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In the space of a quarter, global fintech investments doubled to $8.4bn, with one company contributing half of the total amount.
A report released today (2 August) by KPMG looking at the global health of fintech investments – including Ireland – for Q2 of this year has revealed that they have more than doubled in the space of a quarter.
The total global investment figure for this year was shown to be $8.4bn compared with $3.4bn in the previous quarter.
Driving much of this major boost in spending was mergers and acquisitions, with $5.9bn (70pc) accounting for the total investments this quarter at the expense of VC funding.
In fact, VC funding showed a slight decline on the previous quarter, accounting for just over $2.5bn.
Driving the doubling of investment this quarter was a single company, Canada-based DH, which accounted for half of the entire total: $3.6bn.
Infographic: KPMG
Plynk leads Irish success
For the remainder, the US and Europe spearheaded investments, with each continent accounting for $2bn, respectively.
Looking specifically at Ireland, promising signs for the country’s start-ups were found, with a total of $230m raised this year so far in VC funding.
Leading this charge is payments start-up Plynk, which made history in June by securing €25m in funding, one of the single largest deals ever on the island.
Established in Dublin in 2015, Plynk’s product lets people send money via message to a single contact or in group chats, instantly and with no fees. It plans to have Apple Pay and Android Pay integration in the near future.
Meanwhile, Asia – often considered a growing major powerhouse for fintech – is now lagging significantly behind, with a funding total of just $760m. No clear major deals occurred bar the $140m investment in Shanghai-based Ouyeel.
Regtech dominates
When analysing which subsectors within fintech were most successful in attracting funding, regulation tech (regtech) was shown to have jumped significantly, having achieved just under $600m in the first half of 2017.
By comparison, regtech was the recipient of $583m for the total of 2015 and is on pace to significantly exceed 2016’s total by year end.
Speaking of the report’s findings, KPMG Ireland’s head of technology and media, and fintech lead, Anna Scally, said: “Fintech investment has made a comeback this quarter, a sign of renewed investor intent, particularly in the US and Europe.
“Corporates are increasingly accounting for significant amounts of fintech investment – a trend that isn’t likely to let up given the need for financial institutions to digitise the customer experience, become more cost-efficient and find new sources of earnings growth.”
Updated, 2.18pm, 3 August 2017: The headline and text of this article have been amended following the original claim that Irish fintech funding totalled $230m in 2017 so far. This figure, however, reflects the total VC funding in Ireland for the first two quarters of 2017.
