The world went through many changes in 2016. From divisive politics to a crude oil crisis, it certainly wasn’t a boring year. However, the financial services industry continued to innovate and grow despite all adversity. Thus, we present you with the Fintech50 2016 part 2 list and if you haven’t seen our first one yet, we strongly suggest you to read our primary Fintech50 2016 list as well.
Introduction to Fintech
If you’re reading this, you probably already know many aspects of the financial services sector. But just in case you are still new to fintech, we prepared a concise overview.
The term ‘fintech’ is an amalgamation of the words ‘finance’ and ‘technology.’ As you might have guessed, fintech companies develop various financial services software.
For instance, notable examples of fintech include digital banks and insurance companies. They offer affordable, convenient alternatives to traditional financial institutions. Some fintech startups combine all of your existing bank accounts into one — that’s another example of financial technology.
Most surprisingly to some, the cryptocurrency sector also falls into this category. Blockchain technology that involves cryptocurrency mining and supports crypto payments is still finance. Perhaps some of the most successful technology companies will be cryptocurrency networks like Bitcoin.
How Did 2016 Affect the Fintech Industry?
As we hinted above, 2016 was a challenging year in many regards. Though most of these issues have to do with politics, they do not happen in isolation. Naturally, the fintech sector was affected by everything going on globally.
Brexit
In Europe, the main topic was the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. Much to the European Union’s dismay, slightly over 50% of voting UK citizens supported the decision to separate from the bloc.
It remains to be seen whether the UK government will deliver, as referendums are not necessarily binding. Plus, the UK will need to work hard to negotiate a new relationship with the European Union once it leaves the bloc.
Regardless of the final outcome from Brexit, it certainly will redefine the European economy. As the UK turns to seek allies elsewhere, it will likely affect more than just Europe.
The US Presidential Election
In a similar vein, things are changing in the United States as well. The 2016 Presidential Election might go down in history as one of the most controversial ones. The election of reality TV star and billionaire Donald Trump to the top governmental position in the world’s largest economy will certainly reverberate around the globe once he steps into office.
The Crude Oil Crisis
Last but not least, the financial markets continued to worry about the oversupply of crude oil. OPEC and its allies are working on a plan to curb their exports to allow oil prices to rise again. Nevertheless, the cartel has not always been unanimous in its decisions. Thus, oil and the energy sector as a whole are also a source of concern.
Fintech’s Performance
In the context of all of these events, things slowed down in fintech in 2016. Still, many innovative companies launched technology services and solutions to simplify online payments.
Nevertheless, institutional investors were a bit more conservative in 2016. Venture capital dedicated less money to supporting new businesses from this emerging industry. Instead, they chose to invest in more traditional assets. Thus, the fintech sector saw only $24.7 billion worth of funding in 2016, down from $46.7 billion of investments in the previous year.
The Fintech50 2016 List
Now that you are all caught up with everything that went on in 2016, we can list the 50 fintechs in the spotlight this year. A diverse panel of experts from the finance field gathered to evaluate some of the most promising technological innovations to the fintech sector in 2016.
Below is the list of fintech brands that made a big impression in 2016.
- AimBrain (London, UK)
- Algomi (London, UK)
- Barzahlen (Berlin, Germany)
- BehavioSec (San Francisco, CA)
- Behavox (Montreal, Canada)
- Bima (London, UK)
- Bitnet (Belfast, UK)
- Blockchain (London, UK)
- Bought By Many (London, UK)
- Callsign (London, UK)
- Cognia (London, UK)
- Contego (Abingdon, UK)
- Credit Benchmark (London, UK)
- Digital Shadows (San Francisco, California)
- Elliptic (London, UK)
- Ethereum (Bern, Switzerland)
- Everledger (London, UK)
- Fenergo (Dublin, Ireland)
- Fidor Bank (Munich, Germany)
- Five Degrees (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- FundApps (London, UK)
- Invoice Sharing (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
- Iwoca (London, UK)
- Kantox (London, UK)
- Kaymera (Tel Aviv, Israel)
- Knip (Zürich, Switzerland)
- LendInvest (London, UK)
- Mambu (Berlin, Germany)
- MarketInvoice (London, UK)
- Meniga (London, UK)
- Monetas (Zug, Switzerland)
- Number26 (Berlin, Germany)
- Onfido (London, UK)
- Personetics (Tel Aviv, Israel)
- Pockit (London, UK)
- Prodigy Finance (London, UK)
- Property Partner (London, UK)
- QuanTemplate (London, UK)
- Raisin (Berlin, Germany)
- RateSetter (London, UK)
- Ravelin (London, UK)
- Revolut (London, UK)
- Spotcap (Berlin, Germany)
- Suade (London, UK)
- Sybenetix (London, UK)
- SynerScope (Helvoirt, Netherlands)
- Tradle (Vancouver, Canada)
- Traxpay (Frankfurt, Germany)
- WeaveWorks (London, UK)
- Yoyo (London, UK)
For more fintech inspiration, feel free to visit The Fintech50 Hall of Fame and learn from the best in the industry!
