FinTech is an amalgamation of finance and technology, and is fast
paving a new way for the future of the financial world. It is only a
matter of time when everything around us will have FinTech as its focal
point. Here is a look at the top ten fintech companies from around the
world
1.Ant Financial
China-based Ant Financial is a spin-off from the Alibaba Group (
BABA
). Officially founded in 2014, it has originated from
Alipay – the world’s leading third-party payment platform founded in
2004. Today, Ant Financial runs Alipay, Ant Fortune, Ant Financial Cloud
and other financial services. Together, Ant Financial and its
affiliates cover wealth management, credit reporting, private bank,
payments and cloud computing. Its business value was
estimated at a whopping $75 billion in 2016. Ant Financial tops the list of the most anticipated IPOs.
2.Adyen
Founded in 2006,
Adyen
provides businesses with a single platform to accept payments through
any sales channel anywhere in the world. Netherlands based Adyen serves
more than 4,500 businesses to process payments through mobile, online
mode, or in-store. Adyen continues to grow at a fast pace and has an
impressive roster of customers, including, Facebook, Uber, Netflix,
Spotify, L’Oréal, Burberry, Symantec and Microsoft. Its 2016 revenue
surpassed $700 million, up from $365 million in 2015. During 2016, $90
billion in transactions were processed by Adyen, an increase of 80%
year-on-year.
3.Qudian
Founded in 2014,
Qudian is a
China-based Fintech firm belonging to the category of ‘lending.’ Qudian
broadly operates as a student micro-loan site, an installment payment
and investment management platform. While in the Western countries, many
purchases are made through credit cards which allow payback in
installments, the consumers in Chinese markets do not currently use much
of that mechanism and this created scope for platforms such as Qudian.
The company has formed partnerships with several e-commerce, digital
services and financial services in a bid to attract consumers. Qudian
which is likely to go public soon and
expects
to raise $800 million to $1 billion. Approximately 33 billion yuan in
loans was facilitated, the figure is projected to more than double to 80
billion yuan in 2017.
4.Xero
Xero, one of the fastest growing ‘software as a service’ company was
founded in 2006 in New Zealand. The company develops easy-to-use online
accounting software for small businesses and has more than 1 million
subscribers. Its product lineup includes a full accrual accounting
system with a cashbook, automated daily bank feeds, invoicing, debtors,
creditors, sales tax and reporting. Xero recorded over NZ$1.4 trillion
transactions last year. It was recognized as the World’s Most Innovative
Growth company in 2014 and 2015 by Forbes.
5.SoFi
SoFi calls itself, “a new kind of
finance company” which is taking a non-traditional approach to lending
and now wealth management. The company is based in San Francisco and was
created in 2011 by four students who met at the Stanford Graduate
School of Business. The company now offers, student loan refinancing,
mortgage loans, personal loans, wealth management and life insurance.
SoFi has since grown to become a multi-billion-dollar company with over
$19 billion of loans funded to date and more than 300,000 members.
6.Lufax
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Shanghai,
Lufax is largely a
peer-to-peer lender and financing company, owned by Ping An Group with a strong presence in China. Ping An Group’s 2016
annual report
mentions that, “The strategic deployment of the internet business is
constantly improving, and its value is gradually becoming more apparent.
Lufax Holding completed its B-round financing of $1,200 million, which
brought its valuation to $18,500 million.”
7.Avant
Founded in 2012,
Avant is a
U.S.-based online lending platform lowering the costs and barriers of
borrowing for consumers. Avant is a tech company that is dedicated to
creating innovative and practical financial products for all consumers.
The company has empowered more than 500,000 customers and has a loan
portfolio worth $3.5 billion.
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