These are the hottest fintech startups and companies in the world
It's a fascinating time for fintech.
What was once a disruptive force in the financial world has become standard practice for many industry leaders.
Fintech industry funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3.
Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the scene.
And some fintech companies, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition.
Now that fintech has become mainstream, the next focus is on the rising stars in the industry. To that end, Business Insider Intelligence has put together the following list of 10 Up and Coming Fintechs for 2019.
Coconut
Total raised: £1.9 million ($2.5 million)
What it does: Coconut is a UK-based current account and accounting platform for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Why it's hot in 2019: Next week, Coconut will launch its first subscription service, dubbed Grow, which will bundle unlimited invoicing and end of year tax reports, for £5 ($6.51) a month. This will make it a very attractive option for SMBs, that conventionally don't have a lot of time on their hands to handle their accounting.
Brex
Total raised: $282 million
What it does: Brex is a US-based corporate credit card provider, which initially focused on serving startups.
Why it's hot in 2019: The startup gained unicorn status in 2018, only months after it launched its first product. Now, after receiving debt financing worth $100 million, Brex wants to target larger enterprises with its topic - opening it up to a whole new set of customers and helping bring the company to the next level.
TrueLayer
Total raised: $11.8 million
What it does: UK-based TrueLayer provides financial services companies with application programming interfaces (APIs), and helps them make the most of new regulations including Open Banking.
Why it's hot in 2019: TrueLayer recently partnered with Plum to help it make the most of open banking, and expanded its API to Germany, where banks continue to struggle to comply with PSD2.
Raisin
Total raised: $178 million
What it does: German savings and investment marketplace
Why it's hot in 2019: Raisin became a fintech unicorn after raising $114 million in January, and has since then formed partnerships with Commerzbank and ClearScore. Additionally, the startup partnered with Starling Bank in 2018 to launch bank accounts in the UK
Anorak
Total raised: £9 million ($11.7 million)
What it does: UK-based insurtech Anorak provides advice on life insurance
Why it's hot in 2019: It graduated from Accenture's fintech innovation lab earlier this year, and is present on Starling's and Yolt's marketplace, where it will likely be able to gain more traction.
SoFi
Total raised: $2 billion
What it does: US-based online personal money management startup
Why it's hot in 2019: While the company previously focused on loans, including student loans, in 2019 it has made some significant moves into the wealth management space, and launched both free ETFs and an investment product, dubbed SoFi Invest. As it becomes a more rounded financial product, SoFi will be worth watching in the next few years.
Lending Express
Total raised: $2.7 million
What it does: Lending Express is a US-based lending platform, which focuses on SMBs, and helps them gain access to more funding by providing them with advice.
Why it's hot in 2019: SMBs remain underserved globally, and while a number of alt lenders have cropped up that make capital more accessible, there are still plenty of startups that need guidance on what they have to do to be able to get access to funding.
Volt Bank
Total raised: $45 million
What it does: Volt is an Australia-based neobank
Why it's hot in 2019: In January, Volt became Australia's first fully licensed neobank. The challenger bank will first offer a suite of retail banking products, as well as budgeting and account aggregation tools, and plans to enter the SMB banking sector in 2020.
Bowtie
Total raised: $30 million
What it does: Hong Kong-based startup Bowtie provides consumers with life insurance.
Why it's hot in 2019: In December 2018, Bowtie became the first insurtech in Hong Kong to receive an online-only insurance license from Hong Kong's Insurance Authority (IA). Over 80% of customers in Hong Kong willing to use digital channels to interact with insurance providers, making future demand for Bowtie very likely.
Wefox
Total raised: $158.5 million
What it does: German Wefox connects insurance companies to brokers that manage and consult their customers completely digital.
Why it's hot in 2019: The insurtech raised $125 million in March 2019, partnered with SBI Group earlier this year to launch in Asia. Given that Wefox partly works on a business-to-business model, it is likely that demand will be high from insurers that have to compete with a plethora of emerging insurtechs.
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