4 million in seed funding in a spherical led by Redstone.
Center East and Northern Africa
Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan introduced plans for an IPO that would give the corporate a valuation of $1 billion.
Lean Applied sciences and Ziina teamed as much as launch the UAE’s first One-Faucet Pay by Financial institution expertise.
Israeli fintech Payoneer agreed to be offered to Canadian agency Nuvei for $2.7 billion.
Central and Southern Asia
Indian fintech Cred secured $900 million in Collection H funding in a spherical led by Meta.
Karachi-based easypaisa digital financial institution inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Binance to “discover modern alternatives” in fintech, digital financial savings, and funding options.
Indian UPI app Navi UPI, unveiled a brand new unified security framework, Navi Safe.
Latin American and the Caribbean
CSU Digital, the biggest impartial card processor in Latin America, has embarked upon its US enlargement.
Iupana checked out how new governments in Colombia and Peru are in search of to bolster the fintech sectors of their respective nations.
Payward, monetary infrastructure platform and dad or mum firm of Kraken, secured a Digital Asset Service Supplier (VASP) registrations from the British Virgin Islands Monetary Companies Fee (BVI FSC).
Picture by Shiv Prasad on Unsplash
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