Fintech funding in Europe is rebounding significantly in 2026, with volumes reaching a four-year high.

According to new data from CB Insights, European fintech companies raised a total of US$6.8 billion in venture capital (VC) in the first half of the year, compared to US$5.4 billion in both H1 2025 and H1 2024, and US$4.6 billion in H1 2023.

Deal counts, however, fell significantly, reaching 365 in H1 2026. This marks a steady decline over the past years, compared to 592 in H1 2025, 724 in H1 2024, and 817 in H1 2023. It reflects how larger transactions are now dominating the fintech funding landscape.

Notable fintech transactions in Europe in Q2 2026 included Ebury’s US$678 million private equity round, Alan’s US460 million Series D, and Morpho’s US$175 million round.

Ebury, from the UK, offers international payments, foreign exchange, trade finance, and treasury services, operating in 30 regulated markets and serving more than 27,000 businesses worldwide; Alan is a French artificial intelligence (AI)-native healthcare and insurance platform, serving more than 1.1 million members; and Morpho is a French blockchain-based credit network with more than US$11 billion in deposits and used by industry leaders including Galaxy, Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Trezor and Bitpanda.

Gaps are closing between Europe and the US

Rising fintech funding in Europe comes as the region is gaining favors from investors and catching up with the US.

According to a comparative analysis of VC and growth funding by Finch Capital, funding in the European fintech industry increased by 37% between the period of 2018-2021 and 2022-2025. In contrast, fintech funding in the US declined by 13% during the same timeframe. This showcases a shrinking venture gap between the two regions, with investors increasingly favoring European fintech startups over US-based ones.

The study highlights Europe’s strengths in regulatory-intense and infrastructure-heavy verticals. During the 2021-2025 period, European fintech companies in the CFO office vertical recorded a funding-to-exit value ratio of 2.54-fold, a figure that’s significantly higher than the 1.32-fold ratio observed for US counterparts in the same category.

The funding-to-exit value ratio compares the total capital invested in a company to its valuation at exit, indicating the multiple of return investors achieved on their investment.

Similarly, regulatory and compliance companies in Europe posted a ratio of 2.42-fold, compared to 2.24-fold for US companies.

According to the latest IFZ Fintech Study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts’ Institute of Financial Services Zug (IFZ), released in March 2026, Europe is currently home to some of the world’s most prominent fintech hubs.

Of the top 35 fintech hubs globally, 18 cities are located in Europe, with four cities standing among the top 5. This underscores the persistent favorable environment for fintech companies in Europe, especially across political, legal, and social dimensions, such as the talent environment, political stability, and regulatory clarity.

Global fintech funding trends

In Q2 2026, global fintech funding totaled US$14.5 billion, marking a slight 4% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline from the US$15.1 billion, according to CB Insights data. Similarly to trends observed in Europe, deal count declined significantly, slumping 23.5% QoQ from 958 transactions in Q1 2026 to 733 in Q2 2026.

Looking at sectoral trends, the data show that ventures in the payment technology and capital markets categories accounted for the lion’s share. In Q2 2026, paytech and capital market companies secured US$5.3 billion and US$3.4 billion, respectively, representing a combined 60% of total fintech funding for the quarter.

These companies raised some of the period’s largest funding rounds, encompassing Kpler’s US$1 billion growth equity investment, Ebury’s US$678 million private equity round, Clip’s US$500 million Series F, and Digital Asset’s US$355 million Series F.

Kpler provides data, analytics and trading intelligence for commodities, shipping, energy and financial markets; Clip is a Mexican fintech company offering point-of-sale (POS) terminals, payment acceptance, business banking, lending and financial services for merchants; and Digital Asset develops blockchain infrastructure for regulated financial institutions, exchanges, and market infrastructure.

During the period, Coinbase Ventures was the most active investor, totaling 13 deals. The corporate venture fund was followed by Index Ventures with 11 deals, and Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst, both with eight deals each.

Fintech exits globally declined, totaling eight initial public offerings (IPOs) and 203 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Q2 2026.

Top fintech M&A during the period included Evelyn Partners, one of the UK’s largest wealth managers, acquired by NatWest Group at a US$3.7 billion valuation; Navitas Credit, a provider of equipment finance solutions from the US, acquired by Wafra and valued at US$1.9 billion valuation; Tochka, a business banking platform from Russia, acquired by Interros Holding at a US$1.1 billion valuation; and Trepp, a provider of structured finance, commercial real estate, and banking data from the US, acquired by Fitch Group at a US$1 billion valuation.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by riskytolen31 via Magnific