In the words of Chris Skinner, “Ignoring technological change in a financial system based upon technology is like a mouse starving to death because someone moved their cheese”.
Fintech is UK’s strongest start-up sector and this sector alone has funneled more investment than any other sector in the country. Collectively, the 1,373 fintech start-ups have raised £14.9b equity funding. These ambitious and innovative companies are transforming the landscape for consumers and businesses alike. These start-ups have unbundled the financial complexities, simplified them to offer more streamlined services along with posing a real challenge to the brick and mortar banks and financial institutions.
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We are going to briefly talk about the Hottest UK fintech start-ups and this write up will cover a little of the company’s information coupled with their well-known features, their location and lots more. The following are the top UK Fintech startups you should know about in the year 2021:
1. Revolut
Founded in the year 2013, this London based Fintech start-up has raised £690M till date. It is a unicorn start-up of the British land and operates as a neo bank offering a wide range of digital banking services through a smart phone app. Since the launch, the start-up has catered to around 350 million transactions and is proudly serving 9 million customers all over the world.
2. Oak North Bank
The Oak North Bank is one of its kinds offering debt finance solutions for fast growing businesses. The services offered are fast, flexible and simplified. In 2013, this bank was founded with an aim of entrepreneurs bank, funded by entrepreneurs. Today, it is one of the most active lenders in the country. Since its inception, the bank has lent over £4.6 Bn, offered 20,000 jobs in UK and supported in the building of 16,000 new dwellings.
3. Atom
Atom is another popular digital only bank from the UK, making its mark in the high-growth list. Founded in 2013, the total funds raised by this challenger bank is £483 Mn. The Neo bank offers all its services through a smart phone app. The bank doesn’t offer current accounts and instead focuses more on savings account, business loans and mortgages to its customers.
4. Monzo
A 5-year old Fintech start-up, Monzo is offering its digital only banking services to people looking for current accounts. The start-up is also offering myriad of other banking services and money management features. As of now, Monzo is serving 3 million users and the challenger bank is fully authorized and regulated by PRA and FCA. Added to the high growth list, it has raised a total funding of £444 Mn.
5. Iwoca
Established in the city of London, Iwoca is designed to offer loans to small businesses. Businesses can apply for the loan online ranging from £1,000 – £200,00. The maximum credit limit for the newbies is restricted to £10,000. Businesses use Iwoca to fill their short term cash flow gaps. One fantastic feature of this app is its ability to speedily assess the condition of a business applying for loan. Iwoca has raised £401 Mn since its inception.
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6. Paymentsense
Having raised £329Mn since the establishment, Paymentsense is delivering in-person as well as virtual payment solutions to more than 70,000 small businesses in UK and Ireland predominantly. The Fintech solution is processing around 250 million transactions in a year as it allows the users to easily create and analyze sales reports and generate actionable insights. It also offers face-to-face card payment machines, countertop, portable along with mobile card machines.
7. SumUp
SumUp is popular in UK as it has eased out payment processing for a number of UK users. The payments are easily cleared either by sharing a payment link on the device of the user or by way of an attachable card reader. Founded in November 2011, SumUp has three primary products to offer – the SumUp card reader, the Air Card Reader, the SumUp 3G card reader.
8. Checkout. com
Founded in April 2012, Checkout.com is a Fintech unicorn of UK that has developed software to easily accept payment from various currencies. This software has been a page turner for online businesses expanding their wings beyond the national boundaries. It is currently processing 150 different currencies along with offering a direct access to all major international debit/credit cards.
9. Molo Finance
It is a relatively new entrant in the market and Molo Finance was founded in 2016. Having already raised £280m, the company is having its fair share of reviews. Molo Finance is a mortgage lender operating online only. Molo Finance is gaining traction because this Fintech is one of its kinds. As the processing is done online, the same can be completed within minutes.
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The UK’s fintech sector is booming and it will continue to grow given the importance of digital payments and increased online transactions worldwide. UK is the second biggest fintech market in the world after the US.
