Mastercard collaborates with Copenhagen Fintech
Mastercard has entered into a partnership with Copenhagen Fintech to strengthen cooperation with the Nordic fintech ecosystem.
Mastercard is committed to strengthening the growing fintech community through a partnership with Copenhagen Fintech, a startup based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The city has a strong fintech ecosystem and an important position among fintech hubs globally, according to the press release. The hub connects both start-up companies, established companies and organizations with a focus on innovation and new opportunities.
Mastercard’s involvement in the Danish ecosystem
Since 2020, Mastercard has strengthened its presence in Denmark. This involves the acquisition of Nets’ Corporate Services business to support a broader set of account-to-account functions, including clearing and settlement infrastructure for instant payments, invoice payments and e-invoicing applications.
Another move was the acquisition of the Open Banking platform Aiia, which allows customers to develop and launch new digital solutions that meet their everyday needs. In less than two years, Mastercard has grown from just a handful of employees to hundreds in Copenhagen. The ambition is to create a strong base and develop existing and new solutions for Denmark, the Nordic countries and the whole world.
Plans for the future
Mastercard and Copenhagen Fintech are now establishing a strengthened collaboration that brings together existing and new activities with a common focus on growth, knowledge sharing and innovation opportunities through several programs and services that range from Open Banking to start-up programs.
In a statement, officials from Mastercard stated that Copenhagen Fintech is a vibrant innovation center that not only creates startups, but has become a center for technology and innovation that activates and inspires everyone in the fintech ecosystem. They now have the opportunity to help new fintechs take Nordic innovation in financial services even further in close collaboration
At the same time, Mastercard Copenhagen Fintech’s ambition to develop Copenhagen as one of the leading fintech hubs, not only in the Nordics, but also globally. It looks forward to strengthening and expanding the existing collaboration with a focus on development and growth with international perspectives.
The Danish fintech industry
Since Copenhagen Fintech was established in 2016, the number of startups, new jobs, partnerships and investments in fintech has increased year after year. The interaction between innovative startups and the established industry is part of the recipe for success, according to Copenhagen Fintech.
Hub officials explained that the strength of the fintech community in Denmark lies in partnership, collaboration and knowledge sharing. They are happy that they can now expand their collaboration with Mastercard, which not only has a significant position in digital payment solutions and technology globally, but also sees the potential in Denmark and the Nordics as a global, digital front runner.
The collaboration includes, among other things, consultancy and development for startups in the Copenhagen Fintech Lab and Mastercard Lighthouse, a Nordic and Baltic fintech initiative which is an innovation project and accelerator program for startups. Mastercard supports new fintechs through its Start Path Opening Banking programme, and also participates as a sponsor and presenter at Nordic Fintech Week, which is held on 27-28 September 2022 in Copenhagen.
