Upstart financial firms that provide services such as early paycheck access or buy-now, pay-later plans have attracted rising interest from customers and investors alike. Fintechs raised nearly $24 billion globally in the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from CB Insights, and represent a growing competitive threat to traditional banks and asset managers.
¡°We just have to be better, not just than our peer banks but everybody else that¡¯s competing for our customers,¡± Banco Santander Executive Chair Ana Bot¨ªn said at the Bloomberg Women Money & Power conference in London in December. ¡°Accounts tend to be still with us, but payments and value added services are going to others,¡± Botin said.
The incoming U.S. administration has made financial deregulation a policy priority for the next four years, and the future of the powerful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is in question. In Europe, by contrast, policymakers continue to take a cautious approach to the industry. That asymmetry has made the U.S. an attractive market for fintech startups looking for both growth and sources of funding.
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