The UK continues to lead the way in fintech in Europe, taking 42% of all investment made in the region last year, Accenture has found in its Future of Fintech and Banking study.
Fintech investment in the UK and Ireland was up 136% in 2014, growing from $264m in 2013 to $623m. This is almost double that of its closest competitor in Europe, the Nordic region, which received $345m in fintech investment last year.
But Silicon Valley is still the world leader, raking in more than the entire European investment total of $1.48bn and surpassing the $2bn investment mark for the first time. Total global fintech investment tripled to $12.2bn.
Group chief executive of financial services at Accenture Richard Lamb has welcomed steps made by big banks to innovate and work with startups, but warns they may not be fast enough.
“Banks are starting to realise the full potential of digital technologies and their potential to disrupt and transform the banking industry. It is encouraging that many are receptive to the idea of open innovation, collaboration and fintech investment and also are prepared to sacrifice current revenue in order to move to new business models. But banks need to innovate faster, become more nimble and develop a more entrepreneurial culture if they are going to compete effectively and meet customers’ needs.”
The Future of Fintech and Banking report was released at the third annual ‘Investor Day’ of the FinTech Innovation Lab London, an accelerator set up in 2012 by Accenture, the Mayor of London, the City of London Corporation and Innovate UK. The 14 companies that have so far passed through the programme have raised more than $35m in new investment.
Accenture analysed investment data from CB Insights to create its report.