Mastercard partners Copenhagen Fintech

The hub connects both start-up companies, established companies and organizations with a focus on innovation and new opportunities. Mastercard is committed to empowering the growing fintech community through a partnership with Copenhagen Fintech, a fintech startup based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Over the past few years, Mastercard has strengthened its presence in Denmark. This includes the acquisition of Nets’ Corporate Services business and the leading open banking platform Aiia. 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.

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.

“Copenhagen Fintech is a vibrant innovation center that not only creates successful startups, but has become a center for technology and innovation that activates and inspires everyone in the fintech ecosystem. We are proud to be an active part of it – not least because we have been involved in the fintech landscape for more than a decade with Spiir and Aiia. In our new capacity as Mastercard, we now have the opportunity to help new fintechs take Nordic innovation in financial services even further in close cooperation, says Rune Mai, Senior Vice President , Mastercard and co-founder of Aiia, founded in Denmark and now one of Europe’s leading open banking platforms.

Lars Asger Petersen, Senior Vice President, Mastercard and CEO of Mastercard Payment Services Denmark, which provides solutions for digital payment of bills, account-to-account transfers such as Betalingsservice and real-time payments, adds:

“We support Copenhagen Fintech’s ambition to develop Copenhagen as one of the leading fintech hubs, not only in the Nordics, but also globally. We look forward to strengthening and expanding the existing collaboration with a focus on development and growth with international perspectives.”

Fintech as a strong Danish 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.

“The strength of the fintech environment in Denmark lies in partnership, collaboration and knowledge sharing. We are proud that we can now expand our collaboration with Mastercard, which not only has a significant position in digital payment solutions and technology globally, but also sees potential in Denmark and The Nordics as a global, digital frontrunner,” says Thomas Krogh Jensen, CEO of Copenhagen Fintech, and continues:

“We want to make the fintech environment in Denmark the best in the world, and therefore we must have partners with a local presence and strong international reach. The collaboration opens up new innovative opportunities for all parties in the ecosystem.”

The collaboration with Mastercard includes, among other things, consulting 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 in Copenhagen.