Funding

The 10 Most-Well Funded European Fintech Companies of 2021

2021 has been a record year for fintech funding globally. In Europe, total fintech funding broke the record for annual investment, reaching EUR 10.4 billion in just June 2021 and surpassing the previous record of EUR 9.3 billion raised across the whole of 2019, according to Dealroom data.

So far, 2021’s figures have been dominated by mega-rounds going towards the likes of Klarna, Trade Republic and Wefox, and have pushed valuations to new highs.

To get a sense of Europe’s hottest and fastest growing fintech companies, we have compiled a list of the top 10 most-well funded fintech companies on the continent. These operate in various segments ranging from buy now pay later (BNPL) and insurtech, to digital banking and brokerage.

Klarna – US$3.472 billion

Founded in 2005 in Stockholm, Klarna is the world leading buy now pay later (BNPL) provider, serving 90 million active consumers and 250,000 merchants in 17 countries.

Klarna offers direct payments, pay after delivery options and instalment plans in a smooth one-click purchase experience that lets consumers pay when and how they prefer to, processing some 2 million transactions per day.

Klarna is Europe’s most well-funded and valuable private fintech company. It has raised US$3.472 billion in funding so far, and is valued at a whopping US$45.6 billion.

Revolut – US$1.716 billion

Founded in 2015, Revolut is a neobank headquartered in London that offers personal and business accounts featuring currency exchange, debit cards, virtual cards, interest-bearing “vaults”, commission-free stock trading, and other services. It’s building what it claims to the “first global financial superapp.”

Revolut serves more than 16 million customers in the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan and the US. It has a banking license from the Bank of Lithuania which it passports throughout the whole European Union (EU), and applied earlier this year for additional licenses in the UK and the US.

Revolut has raised US$1.716 billion in funding so far, and is valued at US$33 billion.

Greensill Capital – US$1.705 billion

Greensill Capital is a financial services company based in the UK and Australia that focuses on the provision of supply chain financing and related services. The company provides businesses with alternative sources of funding, allowing them to provide suppliers with the opportunity for faster payment, while at the same time preserving their own capital position.

Greensill Capital has been at the center of several controversies involving notably the financing of companies tied to Softbank, one of its key investors, as well as regarding its significant exposure to GFG Alliance, a group of businesses associated with steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta. Recently, it has been at the center of a British political scandal involving former prime minister David Cameron. Greensill filed for insolvency protection in March 2021.

Despite these controversies, data from CB Insights suggest that Greensill still remains one of the most well-funded private companies in Europe, having raised more than US$1.7 billion.

OakNorth – US$990.52 million

Based in the UK, OakNorth is a startup specialist bank that provides business and property loans, as well as personal and business savings. It’s also the creator of the ON Credit Intelligence Suite, a cloud-based software that helps banks build deeper relationships with clients and deliver credit analysis 10x faster than traditional models.

At the end of 2020, OakNorth Bank had 175,000 savings customers and had lent several billion pounds to British businesses.

OakNorth is worth US$2.8 billion and has raised US$990.52 million in funding so far.

Trade Republic – US$986.88 million

Founded in 2015, Trade Republic provides a mobile app that lets users trade stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without paying a commission. Instead, Trade Republic makes money from a flat 1 EUR fee it charges per trade.

The company, which holds a full banking license, has amassed some 1 million users and over US$6 billion in assets under management. It’s now one of the largest brokers in Germany. Earlier this year, it added a cryptocurrency offering.

Trade Republic isn’t well known beyond its core markets of Germany, France and Austria, but plans to roll out across all euro zone countries in the coming year.

The company has raised US$986.88 million in funding so far and is worth US$5.3 billion.

Mollie – US$934 million

Founded in 2004, Mollie is a Dutch paytech startup that builds payment products, commerce solutions, and APIs that let users accept online and mobile payments.

The company’s payment application is designed to simplify the process of setting up an online store and accepting payments, and comes with features including one-click payments, fraud monitoring, multicurrency payment, daily settlement management and real-time accounting, enabling businesses to connect, protect and grow efficiently.

Mollie is worth US$6.5 billion and has raised US$934 million in funding.

Wefox – US$924 million

Insurtech startup Wefox, formerly known as FinanceFox, was founded in Switzerland in November 2014. It’s a fully licensed digital insurance company that sells insurance products through intermediaries.

Wefox, which is currently active in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Poland, plans to expand into the US and Asia within the next two years. The company reached profitability in 2020 during which it saw its revenue double to US$143 million.

Wefox is worth US$3 billion and has raised US$924 million in funding.

Starling Bank – US$905.62 million

Starling Bank is a UK-based licensed challenger bank offering personal, business, joint, teen, euro and dollar accounts alongside a child card and a range of lending products.

Starling Bank also provides business-to-business (B2B) banking and payments services through its banking-as-a-service (BaaS) model based on the proprietary technology platform that it uses to power its own bank.

Finally, the Starling Marketplace offers customers in-app access to a selection of third party financial services.

Since its 2017 launch, the bank has opened more than two million accounts, including more than 300,000 small business accounts. In March 2021, its total gross lending exceeded GBP 2 billion, while deposits topped GBP 5.4 billion.

Starling Bank has raised US$905.62 million in funding and is valued at US$1.95 billion.

Checkout – US$830 million

Founded in 2012 and based in London, Checkout operates as a payment processing company, offering an online payment platform focusing on accepting more transactions, currencies, and payment methods through one integration and providing complete transparency across the entire payment value chain.

Checkout processes payments for big clients including Pizza Hut, H&M and Farfetch, as well as fintechs like Coinbase, Klarna and Revolut.

Checkout has raised US$830 million in funding and is valued at US$15 billion.

N26 – US$822.36 million

Founded in 2013, N26 is a fully licensed German digital bank providing a free basic current account and an accompanying debit card, with available overdraft and investment products and premium accounts for a monthly fee.

Recently, it ventured into the insurance space, allowing customers in Europe to purchase coverage, manage their plan and initiate claims for insurance for their smartphone within the N26 app.

N26 serves about 7 million customers across 25 markets across the European Union (EU) as well as Switzerland and the US.

The company has raised US$822.36 million in funding and is worth US$3.5 billion.