🧑💼 Who is Elena Costa?
Elena Costa is the Chief Strategy Officer at FinRoute, a fast-scaling fintech based in Lisbon, Portugal. With over 15 years of experience in banking transformation and financial technology, Costa has led FinRoute’s strategic expansion into digital wallets, open banking APIs, and cross-border payments.
🏦 About FinRoute
Founded in 2019, FinRoute provides end-to-end solutions for embedded banking, card issuing, and payment orchestration. The platform enables SaaS platforms, neobanks, and online marketplaces to offer financial products without becoming licensed entities themselves.
🌟 Core FinRoute Products
- Open Banking APIs
Aggregation and payment initiation with PSD2-compliant APIs for over 3,000 banks across Europe. - Card Issuing & Management
Issue virtual and physical Visa or Mastercard cards with customizable branding and spending rules. - Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS)
Digital wallet infrastructure, including top-up, peer-to-peer transfers, and FX conversion. - Payment Orchestration Layer
Multi-acquirer routing engine with automatic failover and smart transaction scoring.
🎙️ Exclusive Interview with Elena Costa, CSO of FinRoute
What inspired your shift from traditional banking to fintech?
“I spent a decade in legacy institutions, but innovation was slow. Fintech gave me room to breathe—and build. At FinRoute, we’re not just digitizing payments; we’re rethinking the rails themselves.”
What makes FinRoute stand out in a crowded fintech market?
“Flexibility. Our modular architecture allows clients to launch wallets, issue cards, or plug into open banking—without being locked into a monolithic solution.”
How does FinRoute address compliance across multiple jurisdictions?
“We work with multiple EMI and PI partners under regulatory umbrellas in the EU, UK, and EEA. We also integrate compliance automation for KYC, AML, and transaction monitoring through our in-house engine, SafeRoute AI.”
Which industries benefit most from your products?
“We see strong adoption in gig economy platforms, healthtech, crypto-fiat bridges, and B2B SaaS. Anyone who wants to embed finance into their core service benefits from our stack.”
What’s next for FinRoute?
“We’re expanding into Latin America in Q1 2026 and launching real-time FX wallets. We’re also beta-testing AI-driven risk scoring for card issuing.”
🔍 Related Searches
- Best fintech infrastructure platforms 2025
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- FinRoute vs Railsr
- Elena Costa Fintech interview
- Embedded finance trends Europe
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is FinRoute regulated?
FinRoute itself operates as a technology provider. It partners with regulated Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) and Payment Institutions (PIs) to deliver compliant services in Europe and the UK.
Can FinRoute issue branded debit cards?
Yes. FinRoute enables clients to issue fully branded Visa and Mastercard cards, with options for program management and KYC-as-a-Service.
Who are FinRoute’s competitors?
FinRoute competes with Solaris, Treezor, and Marqeta, but differentiates with its modular orchestration and superior latency optimization in API transactions.