Fintech HUB LT, the biggest Association of licensed financial technology ("Fintech") companies in Lithuania, has elected the new board and the Chairwoman.
The newly elected Chairwoman Asta Grigaitytė is a Fintech expert with more than a decade of experience in the finance industry. She takes over from Titas Budrys, who has been the Chairman of the Board at Fintech HUB LT since 2019.
Asta Grigaitytė has been working with the payments infrastructure at the Bank of Lithuania for the past few years. Her main focus was on Fintech and the retail system CENTROlink when the Central Bank owned and operated Payment System was opened to non-credit institutions, thus creating a level playing field with banks. "I am very proud and happy to represent the Board of the Association," says Ms. Grigaitytė.
"In recent years, the Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) and Payment Institutions (PI) sector has grown rapidly in Lithuania. It is estimated that there are 147 such companies in our country. In 2021 there were 132. These companies form the backbone of Fintech in Lithuania. In order to ensure the mature growth of this sector, it is important to continue to maintain close cooperation between the different stakeholders, such as the board of the Fintech HUB LT Association, the members of the Fintech HUB LT, the government and the regulator", says Ms. Grigaitytė.
Seven new Members of the Fintech HUB LT Association Board were elected: Seven Seas Finance Titas Budrys, fintech expert Asta Grigaitytė, ECOVIS ProventusLaw partner and lawyer Inga Karulaitytė-Kvainauskienė, Nikulipe Chief Commercial Officer Erika Maslauskaitė, Fin-Ally! Founder and CEO Alexandre Pinot, Founder and CEO of Fronteria Financial Advisory Services Saulius Racevičius, and CEO of NEO Finance Paulius Tarbūnas. The eighth and final member of the board will be elected by a separate ballot, as two candidates received the same number of votes in the election.
The board also re-appointed the Association's CEO Vaiva Amulė for a new two-year term of office.
"I am delighted that professionals who have been working in the Fintech industry for many years have been elected to the Board. I have no doubt that the invaluable experience gained by the elected Board and the leadership of Asta Grigaitytė will help Fintech companies to strengthen their positions even more, not only in Lithuania but also abroad," says Vaiva Amulė.
The Fintech Hub LT Association currently has more than 60 members of the Fintech industry in Lithuania, including companies such as Curve, Vinted, Paysera, NIUM, ConnectPay and others. Since the beginning of 2021, the Association has added to its count 20 new members. In the 2021 Fintech Awards, powered by UK's Wealth & Finance magazine, Fintech Hub LT was recognised as the most progressive Fintech association in the Baltic States.
In 2021, the revenues of Fintech HUB LT's members more than doubled compared to 2020, reaching over EUR 167 million. The sum of payment transactions also doubled to EUR 46 billion.
According to the Bank of Lithuania, the income from licensed activities of EMIs and PIs grew 3.5 times in 2021 (unaudited data) to €504 million at the end of the year: 92% of this income was generated by EMIs and 8% by PIs. In addition, at the end of last year, the number of payment transactions of EMIs and PIs stood at €194.57 billion, up 3.8 times compared to the end of 2020.
The income from licensed activities of the ten largest institutions accounted for 77% of the sector's income. Almost half of the total income from licensed activities, i.e. 49%, and 58% of the amount of all transactions, according to unaudited data, are attributable to a single EMI.