Fintech Craze Has Spread Around the World and These Companies Are the Best Contenders 

Beginning as a disruptive force in the world of finance, financial technology (fintech) businesses have been elevated to become part of the standard practice for industry leaders.

Proof of its current popularity is the reported $32.6 billion worth of funding various companies in the niche have received by the end of 2018’s third quarter.

Its takeover continues as more and more fintech startups rise from regions like Africa and South America.

And thanks to the increase in competition these same companies have dipped their toes into new markets like insurance as well. Here are some of the industry’s rising stars to watch out for.

Raisin 

Raisin started out as a service helping Europeans get their money to savings account with the highest yields

First on the list is the German fintech Raisin. The investment and savings marketplace was dubbed a ‘unicorn’ in the niche after it managed to raise a whopping $114 million in the beginning of 2019. In total, Raisin has reportedly reached $178 million in funding.

It has also struck up partnerships with major German bank Commerzbank and another fintech Clearscore, which is based in the United Kingdom.

Coconut

Coconut, an accounting platform targeting small and medium-sized businesses, may not have raised the most when it comes to funding but its launches still managed to attract the attention of people in the industry.

Just last year, the UK-based company launched ‘Grow’, a subscription service that gives users year-end tax reports as well as limitless invoicing for a small fee.

This is expected to attract small and medium-sized business proprietors who need their accounting handled fast.

Volt Bank 

Neobanks are different from traditional banks in that they don’t have physical branches solely operating online

All the way in Australia is the neobank Volt Bank. Aside from raising some $45 million worth of funds, the innovative institution boasts of being the first of its kind to receive a license in the country.

Volt Bank set out to initially offer a variety of retail banking products as well as account aggregation tools.

TrueLayer

Another UK-based fintech to watch out for is TrueLayer. The startup markets its application programming interfaces (APIs) to other fintechs.

It’s managed to raise $11.8 million and ink a partnership with Plum, a software company known for its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to help with wealth management.

Brex

Launched in 2017, Brex has raised a total of $282 million

Another fintech serving other fintech’s is Brex, a corporate credit card provider based in the United States. Providing services for small businesses at first, it has set its eyes on expanding its customer reach to larger enterprises.