The study included data from 1,448 fintech platforms operating in 192 areas worldwide, reporting that the fintech industry displayed growth at an increased pace in every sector except for data analytics.

The study revealed that many fintechs are progressing in financial inclusion within their customer base. A key finding of the report was that a large portion of new customers came from under-represented groups in the fintech industry. Women, low-income households, and SMEs are confronted with more challenges when looking for financial services. This study demonstrated that in multiple sectors, women and low-income households consisted of 50% of responding fintech firms’ total customers.

Jean Pesme, World Bank global director, finance, competitiveness and innovation, says, “Fintech firms are transforming the financial sector by driving innovation, introducing more competition and expanding access to financial services; the survey indicated that fintech firms have served women, SMEs and low-income households—people who have traditionally faced challenges in accessing financial services.”

The report noted a correlation between areas with stricter Covid-19 lockdown measures and the growth of fintechs within those jurisdictions: they demonstrated more growth than fintech platforms that operated under less stringent lockdown measures.

The highest rate of growth in transaction volume was in digital payments, with fintech platforms working in Advanced Economies (AEs) and Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) also proving high growth rates. The transaction volume of fintechs in AEs surpassed that of those in EMDEs.

Reflecting on studies from previous years, fintech firms strive to improve on cyber security and prevent fraud to ensure their platforms are more secure. They have demonstrated a lower level of risks that were reported from the risk assessments in 2019.

A key area in need of development this year was in communication between market stakeholders and regulatory authorities to hasten the speed of authorization processes and requirements by fintech firms.

Overall, the study reported that the fintech industry is resilient to the pandemic and in the past year has shown higher assessments and an increase in capital raising activities.

Bryan Zhang, co-founder and executive director, CCAF, states, “Based on the unique empirical dataset collected, this report highlights the resiliency of the global fintech industry during the pandemic, driven by the growth of sectors such as digital payments, digital lending and enterprise technology provisioning in key geographies. It also points to the potential of digital finance to advance financial inclusion and serve millions of unbanked and underbanked populations and MSMEs around the world.”