The fintech scene is so hot, it’s boiling

I just picked up Silicon Valley Bank’s latest report on Fintech, and it makes fascinating reading.  Here are the headlines:

• the fourth quarter of 2014 was the busiest time in fintech history, with 214 deals taking place globally;
• the entire fintech market saw 211 acquisitions in 2014 alone, making it the most prolific period of the last 5 years;
• venture capital funding in UK fintech dramatically increased in 2014, rising to $539 million, with the UK taking half the total investment in fintech businesses in Europe;
• fintech is worth £20 billion in revenue of the UK economy;
• the CBI predicts that fintech is one of three sectors that will be worth £300 billion to the UK economy by 2020; and
• 60% of all fintech startups in Europe are based in the UK.

This is just one of several reports that say how fintech is storming the world.  

For example, an Accenture report shows that global investment in financial technology ventures tripled from US$928 million to US$2.97 billion between 2008 and 2013, and is likely to grow to US$8 billion by 2018.

There are also several graphics of the fintech ecosystem.  Although non-exhaustive, they add fuel to the flame of this hot, hot market.

For example, one of the more popular is Venture Scanner who stated in October last that: “when the Financial Technology scan was first initiated a few months ago, there were 248 companies broken down into 10 categories.  Today, the scan is covering 1,000 Fintech startups across 17 categories…and growing.”

Source: Venture Scanner, October 2014 

This is not the only chartist company out there though.

Source: Technology Return, July 2014 

And some even narrow it down.  For example, half of all fintech start-ups are in the payments space and this chart from Ryerson Futures maps it out:

And, if you’re wondering who’s acquiring them, then this chart helps (sourced via George Sztankay).

Other chartists focus upon where investments and start-ups are based.  For example, fintech autobahn shows the Germanic scene is buoyant:

Although maybe this chart from Data Fox sums it up best:

Finally, if you want to know what’s really going on, then follow Marc Bernegger’s lists of fintech influencers in key cities:

• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• New York
• Singapore
• Switzerland  and Franco-Switzerland (Romandie) 
• UK