Fintech is a core component of the modern global economy. Through the 2010s, we saw a fintech explosion which heralded disruption and innovation across everything from retail investing and wealth management to payments and currency exchange.
Often, fintech is an arena for smaller, more agile firms, with teams which can move quickly to disrupt the market by rolling out new tech. Often driven by machine learning, robotic process automation, or blockchain technology, these solutions promise retail and business customers a smoother experience of the finance sector.
To help you keep your finger on the pulse, we’ve put together a list of ten top fintech firms to keep an eye out for, along with a breakdown of what they do. Take a look!
Wise
Launched: 2011
Based: London
Known as TransferWise until February 2021, TransferWise was founded by two Estonian businessmen, including Skype’s first employee, Taavet Hinrikus. Its USP was simple: a cheap, quick way to send money around the world that was more streamlined than the payments services offered by most high street banks.
Today, Wise offers a suite of retail and B2B banking products, hence the rebrand. Its website still claims it is “on average 8x cheaper than leading UK high street banks”, and payments are still the jewel in the firm’s crown, but they now offer personal and business accounts.
Find out more about Wise here.
Blend
Launched: 2012
Based: San Francisco
Founded by a group of former Palantir employees, Blend is a Silicon Valley fintech firm that seeks to “bring simplicity and transparency to consumer banking”.
It is a digital-first consumer lender that uses a data-driven platform to automate much of the red tape traditionally associated with lending. It works with major US banks such as US Bank and Wells Fargo to process billions in loans each day, providing customers credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, and more.
Find out more about Blend here.
Tide
Launched: 2015
Based: London
Founded in 2015, Tide provides UK SMEs with a range of mobile-first banking services. Alongside a business-focused current account, it also offers invoicing and bookkeeping systems which integrate with its accounts.
Often listed among Wise, Starling, Revolut, and other “fintech disruptors”, Tide’s product suite allows SME CEOs and MDs to streamline their business banking experience. It has partnerships with iwoca, Xero, and the Post Office to facilitate loans, accounting, and cash deposit services.
Tide also provided more than £50 million to 2,000 small UK businesses under the Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan scheme, before closing applications in July 2020.
Find out more about Tide here.
Stripe
Launched: 2009
Based: San Francisco & Dublin
If you’ve bought something online from a small business in the past 12 months, it’s likely that you’ve used Stripe technology without even knowing about it.
A payment processor and software development firm with more than 4,000 employees, Stripe can be easily built into small web stores and shopping apps. A major player in the ecommerce fintech arena, Stripe appointed the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, to its board in February 2021.
Find out more about Stripe here.
Robinhood
Launched: 2013
Based: Menlo Park, California
Robinhood made the news most recently for its role in the GameStop short squeeze in January 2021, but it has been providing a commission-free electronic trading platform for retail investors since its official launch in March 2015.
Named for its mission to democratise trading, Robinhood provides users with the capacity to trade on most standard markets as well as a limited range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Find out more about Robinhood here.
Coinbase
Launched: 2012
Based: Totally remote – no physical headquarters
Perhaps the most well-known cryptocurrency exchange platform today, Coinbase reported a revenue of more than $1.14 billion in 2020, and went public on the NASDAQ in April 2021.
Coinbase provides a range of crypto-related products. Its base Coinbase app allows retail traders to buy, store, and trade different currencies, while others provide more extensive support for professional and institutional traders. In recent years, it has rolled out a debit card with Visa and a payments service for merchants, all driven by cryptocurrency.
Find out more about Coinbase here.
Revolut
Launched: 2015
Based: London
Founded by a former Lehman Brothers trader, Revolut provides a range of retail banking services, including bank accounts, currency exchange, stock trading, cryptocurrency trading, and payments processing.
Today, Revolut is believed to be the largest digital bank in Europe (with more than 13 million users) and the UK’s most valuable fintech firm, with a valuation of some £4.2 billion in 2020.
Find out more about Revolut here.
iwoca
Launched: 2011
Based: London
A small business lender that offers custom loans up to £250,000, iwoca’s lending is driven by machine learning models based on data from eBay, payPal, Xero, Amazon, and other major firms.
In 2019, it was reported that iwoca had lent more than £1 billion to over 30,000 businesses in Germany and the UK.
Find out more about iwoca here.
Habito
Launched: 2016
Based: London
A mortgage broker and lender, Habito offers a digital-driven fee-free broking experience that allows users to compare, apply, and track mortgage progress through their website.
While Habito’s basic product doesn’t charge customers, it also offers a range of satellite services, including a “complete home-buying service” in partnership with surveyors and conveyancers.
Find out more about Habito here.
Moneybox
Launched: 2015
Based: London
With more than 450,000 customers who have over £1 billion in assets on the platform, Moneybox has come a long way in just six short years. Its USP is its ability to “round up” purchases and save using the “spare change” from card transactions.
Moneybox offers a range of savings and investment products, including a handful aimed at first-time buyers.
There you have it – ten top fintech firms from the UK and US to keep an eye on going forward. There’s no doubt that the future of finance lies in leveraging technology, from machine learning and AI to blockchain and automation. Understanding more about how it might take shape definitely can’t hurt.
Find out more about Moneybox here.
For more information on SME lending and finances, get in contact with Funding Bay.
