What is Fintech?

Considering some definitions provided by Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) and Shueffel (2016), Fintech is represented by a set of computer technologies that are to assist in and enable financial services to improve such aspects as customer service or data processing. Despite that some definitions presume its centrality to financial services, some highlight its external nature, as a variety of processes being added to existing infrastructure (for example, the addition of new technology like automated processes or machine learning). The term among the folk has started its rise in 2011, with some rare mentions to skyrocket starting from 2015, as many aspiring post-crisis startups and technologies began to receive prominence.

Common Features of Fintechs

Fintech organisations tend to have a variety of similar traits that are worth highlighting. 

1. Fintech businesses are “need-focused,” which means they unbundle financial services and rely on customisation to create personalised solutions.
2. They tend to expand the services of incumbents to previously ill-covered customer groups or create totally new forms of service.
3. Customers, as a result of their strategically central role in developing the businesses’ value propositions, are facing the blurring line between who makes products and services and who utilises them, since the creation of a platform frequently entails just bridging the network rather than fully separating each participant.
4. Quite often one of the premises is to take out third parties or additional steps of the process.
5. The need for expansion and fresh views on user experience/user interface are pushing forward the simplicity and “playfulness” of brand interactions.

Fintech Landscape

In its quest to capture the landscape of Fintech in Australia, KPMG (2020) divided Fintech among the following domains (plus a couple of other we considered essential):

Fintech Origins

In a study report published in 2015, Arner et al., (2015) attempted to evaluate the evolution of Fintech. “The term’s roots may be traced to the early 1990s and related to the ‘Financial Services Technology Consortium,’ an initiative started by Citigroup to assist technical collaboration efforts,” write Ibid. Indeed, the authors’ source, an article published by the media site American Banker, references a Citigroup initiative called “Fintech” that began in the early 1990s (Hochstein, 2015). The American Banker also released another story titled “Friday Flashback: Did Citi Coin the Term ‘Fintech’?” on the term Fintech. “[t]he story below published in American Banker in August 1993, and features the first use we could discover of the now-trendy phrase ‘Fintech’”, according to an editor’s note (Ibid). It references Fintech as a project label used by Citibank. This is the first paper cited by Hochstein (2015) and subsequently Arner et al. (2015) when claiming that the term Fintech originated in the early 1990s.

Despite this, the word Fintech was coined in 1972. Mr Abraham Bettinger, from Hanover Trust, provided the following definition in a scholarly article detailing models on how he had analysed and solved daily banking problems encountered at the bank (Oshodin et al., 2019): “Fintech is an acronym that stands for financial technology, combining bank expertise with modern management science techniques and the computer (Bettinger, 1972). Bettinger’s work was not wholly overlooked during his lifetime, as evidenced by an early reference of his work by Warschauer several years after (Oshodin et al., 2019). Even so, it’s possible that the Citibank Fintech project’s imitators in the early 1990s were unaware of Bettinger’s study and chose the same title for their initiative by chance. It is important noting at this time that neither academia nor practice can be definitively recognised as the birthplace of the word Fintech, given the phrase was coined by a practitioner in a scientific journal article.

History of Fintech

Yet, the development itself did not seem to start that late and could be associated with early 1950s, as the first stage of the transit from physical means of information exchange to digital among financial service providers. It could be linked to first attempts to create a credit card by Diners Club International (n.d.), or progress on Federal Reserve Wire System. According to Nelson (2018), in late June 1967, Barclays installed the first ATM. Though quite coarse when it comes to functionalities, such as a limit of £10 or frequent bugs, it has marked a huge leap forward as it lifted long queues and expanded the service opening time.

Later, the 1970s showcased some other major shifts such as the FINRA-led creation of Nasdaq, which could partly be regarded as the first digital exchange. Though, it needed years to shift from the over-the-counter nature and meaningfully automate reporting and trading (Widder, 1992). One would also mention the creation of SWIFT, i.e. the framework for international bank communication. Its exchange software and messaging standards created a fertile ground for automated and unimpeded interaction between thousands of institutions (SWIFT, n.d.).

Then, the process gained momentum: the 1980s opened the stage for online banking (yet only partial); the 1990s popularised e-commerce and introduced more participants to this movement. Though the biggest impact was brought by the global shake-up, as old institutional arrangements have not only led the world economy to turmoil but also gave birth to a massive distrust in the system by people. As a result, ideas for alternatives were welcomed, ranging from less conventional ways to improve the legacy systems (i.e. make them more transparent or reduce transaction costs) to totally new ways of thinking (like that proposed by blockchain). As some of these endeavours have proved utterly successful, more attention has been paid to corresponding ventures in the following years. Though, it is not yet known whether this phenomenon will peak and fade any time soon, or whether any single set of arrangements will displace the other.

Fintech-related Terms

Thanks to some research provided by Deloitte (n.d.) and CFTE’s older publications, here one could find a list of some of the most common terms associated with Fintech, and thus be able to expand their knowledge.

Fintech Examples

1. Lufax

Once focused on P2P lending, Lufax is a technology-driven online Internet financial marketplace that provides retail credit and wealth management services. 

2. Tinkoff

Made as an experiment for the Russian market, Tinkoff is the region’s digital banking champion, highlighting openness and big data solutions.

3. Brex

Brex, a shining example of a Silicon Valley unicorn, fills a developing vacuum in banking ambitious tech startups, assisting them with cash management and credit needs.

Fintech Regulation

The centricity of technology has provided massive regulatory advantages, as many entities to challenge the traditional incumbents were not subject to regulatory scrutiny. However, as they were increasingly becoming full-fledged players in the industry, be them independent organisations or vassals of larger traditional banking institutions, they are now getting exposed to existing regulation or supplied with the new one.

The major driver of this attention, however, is the state’s sensitivity to potential contagion effects, as consumer bases of the former are growing remarkably. Special attention is currently paid to blockchain-related phenomena, as state representatives and major institutions behind are utterly uncomfortable with potential economic shocks, Ponzi schemes, loss of central power and transaction transparency/irreversibility.

Fintech Largest Centres

fintech startupsrobo advisorsbuy or selltraditional bankingstock trading app

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The United States of America has 105 Fintech unicorns, making it the global leader on that front. The US has managed to top the charts, undefeated by its arch-rival China in number of Fintech unicorns – a notable achievement in the financial technology space. North America’s continued growth in number of fintech unicorns is driven by the extensive funding the sector has seen in the region. The number of VC deals in 2021 continued to skyrocket in Q2 2021, as compared to the number of deals falling in Asia and Europe.

Looking into the sector at a micro scale, we see the main Fintech unicorns populating the US ecosystem come primarily from sub-sectors such as Wealthtech, Payments and Challenger Banks as the region sees an increased appetite for digital financial services, with nearly nine in 10 Americans now using some sort of Fintech app to manage their financial lives according to Fortune.

Here is the full list of Fintech unicorns in the USA in 2023:

What have the Investments in Fintech been in the United States of America?

The American Fintech ecosystem has seen big fat cheques cashing in in H1’21. In the first 6 months of 2021, investment deal values have already managed to bump up by 117% compared to H1’20. The funding boost was led by the $3.4 billion raised by Robinhood, $600 million raised by Stripe, and $500 million raised by Better, ServiceTitan and DailyPay.

However, this doesn’t mean that 2020 was not a year of sizeable investments in itself. According to KPMG’s 2021 Report – 2020 saw $78.9 billion worth of investments being poured in. In retrospect, the industry has come a long way from when Financial Technology just began gaining momentum in 2009, during which investments totalled only around $1.1 billion. That’s nearly an increase of 80x in 11 years.

This investor frenzy in the USA is primarily driven by the realisation that Big Finance is ripe for a tech makeover – a realisation that continues to attract venture capital into booming sectors like payments, wealthtech, and crypto.

How many Fintech Unicorns does the United States of America have?

Fintech is quite evidently a large industry in the USA. The sector has matured much faster than in other countries. As of November 2021, there were 10,755 fintech startups in America, making it the region with the most startups globally according to Statista’s 2021 research. 

Out of this, only approximately 1% of the 10,755 fintechs are unicorns valued at $1 billion or more. Though this may seem like a drop in the ocean, USA’s 105 unicorns make up nearly 45% of the world’s fintech unicorns. China trails behind the USA with 13 fintech unicorns, just a tenth of what the United States prides itself in harboring.

So what is fostering so much innovation and growth in startups? A big part is regulation! The US federal and state regulatory authorities have been ‘pro-fintech innovation’ with regulatory sandboxes and pilot programmes acting as the centrepiece of financial services growth. 

The US market is also seeing swarms of consumers jumping on the Fintech bandwagon – leading the country to a state of mass adoption. The percentage of U.S. consumers using Fintech swelled to 88% in 2021, compared with only 58% in the 2020 edition of Plaid’s survey according to Fortune. This growing demand is the perfect business environment for US Fintechs to flourish, and you bet they are.

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in the USA?

The Wealthtech and Payments or Paytech industry is by far the most popular sector in the Fintech billion-dollar club, with 38% of unicorns based in these sector. The Challenger Bank sector ranks next on the leaderboard, a promising industry in the US as well.

The Wealthtech industry has seen unprecedented growth primarily induced by the retail investing boom that continued in the aftermath of the pandemic. The growing demand had a directly proportional effect on VC investments. The sector recieved investments worth $4.7 billion in Q1’21, marking a 562% jump from Q4’20 according to CBInsights.

The growing appetite for digital payments has also been whetted by the pandemic. To put this into perspective clearly with hard facts, consider the 186% jump in share price of PayPal in the last 12 months. Additionally, how Square’s shares have shot up by more than a scale factor of 5. The sector has been set ablaze by various factors including the e-commerce boom and the general leaning away from cash as a primary mode of transacting. 

It could be said that though the growth of both these sectors have been catalysed by the pandemic, the change in consumer behaviour and the demand for these new-age financial services products will continue to spill over in the years to come. But only time will tell how the industry will play out, and we’ll be watching closely.

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FINTECH UNICORNS: A FRENCH TAKE!

“You smell that, What is that?”

“What?”

“I smell money!”

This line by Jared Vennet from the movie, The Big Short, comes to mind as one speaks of the phenomenal heights reached by FinTech companies. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many financial institutions to shift their operations online, the financial technology sector became the cynosure of the global economy. Indeed, the rules of survival never change, whether you are in a desert or in an arena.

Crossing the $1 billion mark, fintech startups across the world have successfully transitioned into fintech unicorns. With the USA, China, UK and India at the forefront, CFTE brings to you the ‘French FinTech Unicorns’ that are not far behind!

Here is a list of the largest Fintech Unicorns in France in 2022:

1. Sorare

With a market capitalization of $4.3 billion, Sorare is a fantasy game of football where players buy, sell, trade and manage their virtual teams. The company uses blockchain technology revolving around Ethereum and has played a vital role in the popularization of non fungible tokens (NFT).

2. Alan

Striving to build a healthcare super app, Alan is a Paris based health insurtech startup which has recently joined the club of Fintech Unicorns with a market capitalization of $1.69 billion. It was the first health insurer to be granted a license in France since 1986. 

3. Ledger

Ledger is a digital asset management company. With a distinctive operating system called BOLOS, Ledger has secured an estimated 15% of all cryptocurrency assets globally and has achieved a market capitalization of $1.5 billion.

4. Shift Technology

Shift  Technology is an insurtech company that provides AI-driven decision automation and optimization solutions for the insurance industry. It reached a market capitalization of $1 billion in May, 2021 and was also recognized as the winner of the 2021 Microsoft France Industry Award Partner of the Year.

FinTech Investments in France: An Overview

Since 2014, France has witnessed a strong growth in fintech investments. According to the global company, KPMG, Paris has been one of the stealthiest fintech ecosystems and has stationed itself as a major FinTech hub.

Recent trends indicate that traditional players have been embracing fintech solutions in order to increase their efficiency. Ensuring cybersecurity has become paramount to offer a better customer experience. In this scenario, Paris has been seen as one of the most preferred destinations for VC investors. Mobile payments, lending platforms, regtech recorded greater interest especially since the digital transition hastened by the pandemic. The use of digital channels has become quintessential in this new reality.

Infact, statistical data points out that the French FinTech sector was foraying into the global stage in the pre-covid era as well.

• From 2014 to 2019, France raised almost $1.7 billion across 190 deals. More than 85% of the deals in the country involved companies based in Paris. 
• Fintech investment in France was more than 80% higher in the first half of 2019 as compared to the entire year of 2018. 
• There were six transactions valued above $50 million in 2019 and in 2020, Fintech investments in France reached $839 million.

How many FinTech Unicorns does France have?

Given the startup friendly legislations that have illuminated the entrepreneurial spirit of France, there has been a steady rise in the number of Fintech companies that have acquired the noble ‘unicorn status’. 

As per recent research, there are 4 FinTech unicorns from France that joined the race in 2021. French FinTech raised twice more in the second quarter of 2021 than in the first quarter. 

How is France performing vis a vis the big players in the global arena? Well, it has some strong benchmarks to cross. 

In 2021, the United States stands as a leader with 81 fintech unicorns in the country. This figure is approximately eight times the number of fintech unicorns in China! 

While China ranks second with 11 fintech unicorns, it is followed by the United Kingdom with ten fintech unicorns.

Which FinTech Sectors have the most FinTech Unicorns in France?

With over 1000 FinTech startups. France has emerged as the nerve centre of the European startup ecosystem. Amongst these, 4 startups have emerged as unicorns in the fintech industry in 2021.

By leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and smartphone apps, insurance companies have transformed the way they conduct business. In this digital era, consumer preferences have indicated affinity to speed, convenience and transparency. From customer identity verification to fraud detection and risk prevention, insurtech has successfully satisfied the needs of millions of customers. This has been attested by Shift Technology and Alan. 

In developing markets, hyperinflation; political instability and corruption have played a major role in driving prospective entrepreneurs and investors away. In light of such scenarios, blockchain technology under the ambit of digital assets has ensured operational efficiency and new opportunities as seen in the case of Sorare.

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1. Paytm

Paytm is India’s leading financial services company that specializes in digital payment system, e-commerce and finance. It won the Outstanding Startup of the Year Award at Forbes Leadership Awards in 2016.

2. Razorpay

Razorpay is a platform that enables businesses to accept, process, and disburse payments with its product suite. It gives access to all payment modes including credit card, debit card, net banking, UPI and popular wallets.

3. Pine Labs

Pine Labs is an Indian merchant platform company that provides financing and last-mile retail transaction technology. Founded in 1998, it now has more than 70,000 retailers across India, including major retail outlets such as Mark’s and Spencer’s Retail, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop and Westside.

4. Groww

Groww is an online investment platform that allows investors to invest in mutual funds and stocks. It provides objective evaluation of mutual funds.

5. BharatPe

BharatPe is a fintech company that caters to the small merchants and kirana store owners of India. The company offers a range of fintech products including interoperable QR code for UPI payments, Bharat Swipe (POS machine) for card acceptance, and small business financing. Moreover, It had announced that it aims to facilitate a loan book of $300 Million via postpe in the first 12 months for its lending partners.

6. Policybazaar

Policybazaar is India’s largest insurance aggregator. It provides a digital platform – website and app – where users compare financial services from major insurance companies. It provides several types of insurance plans like life insurance, health insurance, motor insurance, travel insurance as well as group plans.

7. CRED

CRED is a reward-based credit card bill payment platform; its main feature is allowing users to make credit card payments through its app for which they get rewarded. In addition, CRED allows users to make house rent payments offers short-term credit lines. CRED has become the youngest Indian startup to be valued at $2 billion or higher.

8. Digit Insurance

Digit Insurance is an Indian start-up insurtech which focuses on selling insurance online.

9. Billdesk

BillDesk is an Indian online payment gateway company which serves as an online payment platform for its clients which enables banking and merchant website transactions.

10. CoinSwitch

CoinSwitch is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange platform where users can put and call cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple etc. with best rate.

11. PhonePe

PhonePe is an Indian digital payments and financial technology company where users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, make utility payments, pay at shops, invest in tax saving funds, liquid funds, buy insurance, mutual funds, gold and silver

12. Zeta

Zeta is a banking tech company which provides an Omni Stack comprising modern credit and debit processing, BNPL, core banking and mobile experiences. It caters to banks and fintechs globally.

13. ChargeBee Technologies

Chargebee is a SaaS product company. It is a recurring billing and subscription management tool that helps SaaS and SaaS-like businesses streamline Revenue Operations.

14. CoinDCX

Coin DCX specializes in crypto-enabled financial services. It aims to provide a user-friendly experience where users can access a wide range of financial products and services backed by industry-leading security processes and insurance protection.

15. Acko

Acko offers an online insurance policy provider through its digital platform. The company has various products and opportunities in main pillars in insurance such as personalized insurance products based on user consumption behaviors.

16. Vendantu

Vedantu is India-based e-learning platform featured with real-time personalized learning. With this platform, students and lecturers can connect online on time.

17. Upstox

Upstox is a tech-first low cost broking firm in India providing trading opportunities at competitive prices.

18. Slice

Slice is a payment and credit startup that extends hassle-free payment cards to deal with daily payments, which can also be converted into Equated Monthly Instalments or EMIs for the ease of the user without any added expense.

19. Oxyzo Financial Services

Oxyzo Financial Services Private Limited provides technology solutions. The Company designs and develops financing platform for small and medium enterprise loans.

20. CredAvenue/Yubi

Yubi, formerly known as CredAvenue, is an Indian fintech company that connects businesses with financial institutions, banks and other lenders through its digital platform. 

21. Open Financial Technologies

Open is a neo-banking platform for SMEs and startups that enables businesses to manage their finances effectively.

What have the Investments in Fintech been like in India

The ban of high-value banknotes in late 2016 by the Government of India along with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic amplified a digital payment drive and accelerated the rise of fintech.

While the digital payment market is ever-growing in India, the country is still fighting to achieve better financial inclusion. This is an issue that comes hand in hand with the alarmingly high illetricity rate in India (over 70%).

On a more positive note, Indian FinTechs have attracted close to $10 billion in equity capital funding over the past decade reports Credit Suisse. According to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech, India is close to matching its total fintech investments of 2020 with $2 billion in investment in the first half of 2021 alone. Additionally, according to Bain & Company’s India Fintech Report 2022, the first half of 2022 has seen funding of $4.2 billion, more than twice the amount seen in the first half of 2021. Notably, Digital banking was the object of most investments thanks to India’s unique model which allows digital banks to mainly act as software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers with regulatory responsibility as bank partners.

How many Fintech Unicorns does India have?

In just eight months this year, 24 startups have already acquired the unicorn status in India. Indeed, India hasn’t been burdened with the physical banking infrastructure of those in the west, and so was able to adopt new solutions quicker than Western counterparts. Nonetheless, the rise of fintech unicorns cannot be narrowed down to India, this trend has been apparent in many countries globally. For instance, eight of the nine unicorns produced so far this year in the UK belong to the fintech space.

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in India?

The finance and insurance industry has had the most number of companies reaching unicorn status. The Indian fintech ecosystem is made up of various sub-segments: payments, lending, wealth technology or WealthTech, insurance technology or InsureTech, regulation technology or RegTech. Credit Suisse in a report on India’s start-ups and FinTechs revealed that 70% of Fintech Unicorns were into Payments and Digital lending. According to Razorpay, digital payment transactions have grown up to 76% for the past 12 months with several first-time digital payment users. India’s supportive policy framework and regulations along with it UPI have made the country a haven for digital payments.

Indeed, most recent startups have focused on innovative technologies to help reduce the asymmetry of information between financial institutions and investors and thus tackle market inefficiencies.

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China is known as one of the most dynamic Fintech markets in the world, which holds the largest population of 1.4 billion people. According to EY’s 2019 Fintech Adoption Index, 87% of the Chinese population uses two or more categories of Fintech services. Chinese Fintech ecosystem holds more than a dozen fintech unicorns in sectors such as payments, insurtech, wealth-management and more.

1. Ant Financial (former name) – Ant Group（蚂蚁集团）

Zhejiang Ant Financial Services Group Co. Ltd. changed its name to Ant Technology Group Co. on 22nd June, 2021 to underline the aim of being “an innovative global technology provider” worldwide. Ant Group is a leading service to enable all consumers to have financial services across technology. Ant Group, includes several brands such as

• Alipay (支付宝)
• Yu’eBao (余额宝)
• Huabei (花呗)
• Xiang Hu Bao (相互宝)
• MYBank (网商银行)
• Zhima Credit (芝麻信用).
  

2. Tencent (Fintech Business) （腾讯）

Tencent is known as the main rival of Ali Group in the Chinese market. Tencent’s Fintech services aim to connect people with financial products and solutions, build an excellent Fintech ecosystem with its services such as,

• Weixin Pay/WeChat Pay (微信支付) (designed for Mainland China – WeChat Pay HK and WeChat MY are designed for Hong Kongenese and Malaysian users)
• QQ Wallet QQ钱包
• LiCaiTong (理财通)
• Credit Card Repayment (信用卡还款)
• Mobile Phone Top-Up Service (腾讯手机充值)
• Transit QR Code
• Tencent Blockchain (腾讯区块链)
• Tencent Portfolio (腾讯自选股)
• We Tax Refund
• Business Tenpay (商企付)

3. Lufax （陆金所）

Lufax Holding Ltd is one of the key leaders of personal financial services platform in China and an associate company of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (中国平安). Lufax aims to provide convenient, efficient, and personalised online wealth management services and retail credit facilitation for global investors.

4. Zhong An （众安）

ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co Ltd (众安) is the first online-only insurance company in Mainland China which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (香港联合交易所). ZhongAn’s strategy is mainly focused on merging insurance and technology together to enhance the value chain of insurance. This strategy has four main pillars – health, digital lifestyle, consumer finance and auto – to ensure customers obtain the most personalized, and intelligent insurance products and risk solutions.

5. Du Xiaoman Financial （度小满金融）

Du Xiaoman Financial (度小满金融) was founded as a finance arm of Baidu (百度), which is the main search engine of China. The company provides payment options for consumers and online investment services for investors. The most well-known Fintech product under the company is Baidu Wallet (度小满钱包), which runs as a payment system by providing both an online credit service and wealth management platform.

6. Jimubox

Jimubox is a multi-asset class, multi-product type financial marketplace that provides intelligent financial advice to the next generation of Chinese investors.

7. Rong360

Rong 360 is a Chinese provider of customized financing and loan services. Rong 360 allows users to make direct contact with bank business personnel, while building an all-around direct selling platform of financing and loan products.

What have the Investments in Fintech been in China

Chinese Fintech startups had raised over $28.02 billion in 2019 and the following year, 2020, the startups were announced to have raised approximately $1.87 billion. China is well-known as one of the most dynamic Fintech markets worldwide, Fintech investments in China had peaked by reaching around $28.02 billion in 2018. However, in 2020 and 2021 China onboarded new laws and regulations for the Chinese Fintech ecosystem in order to mitigate the risk of fraud and market and consumer damage. Even if the pandemic helped various countries help their Fintech ecosystem mature, from China’s perspective the pandemic has caused an opposite effect on China’s economy especially for Fintech investments instead of having new unicorns born during the pandemic.

• Fintech investment in China rose from $900 million in second half of 2020 to more than $1.3 billion in the first half of 2021
• In second half of 2021, the number of regulatory compliance service provider companies has raised due to demand of Chinese financial regulators
• During the first half of 2021 China did not obtain any high amount of VC deals but, more than $100 million VC deals that happened represent the increasing diversity of Fintech startups for funding

How many Fintech Unicorns does China have?

Mainland China has a total of 13 Fintech unicorns founded by Chinese citizens. In the recently released Global Fintech Hub Report 2021, Beijing was named the best fintech hub, followed by San Francisco, New York, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and London. Beijing hold its leader position the Global Fintech Hub ranking for three consecutive years.

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in China?

Chinese founders first and foremost have brought to the table a distinct perspective and understanding of where the gaps exist within their respective focus industries — for payments Alipay, WeChat Pay, QQ Pay, and Baidu Wallet, for wealth-tech Lufax, Yu’eBao, and LiCaiTong, for insurtech ZhongAn Insurance, and for lending HuaBei and MyBank.

Over the few last years, most of the Chinese FinTech funding was focused into three prominent subsectors: Payments, Wealth-Tech, Insurtech and Lending.

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Below, we share with you a breakdown of the full list of Fintech Unicorns in Indonesia:

1. Gojek

In 2010, Gojek was founded in Jakarta as an app which offers a variety of services from payments, food delivery, transportation, and logistics. This app includes food ordering, commuting, digital payments, shopping, hyper-local delivery, getting a massage, and other services.

2. Ovo

One of the leaders of the Indonesian payments industry and accepted in more than 300 cities, Ovo’s valuation is around $2.9 billion. A platform that let its users access digital payments, cash in or cash out, make investments and so much more.

3. Xendit

Leading the Indonesian Business to Business (B2B) payments industry, Xendit’s valuation is around $1 billion. Known for its simplicity and world-class customer support, Xendit offers a fast integration to enable companies to accept payments from credit/debit cards, E-wallets, online installments and more, in Indonesia and the Philippines.

4. Ajaib

Ajaib is an 3-year-old investing platform based in Indonesia that allows Indonesian citizens to put and call stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. The company aims to let everyone to have an access for all investment instruments safer, faster, and cheaper.

5. Akulaku

Akulaku, often referred to as a “BNPL unicorn” is a banking and digital finance platform that provides a variety of virtual payment services.

6. Tokopedia

Tokopedia, considered the most significant e-commerce in Indonesia, is a tech company that provides a C2C business platform for buyers and merchants.

What have the Investments in Fintech been in Indonesia?

Since 2006, Fintech growth in Indonesia has been rising exponentially with the usage of smartphones and the internet, according to data released by Bank Indonesia. Peer to Peer (P2P) lending, Payments, E-commerce, and adoption in Crypto assets have been the main focus in Indonesian Fintech companies.

The trends indicate that E-commerce and Healthcare are the sectors in which Fintech is focusing its efforts, because of the population needs of goods at home, the rise of contactless delivery, and the high use of health-tech since the Covid-19 Pandemic started.

It’s remarkable and interesting how Fintech has thrived during the current sanitary situation, playing a great role in the Indonesian market, accumulating almost $7.84 billion in loans as of July. Companies are staying alert to the rising non-performing loan ratio (NPL), though, this ratio measures the effectiveness of the Fintech lending companies in receiving repayments on its loans.

How many Fintech Unicorns does Indonesia have?

Known as one of the Unicorn producing countries, at the moment, Indonesia has 6 Fintech Unicorns, described above, in different sectors/industries. Gojek and Tokopedia (2 more Unicorns) were left out of this list because of the recent merger they had, becoming a company valued at around $18 billion (Decacorn). J&T could be excluded as well, because is now based in Malaysia, but decided to keep it because has its roots established in Indonesia.

Compared to other Southeast Asian countries located next to Indonesia, Singapore is the most competitive one, having big names under the radar, like Lazada (owned by Alibaba), and also having the biggest valued companies, escaping the Unicorn scope because they’ve turned into Decacorns (Grab and Razer) and Hectocorns (Sea). Thailand and Vietnam remain laggards in terms of the number of Unicorns, but still are present in the industry, with companies like Ascend Money (Financial Services) and Sky Mavis (Video Game Developer), respectively.

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in Indonesia?

As we can see in the information above Digital Payments and E-commerce have the most Unicorns in Indonesia. In the first industry, while both companies have different customer targets, one focusing on B2C and the other on B2B, they share similar products, one of them having larger scalability for their target. While in the second industry the Unicorns have different sizes and products, they approach the consumer directly.

It is known that Indonesia has a lot of unbanked population and that’s why Fintech has evolved so quickly. The impossibility of banks to reach the unreached left a big gap for Digital Payments firms to take advantage of, as well as E-commerce firms. They have managed to position themselves where usual non-tech companies couldn’t, by providing the population products that they wanted available at their doorsteps.

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8% of the world’s population live in Latin America, and 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) has been created in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. In the global fintech ecosystem, Latin America has an important position in its economy by boosting rapid-growth-centered technology companies. In recent times, technology initiatives and the number of Latin American unicorns has increased. According to the LADT 2021, Brazilian top 10 tech companies have the highest market cap in the region – over $86 billion in last decade. As a result, Brazilian fintech companies have a higher growth potential among other regions in the world.

Here is a list of the Fintech Unicorns in Brazil in 2022:

1. Nubank

Nubank, was founded in 2013 is the largest neobank which provides digital credit card and payments in Latin America.

2. StoneCo

StoneCo, was established in 2012 is one of the rapid-growing Brazilian fintech which providing services in innovative payment processes.

3. QuintoAndar

QuintoAndar was founded in 2012 in São Paulo to provide a platform that simplifies the rental of residential real estate for landlords and renters.

4. C6 Bank

C6 Bank has launched in 2018 for offering a retail banking platform of financial services for SME companies.

5. Bitso

In 2014, Bitso has started to specialize providing a cryptocurrency exchange platform which enables users make payments online.

6. Mercado Bitcoin

Mercado Bitcoin is a Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange platform that allows people to make transactions on cryptocurrencies, and digital assets.

7. EBANX

EBANX was established in 2012 as an integrated international financial services company to offer an end-to-end payment solution across the whole flow of e-commerce transaction. The company aims to boost international business to expand faster in Latin America by offering local payment experience to the customers.

8. Creditas

Creditas is one of the key Fintech company in Brazil, 2012 which operates a digital platform for offering secured consumer loans. The company uses credit scoring systems and borrowers’ assets as a tool to offer loans.

9. CloudWalk

CloudWalk was founded in 2013 as a Brazilian payment startup. The company aims to democatising Brazilian payment industry by empowering entrepreneurs through technological, and life-changing solutions.

What have the Investments in Fintech been in Brazil

• Even while dealing with poverty and inequality in some areas around the country, in a short period, investment in Brazilian Fintech companies reached around US$52 million in 2015, compared with US$ 1.6 billion in 2019.
• The Brazilian Central Bank encourages initiatives to increase adoption level of open banking, therefore e-banking, e-commerce opportunities in the market will increase so that new users who live in Brazil can be attracted to join financial system.
• Currently, out of 210 million Brazilian population, Brazil has around quarter of whole population who are unbanked.

How many Fintech Unicorns does Brazil have?

• In 2021, Brazil has become one of the top emerging countries globally by encouraging its entrepreneurship soul with incentives and a startup-friendly ecosystem. This motivation has resulted in 13 Brazilian startups reaching unicorn status and valued at over $1 billion.
• Brazil is the leader in Latin America region by incubating the highest number of unicorns against other countries. While Brazil has 6 FinTech unicorns, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Argentina has one unicorn in total.
  

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in Brazil?

• In Brazil, out of 13 unicorns sector segmentation has resulted as : 5 in financial services, 1 workforce wellness, 1 digital marketing, 2 delivery, 2 real estate, 3 e-commerce,and 1 gaming industries. In FinTech segment, Brazil has 4 main subsectors such as – digital banking, lending, crypto, and paytech.
• The main reason why Brazil has a booming FinTech ecosystem is not only related with high level of technology usage adoption in Brazil, also due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemics boost digital transformation in Brazil. Especially decreasing trend of using cash due to health concerns, banking sector have the most fintech unicorns in Brazil.

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FinTech also called ‘Financial Technologies’ has revolutionized the financial services industry from payments, remittances, risk management, debt management, online investments, blockchain solutions, data analytics, financial software, Artificial Intelligence, InsurTech, RegTech, PensionTech, etc. in a bid to unbundle traditional models of banking.

This blog analyses the Fintech Companies and Unicorns in the Netherlands, the factors attracting FinTech growth and investment trends in the Netherlands FinTech sector with a comparative section from other countries with unicorns.

Currently, North America hosts the largest number of Unicorns with 38 FinTechs followed by Asia and Europe, having 12 unicorns each. However, the FinTech industry in the Netherlands has more than 100 FinTech companies and 79 Unicorns making it the largest sector with most Unicorns. Within Fintech landscape, Investment Tech emerges as the top business model with 15 Unicorns. Additionally, other business models with most Unicorn activity are Cryptocurrencies, Banking Tech, Payments and finally, Finance & Accounting Tech.

Netherlands has been a frontrunner as European Union’s financial hub from1609, when it open its first central bank. Currently, a license from one of the two Dutch financial regulators, the AFM or de Nederlandse Bank (Dutch Central Bank), is a passport for fintech companies to offer their services across the entire European Union. Apart from its high adoption rate of FinTech, Netherlands hosts a highly-skilled workforce encouraging FinTech and general startup growth.

These are the unicorns found in the Netherlands:

1. Adyen

Adyen was founded in 2006 by Pieter van der Does and Arnout Schuijff to simplify and accelerate global payments company. The company has its Headquarters in Amsterdam and is currently valued at €81.6billion.

2. Mollie

Mollie was founded in 2004 by Adriaan Mol to offer a payments platform that delivers an easy-to-implement process for integrating payments into a site or app. The company has its headquarters in Amsterdam and is currently valued at €6.5billion.

3. Bunq

Bunq was founded in 2012 by Ali Niknam to provide mobile banking services. The company has its headquarters in Amsterdam and is currently valued at €1.6billion.

4. Flow Traders

Flow Traders was founded in 2004 by Roger Hodenius and Jan van Kuijk to provide wealth management services through liquidity in financial products both on- and off-exchange across the world. The company has its headquarters in Amsterdam and is currently valued at €1.4billion.

5. Bitfury

Bitfury was founded in 2011 by Valery Vavilov to provide Bitcoin Blockchain infrastructure and offer transaction processing. The company has its headquarters in Amsterdam and is currently valued at €1 billion.

What have the Investments in Fintech been in Netherlands?

Netherlands’ highest investment year was 2014, with nearly $260m in funding with Adyen getting $250m investment. The following year, however got 10 more deals but saw a 63.7% decrease in total investments. The investment sector in Netherlands received roughly €565 million in 2018 towards financial MSMEs. non-bank funding of MSMEs through investor capital, and more than €1 billion through crowdfunding.

Dutch FinTech companies benefit from a favorable investment climate and see enough opportunities to raise investments, partly due to the current economic climate. From 2014 to the first half of 2019, FinTech companies received $969 million in investments in the Netherlands. 39% of these investments were used in payments sector. A total of 120 investments were made during 2019. In the aforementioned $969 million, the internal investments of the established players are not included, so the total investments will be much higher.

Additionally, the Dutch government also made €65 million available for start-ups and scale-ups in the FinTech sector. Multiple subsidies are also available for fintech companies in the form of loans provided by the Dutch government on interesting terms. By company, Adyen is a FinTech front runner with a raised amount of $250 million while Afterpay ranks second with $117 million and Bitfury closes the top three with $80 million.

How many Fintech Unicorns does Netherlands have?

The Netherlands currently has 5 FinTech unicorns namely Adyen, Bitfury, Bunq, FlowTraders and Mollie. This number is certainly higher than in most countries globally.

Some countries with more FinTech Unicorns than Netherlands include: United States with 81 Unicorns, China with 11, UK with 10, India with 9, Brazil and Germany with 7 unicorns.

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in Netherlands ?

The Netherlands has an adoption of 73% meaning consumers are embracing digitization in the financial sector especially in the payments sector which, has 2 more unicorns than in any other FinTech sector in the country.

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Israel is a leader not just in tech, which is home to the highest number of startups per capita in the world. According to IVC Research Center and Meitar Law Offices, Israeli fintech startups raised $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and holds over a dozen fintech unicorns in sectors such as payments, insurtech, lending, banking and more.

1. Raypd

Raypd highlighted how developers need to easily integrate functionality to collect and disburse funds in any local currency, issue cards, extend ewallet functionality, manage KYC and compliance processes, all without having to worry about local regulatory issues. This lead them to launch “Fintech-as-a-service” and provide a full stack of integrated payments, commerce and financial services capabilities that can be embedded into any application.

2. Melio

A B2B payment platform for small businesses. Melio offers easy account payables services, simplifying the paperwork process for small businesses, and allowing them to pay vendors with credit or debit cards.

3. Papaya Global

Papaya Global provides a cloud-based HR and payroll platform for global workforce management. They aim to reinvent global payroll, payments, and workforce management with their automated platform that helps companies hire, onboard, manage, and pay people in more than 140 countries.

4. Payoneer

As a Paytech company, Payoneer strive to provide the most advanced services by focusing on their customers’ business needs in the global commerce industry. It offers any business, in any market, the technology, connections and confidence to participate and grow in the new global economy, from bourderless payments to boundless growth.

5. Fundbox

Fundbox offers credit solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. They developed a platform that enables small and medium enterprises to quickly receive credit lines based on future invoices, with the approval process being carried out by artificial intelligence tools.

6. Riskified

Riskified is a publicly traded company that provides software as a service fraud and chargeback prevention technology. They have built an eCommerce risk management platform that allows online merchants to create trusted relationships with consumers.

7. Earnix

Earnix is a leading provider of mission-critical systems for global insurers and banks. Through Earnix, customers are able to provide prices and personalized products that are smarter, faster, and safer in full alignment with corporate business goals and objectives

What have the Investments in Fintech been in Israel

Israeli fintech startups had raised over $1.8 billion in 2019 and the following year, 2020, they were said to have raised around $1.48 billion. This occured despite the pandemic which shows a rapidly maturing fintech ecosystem. Just in the first quarter of 2021, Israeli fintech startups raised $1.1 billion with 136 new unicorns born in the second quarter of 2021 worldwide. This was a record high achievement as it was nearly six times the 23 unicorns born in the same period in 2020

Israeli fintech startups had raised over $1.8 billion in 2019 and the following year, 2020, they were said to have raised around $1.48 billion. This occured despite the pandemic which shows a rapidly maturing fintech ecosystem. Just in the first quarter of 2021, Israeli fintech startups raised $1.1 billion with 136 new unicorns born in the second quarter of 2021 worldwide. This was a record high achievement as it was nearly six times the 23 unicorns born in the same period in 2020.

• VC funding hits $2.3B in the first half of 2021, surpassing the 2020 full year total by 28%
• Demand for payment solutions grew to 35% of Israeli FinTech funding due to COVID-19 – making it the high-tech industry’s largest subsector
• Based on Start-Up Nation Finder insights, investments in FinTech made up 19% of the total funding in Israeli innovation technology companies

How many Fintech Unicorns does Israel have?

There are now several hundred unicorns globally and according to Tech Aviv, which tracks the industry, Israel has a total of 71 tech unicorns founded by Israelis, 35 of which were formed this year – the most unicorns per capita in the world!

Although Israel is placed a respectable 12th in Findexable’s 2020 Global Fintech Rankings, it has leapt over the competition to secure a place in the top three, behind only the US and UK. Tel Aviv was no less impressive: it rose from 18th to 5th in the fintech hub rankings. Israel has more unicorns per capita than any other country – with a population of just 8.9 million, that’s 1.58 unicorns per capita and makes Israel No. 1 in the world

Which Fintech Sectors have the most Fintech Unicorns in Israel?

Israeli founders first and foremost have brought to the table a distinct perspective and understanding of where the gaps exist within their respective focus industries — whether it was Hippo and Lemonade in the world of property and casualty insurance, Rapyd and Melio in the world of business-to-business payments, or Earnix and Personetics in the world of banking.

Over the last two years, 70% of Israeli FinTech funding was funneled into three prominent subsectors: Payments, Anti-fraud and Insurtech.

The demand for online payments skyrocketed during restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Companies that offered a multi-currency mobile wallet, eCommerce fraud prevention nd supplier payment platforms were well-positioned to benefit from the shift in habits and are expected to continue to grow going forward. This new demand was largely spurred by the pandemic-induced rush for corporate innovation which created an opportunity to modernise legacy processes.

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With London being a leading business centre and a home to the world’s largest financial institutions, it is no wonder that the city has become a “superhub” of FinTech activities as well. The UK has produced 10% of the Fintech Unicorns worldwide, including some of the industry’s biggest names such as Revolut or Checkout.com. In terms of impact and numbers, the country comes second only to the US. The industry is growing rapidly, in only the past 10 months, 10 companies have reached the coveted unicorn status. 

Below, we give you a breakdown of the full list of FinTech companies that are Unicorns in the UK:

1. Revolut

Since 2015, Revolut has expanded its digital banking services from just money transfers and exchanges, to stock trading, crypto currency exchange or even peer-to-peer payments. With a valuation of over $33 billion, it is the country’s most valued FinTech and Tech start-up in history. 

2. Checkout.com

Checkout.com provides seamless cross border payments solutions for digital commerce. The company processes payments for big clients such as Pizza Hut, H&M, and even FinTechs like Coinbase, Klarna and Revolut. 

3. Wise

Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise provides money transferring services to over 10 million businesses and private individuals. 

4. ZEPZ

ZEPZ, formerly WorldRemit, is a digital payments platform that helps over 11 million users send money abroad through their computers, smartphones or tablets. 

5. BGL Group

BGL Group offers a range of motor, home and life insurance products to over 10 million customers in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the company also operates price comparison websites such as comparethemarket.com in the UK or LesFurets.com in France.

6. Oaknorth

OakNorth received its full banking licence in 2015 and has since been servicing small and medium-sized companies. Since its inception, the FinTech has provided more than $5 billion worth of loans to UK companies such as Leon.

7. Bought By Many

Bought By Many is the first pet insurance provider in the UK that offers online claims. Besides insurance, the company also gives its customers access to free online consultations with registered vets as well as a lifeline for pet parents.

8. Zilch

Zilch provides a unique over-the-top platform with Open Banking Technology, which is a new way of defining Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) to prevent problematic debt. Zilch is known as one of the rapid-growing BNPL in British market.

9. Starling Bank

Starling Bank is one of the UK’s largest mobile banking platforms offering current and business accounts. The FinTech has received four consecutive Best British Bank Award from 2018 to 2021. 

10. Remitly

Remitly is one of the cross-border payments company that leverages digital channels such as mobile phones, to send money across the borders. The company aims to provide faster, cheaper, and convenient money transfer service to its customers.

11. At-Bay

At-Bay is a cybersecurity insurance company that helps businesses protect from digital risks. Main idea behind the company is that combination of technology and industry insurance knowledge help to business for keeping up with digitalised world.

12. Monzo

Monzo is one of the UK’s earliest challenger banks. Since its inception in 2015, the bank has been able to provide current account services to over 4 million users. 

13. Marshmallow

Marshmallow is an InsurTech company focusing on making motor insurance more affordable, instant and inclusive in the United Kingdom. The company has been growing steadily since its inception in 2017 and reached a valuation of $1.25 billion in September 2021. 

14. Zego

Zego is a commercial on-demand insurance platform that offers motor insurance options for riders who work with their own vehicles, fleets or even those who are self-employed. Their policies are significantly more flexible than the traditional insurance companies, as their policies range from minute-by-minute to annual covers. 

15. Radius Payments Solutions

Radius provides a global card payment system, as well as a motor insurance product which reports individual driver information to insurance companies, enabling them to refine their risk calculations and offer better-priced insurance.

16. TrueLayer

TrueLayer is one of the Fintech platform where your bank data, accounts, and transaction tracking can be seen in real time. Main services of TrueLayer is based on providing consumer and server message block applications in such pillars of Fintech area such as online lending, robo-advisors, insurance, investment services, and cryptocurrencies.

17. PPRO

PPRO is a London-based payments infrastructure start-up that makes it easier for e-commerce players and payment providers to enable localised payments. In 2020, the company managed to process over $11 billion for its customers, including major clients such as Mollie, PayPal or Worldpay. 

18. SmartAsset

SmartAsset offers financial information and advisory service for its consumers, and be a connector between consumers and financial advisors in national market places.

19. Tractable

Tractable develops AI solutions for accident and disaster recovery. Providing its product to the largest insurers worldwide, Tractable’s technology can optimize claims processes by producing end-to-end evaluations of vehicle damage in mere minutes. 

20. SaltPay

SaltPay is a London-based payments company that enables European SMEs to access services that can automate their operations. 

21. Zopa

Zopa is one of the P2P lending service that provide a platform where borrowers and lenders can deal directly without any middleman with low rates, flexible terms, and no early repayment fees.

22. Copper

Copper is a cryptocurrency custody firm that provides a secure infrastructure for the institutional digital asset investment community.

23. GoCardless

GoCardless is a payment company that makes collecting payments by direct debit easy for everyone.

24. Lendable

Lendable is a peer-to-peer lending platform that provides instant paperless loans.

25. Paddle

Paddle is a payments infrastructure provider for SaaS companies.

26. SumUp

SumUp is a financial technology company that enables businesses to accept card payments at the Point-of-Sale or on the go.

27. The Bank of London

The Bank of London is a global clearing, agency, and transaction bank advancing the economic infrastructure of the future.

28. Thought Machine

Thought Machine is a Fintech company that builds cloud-native technology to revolutionize core banking.

What have the Investments in FinTech been in the UK?

A lot of FinTech companies were founded after 2008 as a reaction to the financial crisis. Customers’ trust in traditional financial institutions dropped and a need for more transparent banking and improved customer service arose. 

Since the early 2010s, FinTech has been gaining more and more traction each year. Annual UK FinTech investments have been in the sphere of billions as of 2015. According to the FinTech report by KPMG, UK FinTech startups raised $24.5 billion in investments in the first half of 2021, which is already a 400% improvement compared to the previous year. 

How many FinTech unicorns does the UK have? 

Currently, there are 26 unicorns in the UK, which means that approximately 10% of FinTech unicorns are based here. This makes the country, specifically its capital London, the epicentre of the European FinTech industry. Globally, the UK is also considered as one of the major players on the market, coming second only to the United States. 

It is important to note that FinTech in the UK is booming outside of London as well. Scotland, or cities like Manchester, Birmingham or Leeds are homes to at least 1/3 of the FinTech companies in the country. 

Which FinTech sectors have the most FinTech unicorns in the UK? 

Overall, the UK has produced some of the world’s most successful and recognizable FinTech companies, from challenger banks such as Revolut, Monzo, Starling Bank, to digital insurance companies such as Marshmallow or Zego. 

However, currently, almost 50% of the UK FinTech unicorns are in payments. In comparison to the other sectors, digital payments services have the highest adoption rates among consumers and small-to-medium companies as well. According to EY’s Global FinTech Adoption Index, the adoption rate of PayTech was almost 75% among consumers and 56% with SMEs in 2019. 

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