Fintech Financing Trends to Watch

What happened in Fintech in 2025 and what’s behind it? Here is my behind-the-scenes summary based on the FT Partners 2025 Annual FinTech Almanac numbers. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: • Capital is concentrating into fewer, larger rounds as investors back proven platforms over early-stage fintechs. • Profitability and predictable revenue now matter more than growth alone, as higher cost of capital has reset how risk is priced. • Financial Management and WealthTech attract capital because banks and asset managers are still modernising core workflows around data, reporting, risk, and operations. • Crypto funding has shifted from speculation toward infrastructure. • Payments’ reduced share of financing reflects maturity of the core rails, with innovation moving to embedded and vertical-specific use cases. • Banking and lending funding is spread across specialised tools (onboarding, underwriting, compliance, servicing, etc) as most banks choose to modernise in layers and not by replacing their core in one go. • InsurTech investment is rising as insurers face worsening loss ratios (driven by climate volatility, inflation, and fraud) and use software to regain control over pricing, underwriting, and claims. • Capital is increasingly flowing to markets that combine fast-moving regulation, public-sector capital, and national digital rails (real-time payments, digital ID, open finance). • Mega-rounds are returning but mainly for scaled leaders, meaning this is not a generic market trend but focused on a small group of companies that already behave like infrastructure.   𝗠&𝗔 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: • M&A activity is accelerating because many fintech categories are now mature, making consolidation the fastest way to expand. • Scaled fintechs are increasingly the buyers, using acquisitions to add capabilities faster than they could build internally. • Acquisitions are focused on filling product gaps (risk, data, compliance, embedded payments, fraud) rather than buying growth. • Payments M&A is driven by margin pressure and intense competition, with players buying scale and efficiency rather than chasing new geographies. • Financial Management and WealthTech M&A is driven by demand for platforms that already sit at the centre of financial operations. • Crypto M&A is selective, targeting regulated, compliant infrastructure rather than consumer-facing speculation. • Cross-border M&A is rising as fintechs use acquisitions to enter regulated markets faster than licensing alone would allow. • Private equity is accelerating as many strong fintechs generate cash but lack public-market scale, making them attractive candidates. What are the trends that you see continuing in 2026? What did I miss? Opinions: my own, Graphic source: FT Partners 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg

💡 H1 2024 #FinTech Investment Landscape According to the recent report by Innovate Finance, the global financial landscape remains turbulent as of the end of the first half of 2024, marked by contrasting trends in public equity markets and private capital raising. The FinTech sector stands out for its resilience. Global FinTech investment in H1 2024 totaled $15.9 billion, a 19% decline from H2 2023. Despite this drop, there are signs of a potential bottoming out as Q2 2024 showed a slight increase over Q1. However, investment levels remain below those of all quarters in 2023, prompting questions about whether the worst is over. 🇺🇸 🇬🇧Several factors contribute to this uncertain landscape, including anticipation around over 40 major elections globally, persistent macroeconomic challenges, and the ongoing impact of high interest rates in key markets like the US and UK. The report emphasizes both the challenges and opportunities within the FinTech sector. Globally, early-stage deals (Seed and Series A) dominated, accounting for 81% of all deals. The average deal size dropped to $10.2 million, signaling a shift towards more cautious and prudent investments. This trend, while reflecting a slowdown, may indicate a healthier, more sustainable investment environment. Prominent industry voices suggest that despite the decline in investment volume, the quality of investments has improved. Companies are delivering more substantial value, setting a stronger foundation for future growth. The shift towards earlier-stage investments, particularly in a challenging market, demonstrates a focus on robust and sustainable business models. The report also highlights the continued leadership of the US in global FinTech investment, securing $7.3 billion in H1 2024, maintaining its 46% market share. The UK remains a strong second, although its share slightly declined to 12.7%. Europe's FinTech landscape mirrors global trends, with the UK outpacing the rest of Europe combined, securing $2 billion in investment. Germany and the Netherlands follow, reinforcing their growing significance as tech hubs. In the US, investment patterns align with global trends, with a bias towards earlier-stage deals. The US secured $7.3 billion across 599 deals in H1 2024, maintaining a robust presence in the FinTech sector. In summary, while the global FinTech sector faces significant change, there are encouraging signs of resilience and adaptability. The report underscores the importance of prudent investments, government support, and strategic initiatives to ensure the sector's continued evolution and success. Access the full report: https://lnkd.in/dtH8ET4e

Welcome to the new edition of the Fintech Wrap Up! This week, we’re zooming in on payments, AI, and emerging fintech trends shaping strategy and growth. Zelle continues to dominate U.S. peer-to-peer and small business payments, processing $1.2 trillion across 4.2 billion transactions in 2025—a 20% YoY rise. About 30% involves small businesses, and Early Warning is expanding cross-border with stablecoins. Banks face a trade-off: instant transfers increase fraud risk ($870M lost since 2017) but offer reach and speed; fintechs must decide between integration or alternative rails like FedNow or crypto. AI scaling in banks is governance, not data, with top institutions building reusable stacks driving ~10% revenue uplift. Agentic commerce is emerging, where AI agents may autonomously handle purchases. Merchants engaging early gain new channels but risk losing visibility, cross-selling, and control. Stablecoins remain mostly trading infrastructure: only $350–550B in 2025 was real-economy payments, despite $62T on-chain volume. On the corporate side, Mastercard Q4 FY 2025 shows platform leverage: revenue +15% to $8.8B, EPS +20%, cross-border growth strong, and value-added services scaling. UK fintech multiples favour infrastructure-heavy models; public neobanks face more scrutiny. The takeaway: fintech rewards strategic foresight, operational depth, and platform leverage—whether embedding Zelle, orchestrating AI commerce, or navigating stablecoins. Early movers in agentic commerce and AI-driven payments will likely set the next rules of engagement.

My takeaways from Finovate Fall 2025 I spent much of my time listening to founders and peers. Across conversations, a few themes kept coming up that feel like real inflection points for fintech…Three themes stood out: 1. Stablecoins are moving from hype to real adoption. They’re no longer on the sidelines. Banks, regulators, and startups are treating them seriously — not just as a crypto experiment, but as a way to move money faster and cheaper. The conversation has shifted to trust, compliance, and building the right on/off ramps. 2. Cross-border payments are heating up. I met several startups focused on making global transactions simpler and more affordable. What’s interesting is that multiple rails are emerging — traditional networks, fintech APIs, and now stablecoins. The question isn’t “if” this will change, but “which rails will win in which corridors.” 3. Embedded finance is broadening in scope. It’s no longer just about payments or lending. I noticed investment products being embedded directly into platforms — a sign that distribution models for financial services are widening in interesting ways. These trends all point in the same direction — financial services becoming more connected, faster, and integrated into the flow of business and daily life. If you were at Finovate, I’d love to hear what resonated most for you. #Finovatefall2025 #FintechInnovation #DigitalTransformation #FinancialServices #TechLeadership #Finovate #AI #FinTech

𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒑 A busy couple of weeks for US fintech, with funding activity concentrated around AI, infrastructure, lending, compliance and payments. 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭: K1X, Inc. secured a $175m strategic growth investment to expand its tax data automation platform for private markets. Rogo raised a $160m Series D led by Kleiner Perkins to scale its AI platform for finance professionals. Loop raised a $95m Series C led by Valor Equity Partners to expand its AI-powered freight audit and payments platform. Kashable raised a $60m Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, highlighting continued demand for workplace financial wellness and employer-distributed credit. Counterpart raised a $50m Series C to grow its AI-era specialty insurance platform. Other notable raises included Versana’s $43m round, Monk’s $25m Series A, Petual’s $20m round, Squads’ $18m strategic round, and Zenskar’s $15m Series A. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬: Mercury received preliminary conditional approval from the OCC to establish Mercury Bank, N.A., a major move in the fintech-bank infrastructure story. OppFi agreed to acquire BNCCORP and BNC National Bank in a deal valued at approximately $130m. Upstart announced a $1.25bn forward-flow agreement with Fortress, showing how important capital markets access remains for fintech lenders. OnePay partnered with Tempo on stablecoin-powered payouts and instant account funding. 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬: Fintech funding is increasingly focused on practical infrastructure rather than broad consumer apps. AI is being applied to specific financial workflows - tax, compliance, research, billing, AR and underwriting. Banking access, regulated infrastructure and balance-sheet strategy are becoming more important again. Stablecoins are continuing to shift from crypto-native use cases into mainstream payments infrastructure. The market feels more pragmatic than euphoric: fewer flashy consumer propositions, more companies solving painful, high-value financial workflows. What are you watching most closely right now - 𝘈𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴?

If you thought FinTech had reached its peak, think again. The U.S. FinTech market is not just growing — it’s transforming the very infrastructure of financial services. With projected revenues reaching $1.13 trillion by 2032, and over 12,000 fintech firms now operating across North America, this industry is entering a new chapter: embedded, intelligent, and instantaneous. 📈 In 2024, the market stood at $53 billion and continues to grow at a 13.9% CAGR — driven by innovation across payments, lending, digital assets, RegTech, and open banking. 🔍 What’s Driving This Next Wave? 1. Embedded Finance - Embedded lending, insurance, and payments are being integrated directly into non-financial platforms. - This segment alone is expected to grow at 30% CAGR, reshaping how consumers interact with financial products. 2. Real-Time Payments + Open Banking - The FedNow platform now connects 1,000+ institutions, ushering in a new standard for instant, secure B2C and B2B transfers. - Open banking adoption is gaining ground, unlocking richer customer data and better credit decisions. 3. Agentic AI & RegTech - Generative AI is now powering fraud detection, KYC, personalized finance, and regression testing at enterprise scale. - RegTech adoption among U.S. banks has cut compliance costs by up to 87%. AI-driven tools help banks stay aligned with SEC, CFPB, and evolving crypto policy. 4. Digital Assets & Tokenization - With Bitcoin breaking records in Q2, we’re seeing renewed institutional momentum behind blockchain infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization. - Smart regulation is helping crypto move from speculation to utility. This shift from disruption to robust infrastructure demands a strategic approach to technology adoption and scaling. The opportunity for growth, efficiency, and market leadership has never been clearer. How is your organization preparing to capitalize on these FinTech transformations?

Re-Bundling the Bank 💡 Costs are growing for fintechs, but it's not just higher interest rates affecting their margins. Customer acquisition costs (CAC) are also on the rise and contributing to overhead. In response, some fintechs are seeking partners with existing customer bases. In June, for example, eBay and Venmo announced a partnership, allowing shoppers to pay for their purchases with their Venmo balance or methods linked to their Venmo account. Other fintechs, including big names like SoFi, have applied for bank charters. There is also a move to diversify revenue streams, illustrated by Robinhood’s reduced reliance on transaction fees for the bulk of its income. Both trends underscore a clear reality: As fintechs get squeezed, it is less viable for them to offer single, standalone products 💳 At the center of these moves is a focus on customer value. One effective way to reduce CAC is offering customers value on the financial side through products that help build savings or offer rewards. Another strategy is to add products to an existing customers base. Driven by their customers' growing expectations for digital solutions, Large Financial Institutions are increasingly partnering with, investing in and acquiring fintechs, leveraging the functionality and customer bases that fintechs have built in their specialized areas. Acquisitions such as JPMorganChase’s purchase of wePay for payments are one way for retail banks to add capabilities without building them in-house. At the same time, strategic partnerships can create efficiencies in customer acquisition. However, achieving a proper win-win in those relationships can be difficult to strike 🤝 Fintech partnerships are intended to be symbiotic, with tech companies like Chime providing a user-friendly front-end while a chartered partner bank such as The Bankcorp or Stride Bank, N.A. provides the FDIC-insured accounts and handles risk and compliance. This allowed fintechs to walk like a bank and talk like a bank while leaving the actual banking to someone else. In the last decade, deposits in fintech partner banks have skyrocketed, growing 9x faster than deposits in small US banks overall 🚀 Regulators are stepping up their oversight by issuing 50 severe enforcement actions in the last six months. A lopsided number of these actions are targeting partner banks. Startups are responding to the increased regulation by beefing up compliance talent and by reviewing existing processes, in some cases severing ties with partners. That opens the door to AI-native startups who can meet a high bar for regulation. Source: Silicon Valley Bank - https://t.ly/LfKVy     #Innovation #Fintech #Banking #OpenBanking #EmbeddedFinance #API #BaaS #FinancialServices #Payments #Lending #Blockchain #Compliance 

Fintech in the Middle East is moving differently. It’s growing with state backing, big capital, and a strong local market, without needing to follow anyone else’s script. This new report from Lucidity Insights covers the full arc of that growth: who’s raising, where the exits are happening, and what infrastructure is starting to stick. Here are my key takeaways: 🔶 UAE has more fintech scaleups, but Saudi startups are pulling bigger rounds, and increasingly relocating HQs to Riyadh to tap public capital and IPO momentum. 🔶 Paytech still dominates the region’s funding, but newer categories like lending, superapps, and wealthtech are catching up fast. 🔶 Islamic fintech is proving its scale. Products like Takaful and Shariah-compliant investment platforms are now structural. 🔶 Fragmented regulation is still the biggest headache. A fintech licensed in KSA has to start from scratch in the UAE, Qatar, or Bahrain. 🔶 66 fintech exits in 6 years sounds healthy, until you realise only 7 were IPOs. Most startups still lack clear off-ramps. 🔶 There’s a tech talent crunch even in the wealthier Gulf markets. Some firms in Kuwait and Qatar are paying London-level salaries just to stay competitive. 🔶 Cloud ERP is being adopted earlier. Startups are preparing for compliance and cross-border complexity from day one, not year five. 🔶 SAP’s Digital Currency Hub is one to watch. It’s already powering live cross-border payments using stablecoins, with PayPal and EY testing it in the real world. 🔶 Tabby’s evolution from BNPL to full-stack fintech is a playbook in motion: 14M+ users, $6B GMV, and a post-unicorn growth model with real revenue. 🔶 Middle East adoption rates for mobile payments, crypto, and digital banking often match or exceed the US, but gaps in broadband, credit data, and financial inclusion remain real. Fintech here is building around different constraints, different incentives, and a different pace. That’s exactly what makes it interesting to watch. #fintech #GulfStartups #payments #couchonomics #payments #embeddedfinance #digitalassets #futureofmoney #futureoffinance NORBr Onalytica Favikon ⁠Global Finance & Technology Network Thinkers360 - ⁠- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 👍 Hit like ♻️ Share it with your network 📢 Drop a comment 🎙️ Check out my podcast Couchonomics with Arjun on YouTube 📖 Get my weekly newsletter on LinkedIn: Couchonomics Crunch 🕺💃 In the MENA region? Join our Fintech Tuesdays community. 🤝 Let's connect! - ⁠- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 F𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 The Fintech landscape is undergoing a new phase of unbundling, driven by increasing competition and maturation in key verticals like #Payments and #Wealthtech. But this unbundling looks different than the initial wave of Fintech disruption. In the first phase, Fintechs unbundled services from traditional banks, offering standalone solutions for payments, lending, investing, and more. Established Fintechs are now unbundling their offerings, selling API access to specific capabilities rather than requiring customers to use their full stack. Two recent examples illustrate this trend: 1.  Fidelity Investments's eMoney unit is beginning to sell API access to individual features of its financial planning software, allowing RIAs to private-label capabilities and craft their own planning experience. 2.  Stripe has decoupled its payments API from the rest of its platform, enabling customers to use its other tools (fraud detection, invoicing, etc.) without having to process payments through Stripe. We've seen a similar pattern in Asia.  Grab, the Southeast Asian super-app, has unbundled its fintech arm into a separate entity (GrabFin) and is now selling API access to its capabilities in payments, rewards, lending, and more to other businesses. This unbundling was not driven by regulatory pressure (like Ant Group`s unbundling). What's driving this new wave of unbundling? As fintech verticals mature and competition intensifies, companies need to differentiate. Selling best-in-class point solutions via API allows them to monetize their tech while giving customers more flexibility. For customers, the ability to pick and choose capabilities is powerful. They can create tailored solutions by combining top offerings, without getting locked into a single vendor's platform. Plaid and Adyen have been leading on this front with the Plaid Portal and the Modular Offering by Adyen. Expect to see more companies carving out their best features and selling them à la carte. 𝑰'𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖: - What other examples of fintech unbundling have you seen recently? - Which areas of fintech do you think are most ripe for this type of unbundling? 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘! Mediterranean a la carte 😉 #fintech #modular #API #unbundling #Saas #efiinsights

What does Latin America's fintech landscape look like in 2024? Let's break it down. After analyzing 200+ well-funded startups across the region, five major trends are shaping the future of financial services: Lending Powers Financial Inclusion: The largest sector with 77 startups is witnessing a fascinating shift. While consumer lending dominated early fintech waves, business lending is now taking center stage. Companies like Xepelin and R2 are revolutionizing how SMEs access capital, using alternative data and embedded finance to serve the historically underbanked business sector. The trend is clear - B2B lending is the new frontier. Payments Goes Infrastructure: 33 companies are not just processing payments but building the backbone of Latin America's digital economy. While dLocal and Stone have proven the model through successful IPOs, the next wave is about payment orchestration and cross-border solutions. Companies like Yuno and Kushki are creating the plumbing that enables regional commerce, focusing on reducing friction in a historically fragmented market. Neobanks Mature Beyond Banking: Though fewer in number (20), neobanks are evolving from simple digital accounts to comprehensive financial platforms. Nubank's push into crypto, investment, and mobile network, and Neon's business credit products show how these players are diversifying their revenue streams. The race is now about who can build the most compelling financial ecosystem. Infrastructure Enables Innovation: 20 startups are creating the building blocks other fintechs need to scale. QI Tech and Pismo's success signals a crucial trend - the picks and shovels of fintech are becoming as valuable as consumer-facing applications. Open banking platforms and BaaS providers are turning every company into a potential fintech. Insurtech Reimagines Protection: 16 startups are moving beyond simple digitization of insurance. Companies like Betterfly and 180 Seguros are creating new insurance products tailored to Latin American needs, embedding coverage into everyday services and using data to improve underwriting. Investment patterns show Brazil maintaining leadership with 24% of startups, but Mexico and Colombia are rapidly gaining ground. The most interesting trend? The rise of regional players - companies are expanding across borders earlier in their lifecycle, creating truly Latin American solutions. Exciting announcement: Starting today until the end of 2024, I'll be publishing a special series diving deep into each sector of this market map. I'll explore emerging business models, white spaces, and the opportunities I'm most excited about for 2025. First up this week: The evolution of lending platforms and why I believe the next unicorn will emerge from B2B credit innovation. Which sector are you most interested in learning about? Share in the comments, and let's explore Latin America's fintech future together. #fintech #latinamerica #venturecapital #technology