Corporate banking is entering a new era, where agility, embedded solutions, and data-driven insights define success. As fintech partnerships reshape trade, treasury, and payments, collaboration is no longer optional, it’s essential. Kasun Illankoon, Editor-in-Chief, speaks to Amith Rajan, Head of Wholesale Digital Banking, Mashreq & CEO, NeoVentures.

, about this transformative shift.

1. Why is collaboration with fintechs becoming central to corporate banking’s future?

Corporate banking is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Banks are shifting from being traditional providers of financial products to being orchestrators of value across the client’s broader ecosystem. Today’s corporates expect more than standalone services; they require modular, scalable, and embedded solutions that are deeply integrated into their operations.

Collaboration with fintechs brings the best of both worlds: we offer regulatory trust, deep client access, and global reach, while they bring agility, speed, and domain expertise, and together we deliver the solutions corporates expect. At Mashreq, fintech collaboration is a core pillar of our strategy, addressing immediate challenges such as digitizing onboarding, trade, and treasury, while also positioning us to take advantage of emerging opportunities in embedded finance and agentic AI.

2. How is Mashreq integrating fintech solutions into trade finance, treasury, and payments?

Mashreq is committed to driving innovation across wholesale banking, and payments has been a key area of integration. We work with fintechs to deliver faster cross-border solutions, BIN sponsorships, Buy Now Pay Later offerings, Virtual Accounts and Virtual IBANs, embedded payment capabilities, and dynamic routing that enhances both speed and cost efficiency.

Alongside these integrations, NeoVentures invests in fintechs developing these very solutions. Our portfolio includes Cashew, a BNPL innovator; NymCard, a leading Banking-as-a-Service provider; Touché, a digital hospitality payments platform; and NewBridge, which offers an online marketplace for electronic loan trading.

By combining adoption with investment, we accelerate fintech scale and ensure founders benefit from both capital and client distribution.

3. What are the key benefits corporates gain from bank–fintech partnerships?

Corporates benefit from faster, more efficient processes through digitization, automation, and AI-driven insights. They gain frictionless onboarding, real-time decision-making, and data-driven treasury and payments solutions that improve resilience and agility.

Beyond efficiency, these partnerships enable corporates to access embedded services that support liquidity management, credit, and working capital optimization. With API-based integration, corporates can adapt to market shifts more quickly while enjoying greater transparency and control.

For fintechs, partnering with and raising capital from NeoVentures means becoming part of this ecosystem. Corporate venture capital (CVC)-backed startups globally have been shown to last longer, face half the bankruptcy risk, and deliver higher exit values compared to non-CVC peers. With Mashreq’s capital, regulatory credibility, and client reach, fintechs gain not just investment but a long-term platform for growth.

4. How is Mashreq’s NeoVentures driving innovation within wholesale digital banking?

NeoVentures drives innovation through three strategic pillars: building and commercializing in-house solutions, partnering with fintech innovators, and investing in early- to growth-stage startups.

On the build side, we have developed a Corporate Credit Platform to digitize corporate lending, and PULSE, our AI-powered Relationship Management platform that empowers client-facing teams. Collaborations such as that with TeamSec, an AI-enabled securitization platform, and Traydstream, a trade finance automation partner, are extending our innovation into capital markets and trade.

On the investment side, our evergreen corporate venture capital fund, incorporated in DIFC, backs seed to Series B fintechs across payments, lending, wealth-tech, embedded finance, and more. A recent co-investment with Emirates NBD in NewBridge - a pioneer in electronic loan trading – reflects our commitment to transforming syndicated loans and private credit markets.

The MENA region is already home to more than 3,700 fintech companies, valued at US$15 billion, with GCC venture funding growing at 35% CAGR between 2020 and 2024. Against this backdrop, NeoVentures offers fintechs not just capital and access to one of the region’s most progressive banks, but also the strengths that matter most to founders: patient money that supports long-term growth, and quick decision-making that helps seize opportunities at speed. Our message to founders is clear: we are more than collaborators; we are the investors you want on your cap table.

5. What role does embedded finance play in reshaping B2B ecosystems?

Embedded finance is transforming how businesses access financial services by integrating banking directly into the platforms where activity happens: procurement systems, ERP tools, and industry-specific marketplaces. Businesses can now access financing, payments, and liquidity solutions natively within workflows, improving convenience, speed, and alignment with business needs. This shift is expected to reduce friction, streamline operations, and open new monetization models.

At Mashreq, we see embedded finance shaping both RBG and GTB: from retail solutions such as BNPL and wallet integrations, to corporate applications in trade, treasury, and cash management delivered directly through ERP and procurement platforms. API banking is at the core of this evolution, enabling these services to be seamlessly integrated into customer and corporate ecosystems.

6. How are fintech collaborations improving the client experience for corporate customers?

Fintech collaborations deliver digitally native, intelligent, and hyper-personalized solutions. By leveraging AI, automation, and APIs, fintechs simplify complex workflows, accelerate processes, and enable real-time decisions.

For corporate clients, this translates into faster onboarding, real-time liquidity visibility, AI-driven insights, and self-service capabilities. What once took days can now happen in minutes, and with greater transparency and control.

Through NeoVentures, these innovations reach scale. By combining fintech creativity with Mashreq’s banking expertise and client network, we ensure that transformative solutions are not only developed but widely adopted across the corporate banking landscape.

7. What challenges arise when merging fintech agility with traditional banking infrastructure?

The main challenge is aligning fintechs’ speed of execution with the rigor of regulated banking. Fintechs thrive on rapid iteration, while banks must meet compliance, risk, and legacy system requirements. At Mashreq, we address this by being digital-first, compliance-focused, and extremely fast in our decision-making, ensuring that innovation does not compromise regulatory rigor and vice versa.

Interoperability is another hurdle, as cloud-native fintech platforms must often integrate with legacy banking systems. Cultural differences, from risk appetite to governance styles, can also create friction if not addressed early.

NeoVentures invests in fintechs tackling these integration and compliance challenges. By funding the companies building the middleware and platforms that solve these issues, we help ensure that agility complements scale, rather than conflicts with it.

8. How do you see fintech adoption evolving in the corporate space across the region?

Fintech adoption in corporate banking is accelerating, driven by demand for smarter, faster, and more personalized financial services. While retail banking led the first wave of digital transformation, corporates are now embracing digitized onboarding, AI-powered risk management, and embedded platforms.

Partnerships with fintechs are enabling banks to move beyond traditional models, co-creating solutions that are personalized, API-driven, and seamlessly embedded into business

ecosystems. The notion that fintechs are ‘eating the banks’ lunch’ no longer holds true. In reality, when banks and fintechs partner, it is a win–win for customers, combining fintech agility with the scale and trust of banks.

Looking ahead, open finance will be a major driver of change. Globally, it is projected to grow at a 22% CAGR through 2032, reaching a US$130 billion market. In the GCC, fintech venture investment has already grown at 35% CAGR from 2020 to 2024, demonstrating resilience and appetite for innovation. NeoVentures is committed to backing the fintechs driving this evolution.

We invite founders across MENA and beyond to see us as collaborators, indeed, but also to see us as investors capable of helping drive their success. Our goal is to be the partner of choice for fintechs shaping the future of corporate banking.