A booming market
FinTech is a portmanteau that combines the words Finance and Technology. It refers to all the startups working to facilitate financial and banking procedures by harnessing the power of new technologies.
All around the world, FinTechs are experiencing spectacular growth. Between 2014 and 2015, investment in this sector has more than doubled (+210%) in Europe to reach 10.9 billion dollars. Their specialties include payments, insurance, fundraising, investment management, loans and deposits.
It comes as no surprise that the United States, where FinTechs first emerged, dominates the market with 14.8 million dollars invested in 2015, despite only witnessing moderate growth (44%). But the sector is truly taking off in Asia with investment in Asian FinTechs ballooning by 400% in 2015 to reach 4.3 billion dollars, with virtually all investments coming from China and India. After a slight decline in 2016, investment in FinTechs continues to grow in both Europe and Africa.
47 billion dollars
This is the amount of total investment in the FinTech sector in 2015, coming from venture capital funds and traditional banking companies, according to a KPMG study.
B2C, B2B or B2B2C?
Behind the general FinTech term lies a wide range of different players. In fact, several different types of financial start-ups exist, characterized by their target.
- B2C (Business to Consumers) FinTechs serve end users. These include neobanks, 100% digital banks and banks with no physical branches; digital investment platforms; and apps for payment, personal finance management or wealth management.
- B2B (Business to Business) FinTechs offer solutions to companies including banks, such as factoring or dematerialized accounting, platforms for managing customer credit in SaaS (Software as a Service), etc.
- B2B2C (Business to Business to Consumers) FinTechs represent all the crowdfunding platforms in a general sense. Their goal is to connect people with projects to institutional and individual investors.
- Finally, InsurTechs are FinTechs devoted to insurance. They notably offer comparison tools, smart contracts for faster compensation, etc.
BNP Paribas International Hackathon 2017.
BNP Paribas is committed to taking a co-creation approach with FinTech startups
As part of its digital transformation strategy, BNP Paribas has set up a co-creation approach with FinTechs. Its goal is to work together to shape the future of banking.
For the past three years, the BNP Paribas International Hackathon (unavailable link) has mobilised dozens of FinTechs from around the world to take on their shared challenges. In 2017, 160 startups from 10 countries hammered out their vision for the customer experience of the future, with the help of 500 BNP Paribas experts. This year, the Hackathon focused on the theme of improving customer pathways in banking.
In 2016, L’Atelier BNP Paribas took action to strengthen this dynamic by launching FinTechCorp (unavailable link), an accelerator that combines banking services and startups. The 4-month program enables the Group to achieve its strategic objectives (locating new sources of growth, optimizing processes) and startups to reach a viable size in the best conditions.
And more recently in April 2017, BNP Paribas acquired the neobank Compte-Nickel, offering a line of simple and 100% connected financial services, accessible to everyone with no funding requirements. It’s the perfect formula for those looking to make and receive payments, with no need for overdraft or credit services.