This is the chief finding from the fourth Nordic Fintech Disruptors Report which found that confidence among the regions fintechs is at an all-time high at 68%, up by 14% from the previous year.

However, the study also found this confidence tempered by some realism as regards the fundraising challenges and the importance of building partnerships.A similar majority of respondents (67%) believe that greater access to capital is needed for the region to fulfill its potential, up by  a signficant 24% than in 2018. And over half of respondents believe that greater willingness to partner with other fintechs and incumbents will help the region to compete on a global scale. 

"Since we started the research in 2014, we have seen a region that has outperformed many in developing and nurturing fintech innovation but true collaboration and trust across the ecosystem remains an issue which has to be addressed if the region is to fulfill its potential as a global fintech hub," said Simon hardie, author of the report. 

Consequently the report lays out a manifesto for Nordic and Baltic-based fintechs to be more successful on a global scale. this includes attracting greater skills to the marketplace, bringing more customers on board to build sustainable businesses, fertilisong new ideas at scale and shortening times to profit and growing the region's reputation as "a virtuous circle for success". 

  The certification means that Tribe’s customers - banks, challengers and fintechs that offer payment services to merchants and consumers - can issue Mastercard cards and acquire Mastercard payments. These payment service providers can now benefit from access to a payments network used by millions of consumers and merchants in over 210 countries around the world.

Tribe’s platform ISAAC, which has been built from the ground up as modular and containerised, was certified by Mastercard. The platform allows Tribe to facilitate rapid issuer and acquirer integrations with Mastercard across Europe supporting EMV, magstripe, virtual and contactless card processing across prepaid, debit and credit payment rails.

Edoardo Volta, Vice President, Head of Fintech at Mastercard UK commented: “Mastercard has for some time been the go to partner for new digital players, helping them to set up and expand while offering access to our global payments network. We are delighted to be working with Tribe as the payments landscape evolves, ensuring digital interactions are seamless, secure and convenient for all in our societies.”

Tribe is founded by payments veteran Suresh Vaghjiani, who has worked with a host of fintechs—including Curve, Monzo, Revolut and Starling—to deliver ground-breaking payment services. Unlike most vendors, Tribe provides all aspects of payments technology to businesses that serve merchants and consumers using a modular platform. Tribe is the only provider to fully break the ‘legacy-cycle’, using disposable technology to ensure zero-obsolescence and containerisation to minimise risk.

“Mastercard has a long history of working with fintechs to push the boundaries of payments. Through tailored support services including access to insight, tools, technology and investment it has fostered partnerships with pioneers who have grown into global brands,”said Suresh Vaghjiani, CEO of Tribe Payments. “With the unrivalled flexibility of Tribe’s modular platform and Mastercard’s global footprint, issuers and acquirers no longer have to compromise between speed and scale.”