Immigrant fintech builder in Cascais. Founder of FinBox Solutions and FinTech of the Day. 2x exited, building toward the third. Daily startup picks, plus builder notes and honest lessons from the journey.
FinTech of the Day
Pay by bank everywhere. Lithuanian startup Kashimi offers infrastructure-as-a-service for regulated institutions to provide account-to-account payments via open banking. Its unified API connects businesses to hundreds of banks across Europe and the UK, enabling instant Pay-by-Bank checkouts and PSD2-compliant direct debits. The company raised €1.36M pre-seed, co-led by Coinvest
FinTech of the Day
Your home, your credit card. Aven built the first HELOC-backed (a loan backed by your home's value) credit card, giving homeowners faster access to low-cost credit secured against their property. Its Home Equity Card offers unlimited 2% cash back, borrowing costs up to 50% lower than typical cards,
FinTech of the Week
Small businesses need faster loans. Orbii connects to a lender's business software (ERP) and store checkout systems (POS). That lets the lender see real sales and approve loans in minutes, then send the money and track it. Funding: 3.6M seed led by Prosus Ventures. Momentum: thousands of
FinTech of the Day
Crowdfunding meets Shariah finance. Scale follows. Saudi platform Lendo | ليندو lets investors finance small-business invoices through a shariah-compliant crowdfunding marketplace. The company earns a spread between investor returns and borrower fees. In September, it struck a $53.3 million cost-plus financing deal with Jadwa Investment through its Murabaha Finance Fund
FinTech of the Day
Open banking is built in Riyadh. Spare provides API-driven account aggregation, identity verification, risk assessment, and recurring payments to fintechs and e-commerce firms across the Gulf. Its business model centres on usage-based fees for developers and enterprise subscriptions. Last week, the company raised $5 million pre-Series A led by Arab
FinTech of the Day
MENA’s $157 million bet on SME finance. HALA offers business accounts, virtual cards, POS terminals, invoicing, payments, and even shariah-compliant lending to freelancers and small businesses. The Saudi company monetizes through subscription fees and transaction take-rates. Serving over 142,000 businesses and processing more than $8 billion in annual
FinTech of the Day
Build credit while you send money home. Kredete helps African immigrants build a U.S. credit profile while they remit money to family in more than 30 countries, linking bill payments and remittances to a credit-scoring engine. It earns revenue from transaction fees and upcoming card interchange. The platform already
FinTech of the Day
Audits without the agony. uiAgent builds customizable AI agents that handle audit preparation, reconciliations, and client accounting services, allowing accountants to focus on providing advice. It runs on a subscription-plus-usage model and integrates with existing accounting software. Early adopters report 80% fewer manual data entries and a 25% faster monthly
FinTech of the Day
Finance with a mind of its own. Tabs builds AI agents to run the entire contract-to-cash cycle for finance teams, drafting invoices, chasing collections, recognizing revenue, and reporting without a spreadsheet in sight. Its business model is simple: charge a SaaS fee and let the bots do the heavy lifting.
FinTech of the Day
Credit that speaks Brazilian Portuguese. São Paulo‑based Ume helps merchants build instalment plans and revolving credit using Brazil’s Pix payment rails and AI underwriting. Products like Limite Ume, Pix Parcelado, and Empréstimo Pessoal serve both merchants and consumers, while an LLM‑powered assistant manages repayment and customer engagement.
FinTech of the Day
Banking for mission‑driven orgs. Mazlo builds a compliance‑driven financial stack for nonprofits: bespoke checking accounts, integrated accounting tools, and smart cards, all under one roof. Its business model combines interest on deposits, card interchange, and a flat SaaS fee per account. The San Francisco company emerged from stealth
FinTech of the Day
Vertical SaaS needs better payments. Rainforest is a platform that helps software companies embed card processing and payouts without becoming payment facilitators themselves. Its low‑code API, merchant portability, and no‑risk model let platforms deliver chargeback handling, ACH validation, and partial authorisations while staying compliant. On September 8, the