2021 has seen an incredibly strong start to the year for the global fintech market. As you’ll see from this edition of Pulse of Fintech, the rebound we saw in H2’20 continued into H1’21, with very robust investment across VC, PE, and venture capital.
We saw growing deal sizes in a wide variety of fintech subsectors – from wealthtech and regtech to crypto and cybersecurity. If there was a word that could be used to describe H1’21, it would be: diversity.
Whether you’re the CEO of a large financial institution or the founder of an emerging fintech, the road ahead is sure to be radically different from what you envisioned just a year or two ago – and that’s likely a good thing. As you read this edition of Pulse of Fintech, ask yourself: Recognising how far we’ve come over the last 18 months, what can we do now to make sure we keep moving forward successfully?
Global fintech investment continues to bounce back
Global fintech investment continued its remarkable rebound in H1’21, rising from US$89 billion in H2’20 to US$98 billion in H1’21. Fintech deal volume hit a new record of 2,456 during H1’21. A wealth of dry powder, an increasingly diverse range of fintech hubs and fintech subsectors, and robust activity in almost all regions of the world contributed to the strong start to 2021.
Australia is off to a solid start with fintech investment
Australia saw a solid start to the year, with US$890 million in fintech investment in H1’21 including National Australia Bank’s US$170 million acquisition of digital bank 86 400 which has featured in the top 10 fintech deals in Asia Pacific for H1 2021.
Australia observed rising interest in open banking, digital banking, payments, B2B services, digital mortgages and banking-as-a-service solutions. Additionally, several of Australia’s big banks have focused on investing in ecosystem and vertical players in order to simplify and enhance the experience of SMEs and merchants.
There’s a lot happening in the fintech sector in Australia – between payments, digital banking, and banking-as-a-service solutions. Corporates were very active in H1’21, focusing on building out their capabilities and their offerings in order to provide a broader range of solutions to their clients, particularly SMEs and merchants.
Download Pulse of Fintech H1’21
VC investments surge and cross-border M&A more than doubles all of 2020.
Download this edition for:
- global and regional analysis with key investment data and insights
- top fintech trends for 2021 and beyond
- interview with Jason Pau, Chief of Staff for International, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Ant Group
- fintech segment insights for a deeper dive into payments, insurtech, regtech, wealthtech, cybersecurity, blockchain and cryptocurrency
- spotlight article: Putting big data at the heart of ESG decision-making.
To learn more about the analysis and topics raised in this edition, or to discuss your organisation's unique fintech agenda and roadmap, please contact your local KPMG advisors or the contributors in this publication.
Top fintech trends for H2’21
During the first half of 2021, we saw interest in fintech grow to a fever pitch in most regions of the world. As we head into the second half of the year, this extraordinary momentum is expected to continue. Here are our top predictions for fintech in H2’21.
- Crypto will be a hot focus for investors.
- M&A activity will continue to surge.
- SPACs could steal the spotlight.
- Cybersecurity will gain even greater prominence.
- B2B services will gain attention across fintech subsectors.
- Partnerships will be embraced by big techs and fintechs.
Learn more about the top Fintech trends for H1'21.
Closing the digital skills gap
Bridging the digital skills gap is a major challenge, not only for established companies in financial services, but also for fintech startups looking to grow, and for countries looking to establish or expand their digital economies and fintech ecosystems.
Find out how Ant Group is supporting the next generation of global fintech talent through the 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion program.
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