Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Fintech 2025 Growth Insights For Winners And Disruptors
Fintech Report | July 30, 2025
Image: BCG QED Report Scaled Winners, Emerging Disruptors (Cover)
Global Fintech is Entering a New Chapter
The latest analysis from BCG and QED Partners in a report titled, "Fintech's Next Chapter: Scaled Winners and Emerging Disruptors" (38 page PDF), shows that fintech companies currently capture just 3% of global banking and insurance revenues, leaving substantial room to grow.
The study frames this stage around two groups. The scaled winners are fewer than 100 companies generating more than $500 million in annual revenue. They account for most of the sector’s revenues and are now focused on profitability, compliance and expansion into adjacent services.
See: What the 2025 Throne Speech Means for Fintech and Growth
The emerging disruptors are thousands of smaller companies between $50 to $500 million in revenue. They are fast moving, often AI native, and are working in underserved markets and niches. Some of these emerging disruptors are well on their way to becoming the next generation of scaled winners.
Key Trends and Data-Driven Insights
1. Funding Stabilizes While Revenues Accelerate
In 2024, global fintech revenues increased 21% compared with 13% the previous year. Segments such as deposits grew 23%, trading and investment 21% and insurance 40%. This growth is happening while valuations and funding have recovered. In the first quarter of 2025, equity funding was 34% higher than a year earlier and valuations improved by 10%.
2. Profitability Takes Center Stage
Earnings margins improved by 4% points to reach 16% in 2024. 69% of public fintechs are profitable, up from less than half the year before, and 35% now meet the rule of 40. Valuations are being driven by these fundamentals. Forward revenue growth and profitability explain half of the variation in valuations. Size and research and development spending explain another 39%.
See: Retail Banking Platforms and VC Trends 2025
3. Market Penetration Remains Shallow (read: Opportunity)
Fintechs generate 3% of banking and insurance revenues. Penetration is as high as 14% in payments but under 1% in insurance, leaving a large gap for future growth. Payments still make up 55% of scaled fintech revenues (see image below), followed by challenger banks at 15%, crypto trading at 7% and buy now pay later at 4%.
Image: Distribution of Scaling fintechs 2024 BCG report 'Scaled Winners, Emerging Disruptors'
4. AI Becomes An Active Participant
New AI models can act as autonomous agents that execute payments, preapprove loans, rebalance portfolios and anticipate risk exposures. Fintechs that are AI native receive 49% of all equity funding even though their seed rounds are smaller. Over the past three years, $32 billion has gone to B2B fintechs and $30 billion to financial infrastructure providers, with most of this capital flowing to AI powered models.
5. On-chain Finance Begins to Scale
Large institutions are piloting tokenized bonds and funds. Tokenizing assets can remove up to $20 billion in intermediary costs every year, shorten settlement times and broaden access. Progress depends on clear regulatory frameworks and infrastructure ready for institutional standards.
6. Challenger Banks Deepen Instead of Expand
After years of rapid expansion, challenger banks are focusing on core markets. 92 of them are now profitable and 24 generate more than $500 million in revenue. Geographic distribution of scaled fintech revenue remains uneven with 52% from the United States, 10% each from Asia Pacific excluding China and from Latin America, and 1% from the Middle East and Africa.
See: Larry Fink’s 2025 Fintech Vision for Capital Markets
7. Private Credit Creates Room in Lending
Fintech originated loans total $500 billion while private credit funds manage $1.7 trillion. There is a $280 billion gap in capital deployment, and partnerships between private credit funds and fintech lenders are set to grow quickly. Strong funding conditions in early 2025 support this trend.
8. B2B and Infrastructure Are the New Engines
B2B payments, treasury and workflow automation are still underdeveloped. Deposit related revenues grew 23% in 2024, ahead of the 21% industry growth rate. Insurtech fintechs grew by 40% over the same period, driven by distribution and brokerage models. These segments are becoming the growth engines for disruptors.
There are still 150 private fintechs founded before 2016 that have each raised more than $500 million and have not yet gone public, showing that investors are still ready to back scale-up stories.
Implications for NCFA Members
The report highlights fintechs need to choose whether they are on a path to becoming a scaled winner or emerging disruptor. Canadian fintechs and NCFA members should prioritize sustainable growth in home markets before pursuing global expansion.
See: AI Concierge Tech and the Future of Finance
AI native products will be the key differentiator. Companies that engage early with regulators on AI and digital asset rules will be better positioned as these markets evolve. Partnerships with private credit funds can provide growth in lending. B2B automation and modernization of financial infrastructure are major opportunities.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Leave a Reply