The UK continues its lead European fintech investment despite momentum building in the rest of the continent, as other markets — such as France and Germany — see rapid growth.
There is “no room for complacency” as fintech investment in European and Asian markets grow, according to industry group Innovate Finance in its July analysis of deal activity and funding levels in the first half of 2025.
It comes as the financial performance of the fintech sector, though strong, sees investment volumes remaining “well below” peak levels, as start-ups veer further out of a former “growth at all costs” mindset common across the industry, it added.
Globally, fintech investment from January to June rose slightly compared to the second half of last year.
In the first half of 2025, global fintech investment reached $24bn across 2,597 deals, marking a 6 per cent increase compared to the $22.4bn recorded in the second half of 2024.
The UK retains its number one ranking in Europe, recording $1.5bn in investments made, but funding remained broadly flat compared to the second half of last year.
Muted growth in the UK comes as the gap with the rest of Europe is “narrowing”, with European markets excluding the UK reporting a 28 per cent rebound to $2.9bn, led by France and Germany.
The UK also dropped to third place globally after the UAE leapfrogged it to second place as a result of Binance’s $2bn raise, the largest deal this year.
Still far out in front, the US again led global fintech investment activity globally with $11.5bn raised across 1,082 deals.
India and Singapore also maintained the same ranking, at fourth and fifth, respectively. India recorded around $1.4bn through 109 deals, while Singapore — with $797mn raised across 100 deals — reinforced its role as a leading fintech hub in south-east Asia.
Competition for the sixth spot globally has been “fierce”, Innovate Finance said, with Brazil, China and Germany trading sixth place over the past three years. But in the first half of 2025, it was France that took sixth ahead of all of them.
Europe’s fintech sector continued to show resilience in the first half of 2025, attracting $4.4bn, up an impressive 17 per cent on the previous half year, across 653 deals.
France came a distant second to the UK with $694mn across 65 deals, followed closely by Germany with $669mn from 58 deals. “These three markets remain the backbone of Europe’s fintech ecosystem, drawing consistent investment,” Innovate Finance said in its analysis.
Beyond the leading markets, countries like the Netherlands ($285mn), Spain ($215mn), and Switzerland ($200mn) remain prominent.
The $2bn capital Binance capital raise — reportedly made in stablecoin — was the largest deal in the first half of 2025, as well as the largest fintech capital raise since Stripe in 2023, at $6.8bn.
The payments sector again saw some of the largest deals in the market, reflecting both the high growth of the sector and capital required to build out a successful payments business.
Despite growth, Innovate Finance described the hiatus in investment over the past few years as “unsurprising” as new capital waits for “rapidly growing companies to catch up with investors’ recalibrated investment criteria”.