2025 was a positive year for the Irish fintech market, with funding reaching $259.38 million– an increase of 9% compared to 2024 when $237.95 million was raised– according to the Pulse of FinTech H2'25—a bi-annual report published by KPMG highlighting global fintech investment trends.
The data includes $58.61 million raised by trade finance firm Teybridge Capital Europe, making it the largest fintech deal in Ireland in 2025. Other notable deals for the period included $77 million raised across two deals by payment software company, NomuPay, and $35 million raised by Dublin-based financing platform Wayflyer.
Globally, after three years of declining investment, the global fintech market turned a corner in 2025, attracting $116 billion in total investment, up from $95.5 billion in 2024. While overall deal volume continued to decline - falling to 4,719 deals, an eight-year low - the increase in total capital deployed points to larger deal sizes, renewed confidence, and a more selective investment environment.
The rebound was underpinned by strong growth in venture capital and M&A activity, even as private equity investment softened. Global M&A deal value rose to $55.4 billion, driven primarily by the United States ($27.5 billion) and EMEA ($11 billion), while VC investment climbed to $56.7 billion, reflecting renewed appetite for scaled growth platforms.
Fintech investment in EMEA region increases to $29.2 billion
Up from $26.5 billion in 2024
Fintech investment in the EMEA region increased from $26.5 billion in 2024 to $29.2 billion in 2025, reflecting uneven momentum across markets. The UK remained the largest fintech market in the region, attracting $10.96 billion in investment, although this represented a meaningful decline from $13.35 billion in 2024. The Nordics also delivered a standout year, drawing $5.3 billion in fintech investment.
In contrast, France experienced a sharp slowdown, with investment falling from $3.1 billion across 135 deals in 2024 to just $1 billion in 2025, marking its weakest year since 2018. Germany also saw subdued activity, with investment reaching only $966 million, well below prior-year levels and approaching the record low recorded in 2016.
Irish fintech ecosystem shows strength
Commenting on fintech activity in Ireland during 2025, Ian Nelson, Head of Financial Services & Regulatory at KPMG in Ireland, said:
“Ireland’s fintech sector continued to build momentum in 2025, with investment once again rising strongly year-on-year. What’s particularly encouraging is the signal this sends about investor confidence in Irish fintechs that have clear traction, robust governance, and paths to scale.
In a cautious global market, there’s a strong vote of confidence in the depth and quality of Ireland’s fintech sector.”
Global highlights 2025
- Global fintech investment rebounded in 2025, rising to $116 billion across 4,719 deals, up from $95.5 billion across 5,533 deals in 2024.
- Regionally, activity was strongest in the Americas, which attracted $66.5 billion, up from $55.4 billion in 2024. EMEA followed with $29.2 billion, compared to $26.5 billion a year earlier. Asia-Pacific activity slowed, declining to $9.3 billion from $11.7 billion in 2024.
- Global deal volume fell to its lowest annual level since 2017, reflecting continued investor selectivity despite higher capital deployment.
- Global fintech M&A activity strengthened, with deal value increasing from $44.6 billion across 829 deals in 2024 to $55.4 billion across 840 deals in 2025, led by strong US activity.
- Global venture capital investment increased to $56.7 billion across 3,765 deals, up from $45.4 billion across 4,567 deals in 2024.
- The US drove the largest VC gains, with investment rising year over year from $19.7 billion to $27.2 billion.
- Corporate venture capital (CVC) was a standout, climbing from $20.9 billion across 1,408 deals in 2024 to $29.7 billion across 1,055 deals in 2025.
- At the sector level, digital assets significantly outperformed 2024 levels: digital assets attracted $19.1 billion in 2025 - the third-highest year on record, up from $11.2 billion in 2024. Investment in companies focused on B2B products and services saw renewed momentum, reaching $13.5 billion, its strongest year since 2019.
EMEA trends to watch for in H1’26
- Very strong focus on AI-driven solutions, with large financial institutions in particular looking at ways to use AI to accelerate innovations - although some investors are concerned about whether there’s a bubble. In some cases, it’s still unclear how these businesses will ultimately make money, or profitability remains a distant prospect. That’s fueling concerns that valuations may be driven more by story and hype than by durable revenue generation.
- Investors continuing to focus on companies with profitable and proven business models.
- Regulations increasingly shaping the use of digital assets and currencies, helping drive confidence and further investment in the space.
- Investors and consortiums continuing to investigate opportunities for stablecoins pegged to the euro rather than to the US dollar.
- Increased momentum towards a European payments infrastructure that is less dependent on US players with the European Payment Initiative (EPI) rolling out its e-commerce solution beyond Germany, expanding to Belgium, France and the Netherlands, and with EU legislators expected to adopt the Regulation establishing the digital euro.
- Some consolidation among smaller digital-assets-focused fintechs given the costs associated with complying with MiCA and other regulations.
- Growth of tokenization, particularly stablecoins, deposit tokens and interoperability of such services across regulatory regimes, currencies and ecosystems.
- Increasing IPO activity - although businesses will likely prioritize US-based IPOs due to liquidity advantages.
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