European FinTechs raised a combined $104.8bn between January 2019 and December 2023. The UK accounted for nearly half of the funding with $48.4bn raised over the period, a 46% share of total funding. 2021 saw the most combined funding in 2019-2023 at $35.7bn, a 34% share of funding. European FinTech companies raised a combined $12.9bn in 2023, a 54% decrease from 2022.
Abound, a consumer lending financial firm, had the largest UK FinTech deal in 2023 after raising £500m ($601m) in their latest venture funding round from K3 Ventures, Hambro Perks Ltd. and SR Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to expand the number of customers it lends to, to grow its headcount, and to develop its business-to-business offer. Established in 2020 under the leadership of Gerald Chappell, who serves as the CEO, and Dr. Michelle He, Abound is a financial service that leverages Open Banking and artificial intelligence to offer loans ranging from £1,000 to £10,000, with repayment terms extending up to 5 years. As of now, the company has experienced consistent monthly growth of 30% and has assisted more than 150,000 customers through its platform. It’s worth noting that Abound operates as the consumer-facing division of Fintern Ltd, which also owns Render, the proprietary technology employed by Abound to facilitate intelligent lending solutions.
FNZ, a wealth management platform, had the largest WealthTech deal in 2019-2023, raising $1.4bn in their latest Private Equity round led by CPP Investments and Motive Partners. The capital will help FNZ further accelerate its growth through increased R&D, as well as driving growth in markets that FNZ have recently entered, in particular North America. CPP Investments is investing a total of $1.1bn.
WealthTech accounted for the most funding of any FinTech subsector in 2023 at $2.25bn. Digital banking in Europe saw a major increase in usage during the Covid pandemic although figures in the following years have stabilised, peaking at an average of 61.9% by the end of 2022, across all EU countries. EU countries that have the most online banking penetration are Finland (94.5%), Ireland (84.9%) and Sweden (84.5%).
European PayTech’s total transaction value is projected to reach $2,144bn in 2024, a 20.1% share of global payments. Europe’s total transaction value is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2027) of 12.6% resulting in a projected total amount of $3,061bn by 2027.
