Only one in 100
KMPG announced its Fintech 100 list this week. It reported that the “Fintech100” were selected following extensive global research and analysis based on data relating to five factors. Two of the criteria are related to capital raising, reflecting the emphasis that venture capitalist investors place on the ability of firms to innovate in order to generate a long term sustainable competitive advantage.
The criteria are as follows: Total capital raised, rate of capital raising, geographic diversity, sector diversity and X-factor, which is the degree of product, service and business model innovation (a subjective measure that is applied only with respect to companies appearing on the 50 “Emerging Stars” list).KMPG announced its Fintech 100 list this week. It reported that the “Fintech100” were selected following extensive global research and analysis based on data relating to five factors. Two of the criteria are related to capital raising, reflecting the emphasis that venture capitalist investors place on the ability of firms to innovate in order to generate a long term sustainable competitive advantage. The criteria are as follows: Total capital raised, rate of capital raising, geographic diversity, sector diversity and X-factor, which is the degree of product, service and business model innovation (a subjective measure that is applied only with respect to companies appearing on the 50 “Emerging Stars” list).
The Fintech100 includes the leading 50 “established” fintech firms around the globe, ranked based on innovation, capital raising activity, size and reach and the “emerging” 50 exciting new fintechs that are at the forefront of innovative technologies and practices and are often pursuing new business models. Overall, the Fintech100 includes 41 companies from the United Kingdom and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, 29 companies from the Americas (North and South America) and 30 companies from the Asia Pacific (ASPAC) region, including Australia and New Zealand. Chinese firms dominate the top positions of the list and there is only one Turkish company, iyzico among the 100 global firms. iyzico has 13 thousand stores and more than 250 thousand sellers actively using their system.
The key highlights from the 2017 Fintech100 include China fintechs that have taken the top three places on the list as well as Chinese firms that account for five of the top 10. Global fintech innovation continues to accelerate, with 29 different countries represented in the Fintech100, up from 22 countries in 2016. ASPAC is on the rise, with 30 fintechs on this year’s list, while the UK and EMEA dominate the emerging 50 with 26 companies. The United States placed 19 companies on the full list, the most of any country, and three in the top 10.
Fast-moving companies, often start-ups, are known as “disruptors,” as they are focused on disrupting traditional models. These are fintechs that are radically changing their industry paradigm for all players. They represent 73 of the Fintech100. Lending and payments focused companies continue to lead in terms of sectors, with 32 and 21 respectively on the full list. Fifteen companies are in transactions/capital markets and 12 are in insurtech.
The aggregate capital raised remains significant, as the top 50 companies have raised $4.8 billion in the last year alone and over $27 billion in aggregate capital over their lifetimes. The emerging 50 have raised over $600 million in the last year and just over $1 billion in total, since founding. Major funding rounds dominate investment, as twelve companies on the Fintech100 have raised over $100 million, notably the $1.5 billion raised by ZhongAn in conjunction with its recent IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Open banking regulation in the UK, Europe, the U.S. and Australia has been a major catalyst for innovation, with 15 companies working in the related areas included on the Fintech100.
The Turkish ecosystem should be aware of the implications of this list, as only one in a hundred is not good enough for a country whose banking system is technologically on par with the rest of the world.
The top 10 companies in the 2017 Fintech100
1. Ant Financial - China
2. ZhongAn - China
3. Qudian (Qufenqi) - China
4. Oscar - U.S.
5. Avant - U.S.
6. Lufax - China
7. Kreditech - Germany
8. Atom Bank - UK
9. JD Finance - China
10. Kabbage - U.S.
