US and UK lead world in FinTech investment

San Francisco, London and New York are leading the way for attracting financial technology investments such as blockchain and mobile payments, according to new research.

The data, released by London & Partners and Innovate Finance reveals the US leads the global FinTech VC market with $9.37bn raised so far in 2019. 

Key findings: 

The top five world cities by deal value in 2019 show the U.S. leading with San Francisco at $3.02bn, London second at $2.1bn, New York in third at $1.93bn, followed by Berlin at $881m, and Stockholm in fifth at $735m. 

A country comparison of global FinTech investment by deal value reveals the U.S. in top place ($9.37bn), the UK second place ($2.29bn), followed by Germany ($998.8m), China ($770.8m) and Sweden ($736.7m) 

London leads overall FinTech investment in Europe with $2.11bn investment, followed by Berlin ($881m), Stockholm ($734m), Paris ($330m) and Milan ($49m).  

London also leads Europe with the top number of investment deals (114), ahead of Stockholm (21), Berlin (20), Paris (19), Milan (8). 

Germany has also performed strongly, with investment levels reaching record levels in 2019, following rapid growth between 2014 –18. In 2019, just under $1bn was invested in German companies across 37 deals.  

While London has long been established as a thriving, well-connected financial eco-system, 2019 has seen record levels of investment in the UK.  In the first eight months of the year alone, over $2bn has been invested in London-based businesses across 114 deals, surpassing totals seen in any previous year. 

Amongst FinTech investment deals on a global level, London has taken top spot in 2019, with a total of 114 deals, overtaking New York in second place (101). San Francisco is in third place (80), with Beijing (24) and Singapore (23) competing for fourth and fifth.    

Out of the ten largest European investments recorded so far in 2019, London-based companies account for half these deals, totalling $1.8bn between them. The UK capital’s FinTech sector is a leading source of high value scale-up companies, with Monzo ($143m) and WorldRemit ($175m) featuring in the lofty ranks of unicorn success stories.  

Other London-based investment deals include: OakNorth ($440m); Checkout.com ($230m); Iwoca ($195m). The full chart: 10 Largest European Investment Deals* is available below.

An analysis into the top ten cities for number of FinTech deals in 2019 shows that London has the most international investors, with 54% of total VC investment involving an investor from outside the UK. ** Around 1 in 10 (11%) investors in San Francisco came from outside of North America and 15% of New York investors came from outside of the USA.

Laura Citron, CEO, London & Partners, said: ” The findings of our report show the US and UK are leading the world in FinTech investment and number of deals, with London, San Francisco and New York really at the top of their game. All three cities have remarkable innovation, creative eco-systems and access to talent.

“But while we share strengths, there is still a lot we can learn from each other and building even stronger links between our cities can provide mutual benefits for entrepreneurs and businesses on both sides of the pond.”

The release of the research coincides with the opening of Sibos 2019 (23 – 26 September), one of the world’s leading financial services events.  Sibos 2019 marks the first-time this global financial services event has been held in London, and promises to be the biggest conference to date, with over 10,000 delegates. The conference explores the concept of thriving in a hyper-connected world with the challenges, and opportunities brought by mass digitisation and data-driven relationships. 

A Fine Year for Fintech: Global Trends from a UK Perspective.  Published September 2019 by London & Partners & Innovate Finance. This can be downloaded from www.londonandpartners.com or www.innovatefinance.co.uk