All Briefings

Fintech in 2023

Has the golden vertical lost its shine?

Last updated: 20 Apr 2023

Market 101

The dizzier the heights, the harder the fall. Fintech has taken home the biggest slice of VC funding in Europe every year since Sifted was founded back in 2018, but figures so far in 2023 suggest this golden vertical is losing its grip of the top spot.

European fintechs raised just $2bn in the first quarter of 2023 — a massive 83% drop from the year before ($9.7bn), making it by far the hardest-hit sector in tech. It comes in below deeptech ($2.9bn) and climate tech ($2.6bn) startups to date this year. 212 rounds were signed from January to March — the smallest number since Q4 2015, and a far cry from the 300-plus that’s been the norm since then. Big beasts like Klarna and Checkout.com, meanwhile, have seen their price tags slashed drastically, while the gallop of “soonicorns” graduating into unicorns has slowed considerably.

Where, then, should investors be pushing their chips? Mortgage and lending fintechs attracted the lion’s share of the sector’s funding — $635m — in the first quarter, trumping the usual suspects of payments and banking. Financial management solutions (ie. treasury management tools like Norway’s Two) raised a total of $382m. They’re safer havens for now, while we wait for the next big thing to emerge in fintech — whether that be more meaningful applications of crypto, the blockchain or something else entirely.

Early stage market map

Key facts

212

Number of rounds signed in Q1 — the lowest since Q4 2015

53

Percentage fall in early-stage fintech funding from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023; less severe than the 83% drop across all stages

$28.5m

Average fundraise of mortgage and lending startups in Q1

Trends to watch

  1. Consumer apps have fallen off a cliff

    B2B fintechs raised $950m from 128 deals in the first three months of the year, almost double that of their B2C peers, which closed 35 deals worth $596m.

    Consumer fintechs have also accounted for the lion’s share of M&A: UK circular economy fintech Twig acquired French neobank for teens Vybe, US savings app Acorn bought kids’ neobank GoHenry and digital bank Zopa purchased BNPL provider DivideBuy. One notable B2B exception was banking-as-a-service platform Railsr’s rescue sale at the beginning of March.

    Consumer-facing fintech insolvencies are also appearing. UK sustainable investing app Clim8 shut down in March, following crypto investment app Nuri’s insolvency near the end of last year.

  2. Crypto has been brutalised

    It’s a brave founder who comes forward with a crypto app these days: sector funding dropped tenfold from $3.4bn in the first quarter of 2022 to $343m in Q1 2023.

    Spring might have arrived, but in the crypto world temperatures are still chilly. The market is yet to recover from 2022’s firesale, where $2tn of market value was lost and major exchange FTX blew up spectacularly. Retail investors will keep their cash elsewhere until crypto is embraced by governments and financial incumbents — but don’t expect any movement this year.

  3. The megaround is dead (or at least resting)

    2022 saw some hefty fintech megarounds (deals of $100m+) but in the first quarter of 2023, only two European fintechs raised that much: UK consumer lender Abound (formerly Fintern), which bagged a £250m growth equity round, and French crypto infrastructure startup Ledger, which raised a $109m Series C.

    Going back to 2021, the top 20 fintech funding rounds in Europe accounted for 50% of total fundraising, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what’s going on. Megarounds have dried up everywhere so fintech isn’t the only sector hurting.

  4. Treasury hunting

    Treasury — the management of money and financial risk — is a segment investors say they’re hotter on than ever as companies fight inflation and take extra precautions after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

    There’s a whole generation of finance professionals inexperienced in battling high inflation and interest rates. Lessons have also been learnt from the mini-banking crisis — some the hard way — and companies will need tools and talent to help spread their money across banks to keep it safe.

  5. The end of cheap money

    The breakout of mortgage and digital lending startups may come as a surprise, but with interest rates continuing to rise in an attempt to stem inflation, consumers and businesses need to be savvier than ever to secure access to loans.

    Armed with more data at their fingertips and better tech to trawl through applications, it’s no wonder that these startups are now in demand to fix the credit experience as it approaches a crunch point.

Startups tracked by Sifted

Sifted take

Some of the fintech magic is gone. Superstars including Klarna and Checkout.com have taken a slide down the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies, while waning fintech enthusiasm is hitting startups just getting started. In the first quarter of 2022, the sector was buoyed by some hefty megarounds, including Checkout.com’s $1bn and Qonto’s $552m Series Ds, which snuck in before the global economy had time to slump. We won’t see numbers like them again for a while.

Rising stars

VIVLA

Real estate

Fractionalisation

Total funding

€26,000,000

Madrid, Spain
2022

Backed by the likes of Accel, FJ Labs and Fasanara, it offers a buy-what-you-use home ownership platform for second homes.

Round

Pre-seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2022

Size

€26,000,000

Atlantic Money

Money transfer

Total funding

€7,400,000

London, United Kingdom
2022

A fixed-fee, multi-currency money transfer service for international accounts, backed by Index, 20VC and Ribbit Capital.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2022

Size

€2,940,000

LiveFlow

Financial Reporting

Total funding

€4,123,220

London, United Kingdom
2021

A Y Combinator alum, it built a collaborative hub to automate financial data flows. Founded by two former Revolut employees and backed by Moonfire, Futuristic.vc and a host of superangels.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2021

Size

€3,607,818

Grandhood

Wealthtech

Total funding

€6,600,000

Copenhagen, Denmark
2016

Backed by Heartcore Capital and Speedinvest, it’s developed an alternative pension solution for entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2020

Size

€4,000,000

Early stage startups to watch

AAZZUR

Berlin, Germany
2017
 Seed

€800k

€800k

-

Acre

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€5.9m

€5.9m

-

Adsum Works

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€4.5m

€4.5m

-

Anansi

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Pre-seed

€1.8m

€1.6m

-

Angle money

Paris, France
2021
 Seed

€5m

€5m

€19m

Anybrain

Braga, Portugal
2015
 Seed

€5m

€2.5m

-

ArK Kapital

Stockholm, Sweden
2021
 Seed

€30m

€15m

-

Atlantic Money

London, United Kingdom
2022
 Seed

€7.4m

€2.9m

-

Aurelia

Tallinn, Estonia
2021
 Seed

€2.7m

€2.7m

-

Avanseo

Puteaux, France
2017
 Debt

€12m

€10m

€30m

Banxware GmbH

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Debt

€19m

€5m

-

Beanstock

Paris, France
2020
 Seed

€2.5m

€2.5m

-

Bernstein.io

Strasbourg, France
2016
 Seed

€590k

€240k

€4.2m

Bite Investments

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€5.2m

€3m

-

Blinking

Belgrade, Serbia
2017
 Seed

€2.5m

€1.3m

€10m

Blockpulse

Paris, France
2018
 Pre-seed

€1m

€500k

€4.5m

Brickken

Barcelona, Spain
2020
 Pre-seed

€2.7m

€2.7m

€4m

BRXS

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
 Pre-seed

€1m

€1m

-

Byte Trading

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€7m

€6.4m

-

Cable

Remote, Remote
2020
 Seed

€4.9m

€4.9m

-

Calingo Insurance

Zürich, Switzerland
2020
 Seed

€2.2m

€1.5m

-

Carbon Equity

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
 Seed

€3m

€1.8m

-

Cascade Lab SA

Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2019
 Seed

€1m

€1m

€5m

Centiglobe

Stockholm, Sweden
2019
 Pre-seed

€6m

€5m

-

Change

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2016
 Pre-seed

€18.3m

€3.7m

-

Clim8

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Support Program

€18.2m

-

€28.1m

Clinsj as

Oslo, Norway
2021
 Bootstrapped

-

-

€1.3m

Coinpanion (SmartBytes GmbH)

Wien, Austria
2019
 Seed

€5.8m

€5.5m

€9m

Coinrule

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€2.8m

€2m

€55m

Collegia

Oxford, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€1.3m

€600k

-

ComplyCube

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

CookieFirst by Digital Data Solutions B.V.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

Coverflex

Braga, Portugal
2019
 Pre-seed

€5m

€5m

€11m

Crezco

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€4m

€3m

€15m

Croowly

Boadilla del Monte, Spain
2019
 Seed

€200k

€750k

€200k

Cryptoradar

Tallinn, Estonia
2018
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

CyberDirekt

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Seed

€3m

€1.9m

€10.2m

Defentry

Stockholm, Sweden
2016
 Seed

€7m

€2.2m

-

Denario

Berlin, Germany
2021
 Seed

€1.8m

€510k

-

DeversiFi

Tortola, British Virgin Islands
2019
 Seed

€5.8m

€4.5m

€60m

DigiShares

Aalborg, Denmark
2018
 Seed

€2m

€910k

-

Donut

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Pre-seed

€3.5m

€1.8m

-

Dreams Technology

Stockholm, Sweden
2016
 Seed

€30m

€6m

€75m

Elucidate

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Seed

€11m

€7.7m

-

Embat

Madrid, Spain
2021
 Pre-seed

€1.5m

€1.5m

-

Ember

Edinburgh, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€6.7m

-

€21m

Emma

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€6.6m

€3.7m

€40.8m

ePay BV (dba TrustableBridge)

The Hague, Netherlands
2018
 Angel

€190k

€100k

-

Faire.ai

Milan, Italy
2020
 Seed

€4.5m

€3m

€6m

Fellow Pay

Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
 Angel

€2.4m

€325k

€11.2m

Female Invest

Copenhagen / London, Danmark / UK
2019
 Seed

€5.3m

€4m

-

Fiat Republic

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€3.2m

€3.2m

-

FinanceKey Ltd

Helsinki, Finland
2021
 Pre-seed

€800k

€750k

-

finmarie

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Seed

€1.4m

€1.4m

€5m

Fiskl Limited

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€3m

€525k

-

Flagright

Berlin, Germany
2022
 Seed

€3.3m

€2.9m

-

Flanks

Barcelona, Spain
2019
 Seed

€2.5m

€2.3m

€11.5m

FlowPay

Firenze (Italy), Italy
2019
 Seed

€600k

€400k

-

FLOWX.AI

Bucharest, Romania
2021
 Seed

€7.3m

€7.3m

-

Fluidensity

Enschede, Netherlands
2018
 Grant

€40k

€40k

-

Folks Finance

Milan, Italy
2021
 Seed

€2.7m

€2.7m

-

Forestbase

Zug, Switzerland
2021
 Angel

€2.5m

€2.5m

€13m

Fridaa.

Bordeaux, France
2020
 Pre-seed

€1m

€1m

-

Frienton GmbH

Munich, Germany
2021
 Bootstrapped

€100k

-

-

Fuell

Madrid, Spain
2019
 Seed

€2.5m

€1.5m

-

Fully-Verified

Tallinn, Estonia
2018
 Seed

€910k

-

-

Geowox

Dublin, Ireland
2018
 Seed

€2.2m

€500k

-

Gigapay

Stockholm , Sweden
2019
 Pre-seed

€1.5m

€850k

-

Grandhood

Copenhagen, Denmark
2016
 Pre-seed

€6.6m

€4m

-

GreenGrowth

London, United Kingdom
2022
 Pre-seed

€375k

€400k

-

Gro Protocol

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€6.5m

€6.5m

-

Grünfin

Tallinn, Estonia
2020
 Seed

€2m

€2m

€10m

HeavyFinance

Vilnius, Lithuania
2020
 Pre-seed

€1.2m

€850k

-

Helvengo AG

Zurich, Switzerland
2020
 Seed

€4.9m

€4.2m

-

Hestia

Paris, France
2022
 Pre-seed

€1m

€1m

-

hi.health

Vienna, Austria
2019
 Seed

€10m

€6m

-

Homeppl

London, United Kingdom
2017
 Seed

€6.8m

€3m

-

Horde

Bergen, Norway
2018
 Seed

€6.5m

€2.6m

€22.1m

HUBUC

Barcelona, Spain
2019
 Seed

€9.4m

€9.1m

-

Hypomo

Bratislava, Slovakia
2017
 Angel

€75k

€25k

€5.5m

Ikigai

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Pre-seed

€4.5m

€2m

€15m

Income Company

Tallinn, Estonia
2020
 Seed

€2.3m

€1.3m

-

Infinity Circle

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€380k

€380k

€4.4m

intergiro

Stockholm, Sweden
2017
 Seed

€24m

€9m

-

Invoier

Stockholm, Sweden
2018
 Pre-seed

€9.8m

-

€11.5m

INZMO

Berlin, Germany
2016
 Seed

€5.2m

€3.1m

-

JEFF

Riga, Latvia
2020
 Seed

€2.5m

€1.3m

-

Kapaga

Greater London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€2m

€1.8m

-

Karmen

Paris, France
2021
 Debt

€75m

€50m

-

Klub

Paris, France
2019
 Pre-seed

€9m

€9m

€1

Koia

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€1.3m

€1.3m

-

Kolleno Limited

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€4.6m

€4.6m

-

Konvi

Dublin, Ireland
2020
 Pre-seed

€1m

€814k

-

Kreditz

Danderyd, Sweden
2018
 Seed

€5m

€1.2m

-

KYC Hub

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€1.3m

€1.1m

-

Leatherback

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Pre-seed

€9.1m

€9.1m

-

Lendismart

Madrid, Spain
2016
 Seed

€1m

€1m

-

Lendwill

Oslo, Norway
2018
 Pre-seed

€950k

€400k

-

Linkurious

Montreuil, France
2013
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

LiveFlow

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€4.1m

€3.6m

-

loantrade

Zurich, Switzerland
2022
 Pre-seed

€750k

€750k

-

LoanTube

London, United Kingdom
2016
 Angel

€600k

€600k

€6m

Louve Invest

Paris, France
2021
 Seed

€2m

€2m

-

Lumio Technologies

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€1.4m

€1.4m

€6.9m

Luna Connect

Galway, Ireland
2017
 Angel

€1m

€750k

-

Mangata Finance

Bratislava, Slovakia
2020
 Seed

€5.6m

€4.2m

-

Mast.

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€1.7m

€1.4m

-

Moneco

Paris, France
2022
 Pre-seed

€500k

€500k

-

Monerium

Reykjavík, Iceland
2016
 Seed

€6.2m

€3.5m

€20m

Monite

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Seed

€6.1m

€4.4m

-

Monkee

Innsbruck, Österreich
2019
 Seed

€3m

€1.5m

-

Nayms

St Albans, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€7.4m

€5.5m

€24.4m

NEO CAPITAL VENTURES

Barcelona, Spain
2017
 Seed

€12m

€5m

-

Neofin Ventures Limited (trading as Unizest)

Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom
2021
 Pre-seed

€555k

€305k

-

NEXT.exchange

Eindhoven, Netherlands
2017
 Seed

€730k

€730k

€3.2m

NGRAVE

Brussels, Belgium
2018
 Seed

€8m

€5m

-

Ninja Lender

Warsaw, Poland
2018
 Pre-seed

€220k

€100k

-

norbloc

Stockholm, Sweden
2016
 Debt

€3.5m

€2m

-

Nude

Glasgow, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€6.5m

€4.3m

€23m

Nuggets

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€4m

€1.2m

-

Numarics

Zurich, Switzerland
2020
 Seed

€2.5m

€1.8m

€8.8m

Näktergal

Stockholm, Sweden
2015
 Seed

€1.8m

€6.7m

€118m

Offgrid.Finance

Sevenoaks, United Kingdom
2020
 Pre-seed

€205k

€65k

€600k

Ondato

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€7.1m

€4.7m

-

Onramper

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
 Seed

€5.5m

€5.5m

-

Ophelos

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€7.6m

€5.7m

-

PayQin

Tallinn/London, Estonia
2020
 Seed

€1.5m

€700k

-

Pectus Finance

Berlin, Germany
2021
 Angel

€2.4m

€1.9m

-

Peeled

Dublin, Ireland
2017
 Pre-seed

€1.9m

€600k

-

Pentech Solutions Llc (PastPay)

Budapest, Hungary
2019
 Angel

€1.3m

€110k

-

Plend

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Pre-seed

€840k

€840k

€4.2m

Pliance

Stockholm, Sweden
2018
 Pre-seed

€450k

€450k

-

Prestalo

Barcelona, Spain
2018
 Seed

€1.5m

€1m

€20m

Pynk

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€2.2m

€835k

€8m

Quirk

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Pre-seed

€400k

€360k

€1.8m

Raison app

Tallinn, Estonia
2017
 Seed

€1.5m

€920k

-

receeve GmbH

Hamburg, Germany
2019
 Seed

€16m

€4m

-

Recovr

Brussels, Belgium
2018
 Seed

€1.1m

€800k

-

RedStone

Warsaw, Poland
2021
 Seed

€7.5m

€7m

-

Relai

Zurich, Switzerland
2019
 Seed

€2.5m

€2.5m

€10m

Resolve (formerly e-Potek)

Geneva, Switzerland
2018
 Pre-seed

€940k

€940k

-

RIDE Capital

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Seed

€5m

€3m

€60m

Ritmo

Madrid, Spain
2021
 Seed

€12.2m

€7.2m

-

RUUF

Istanbul, Turkey
2022
 Pre-seed

€650k

€460k

-

Salfy - Easy Benefits

Berlin, Germany
2019
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

Salv

Tallinn, Estonia
2018
 Seed

€7.5m

€4m

-

Scaleup Finance

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€9.6m

€8m

-

Scorechain

Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
2015
 Seed

€2.5m

€2m

-

Semper

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€2.5m

€2.5m

-

SendSpend

London, United Kingdom
2016
 Angel

€2m

€110k

€17.7m

Sharpfin AB

Stockholm, Sweden
2014
 Bootstrapped

€1.4m

€100k

€5.6m

Sibill

Milan, Italy
2021
 Seed

€4.1m

€3.5m

-

Single.Earth

Tallinn, Estonia
2019
 Seed

€7.2m

€7m

-

Soisy

Milan, Italy
2015
 Seed

€7.2m

€1.7m

€22m

Solrise Finance

Novi Sad, Serbia
2021
 Seed

€3.4m

€3.4m

€28m

spotixx

Frankfurt, Germany
2019
 Bootstrapped

-

-

-

Sprinque

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2022
 Pre-seed

€1.8m

€1.7m

-

Sprive

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Pre-seed

€2m

€1.7m

-

StepEx

London, United Kingdom
2017
 Pre-seed

€2.2m

€1.3m

€8m

STOKR

Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2018
 Seed

€6.9m

€3.9m

-

StrideUp

London, United Kingdom
2016
 Seed

€6.3m

€2.3m

-

Tembo Money

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€3.2m

€3m

€12m

ThinkOut

Iași, Romania
2016
 Pre-seed

€500k

€250k

-

THX Network

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
 Pre-seed

€420k

€120k

-

Tillit

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€5.5m

€4.3m

€21.6m

Timeless Investments

Berlin, Germany
2021
 Seed

€12m

€12m

€60m

tokenstreet

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Grant

€700k

-

€5m

Trality

Vienna, Austria
2019
 Seed

€4.1m

€2.4m

-

Tulipshare

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€10.7m

€9.8m

-

Unlimitd

Lille, France
2021
 Seed

€12m

€12m

-

Urbanitae

Madrid, Spain
2017
 Seed

€8.5m

€3.5m

€25m

UXD protocol

Finland
2020
 Seed

€3m

€2.7m

€26.9m

VALK

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€5m

€5m

€15

Viceversa

Milan, Italy
2021
 Seed

€23m

€23m

-

Vinter

Stockholm, Sweden
2021
 Seed

€3.7m

€3m

-

Vitt

London, United Kingdom
2022
 Pre-seed

€13.6m

€13.6m

-

Vive

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
 Seed

€4.2m

€1.4m

-

VIVLA

Madrid, Spain
2022
 Pre-seed

€26m

€26m

-

VOICEME srl

Milan, Italy
2021
 Pre-seed

€560k

€560k

-

Welfio

Riga, Latvia
2021
 Angel

€200k

€150k

-

Wetterheld

Hamburg, Deutschland
2019
 Angel

€470k

€45k

-

WLPayments

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
 Seed

€1m

€1m

-

Wollit

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€3.5m

€3m

-

WyzePay

London, United Kingdom
2021
 Pre-seed

€800k

€700k

-

Zazuu HQ

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€1.8m

€1.8m

-

ZenML

Munich, Germany
2021
 Pre-seed

€2.3m

€2.3m

-

Europe’s success stories

Who early stage startups are up against

Quantexa

(Pre-)Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

SeriesD+

IPO/Exit

London-based company deploying AI to analyse user behaviour data, which it says helps companies reduce the risk of financial crime

Europe’s second unicorn of 2023, thanks to a $129m Series E from primarily existing investors including Warburg Pincus, ABN AMRO Ventures, Dawn Capital and AlbionVC

Spendesk

(Pre-)Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

SeriesD+

IPO/Exit

Paris-headquartered fintech platform helping businesses spend and track their finances

Its latest €100m funding round in January 2022 was backed by Eight Roads Ventures, General Atlantic, Index Ventures and Tiger Global

Scalapay

(Pre-)Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

SeriesD+

IPO/Exit

Italy gained a new unicorn in 2022 when “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) startup Scalapay bagged $497m in its Series B round

Chinese multinational Tencent co-led the round; the tech giant has previously backed French rival Alma, as well as Afterpay and Berlin’s Billie. Also co-leading was New York’s Willoughby Capital, which has previously invested in Bolt

Sources

Data sources

Dealroom | Data

Sifted | Proprietary data

Research reports

Pulse of fintech H2’22 | February 2023 | KPMG

Europe’s fintech opportunity | October 2022 | McKinsey

State of European fintech 2022 | October 2022 | Finch Capital

Fintech unwrapped 3.0 | April 2022 | Sifted

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