The fintech (financial technology) industry has exploded over the last decade, radically transforming how consumers and businesses manage money. According to McKinsey, global investment in fintech tripled between 2014 to 2021, reaching over $210 billion.
Fintech startups have brought innovations like mobile banking, peer-to-peer payments, algorithmic investing apps, and blockchain-based financial services to the mass market. These companies combine cutting-edge technology with AI, big data, and modern design to provide seamless financial experiences.
In this article, we analyze the world‘s largest fintech firms revolutionizing finance for the digital age.
Introduction to Fintech
Fintech refers to technology innovations designed to improve and automate financial services delivery. The emergence of smartphones, cloud computing, APIs, and other digital infrastructure has enabled new financial models not limited by brick-and-mortar channels.
Key fintech segments include:
- Payments: Mobile/online payments, remittance networks, payment processing
- Lending: Peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, automated credit underwriting
- Investing: Automated investing apps, digital advisors, trading platforms
- Blockchain/Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency exchanges and services
- Banking: Challenger/online banks, banking-as-a-service platforms
The global fintech market is predicted to grow from around $3 trillion in 2022 to over $6 trillion by 2030. Incumbent banks have invested heavily in fintech services to retain customers, while venture capitalists have poured billions into startups.
Next we analyze the world‘s fintech giants based on funding raised, users, valuation, and revenue.
1. Ant Group – Valuation: $295 Billion
Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, Ant Group operates Alipay, the world‘s largest digital payments platform with over 1 billion annual users.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $295 billion
- Users: Over 1 billion
- Total Payment Volume in 2021: $17.6 trillion
- Revenue 2021: $24.2 billion
Alipay pioneered QR code payments and money market funds accessible via a mobile wallet. expanding from digital payments into wealth management, lending, insurance distribution, and credit scoring.
Ant Group serves mainly Chinese consumers and merchants. In 2021, Alipay processed around 118 billion transactions, more than double PayPal and Visa combined. Regulatory pressure from Beijing led to the suspension of Ant‘s IPO in 2020 along with mandated restructuring.
2. Stripe – Valuation: $95 Billion
Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe builds payment infrastructure for internet businesses. With easy integration and reliability, Stripe has become the backbone for online payments and checkout in e-commerce.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $95 billion
- Funding Raised: $2.2 billion
- 2021 Revenue: $12.5 billion (estimated)
- Payment Volume: Over $640 billion per year
Stripe‘s software lets companies accept digital transactions from credit cards and mobile wallets globally. Extending beyond payments, Stripe now offers business banking, fraud prevention, subscription management, invoicing, expense management and other tools.
Stripe has launched popular products for startups like Atlas (for company incorporation) and Issuing (for creating corporate cards). By 2022, millions of businesses have adopted Stripe to manage payments in 130+ currencies.
3. ByteDance (Douyin Pay) – Valuation: $140 Billion
You likely know ByteDance as the operator behind TikTok. But in their home market of China, ByteDance also runs Douyin (the domestic version of TikTok) along with news app Toutiao.
Integrated into these apps is Douyin Pay, offering payment services and money market funds to hundreds of millions of daily ByteDance app users.
Key Stats
- Valuation: $140 billion
- MAUs: 1.5 billion+
- Transaction Volume 2021: Over $800 billion
Though early stage compared to Alipay or WeChat Pay, Douyin Pay is evolving into a "super app" with ride-sharing, grocery delivery, hotel booking, and other services planned.
With uniquely strong user engagement and retention, ByteDance could leverage Douyin Pay into China‘s next digital payments giant as market saturation looms for incumbents Ant and Tencent.
4. Klarna – Valuation: $45.6 Billion
Founded in Sweden in 2005, Klarna has become the leading "buy now pay later" payments company in Europe and North America. Klarna lets online shoppers split purchases into interest-free installment plans at checkout.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $45.6 billion
- 2021 Revenue: $1.5 billion
- Active Consumers: 147 million
- Retail Partners: 450,000+
Klarna reduces purchase friction with payment plans, helping retailers convert more visitors into customers. The company is profitable and processes over $80 billion in annual payment volume from 200 million transactions.
Venture funding has made Klarna the highest valued private fintech firm in Europe. As buy now pay later gains adoption – especially among younger demographics – Klarna is poised for continued dominance.
5. Chime – Valuation: $35 Billion
The most valuable digital banking provider in the U.S. is Chime. The San Francisco-based firm has amassed millions of account holders with a branchless, mobile-first approach.
Key Stats
- Valuation: $35 Billion
- Customers: Over 12 million
- Transaction Volume: $75 billion/year
Chime aims to be users‘ primary spending account, replacing traditional checking accounts. The company issues Visa debit cards, does not charge overdraft or account fees, and offers up to 2 days faster access to direct deposits.
With a polished app, viral referral schemes, and customer service rated #1 by Forbes, Chime has struck a chord especially with millennial and Gen Z demographics. Chime is reportedly preparing for a 2023 IPO at a $45-$50 billion valuation.
6. Nubank – Valuation: $25 Billion
Nubank, the largest neobank in Latin America, has expanded access to mobile banking services across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $25 billion
- Customers: 65+ million registered
- Funding Raised: $2.8 billion
Headquartered in Sao Paolo, Nubank launched in 2013 to eliminate fees and bureaucracy for credit cards, loans, and mobile banking. The company boasts world-class customer loyalty, reflected in NPS scores of 93-95 range.
Nubank went public in December 2021 on the NYSE, raising $2.6 billion at a $41.5 billion market cap. The consumer banking disruptor still has ample room to expand its large early customer base across Latin American markets.
7. Grab – Valuation: $23 Billion
Singapore‘s Grab began as an Uber competitor in ride-sharing, but has since evolved into a diverse "super app" across food delivery, payments, and financial services.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $23 billion (as of March 2022)
- Funding Raised: $14.4 billion
- 2021 Revenue: $675 million
- Monthly Transacting Users: Over 30 million
Grab‘s fintech platform includes payment processing, micro-lending, micro-insurance distribution, and investment products offered inside the super app experience. Grab Financial Group serves digitally-savvy users across 400 Indonesian cities who traditionally lacked sufficient financial access.
In 2021, Grab became the first Southeast Asian company to list on the U.S. stock market after completing a SPAC merger. Grab‘s diverse services and loyal customer base bode well for maintaining rapid growth throughout the region.
8. Remitly – Valuation: $7.5 Billion
Remitly is a leading fintech company for international money transfers and remittances. Based in Seattle, Remitly uses digital assets to facilitate fast, transparent global sending flows for a fraction of traditional wire costs.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $7.5 billion
- 2021 Revenue: $200-$300 million (estimated)
- Funding Raised: $1.3 billion
- Send Volume Q4 2021: $11.2 billion
Remitly serves over 3 million customers by sourcing funds in wealthier nations to transfer back into over 3,500 receiving corridors globally. The company is also approved as a cash pickup location for money recipients without bank accounts in many emerging markets.
Migrant workers and expatriates driving remittance volumes are embracing Remitly‘s mobile-centric experience for reliability and speed. By focusing solely on remittance flows across global borders, Remitly has built tailored solutions that legacy banks cannot match.
9. Marqeta – Valuation: $7 Billion
Powering many of the most innovative fintech companies is Marqeta, which has created modern infrastructure for issuing payment cards. Marqeta‘s technology lets platforms instantly provision virtual and physical cards with control over parameters to optimize authorization approval rates.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $7 billion
- 2021 Revenue: $323 million
- Funding Raised: $1.3 billion
Marqeta works behind-the-scenes to enable emerging financial products not supported by old payments rails. The company counts many disruptive fintechs as clients, like Square, Affirm, DoorDash, and Klarna.
For example, Marqeta technology makes possible expansion of "buy now pay later" programs that require instant digital credit approvals upon checkout. With many exciting fintech growth vectors still ahead, Marqeta is the picks-and-shovels provider with much room left to run.
10. Plaid – Valuation: $5.3 Billion
Enabling consumers to securely connect bank accounts to fintech apps is Plaid, one of Silicon Valley‘s most mission-critical fintech infrastructure companies.
Key Stats:
- Valuation: $5.3 billion
- Funding Raised: $1.3 billion
- Connections Plaid Supports: Over 11,000 financial institutions
Top fintech apps depend on Plaid for bank verification and account data access to power financial services. Plaid supports fast account onboarding and enhances risk monitoring – allowing fintechs to build innovative products using real-time financial data feeds.
Acquired in 2020 by Visa for $5.3 billion, Plaid decided after DoJ antitrust concerns to remain an independent fintech unicorn. Plaid has strengthened strategic alignments with Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and other top banks it once aimed to disrupt. Maintaining Switzerland-like neutrality, Plaid connects nearly every corner of U.S. fintech while staying behind the scenes.
Honorable Mentions
Here we highlight 3 more fintech heavyweights driving innovation globally:
Opendoor: The Zillow of real estate buying/selling, worth $5 billion
Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Largest bank in Australian and a fintech leader, AUM $500+ billion
Lufax: Leading Chinese online wealth management platform valued at over $16 billion
The Future of Global Fintech
While the fintech industry is already massive, disruption in finance is still early days compared to future potential.
Incumbents face innovation headwinds as agile startups leverage cloud-based software stacks to compete on customer experience. Real-time embedded financing also unlocks new category growth vectors.
And with 4 billion globally still unbanked according to the World Bank, financial inclusion remains prime for technology solutions tailored to serve this underserved cohort.
With new business models like embedded payments, automated investing apps, decentralized blockchain networks, and open finance APIs still in their infancy, expect many new fintech giants to emerge over next decade and beyond.
