The three fastest-growing fintech companies in Europe are digital banking startups, according to the Sifted 250. 64 fintechs appear in the Sifted 250, which ranks companies by compound annual revenue growth. The sector is only bested by B2B SaaS startups, which has 75 companies in the leaderboard.
Topping the list for the fintech sector — and overall — is London-based Allica Bank. The banking startup, which caters to the small and medium enterprise (SME) market, reported a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue of 1438.91% across the last two years. Allica has raised €436.3m in funding from investors including Warwick Capital LLP and Atalaya Capital.
Denmark’s kompasbank, which provides loans and business banking services to SMEs, scores silver in the ranking with a CAGR rating of 1149.73%. It tells Sifted that its net interest and fee income grew by more than 36% in the first half of 2024. The company has around 70 full-time employees and has raised €64m in funding.
In third place is Paris-based embedded banking fintech Swan with a CAGR of 558.17%. Founded in 2019, Swan is part of a swathe of fintechs including ClearBank and Openpayd that are building infrastructure for ecommerce and other software platforms to build their own financial services. The French fintech employs 105 people and counts investors such as Accel, Creandum and Bpifrance on its cap table.
Startups are listed in order of the highest percentage revenue growth over the past three financial years, calculated using a two-year compound annual growth rate.
Europe's fastest-growing fintechs
1. Allica Bank
HQ: United Kingdom
CAGR: 1438.91%
What it does: Allica Bank is a digital bank focused on serving SMEs with over 10 employees
2. Kompasbank
HQ: Denmark
CAGR: 1149.73%
What it does: kompasbank specialises in providing loans and business banking services to SMEs
3. Swan
HQ: France
CAGR: 558.17%
What it does: Swan provides embedded banking services, enabling customers to integrate banking features into their products.
4. Jeff
HQ: Latvia
CAGR: 551.7%
What it does: Jeff offers alternative credit scores for “underbanked” people in emerging economies.
5. Zilch
HQ: UK
CAGR: 540.12%
What it does: Zilch is a buy now, pay later provider based in London. The fintech offers its users a Mastercard to make purchases with flexible payment options including the option to pay split payments across interest-free installments.
6. Lassie
HQ: Sweden
CAGR: 373.06%
What it does: Lassie, founded in 2020, specialises in preventative pet insurance. Its app offers personalised advice, online courses and other information on preventative health for pets.
7. Tembo Money
HQ: UK
CAGR: 336.93%
What it does: Tembo Money is a digital mortgage platform focused on first-time homebuyers. As well as acting as a mortgage broker, it also offers savings products with the aim of getting its users on the housing ladder.
8. Marshmallow
HQ: UK
CAGR: 335.78%
What it does: Marshmallow is a London-based insurtech providing car insurance. The company focuses on serving newcomers to the UK who may face challenges with traditional insurers.
9. Barkibu
HQ: Spain
CAGR: 314.04%
What it does: Barkibu is an insurtech that provides an app for preventive care, telehealth consultation and insurance for pets. It operates in Spain, Germany and France.
10. Coverflex
HQ: Portugal
CAGR: 312.98%
What it does: Coverflex is an HR fintech for compensation management that enables companies to personalise packages with benefits such as health insurance, meal allowances, childcare and discounts.
Sifted 250 methodology
Sifted’s research team used proprietary data and company registries to identify high-growth startups. Applications were accepted from February 1 to November 15.
To be eligible, companies had to meet the following criteria: headquartered in Europe (excluding Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel, Russia and Turkey); founded in or after 2014; maximum headcount of 999; private and independent; majority of revenue must be generated by proprietary technology; at least three years of revenue data; and revenue (annualised if necessary) of at least €50k in the base year (2020 or 2021) and at least €500k in the latest financial year (2022 or 2023).
Companies were required to submit signed documentation to support disclosed financial information not publicly available.
