Global fintech funding almost halves

The total capital invested into fintech globally has almost halved.

It reached $51.2bn in 2023, a decrease of 48% compared to 2022, when total investment amounted to $99 billion. The 2023 spend was spread across 3,973 deals compared to 6,397 deals in 2022.

The US received the most investment in 2023, bringing in over $24bn spread across 1,530 deals. Second came the UK with $5.1 billion, which received more investment in fintech than the next 28 European countries combined.

India accounted for $2.5bn, Singapore $2.2 billion and China with $1.8bn.

Suffering marked drops in investment in 2023 included France, Germany and India. On the up were UAE which rose from 24th to 6th position and Hong Kong from 27th to 9th position.

Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance which prepared the study, said: “While economic headwinds presented a significant challenge for FinTechs globally in 2023, it is encouraging to see how the UK FinTech sector has shown great resilience by maintaining its position as a global hub for investment, second in the world behind only the US, and maintaining the leading position in Europe.

“The data demonstrates a clear opportunity for UK FinTechs to strengthen ties with rapidly growing markets in Asia – many of which entered the global Top 10 for the first time, and saw more combined investment than the European counterparts. The UK’s mature FinTech sector is well placed to develop stronger collaboration with the region, and create new commercial and scaling opportunities.

“We remain confident the momentum of high-profile deals we saw in Q4 will continue well into 2024, as we anticipate a boost to the wider market. We are focused on working with industry, government and regulators, to maintain the UK’s leadership and ensure the necessary support, including proactive regulation, is in place for the UK to attract investment from seed stage to higher levels of critical growth funding.”