How many fintech startups are there? A list of top fintech startups in 2025
The spike of innovation in fintech has completely transformed the industry, leading to disruption like no other in traditional financial practices. So, it’s no surprise that the last few years have registered a whopping rise in the number of new companies.
16 September, 2022
Take it from the experienced fintech web design agency - now is truly a marvelous time for fintech startups. The spike of innovation in fintech has completely transformed the industry, leading to disruption like no other in traditional financial practices. So, it’s no surprise that the last few years have registered a whopping rise in the number of new companies securing their place in the financial market. Just look at automation in fintech alone. This leads us to the main question. How many fintech startups are there? And what do they do, exactly?
Fintech startups meaning
Who are fintech companies and fintech startups? Firstly, fintech is any technology-driven solution that advances financial services, increasingly powered by AI, big data analytics, and blockchain. Most founders today launch with an API‑first mindset, baking in composability from day one.
A fintech startup is a relatively young company that tries to establish itself by providing financial services in a modern way, which is by digitalizing and automating them or elevating the user experience. The most common practice is using emerging technologies like AI, big data, blockchain, etc.
Until a couple of decades ago, the financial sector was pretty old-fashioned. The fintech startup’s primary intent is to reimagine how people use and deliver financial services. The most memorable aspect of fintech startups is their enthusiasm, open-mindedness, and willingness to embrace and adapt to any change.
What do fintech companies do?
Overall, fintech companies make a valuable contribution to the reputation and user experience of the whole financial industry by adding comfort, accessibility, and convenience. The only difference is their area of expertise and what technology they use to accomplish their goals.
A quarter of them are now classified as “PayTechs,” focused squarely on the payments value chain - from PayFacs to network‑level innovations.
Embedded finance startups, for example, are fixed on integrating the most helpful financial services, such as payments or insurance, into products of non-financial institutions. Yet, embedded services wouldn’t be available without first ensuring the ease of instant online and mobile payments and money transfers, which is another essential fintech activity.
Another popular type of fintech company deals in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency exchange, spreading across financial applications like investments or fraud prevention in banking. Speaking of investments, numerous companies also have their own stock trending apps, as well as asset management platforms, personal budgeting tools, etc.
Other hot verticals include AI‑driven credit underwriting, embedded finance APIs, and blockchain‑based settlement rails.
How many fintech companies are there?
Back in 2021, fintech companies were ranging in about 26,000 worldwide.
Fast‑forward to mid‑2025, and the number of startups has reached ~29 955 globally, up from 26 346 in 2023 and 20 925 in 2022.
The United States alone hosts more than 13 100 fintechs, while EMEA houses roughly 10 969 and APAC just under 5 900.
Consumer adoption remains high - EY and DemandSage peg global fintech usage at ~64 %, with 75 % of consumers relying on digital payments or money‑transfer apps.
If you want to know how many fintechs are there in the United States alone, the number is clocking at more than 10k so far.
Top fintech startups 2025
Here’s our fintech startup list depicting the current most promising startups in the global financial sector:
- Capital (formerly Party Round). First up is one of the latest, most promising fintech startups in the USA, with headquarters in Los Angeles. Party Round offers an automated fundraising tool that takes care of all your money-raising paperwork by generating and sending documents, collecting signatures, receiving funds, etc.
What’s new in 2024‑25: acquired by Rho to fold automated fundraising into a broader banking stack.
- Alloy. One of the most prominent fintech startups in NYC, Alloy, specializes in creating identity verification software that helps banks and other financial institutions and businesses automate their internal decisions, particularly regarding fraud prevention and identity management.
What’s new in 2024‑25: raised $200 M Series E; valuation hit $16 B; AI‑powered spend & procurement.
- Unit. No recent fintech startups list will be complete without including a company called Unit, also born in New York, as a prime example of embedded fintech solutions. This banking-as-a-service platform lets tech companies integrate robust financial features into their products and services, such as payments and lending.
What’s new in 2024‑25: broadened banking‑as‑a‑service suite to include instant card issuance & lending APIs.
- Trade Republic. Our following example is part of a myriad of successful fintech companies in Europe called Trade Republic, which is considered Europe’s first commission-free mobile broker. The startup is set in Berlin and offers a mobile app for managing shares, derivatives, and crypto.
What’s new in 2024‑25: surpassed 4 M customers, launched commission‑free ETF savings plans in 17 markets.
- AnFin. And last but not least, AnFin is a Vietnam-based fintech startup aiming to make stock investing more accessible to the common public. This wealth management- and brokerage-oriented business was only founded last year but already offers innovative solutions in its industry.
Why fintech companies are popular now
To answer this question, let’s take a look at global fintech adoption. Its rate two years ago was around 64%. For the most popular fintech application, digital money transfers and payments, it’s now even higher - 75%. People now realize how redundant and outdated old financial systems are, especially in banking, and want to completely switch to more comfortable services and practices.
All of this has led to such an immense popularity of fintech companies that everyone wants their piece of the action. On the other side, you can find the benefits that integration into fintech brings the companies themselves. Especially noteworthy are more efficient internal processes, cost reduction, and increased flexibility, luring businesses into becoming more fintech-oriented.
Final word
With nearly 30 000 active startups, surging digital‑wallet volumes and AI turbo‑charging every niche from payables to fraud defence, 2025 is shaping up as the year fintech shifts from “growth at all costs” to sustainable, profitable scale.
