The traditional financial industry is changing as an increasing number of companies and governments invest in Financial Technology related projects. According to KPMG, the top 100 Fintech companies have accumulated investment over $14.6 billion, 40% more than last year. On the list, the number of Chinese companies is increasing rapidly. 4 companies from the top 5 are from China, including the No.1 Ant Finance, the Financial wing of E-commerce giant Alibaba. This year, Ant finance received a new round of $4.5 billion investment as investors still expect it to grow based on its huge and stable customer base.
Besides the rise of Chinese fintech power, fintech popularity and competition is expanding globally. The top 50 companies detailed in the report come from 17 different countries, a more diverse group than 2015. The United States is still the leading Fintech market globally as around one quarter of the 100 companies are American. Also, it is exciting to see new fintechs from countries such as India and the Philippines in the list. However, the UK as a popular Fintech market has felt the stress after Brexit with only one company in the top-10.
Other findings include:
- Three years ago, there was only one Chinese company in the top 50 list. In 2016, the number has increased to eight, which demonstrates the growth in China Fintech.
- It is the first time for companies from France, Mexico, South Africa, and Singapore to join the top 100 list.
- Nearly half of the top 50 companies are developing businesses around loans and credit services are a key focus area for transformation with the help of technology.
- Another increasing area is Insurance. The number of digital insurance companies doubled comparing to last year.
- “Regtech”, referring to Regulation Technology, attracted more attention in 2016. Because of the importance of supervision of Fintech development, more companies are looking for solutions for the government and other supervisors. Nine Regtech companies appeared in this year's report.