In the midst of a global pandemic, post-Brexit London has cemented its status as the fintech capital of Europe, according to new figures from industry body Innovate Finance.
The UK fintech sector raised a total of $5.7bn in H1 2021, reports Innovate Finance, outstripping the total investment secured in 2020 ($4.3bn) by 34% and breaking the record year set in 2019 ($4.6bn) by 26%.
SaltPay and Checkout.com attracted the two largest deals made this year and are amongst the largest fundraises in the UK fintech sector so far, with $500 million and $450 million respectively.
Payment technology firms dominated the charts, while challenger bank Starling Bank ($376m), crypto trading platform Blockchain.com ($300m), pension and payroll providers Smart Pension ($230m) and PayFit ($107m) and credit-scoring specialist ClearScore ($200m) also secured large investments.
The first half of the year also saw 13 UK fintech companies close mega deals of above £100 million, surpassing the record set in 2019 when 10 firms broke the milestone.
Today, the UK is second only to the US (940 deals and $26.7bn) in terms of funds raised, and well ahead of the levels secured by Brazil (40 deals and $3bn), Germany (56 deals and $2.5bn) and India (132 deals and $2.2bn) during the same period.
Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, comments: “Fintech is one of the fastest-growing sectors of our economy and has a vital role to play in the UK’s economic and business recovery.
“It is hugely encouraging to see evidence of this resilience and growth, particularly in light of the uncertainty and challenges brought on by 2020. Both the flow of capital and a wide talent pool are essential to maintaining the sector’s strength, and we remain committed to supporting efforts in these vital areas.”