Baltic FinTech Awards Return, This Year to Riga, to Honour the People and Companies Building the Region's Financial Future

Meet the jury of Baltic Fintech Awards 2026.

From top left: Akvilė Jurkaitytė, Alex Gibb, Anda Asere, Anneli Krunks, Dharmesh Mistry, Emils Kragis, Gabriela Mrozek, Greta Ranonytė, Ian Kalla, Julija Jegorova, Juris Grišins, Katia Puchkova, Kristina Skindelytė, Mike Shafro, Oleg Seitov, Rūta Mačiulytė-Valickienė, Tarmo Virki, Tina Lūse

The Baltic FinTech Awards are coming back, and this time the stakes feel higher. On the 13th of May, during Baltic FinTech Days in Riga, the region's most ambitious fintech companies, founders, and operators will gather under one roof to recognise the work that's quietly turning Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into one of the most interesting fintech corridors in Europe.

After a strong debut last year, the Awards return with sharper categories, a bigger room, and a clearer purpose. The Baltic region has stopped being a footnote in European fintech

conversations. It's become a place where serious companies are being built, where

infrastructure plays are scaling across borders, and where founders are shipping products that compete on a global stage. The Awards exist to put names and faces on that story.

This year's ceremony is powered by xpate and will recognise the companies and individuals

who are doing the actual work. Not the loudest voices on LinkedIn, but the operators who are building things new solutions, hiring across the region, and pulling capital and attention into the Baltics. The categories have been refreshed to reflect where the industry is actually heading.

The 2026 Categories

FinTech Company of the Year goes to a company driving real industry change, delivering

products and services that customers actually want, and making a measurable contribution to financial services both at home and abroad.

FinTech Leader of the Year recognises an exceptional individual who's playing a defining role

in the Baltic fintech community and pushing the whole sector forward through their work, their advocacy, or both.

FinTech Growth Story of the Year is for the company whose grit and creativity translated into rapid but sustainable growth over the past year, whether that's measured in users, revenue, or new markets cracked open.

FinTech Infrastructure of the Year honours the companies transforming financial services

through the unglamorous but essential work of building platforms, APIs, and rails that other

businesses depend on. This includes cyber security, RegTech, analytics, big data, identity,

financial software, banking-as-a-service, payments infrastructure, and everything in between.

FinTech Innovator of the Year celebrates the company applying genuinely novel technology,

whether that's AI, blockchain, IoT, biometrics, robotics, or whatever's coming next, to build something that holds up under real-world conditions.

FinTech Startup to Watch is for the emerging company that's already turning heads. The early traction is there, the idea is sharp, and the trajectory points somewhere interesting.

Why This Matters Now

The Baltic fintech ecosystem has matured faster than most outside observers realise. What

started as a handful of payments and remittance plays has expanded into a much wider sector covering identity, infrastructure, embedded finance, and emerging technology. The companies competing for these awards are no longer just servicing local markets. They're exporting talent, technology, and ambition across Europe and beyond.

That's the context that makes this year's awards feel different. The work is real, the operators are credible, and the region deserves a venue that takes it seriously.

Mike Shafro, CEO and Founder of xpate and main supporter of the awards, put it directly:

"Born in the Baltics, xpate has grown into a global payments player. With that

growth, our role has evolved: from scaling alongside peers to powering the next

wave of fintechs. Today, we’re not only part of the ecosystem but actively

contributing to its continued development, and supporting the Baltic Fintech Awards

is a natural extension of this journey. xpate is proud to stand behind the talent,

ideas, and companies shaping the future of fintech in the Baltics and beyond."

That sentiment captures something important about where Baltic fintech finds itself. The region is past the stage of celebrating any new entrant for showing up. The conversation has shifted to who's actually moving the market, who's building infrastructure that other people rely on, and who's setting the standards everyone else will eventually follow.

The ceremony takes place on the 13th of May in Riga as part of Baltic FinTech Days, the

region's flagship gathering for founders, investors, regulators, and operators. 

The Baltics have a story worth telling. On the 13th of May, the protagonists of the Baltic Fintech movement gather in Riga to recognise the builders, mark the moment, and set the bar for what follows.

About xpate. xpate, this year’s Baltic Fitnech Awards main backer is an all-in-one

payment and banking bundle for digital businesses. Founded in Riga and operating

internationally, xpate enables seamless global money movement through compliant,

innovation-driven financial services and products. www.xpate.com

About the Baltic FinTech Awards The Baltic FinTech Awards were launched to recognise the

companies, leaders, and innovators driving the development of financial technology across

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The 2026 edition takes place during Baltic FinTech Days in Riga on the 13th of May.