The UK fintech sector has proven its resilience and global dominance in 2024, recording a stellar $7.3 billion in investments (as per KPMG), almost a three-fold increase compared to previous years, even as global funding trends faced a downturn. As one of the largest fintech hubs worldwide, the UK continues to attract major investments, a testament to its dynamic ecosystem and innovative approach to financial services.
This year saw standout performances by established giants and rising stars alike. Monzo, a digital banking giant, achieved a $4.5 billion valuation, making it the third most valuable neobank in Europe. Meanwhile, Revolut, another household name, secured a record $45 billion valuation as it prepares for a highly anticipated IPO. At the same time, emerging venture capital players like 13Books Capital raised £121 million to invest up to £7 million in promising early-stage fintech startups.
The UK fintech sector’s influence extends beyond its shores, driving global advancements in payments, lending, and financial inclusion. With technologies reshaping daily transactions, the industry continues to redefine consumer experiences and expand access to financial services worldwide.
Here is a list of the top 10 UK fintech funding rounds in 2024, showcasing the resilience and creativity of the sector. These funding stories reflect a vibrant industry poised to lead the next wave of financial transformation.
Monzo – $430M
Founder/s: Tom Blomfield, Jonas Huckestein, Jason Bates, Paul Rippon, Gary Dolman
Founded year: 2015
Total funding: £1.9B
London-based digital bank Monzo was initially launched as a prepaid card that lets customers open an account for free online and receive spending notifications in real-time and manage their finances. Later, it grew into a full-fledged platform offering social features, premium accounts with additional perks and tools, virtual account creation and management tools, money management features, and more.
Earlier this year, Monzo secured $430 million in funding to boost its expansion. The round was led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund that has backed companies, including Stripe and Airbnb. It also saw participation from global tech investors, including GV (Google Ventures) and HSG (HongShan Capital), and existing backers – Passion Capital and Tencent.
Iwoca – £270M
Founder/s: Christoph Rieche, James Dear
Founded year: 2011
Total funding: NA
Online credit financing company iwoca provides loans and credit lines to small businesses. Operating in the financial services market, it serves a diverse range of clients, including retailers, service providers, and manufacturers. The company offers products such as Flexi Loan, which allows businesses to borrow funds with flexible repayment terms, and iwocaPay, an invoice financing solution that helps businesses manage cash flow by allowing their customers to pay invoices over time.
A few days back, Iwoca raised £270 million in debt funding. This comprises £150 million from Citibank and Insight Investment to fund expansion in Germany, and £120 million from Barclays and Värde Partners for the UK. The investment will support iwoca in meeting the growing demand for finance from SMEs.
Zepz – $267M
Picture credits: ZepzFounder/s: Ismail Ahmed, Catherine Wines, Richard Igoe
Founded year: 2010
Total funding: $922M
Founded by Somali refugees and former UN advisor, Zepz (formerly WorldRemit) became the UK’s first Black-founded fintech company to be valued at $1 billion and reach unicorn status. The company lets people send money to friends and family living abroad, using a computer, smartphone, or tablet. It is a convenient, low-cost alternative to traditional money transfer companies that use high street agents and charge high fees. Zepz offers services enabling users to send money securely with options for bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up, and mobile money.
In October, the London-based money transfer company, snapped $267 million in funding. Accel led the round with participation from Leapfrog, TCV, and Coller Capital.
Flagstone – £108M
Founder/s: Andrew Thatcher, Simon Merchant
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: $176M
UK-based cash deposit platform Flagstone helps recreate the way people grow their money by offering a way for people to get better returns on their investment, while protecting their cash. Touted to be the largest UK cash savings platform, individual savers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and charities use Flagstone either directly or through multiple fintech platforms, financial advisers or brand partnerships.
Earlier this year, the company landed a £108 million equity investment by Estancia Capital Partners, a US financial services specialist private equity firm with deep expertise in the cash management market.
Carmoola – £100M
Founder/s: Aidan Rushby, Amy McKechnie, Roman Sumnikov, Igor Gordiichuk
Founded year: 2021
Total funding: NA
UK-based fintech Carmoola provides a digital platform for car financing, allowing customers to secure their car finance in under 10 minutes. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, with a simple application process that requires only a full driving license and no paperwork. The company’s business model is centered around providing a swift and efficient service, leveraging technology to expedite the process. Customers can find out how much they can borrow towards their next car in just 60 seconds and can pay swiftly online with a card or by bank transfer at the showroom.
A few months back, Carmoola secured a £100 million debt deal with NatWest. With the new partnership, Carmoola aims to deliver competitive, dealership-beating car finance rates, providing an alternative to traditional car finance options.
FINBOURNE Technology – £100M
Founder/s: Dermot Shortt, George Beasley, Paul Saunders, Thomas McHugh
Founded year: 2016
Total funding: $115M
FINBOURNE is touted to be one of the leading providers of investment management solutions. Many of the world’s leading asset managers, alternative asset managers, asset owners, and asset servicers benefit from the insight, efficiency and scalability FINBOURNE’s functionality provides. Across the investment lifecycle, investment and operations teams can increase revenue, reduce costs and better manage risk.
In September, the company closed a secondary raise following a Series B funding round of £55 million in June 2024. This brings the total funding raised this year to over £100 million, making it one of the largest series B raises in the UK. It allows for six investors to follow-on from their original investment and four additional investors to join the roster of firms with a stake in the company.
Vitesse – $93M
Founder/s: Paul Townsend, Phil McGriskin
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: $128M
Vitesse offers a payments and treasury platform designed for the insurance industry. Its solution aims to address inefficiencies in claims processing by providing real-time management and improved control over claim funds for all stakeholders involved. Vitesse’s platform replaces manual, time-consuming processes associated with claims payments and reconciliations. Through its integrated global payments network, the company empowers claims administrators and delegated authorities to deliver a more efficient claims payment experience.
A few months back, Vitesse secured $93 million in a Series C funding round to fuel its expansion in the US market. The funding round was led by KKR, a global investment firm with a strong track record in the technology sector.
Zopa – $87M
Founder/s: Giles Andrews, James Alexander, Richard Duvall, David Nicholson, Tim Parlett
Founded year: 2005
Total funding: $957M
Zopa has revolutionised the financial world by introducing peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in the UK. It allows individuals to lend directly to borrowers, bypassing traditional banks. Over the years, it has facilitated loans worth billions, establishing itself as a key player in the fintech space.
Recently, Zopa scooped a £68 million equity funding round. It was claimed that the company surpassed a valuation of over $1 billion, attaining unicorn status. Earlier this year, the UK neobank raised £75 million in Tier 2 capital earlier this year, taking the total funding raised so far to over $500 million.
Form3 – $60M
Founder/s: Michael Mueller, Mike Walters
Founded year: 2016
Total funding: $277M
A cloud-native account-to-account platform Form3 revolutionises the world of payment processing and disrupts the traditional payment infrastructure model, with an always-on, cloud-native, Payments-as-a-Service platform. It enables major banks and other financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation and connect to multiple payment schemes via a single scalable platform. Its offering replaces strained legacy software with a robust cloud-native infrastructure that is optimised for real-time payments.
A few months back, Form3 raised $60 million in Series C extension funding from British Patient Capital, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank, which backed Quantexa and Wagestream. It also saw participation from existing strategic and financial investors, including Visa, which recently backed Workpay.
9fin – $50M
Founder/s: Steven Hunter, Huse El-Sheikh
Founded year: 2016
Total funding: $87M
9fin, an AI-powered analytics platform for debt capital markets, works with the mission to organise the world’s leveraged finance information and make it accessible and useful through its data, news and predictive analytics platform. Leveraging proprietary machine learning and computer vision, 9fin is the faster, smarter way to find leveraged finance intelligence, centralising everything that’s needed to analyse a credit or win a mandate in one place.
Recently, 9fin raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Highland Europe. Existing investors Spark Capital, Redalpine, Seedcamp, 500 Startups, and Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital participated in the round.
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