Felipe Ferri de Camargo Paes (Principal Researcher), Drew Propson, Pavle Avramovic, Emina Ajvazoska, Krishnamurthy Suresh, Richard Kithuka, Loh Xiang Ru, Mark Jani, Stanley Mutinda, Patrizia Trocolli Dragonetti and Bryan Zhang.
This second edition of the Future of Global Fintech report aims to provide a clear view of the current fintech landscape. It builds on the first edition as well as earlier studies on the impact of COVID-19 on the fintech industry. Its insights are designed to support evidence-based decision-making by public- and private-sector leaders across the fintech ecosystem.
This empirical study surveyed a total of 240 carefully selected fintech companies across 6 key retail-facing fintech business verticals (digital lending, digital capital raising, digital payments, digital banking and savings, insurtech and wealthtech) and 6 regions (Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, the US and Canada, and Sub-Saharan Africa).
Highlights from the report
The main findings of the report include:
1
The global fintech industry remains robust as it transitions to a more sustainable growth phase
The industry maintains positive performance metrics, though at more moderate rates than during the COVID-19 pandemic surge. Average customer growth from 2022-2023 stands at 37%, down from 55% in 2020-2021, reflecting natural market normalization as the industry matures beyond pandemic-driven digital acceleration. Encouragingly, revenue growth is strong at 40%, as is profit growth at 39%.
2
Macroeconomic factors continue to be the primary challenge for fintech growth, although improvements are noted
In total, 18% of survey respondents cite macroeconomic factors as unsupportive to growth, and 37% cite them as neither supportive nor unsupportive. In the previous study, 56% of respondents considered these factors a hindrance. Similarly, sentiment on the funding environment recovered, with 31% of fintechs having neutral opinions and only 12% of fintechs citing it as a hindrance (compared to 40% in the previous study).
3
Financial inclusion remains central to the fintech value proposition, with traditionally underserved segments comprising significant portions of customer bases
Fintechs report that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make up 57% of their customers, low-income populations make up 47% and women make up 41%, representing a considerable portion of their customer base. These segments also generated substantial revenue, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), demonstrating that inclusion can support profitability.
4
Partnerships play a critical role in fintech strategies
Eighty-four per cent of surveyed fintechs are partnering with incumbent financial institutions, most commonly through application programming interface (API) integrations (52%), technology providers (41%) and funding agreements (36%). Technology solutions and infrastructure (48%) are noted as the primary motivators for collaboration, followed by enhanced credibility and trust (34%) and product and service innovation (34%).
5
Fintechs are generally satisfied with the regulatory landscape and approaches taken by regulators
Sixty-two per cent of fintechs report that regulation in the regions where they conduct business is adequate for their operations and 35% cite strong clarity of the regulatory approach. Notable areas where challenges persist, however, include financial authority knowledge and capacity, co-ordination of financial authorities, and licensing and registration processes.
6
Technology adoption continues to accelerate
Eighty per cent of surveyed fintechs are implementing artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple business domains. Customer service and process automation lead AI applications, with 91% of fintechs either having implemented AI or planning to implement AI in these areas in the near future. This widespread adoption of AI is positively affecting fintechs’ performance, with reported improvements in customer experience (83%), cost reduction (75%) and profitability (75%).
In a continuously evolving industry, fintechs have identified AI, regional interoperability, open banking and open finance as the most important topics for development in the next 5 years. Combined with broader report findings, this points to a strategic focus on sustainable growth, cross-border expansion and deeper integration with traditional financial infrastructure. The industry may be moving beyond pure disruption towards collaborative transformation of digital financial services.