Fintech funding in the Americas falls
Total fintech investment in the Americas dropped from $95.4 billion in 2022 to $78.3 billion in 2023 as the number of fintech deals plummeted from 3,467 to 2,136. The US attracted the vast majority of fintech deals activity during the year, accounting for $73.5 billion of investment across 1,734 deals.
The second half of 2023 was particularly soft for fintech deals activity in the Americas as investors enhanced their scrutiny of potential deals even further. During H2’23, the Americas attracted $38.4 billion of investment across 916 deals, of which the US accounted for $34.8 billion across 627 deals. The three largest deals in H2’23 occurred in the US, including the
$11.7 billion acquisition of real estate data analytics company Black Knight by Intercontinental Exchange,1 the $10.5 billion acquisition of regtech and risk management software firm Adenza by Nasdaq,2 and the $1.2 billion buyout of wealth management firm Avantax by Cetera.3 Key H2’23 highlights from the Americas include:
Fintech-focused VC investment sees sharp decline as profitability becomes paramount
Fintech-focused VC investment in the Americas dropped considerably in 2023, with just $26.6 billion invested in the region compared to $44.7 billion in 2022. The decline was particularly sharp in the second half of the year, with H2’23 investment just $10.4 billion. Compared to H1’23, when Stripe raised $6.8 billion at a significant cut to its valuation, the largest deal of H2’23 in the Americas was a $365 million raise by US-based Lendbuzz. Over the course of the year, VC investors only enhanced their focus on profitability versus growth, with most deals receiving far more scrutiny for the viability of their business model and the ability to maximize profitability.
Brazil sees uptick in fintech investment year-over-year
While the US accounted for the lion’s share of fintech investment in the Americas during 2023 ($73.5 billion), including the ten largest deals in the region, fintech investment in Brazil was particularly noteworthy during 2023. The country attracted its second highest level of fintech investment ever ($2.6 billion) during the year, including several large deals in H2’23: the $1 billion acquisition of payments firm Pismoby Visa, the $560 million acquisition of B2B fintech software company Sinqia by Puerto Rico based Evertec,4 and the $197 million VC raise by B2B fintech enablement company Qi Tech.5
Increasing regulatory scrutiny of fintechs
2023 saw fintech activities increasingly top of mind for regulators, particularly in the US. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was particularly active during the second half of the year proposing a new rule to regulate large fintech firms like banks, in addition to new rules related to personal financial data rights. During H2’23, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission also released new merger guidelines outlining considerations related to antitrust rules. These rules, while not specifically targeted towards fintechs, could impact the speed of future fintech M&A deals in the US.
Payments deals decline in H2’23; insurtech sees growing interest
While payments remained a key focus of fintech investment in Latin America, in the US there was a noticeable lull in payments deal activity following a fairly active H1’23. Insurtech and and wealthtech continued to see good interest in the US during H2’23, however, with deals including Avantax ($1.2 billion), Benefitfocus ($570 million), Next Insurance ($265 million), and Branch ($215 million).
Trends to watch for in H1’24
- Relatively slow start to the year with more M&A activity over time as valuations become more aligned between buyers and sellers and investors look for distressed assets.
- Convergence of banking regulatory regimes, with regulators increasingly extending their reach more directly into fintechs.
- Increasing PE activity, as PE firms look to recoup their investments and cash out on some of their aging portfolio companies in order to return capital to their investors, while fresh investment capital is near all time highs.
- Growing focus on embedded finance solutions across the entire supply chain.
- Continued focus on B2B fintech solutions aimed at helping improve the efficiency of financial processes.
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1 https://www.investopedia.com/ice-completes-acquisition-of-black-knight-after-settling-ftc-.
2 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-01/nasdaq-closes-10-5-billion-adenza-deal-in-bet-on-fintech-future
3 https://www.avantax.com/about/news/cetera-closes-avantax-acquisition
4 https://ir.evertecinc.com/news/news-details/2023/EVERTEC-Closes-on-the-Acquisition-of-Sinqia-a-Leading-Provider-of-Software-Solutions-for-Financial-Institutions-in-Brazil/default.aspx
5 https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/31/brazils-qi-tech-which-wants-to-decentralize-credit-away-from-banks-lands-200m-led-by-general-atlantic/