Despite the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, French fintech companies showed resilience in 2020, raising a total of EUR 828.2 million through 63 deals, up 18.9% from 2019, according to data from industry trade group France Fintech.

As of December 2020, some 387 companies made up the French fintech ecosystem, data from New Alpha Asset Management show. Paytech, insurtech and neobanking/bank-as-a-service were the most crowded segments, as well as the most established ones, representing 67.2% of all funding raised by French fintech companies in 2020.

Amid France’s fast-growing fintech sector, we look today at some of the country’s hottest and most-well funded fintech startups.

Ledger – EUR 432 million

Using proprietary technology, Ledger develops security and infrastructure solutions for cryptocurrencies as well as blockchain applications for individuals and companies.

The company’s products include one of the world’s most popular hardware wallet for cryptocurrency assets and cryptocurrency management platform, Ledger Live, as well as a digital assets security solution for financial institutions called Ledger Enterprise Solutions.

Ledger has sold more than 3 million hardware wallets in 190 countries to date and serves over 1.5 million monthly users on Ledger Live. It claims to secure 15% of all cryptocurrency assets globally.

Ledger raised US$380 million in a Series C funding round in June, reaching a valuation of US$1.5 billion. Data from Dealroom and Crunchbase suggest it has raised EUR 432 million in funding so far.

Younited Credit – EUR 340 million

Younited Credit is an online lending marketplace for individuals, companies, insurers, foundations and pension funds, offering products including auto loan, boat loan, motorcycle loan, marriage loan, travel loan and business loan.

Users can avail loans from EUR 1,000 to EUR 50,000. The platform offers 8 loan durations ranging from 6 months to 84 months. For investors, Younited Credit offers 3 public funds to invest in. The minimum investment amount is EUR 1,000.

Younited Credit raised US$170 million in July 2021, bringing the total amount of funds raised since inception to US$400 million (EUR 340 million).

Alan – EUR 310 million

Insurtech startup Alan provides an app-based health insurance platform for individuals and businesses, offering policies for freelancers, businesses, hotels, restaurants, startups and more. Available plans include Alan Green for health care protection, Alan Blue for reimbursement on uncovered hospitals and Alan Pension for employees.

Alan covers some 160,000 people and generates over EUR 100 million in annualized revenue. The startup raised a US$220 million (EUR 185 million) funding round in April 2021 at a US$1.67 billion valuation (EUR 1.4 billion). Data from Dealroom and Crunchbase suggest that it has raised EUR 310 million in funding so far.

Shift Technology – EUR 289 million

Shift Technology provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based fraud detection and claims processing solutions for insurers. It features cloud-based end-to-end claim processing and filing solutions as well as underwriting fraud detection and investigation tools. Shift Technology also offers solutions to accelerate and automate claim decisions.

Shift Technology’s software has analyzed billions of insurance transactions to date, the company claims and serves more than 100 clients in 25 countries. Last year, it won Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 Global Claims Solutions for Insurance Market Leadership Award and was recognized for the high level of innovation in automation and fraud detection its technology offers.

Shift Technology closed a Series D investment round of US$220 million in May 2021, bringing the total amount of funding raised so far to US$320 million. The company is valued at more than US$1 billion.

PayFit – EUR 179 million

Payfit provides cloud-based payroll and human resource (HR) management software for businesses, offering solutions for wage management, expense reporting, employee management, leaves management, workflow management, onboarding, organizational management, and more.

The company’s software automates the payroll of employees and manages social statements as well as offers a flexible HR system to track and manage working time, onboarding process, leaves and expense report, enabling small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to easily manage payroll and HR information online on a single platform.

PayFit announced in March 2021 that it had secured EUR 90 million, bringing its total funding raised to over EUR 179 million.

Spendesk – EUR 160 million

Founded in 2016, Spendesk offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) spend management solution that provides full visibility and control on all company spending. The platform combines payments, processes and data into one source of truth, with virtual and physical cards for employees, expense reimbursements, invoice management, automated spend approvals, and budgets.

Spendesk, which operates in France, Germany and the UK, raised EUR 100 million in Series C funding in July, bringing the total amount of funding raised so far to EUR 160 million.

Lydia – EUR 142 million

Lydia is an app-based mobile payment platform for consumers, supporting Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and QR code payments. Lydia allows users to monitor bank accounts, make bank transfers, create online money pots, set recurring payments, and block payment cards. It offers peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services and provides a universal card linked to all accounts with personal financial management tools including payment receipts, spending limits, and spending categories.

Launched in 2013, Lydia claims it served over 400 million users and claimed a 30% market share among French millennials, as of December 2020.

Lydia has so far raised over US$160 million (EUR 140 million) in funding from investors such as Tencent, XAnge, New Alpha, Groupe Duval and Founders Future.

Qonto – EUR 136 million

Founded in 2017, Qonto is a neobank for SMEs and freelancers, providing services including deposit accounts, financial management, debit cards for corporate expenses, payment solutions, and more. Qonto also offers bookkeeping solutions, customized solutions for expenses, an app-based platform for digital banking, and more.

Qonto claims it serves more than 150,000 businesses in France, Spain, Italy and Germany. Since its creation, Qonto has raised EUR 136 million from Valar, Alven, the European Investment Bank, Tencent and DST Global, to support its global growth ambitions.

Swile – EUR 115 million

Swile, formerly Lunchr, is the provider of a meal ordering platform intended to reinvent the experience of lunch breaks with colleagues. The company’s solution replaces the traditional and outdated French paper meal voucher with a digital solution that works with the Visa and Mastercard networks, and an accompanying mobile app.

Swile has plans to extend beyond meal vouchers and lunch break experiences, with a new product would enable corporate gifts to be distributed to employees using the same system, as well as the addition of features to improve life at work and employee engagement.

Swile closed a EUR 70 million Series C round in June 2020, bringing the total funding raised since its launch in 2018 to EUR 115 million.

Agicap – EUR 99.28 million

Agicap is a cash management solution for SMEs to monitor and forecast the evolution of cash flow.

Created 2016, the SaaS solution aims to make cash management intuitive and real-time by leveraging advanced technologies including AI to allow businesses to automatically  synchronize financial data and benefit from real-time cash flow visualization, automatically update budget and cash flow forecasts to spot-out financial gaps and refine future budget, and make the best decisions by evaluating and anticipating the impact of strategic scenarios on cash flow.

Agicap, which operates in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, raised US$100 million funding round in May 2021, valuing the company at over US$500 million (EUR 410 million). Since its inception in 2016, the company has raised a total funding of US$121 million (EUR 99.28 million).

Featured Image: Paris Landmarks by Yuliya Pauliukevich via Vecteezy