The data, compiled by Accenture (ACN) and the Partnership Fund for New York City, highlights the city’s rapid rise as a fintech hub and a shift in emphasis away from startups that compete against financial institutions to those that partner with them.

Last year, fintech investment in New York tripled to $2.3 billion, accounting for nearly 10% of all cash splashed in the sector globally, leading Accenture capital markets managing director Robert Gach to declare: “We are now in a golden age of fintech.”

Increasingly, entrepreneurs are being drawn in by the city’s tech talent and close access to potential customers, while Wall Street has opened up to this new avenue of innovation.

“Venture capital is driving major innovations," Gach observes. "But it is difficult for fintechs - particularly in the US - to grow and scale on their own, so investments are shifting to fintechs that partner with rather than compete against traditional institutions. That is positioning New York at the epicenter of the fintech boom.”

In 2010, 60% of North American fintech investment dollars went to ventures that compete against traditional institutions, while 40% went to those that collaborate with them. In 2015, the ratio was reversed.

The shift is far more pronounced in New York: 37% of New York investment dollars went to fintech ventures that collaborate with financial institutions in 2010; and that number had increased to 83% in 2015.

“The reality of the U.S. regulatory landscape - combined with the surging demand for digital innovation - makes the fintech investment boom a watershed for banks," says Gach. "With friction easing and cooperation growing between entrepreneurs and institutions, financial services firms need to take the next step to deeper adoption and integration of these innovations.”

The data was released to coincide with Accenture's sixth annual New York FinTech Innovation Lab Demo Day, where eight companies showcased their financial technology innovations to an audience of senior banking executives.