Global investment in financial technology firms reached an all-time high in 2017, boosted by a surge in funding for startups in the US, UK and India, new research has found.

The study from Accenture and CB Insights showed that FinTech financing rose by 18 per cent in 2017 to $27.4 billion – with deals in the US jumping 31 per cent to $11.3 billion. Deal values also increased nearly fivefold in India to $2.4 billion.

In the UK, digital insurance distributor BGL Group raised $900 million alone, helping to push overall FinTech investments in the country to an all-time high of $3.4 billion – almost quadruple the total raised in 2016. Payments venture TransferWise had the second largest fundraising round in the UK, securing $280 million.

The total number of global FinTech deals also rose sharply, from just over 1,800 in 2016 to almost 2,700 in 2017, highlighting the growing appetite from investors.

Total global investment in FinTech ventures between 2010 and 2017 reached $97.7 billion, according to the analysis, with US startups accounting for more than half of all investments. The volume of deals over the same period grew at a compound annual rate of 35 per cent, with total funding growth at a compound rate of 47 per cent.

Julian Skan, senior managing director at Accenture’s financial services group, said: “Much of the growth, particularly in the US and UK, has been driven by big new investment flows from China, Russia, the Middle East and other emerging economies.

“In addition, we saw more and more B2B FinTech models proving out at the banks, coupled with larger and later-stage investments as the FinTech world scales up,” he continued. “Also fuelling growth was the rapid rise of ‘InsurTech’ ventures where traditional carriers see new opportunities. India’s boom was driven by strong demand for cashless services following the country’s ‘demonetisation’ events.”

Share Story: