Fintech investment firm H2 Ventures and KPMG Fintech recently released a report highlighting dynamic fintechs from around the world that are transforming the financial services industry, from digital payments and lending, to insurtech, to neo-banking, as they attract investment at a record pace.


The 2018 Fintech100 includes the ‘Leading 50’ fintech firms around the globe, ranked based on innovation, capital raising activity, size and reach; and the ‘Emerging 50’, exciting new fintechs that are at the forefront of innovative technologies and practices and are often pursuing new business models.

Jalil Al Aali, partner and head of financial services at KPMG in Bahrain said: “There have been significant efforts to transform the Kingdom of Bahrain into a fintech hub. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) regulatory sandbox is a key example of how the ecosystem in Bahrain is evolving to support adoption of fintech in Bahrain.


“The recent open banking consultation issued by the CBB will further support Bahrain in positioning itself as a fintech hub. Given the supportive regulatory environment and the overall cost competitiveness of Bahrain – fintech firms will definitely find in Bahrain a home to serve the region as a whole”


Key highlights from the 2018 Fintech100 include:

•    Chinese fintechs continue to dominate the top of the list, accounting for three of the top five places on the Leading 50 list with Ant Financial in first, JD Finance second and Baidu fourth; Singapore’s Grab was a new entry, taking  third place, and US fintech Sofi moved up to fifth place.

•    Global competition continues to expand, with 36 different countries represented in the full Fintech100, up from 29 in 2017 and 22 countries in 2016.  Almost half of the companies on this year’s list (41) were founded and continue to operate in emerging markets.

•    The US tops the Fintech100 with 18fintechs placed, including three of the top 10, followed by the UK with 12 and China with 11.Australia and Singapore place strongly with 7 and 6fintechs respectively.

•    Payments companies dominate the Fintech100, with 34 in total, followed by 22 in lending, 14 in wealth management and 12 in insurance. “Multi’s” (fintechs offering a broad range of financial services to customers) dominated the top of the list, led by Ant Financial.

•    Digital or “neo banks” also increased their representation to 10 with Monzo, Number26, Solaris Bank and Starling Bank making their Leading 50 debut.

The top 10 companies in 2018 Fintech100

1.    Ant Financial (China)
2.    JD Finance (China)
3.    Grab (Singapore)
4.    Baidu (Du Xiaoman Financial) (China)
5.    Sofi (US)
6.    Oscar Health (US)
7.    Nubank (Brazil)
8.    Robinhood (US)
9.    Atom Bank (UK)
10.    Lufax (China) – TradeArabia News Service