Despite the challenges that European FinTech faced in 2022, there are still plenty of opportunities on the horizon.
Below we’ll look at what leading investors, founders, and operators’ insights are on what we should expect to see in the industry this year.
Consolidation in the Overcrowded FinTech Space
The FinTech sector is facing increasing challenges, with many companies operating at a loss and competing for the same customers. In this environment, consolidation is likely to become more common, with an increase in mergers and acquisitions activity expected.
Nina Mohanty, Founder at Bloom Money, believes that embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) will be a key area for consolidation, with mature fintechs or banks buying up technologies or entire companies.
Gemma Young, Founder of Women of FinTech, also thinks that there will be more collaboration between banks and fintechs in 2023.
Akash Bajwa, Investor at Earlybird, comments that “FinTech is at the point of maturity where a generation of repeat founders will emerge to build the next set of categories, having been at the coal face for over a decade and having seen the opportunities that run across the gamut of financial services infrastructure.”
Focus on financial well-being and personalization
With the current economic environment, consumers are expected to demand more services from financial service providers to help with financial well-being.
We expect Fintechs that focus on specific demographic segments and communities to thrive, with a range of fintechs already serving different groups, such as Kestrl for financial management for Muslims, Your Juno and Alpher for financial education for women, and Bloom Money for diaspora communities.
Nina from Bloom Money notes that affinity propositions allow consumers to start talking more about their finances, and “the strength of the community will necessarily dictate specific life events which products and services can be built around.”
B2B Fintechs to Grow
Investors are continuing to be bullish on B2B fintechs, which reached $18.5 billion in investment in 2022, surpassing the $7.5 billion invested in B2C.
Akash from Earlybird suggests that with consumers reducing discretionary spending and having less disposable income, B2B fintechs are well-positioned to grow.
Final Thoughts
Despite the challenges faced by European FinTech in 2022, there is still plenty of room for growth and opportunities in the industry. Investors have an all-time high level of dry powder, with $28 billion of undeployed capital, and fintechs that focus on financial wellbeing and personalization, as well as B2B startups, are expected to thrive.
As Nina Mohanty says, “startups that remain in the market will need to mature their onboarding and customer support quickly to better aid growth for their customers.”
