Fintech (financial technology) has existed since the late 1990s. However, it wasn’t until the early 2010s, after the historic financial crisis of 2008, that fintech truly began gaining popularity and being used internationally.
One of the most significant reasons for the growth of fintech services was the demand from clients for more transparent, accessible, and efficient financial solutions. Fintech companies utilizing the newest technologies to provide these solutions have seen incredible growth.
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Although many fintech companies have emerged over the past decade and a half, some have offered unique solutions to markets ripe with clients seeking new ways to handle their finances. This has helped these companies grow exponentially and become the largest in the world.
Ant Group
Founded in 2004, Ant Group began as Alipay, a payment processor developed solely for processing transactions on Alibaba’s e-commerce websites. Unlike other payment processors, like those found in online casinos that allow you to claim the best $10 deposit bonus codes, Alipay quickly morphed into a much larger system.
Rebranding as Ant Group, the company has created a comprehensive fintech ecosystem that provides a range of financial solutions, including digital payments, lending, insurance, wealth management, and credit score tracking.
Targeted toward the Chinese market, where the company is based, Ant Group has taken advantage of the country’s rapid smartphone penetration by offering mobile financial solutions. These, paired with a continuously growing e-commerce sector, have helped the group expand to become one of the largest companies in the global fintech industry.
PayPal
Based in the USA, PayPal is a pioneer in online payment systems and using fintech to provide digital finance solutions. Founded in 1998, the company saw early growth due to its integration with the popular e-commerce website eBay.
Although the company continued to grow through the 2000s, it began expanding rapidly after it was sold by eBay in 2015. At this time, PayPal began acquiring other fintech companies like Venmo and iZettle, which offered unique financial solutions tailored to consumer needs.
Since then, the international recognition of the PayPal brand has helped it continue to grow and expand its services into business lending and even in-store payment processing. These, along with expansion into over 200 countries and support for 26 currencies, have made the group one of the largest and most trusted fintech providers.
Square
Launched in 2009 to provide financial tools and services to businesses lacking support from existing financial institutions, Square has become a well-known brand in the USA and beyond. The company entered the market by offering credit card readers compatible with modern smartphones.
Due to the immense uptake of its offerings among small businesses, the group has managed to expand rapidly. This expansion has come with an extensive ecosystem that is still business-minded and includes various business management tools.
In addition, Square has also begun offering lending services and launched a popular smartphone app for peer-to-peer payments. The app, in particular, has helped the company secure market share among the millions of Americans who commonly use P2P (peer-to-peer) payment services.
Stripe
Another US-based fintech company that has quickly expanded internationally is Stripe. Launched in 2010, the company processes payments for various uses, including e-commerce websites and apps.
One of the most significant factors that aided the company’s fast growth was its focus on making it easy for developers to integrate into their online selling portals and apps. This quickly made Stripe the go-to processor for many companies, including Amazon, Apple, Etsy, Walmart, Samsung, and Target.
As Stripe moved beyond the US borders, the company continued its innovation by launching unique fraud prevention measures. These made the company a trusted name internationally and provided a boost when it launched its business lending services.
Revolut
Revolut was founded in 2015 to facilitate cheaper and quicker payments across borders. Initially planned to support payments in 90 countries, the fintech giant now supports more than 140 regions and over 25 currencies and is used by over 45 million consumers worldwide.
The pivotal factor aiding the company’s quick growth has been its mobile-first approach. This has made the group’s mobile app a priority and helped facilitate payments and transfers easily and conveniently using a smartphone.
In addition, the company offers transactional accounts with useful features like budgeting tools. Instant spending notifications also help users keep track of their spending and alert them to any unauthorized activity on their account.
Adyen
With a greater focus on enterprise clients rather than the average consumer, Adyen has become a formidable competitor in the global fintech scene. Founded in the Netherlands in 2006, the company began as a payment processor.
Wanting to attract more business, the fintech provider attempted to create a single solution for all financial needs. This it did exceptionally well by creating a platform that gives businesses a comprehensive system for accepting payments online, in-store, and on mobile.
Although the ecosystem offered by the company is one of the primary driving forces for Adyen’s growth, partnerships with major tech brands and retailers also helped boost the company. Among these partnerships are international brands like Uber, Wix, Booking.com, Wise, Spotify, and Microsoft. It has also grown in popularity due to charitable actions, such as partnering with UNICEF.
Nubank
One of the largest fintech providers in Latin America is Nubank. Launched in 2013, the company has grown quickly by offering free digital banking services. These services were also targeted specifically toward the large portion of unbanked individuals within the region.
Aside from the growth experienced in this demographic, the company has also attracted numerous users due to its user-friendly app, which is easy to use for the tech-savvy and older generation alike. A strong focus on customer service has also helped growth significantly.
Although the company launched with simple banking services, its growth has allowed it to expand into credit offerings like credit cards and personal loans.
Honorable Mentions
The companies mentioned above are among the largest fintech providers in the world, but a few others that have also expanded to operate across multiple countries include:
- Chime
- Klarna
- Wise (previously called TransferWise)
- Brex
- com
- Plaid
