According to the 2016 Fintech Innovators Report, which evaluates and ranks the world’s top 100 fintech companies, China’s fintech firms have outperformed their counterparts in other countries this year.
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The Fintech 100 report is a result of a collaboration between fintech investment firm H2 Ventures and KPMG Fintech. Two sets of rankings were released - one covering the “Top 50 Established Innovators” globally and one comprising the “50 Emerging Stars”, which the rankings describe as firms with the most disruptive, potentially game changing ideas.
According to the rankings, 13 UK firms featured in the Fintech 100 this year, down from 18 in 2015. Chinese fintechs stood out in 2016, with eight firms in the 100, but four of these - Ant Financial, Qudian, Lufax and ZhongAn - are in the top five. In contrast, Atom Bank was the only representative from England to appear on this year’s top 10 list. In the US, 24 companies made the list of 100 including three in the top 10.
Fintech firms were evaluated according to five sets of criteria: total capital raised, rate of capital raising, geographic and sector diversity, traction, and the x-factor. The last item assesses a fintech firm’s degree of innovation, which the report states is a subjective measure applied only to companies appearing on its 50 Emerging Stars list.
This year also saw 17 countries make the top 50 established list, compared to just 13 last year, signaling a shift toward new entrants from France, Mexico, South Africa and Singapore.
Overall, the Fintech 100 includes 35 companies from the Americas, 28 from EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 13 from the UK, and 24 from the Asia-Pacific region.
Other highlights from the Fintech 100 report saw that fintech innovation has brought a funding boom with the top 50 fintech companies raising US$14.6 billion of capital collectively in 2016, an increase of more than 40%.
Annie Armstrong, co-leader of KPMG's Fintech practice in the US, said in a press release: "The fintech movement is undeniable, so it's not surprising to see increased funding over the past year. The US continues to be a dominant player in fintech with strong levels of capital continuing to flow into US-based startups, driven by both established companies and emerging disruptors."
Toby Heap from H2 Ventures added: "The continued dominance of China, which rapidly rose last year to take the top spot, tells only part of the story. We are seeing the emergence of exciting fintech players in countries across the world, from India to Israel, from Portugal to the Philippines."
The Top 10 companies in the Fintech 100 2016:
- Ant Financial - China
- Qudian (Qufenqi) - China
- Oscar - USA
- Lufax - China
- ZhongAn - China
- Atom Bank - UK
- Kreditech - Germany
- Avant - USA
- Sofi - USA
- JD Finance - China
