LONDON–The ongoing coronavirus pandemic’s effects on consumer behavior, especially a new willingness to engage with their finances online, is leading investors to pump funds into fintechs.
According to data compiled by Buy Shares, fintech leaders raised a total of $3.81 billion in the second quarter of this year. The data provide some direction to credit union leaders on which companies/solutions investors believe hold the greatest market promise.
According to Buy Shares, online payment processing platform Stripe raised $850 million, followed by Robinhood at $430 million and Vero has raised $241 million. Health insurance company Oscar raised $225 million, while Carta closed out the top five at $210 million.
The five fintech firms account for 51.34% of the total raised amount by the firms in the Buy Shares research.
Other Investments
Other firms seeing significant investments included Fundbox at $200 million, Airwallex’s at $160 million, Checkout.com, Marqeta and Brex, each of which raised $150 million; Aspiration AT $135 million, and the U.K.’s Starling Bank at $123 million.
Other notable fintech firms that raised significant amount include Stash ($112 million), N26 ($100 million), Onfido ($100 million), Bought By Many ($95 million), Monzo ($75 million), Trade Republic ($73 million), SolarisBank ($67 million), Taxfix ($64 million), Alan ($55 million), and Lunar ($50 million).
‘A Perfect Opportunity’
“The coronavirus pandemic led to an economic downturn, presenting a perfect opportunity for the fintech sector to explore different opportunities for mass adoption,” the company said in its analysis. “Most specifically, the pandemic resulted in a change in consumer behavior that might stick around for a long time.”