Onafriq and PAPSS Develop Access to Finance in Ghana With Cross Border Payments Service Launch
Challenges such as high transaction costs and opaque exchange rates have been prevalent in Africa over the last few years, meaning that establishing strong cross-border payment avenues has been tough. Operationalising a partnership that was agreed in 2022, Onafriq, the cross-border payments solution provider, and Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the centralised financial market infrastructure across Africa, have launched a new cross-border payment service.
Kicking off in Ghana, the initial pilot will mean banks partnering with PAPSS and Onafriq’s authorised fintech, mobile money service providers, and traditional partners in the country can enable their customers to send and receive money directly into mobile wallets and bank accounts. The new launch will improve financial interoperability by making transactions faster, more convenient, and cost-effective – the primary emphasis of the new service will be on small and medium enterprises (SME) and retail transactions.
Tanzania Is Quickly Overtaking Kenya to Become East Africa’s Powerhouse
Tanzania is on track to become East Africa’s largest economy, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting it will overtake Kenya in GDP within the next few years.
However, what many fail to realize is that Tanzania has already surpassed Kenya in several critical areas—silently, quickly, and sustainably.
In 2024, President Ruto of Kenya commended Tanzania for surpassing Kenya as Uganda’s biggest exporter, yet what often goes unnoticed is that Tanzania has already become the largest exporter to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Moreover, Tanzania has already outpaced Kenya in government technology adoption (GovTech) and Tanzania introduced mobile money interoperability in 2014—while Kenya is trying to integrate M-Pesa into PesaLink in 2025, A full decade ahead.
CUBE Acquires Acin to Build Unified Regtech and Risk Management Platform
CUBE, a London-based global provider of Automated Regulatory Intelligence (ARI) and Regulatory Change Management (RCM), has acquired Acin, a regtech company specialising in operational risk and based in London.
The acquisition enhances CUBE’s existing capabilities by incorporating Acin’s regulatory controls data network and tools for full traceability.
According to CUBE, the deal supports its aim of helping financial institutions and other regulated industries manage increasingly complex regulatory and risk environments by offering a data-driven, end-to-end compliance and risk management platform.
Read more: https://fintechnews.ch/london/cube-acquires-acin/77041/
dtcpay Taps Mastercard Move to Enhance Cross-Border Payment Access
Singapore-based digital payments firm dtcpay has integrated its platform with Mastercard Move.
This gives customers access to the card network’s global money-movement infrastructure starting this month.
The tie-up opens access to more than 49 payment corridors for transfers originating in Singapore.
Payout destinations include mainland China, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, and select markets across the European Union.
Read more: https://fintechnews.sg/112975/digitalassets/dtcpay-mastercard-move/
SMB-focused Finom closes €115M as European fintech heats up
While funding may be scarce for some, Europe’s fastest-growing startups still have their pick.
The latest beneficiary of that investor appetite is Finom, a five-year-old, Amsterdam-based challenger bank that targets small and medium-size businesses across Europe. The company, which claims to have doubled its revenue in 2024, just closed a €115 million Series C equity round (around $133 million), TechCrunch learned exclusively. This comes only a few weeks after it landed $105 million in growth funding from General Catalyst, its backer since 2021.
Finom’s business model centers on providing European SMBs with a financial platform that combines banking, invoicing, and a growing range of features, including AI-enabled accounting. “Because theoretically, entrepreneurs don’t need to have an accountant at all,” said CEO Andrey Petrov (on the far left in the picture).
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/23/smb-focused-finom-closes-e115m-as-european-fintech-heats-up/
