Lighthouse Program – Mastercard’s partnership platform that helps companies bring their visions to fruition and to the global markets – is back for its 4th edition
Last year, Lighthouse had the opportunity to work with 30 game–changing companies that showed what entrepreneurship and collaborative innovation is all about. Therefore, Mastercard’s Lighthouse team is super excited to finally announce the Spring 2020 class that will join the program in Copenhagen, Oslo and Tallinn for the next months.
“In every edition of the Lighthouse Program, we can see that the Nordics & Baltics are truly leading payments innovation. This proves to us the importance of being a part of the community and strengthening of the ecosystem through open innovation platforms such as Lighthouse. It was a tough decision to select 15 companies among all the applicants, but we are excited to start working together with some of the most promising fintechs of the region this spring”
Mats Taraldsson
Head of Digital Development and Fintech Engagement, Mastercard Nordic and Baltic
This Spring edition also marks the program’s partner’s expansion in the Nordics & Baltics. For this edition, Lighthouse is bringing Nordea and Swedbank to join the program. Swedbank will be expanding the partnership with Lighthouse from Sweden and Latvia into additional markets, starting with the Estonian this spring. Nordea, on the other side, is a fresh addition to the program and they will be meeting with the local fintechs both in Norway and Denmark.
“We are very excited to be part of the Lighthouse Program and look forward to getting to know all the impressive participating fintech startups this year. Nordea is working with and supporting innovation in many different ways, and collaboration is central to our future customer offer and success.”
Sofia Ericsson Holm
Head of Strategic Partnerships & Open Banking at Nordea.
“We are excited to broaden the horizons of our cooperation with the Lighthouse Program and offer even more promising fintechs the opportunity to connect with Swedbank and together develop the next generation of financial services. We have a proven track record of fintech partnerships and investments and are always looking to expand our digital customer offering” –
Lotta Lovén
CIO and Head of Digital Banking & IT, Swedbank
Today, Mastercard is announcing 15 companies that will join the spring 2020 Lighthouse Program. Each of the companies has been chosen because of the innovative, scalable, and and most importantly, impactful solutions that they bring to the table. Together with Mastercard, banking partners, NFT ventures, and legal, tech, and strategy experts Lighthouse hope to co-create and build truly collaborative results that will enrich the financial industry.
Meet the Lighthouse Spring Class of 2020:
Denmark
Norway
Estonia
“Unwire Payments & Mobility is proud to have been selected for the Mastercard Lighthouse Development Program. We hope that participation in the program will allow Unwire to build on the experience of Mastercard and create partnerships related to our new SoftPOS product in Europe and globally. Unwire SoftPOS turns regular mobile phones into contactless mobile payment terminals – simply by downloading an app. We are happy for the opportunity Mastercard has given us and are looking very much forward to a close cooperation with Mastercard”
Jesper Thor Rasmussen
CEO of Unwire Payments & Mobility
“A great program that brings together the best ideas and actions from the Nordic and Baltic financial innovation ecosystem, broadening our horizons and showcasing what progress we can make together to create an even better banking experience. In the program, we all learn and get inspired by one another. “
Kathy Chang
Head of Fintech Partnerships at DNB
“Danske Bank looks forward to continue partnering with Mastercard in the Lighthouse programme to help Fintechs grow and to explore new opportunities to create value for our customers. The line-up of Fintechs looks great again this year, and we cannot wait to get started.”
Morten Schwaner
Deputy Head of Cards & Consumer Payments at Danske Bank
“According to Global Fintech Rank, Estonia ranks among TOP10 fintech countries globally. Therefore, the choice of shortlisting only 5 Baltic companies among the other strong ones was extremely tough, as we see a lot of fintech innovation happening in the Baltics. To put into perspective, over 100 fintechs in Baltics have applied to Lighthouse Development Programme since the program was launched in 2018 – so we are certainly super excited start working with the new Lighthouse class in Estonia”
Siim Lepisk
Innovation Manager, SEB
About Lighthouse Program
Mastercard Lighthouse is an open innovation platform designed to strengthen the entire financial services ecosystem.
Lighthouse is a free program designed to catalyze symbiotic partnerships between fintechs, Mastercard, and Tier 1 Nordic partners. Pairing the energy and innovation of fintechs with the stability and distribution at large financial service firms, Lighthouse produces partnerships that strengthen the entire ecosystem. Each five-month program hosts workshops for 15+ fintechs in three cities. The program brings banks, investors, advisors and fintechs together to explore partnerships via open innovation.
