The financial technology industry has seen a large rise in innovation in recent years and fintech startup companies are continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the space. As innovative services and apps transform how we think of finances, learning what the future looks like can help the growth continue long term.
Learn more about the exciting companies that are revolutionizing the financial world and get introduced to the founders, investors, and funding amounts that make it all possible in our list of the best fintech startups below.
Top Fintech Startups to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve curated a list of the top fintech companies in 2024 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting fintech startup companies launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
Investors—Looking for Venture-Worthy Startups?
Systematic helps you discover, research, and connect with investment-ready companies. Join today to expand your portfolio.
Get Started1. Mercury
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Immad Akhund, Jason Zhang, Max Tagher
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Secondary Market, $152.2 Million
- Investors Include: Andreessen Horowitz, Serena Ventures
Mercury is a digital banking platform designed specifically for growing startups. Its powerful suite of tools includes cash flow management, payments processing, and analytics, delivered seamlessly through an intuitive online platform. With a focus on flexibility and innovation, Mercury is transforming how businesses manage their finances.
2. Spiff
- Location: Sandy, Utah
- Founders: Albert Candari, Casey Crouch, Jean-Philippe Maitre, Jeron Paul, Matt Stapleton, Mike Ries, Tanner Lacey, Travis Ashby
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series C, $122 Million
- Investors Include: Salesforce Ventures, Stripes
Spiff is a financial software that utilizes machine learning to help businesses manage enterprise resource planning (ERP), payments, and payroll as well as effectively connect systems to match records and generate more sales — all on one platform.
3. Capchase
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Ignacio Moreno Pubul, Luis Basagoiti Marqués, Miguel Fernandez, Przemek Gotfryd
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: $1.1 Billion
- Investors Include: Caffeinated Capital, Bling Capital
Capchase is an exciting fintech startup helping other startups secure non-dilutive capital through recurring revenue financing. By providing flexible cash flow to high-growth companies, Capchase allows founders to take control of their fundraising timeline. With its innovative tech-enabled financing model, Capchase is empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to scale their vision.
4. TrueLayer
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Francesco Simoneschi, Luca Martinetti
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series E, $271.5 Million
- Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Stripe
TrueLayer is a fintech platform and app development startup that works to help empower companies to create impactful financial apps. Users can create apps for payments, online lending, personal finance management, investment services, and more.
5. Lili
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Lilac Bar David, Liran Zelkha
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series B, $80 Million
- Investors Include: Google for Startups, Target Global, Foundation Capital
Lili is a neobank focused on empowering business owners and freelancers with tailored mobile banking solutions. Their user-friendly app streamlines financial management by providing features like expense tracking, tax tools, and early access to funds.
Lili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC.
6. Thought Machine
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Paul Taylor
- Founded In: 2014
- Funding: Series D, $562.8 Million
- Investors Include: Eurazeo, ING Ventures
Thought Machine is a fintech company that creates cloud-based technology to revolutionize the banking industry by solving one of the most common issues: the industry’s reliance on IT software that hinders their ability to better serve their clients. Thought Machine’s primary product is its retail banking platform Vault.
7. Daffy
- Location: Silicon Valley (Los Altos, California)
- Founders: Adam Nash, Alejandro Crosa
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: $17.1 million
- Investors Include: XYZ Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Reid Hoffman, Aaron Levie, Amy Chang
With Daffy, donor-advised funds or DAFs are more accessible than ever before. Co-founded by the former CEO of Wealthfront, Adam Nash, Daffy provides a low-cost entrance into DAFs for anyone to invest in charities of their choice.
8. Uncapped
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Asher Ismail, Piotr Pisarz
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Undisclosed, $316.6 Million
- Investors Include: Seedcamp, Global Founders Capital
Uncapped is a fintech startup that offers revenue-based financing solutions for online businesses. Without requiring equity, personal guarantees, or credit checks, it provides entrepreneurs with capital to scale their startup, only charging a flat fee. Its data-driven approach allows for rapid, fair financing decisions, helping companies grow without diluting ownership.
9. Lumanu
- Location: Oakland, California
- Founders: Tony Tran, Paul Johnson
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series A, $15.8 Million
- Investors Include: Origin Ventures, 500 Global
Lumanu is a fintech startup offering an innovative payments and financing solution built for the creator economy. Lumanu’s product is a smartphone app that it sells directly to clients, which range from small companies to mega-corporations.
10. Zolve
- Location: Bangalore, India
- Founders: Raghunandan G
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Debt Financing, $155.1 Million
- Investors Include: Accel, Tiger Global Management, Lightspeed India Partners
Based in Bangalore, India, Zolve is a fintech startup connecting non-US citizens with the financial services they need to thrive in the States. From opening a US checking account to securing an auto loan, Zolve has provided financial services to thousands of international users living in the United States through their neobanking platform.
11. Rally
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Christopher Bruno, Maximilian Niederste-Ostholt, Rob Petrozzo
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series B, $109.1 Million
- Investors Include: Lion Tree, Upfront Ventures
Investing in collectibles is made easy using the Rally platform. Built to support both buying and selling equity shares in collective assets, Rally offers services to members of all income levels looking to invest in collectibles such as sports cards, wine, and first-edition literature.
12. CapWay
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Founders: Sheen Allen
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series Unknown, $145,000
- Investors Include: Fearless Fund, Lombardstreet Ventures
CapWay is a digital banking startup that aims to financially empower underserved communities. Communities without access to banking and those who are ready to leave traditional banking behind in favor of something more customer-focused will benefit from CapWay.
13. Arthena
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Madelaine D’Angelo, Michael D’Angelo
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: $1.2 Million
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, Anthemis Group
Arthena is a fintech startup that helps clients make technology-powered, well-researched art market investments. Leveraging the power of machine learning and an advanced data pipeline, Arthena boasts an ever-evolving system to ensure customers make smart and valuable art investments.
14. Revolut
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Nikolay Storonsky, Vlad Yatsenko
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: $1.7 Billion
- Investors Include: Ischyros New York, Da Vinci Capital
Revolut is an all-in-one app that handles all your day-to-day spending. Once signed up, users can request or send money to others while also earning exclusive rewards as they spend. The company does offer physical cards, investing, and interest earned up to 1.35% annually. Investors even have options for crypto-trading and can buy gold or silver instantly using the app.
15. Debbie
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Founders: Frida Leibowitz, Rachel Lauren
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Seed, $1.2 Million
- Investors Include: Liquid 2 Ventures, TA Ventures
A reward system has been created for debt repayment, thanks to Debbie. This fintech startup allows users to create a custom debt freedom plan and rewards those who stick to their goals. Once all the credit cards are set up, users are able to track all spending and see a visual representation of what it would look like to repay all the debt owed. Every week, new challenges and tasks are created to accomplish debt freedom, and cash rewards are given for every completed task.
16. Novo
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Founders: Michael Rangel, Tyler McIntyre
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Debt Financing, $295.5 Million
- Investors Include: GGV Capital, Crosslink Capital
Novo provides modern, user-friendly banking solutions for small businesses. The platform offers fee-free banking, integrated financial tools, and robust customer support, simplifying financial management for entrepreneurs.
17. Stori
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Founders Bin Chen, GY Liu, Manuel Medina, Marlene Garayzar, Nick Chen, Sherman He
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Debt Financing, $449.6 Million
- Investors Include: GGV Capital, BAI Capital
For citizens of Mexico, Stori is a digital platform that provides credit card solutions to those who are underserved. Even those with bad credit will not have a problem getting approved with Stori, and they’ll enjoy a line of credit worth up to $10,000 MXN. There is an opening fee anywhere from $0–$500 MXN, but there are no annuity payments for opening up the card. Users will have to pay with the card at least once a month and pay their minimum in order to increase their line of credit.
18. Nav.it
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Founders: Erin Papworth, Maia Monell
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Venture, $6.6 Million
- Investors Include: Copper Wire Ventures, Thirdsteam Partners
Debt can lead to many physical and mental health problems, but Nav.it is here to help. This fintech company offers a money management app that helps users measure, integrate, and be mindful of their spending habits. It collects data on every user’s spending, but it also integrates a healthy mindset around money. The app asks questions about how users feel and helps create goals with timelines so that users can be proactive about their money.
19. Vivid
- Location: Sausalito, California
- Founders: Derek Henmi
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series C, €175 million
- Investors Include: N/A
Vivid is an app that helps people accomplish long-term wealth by creating cashback incentives with everyday spending. It includes Europes’s largest crypto portfolios and state-of-the-art financial services. There are other large investment opportunities with over 3000 stocks and ETFs available with no commission charged. Users can earn up to 25% cash back for everyday purchases for a total of up to $150 a month.
20. Brex
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Henrique Dubugras, Pedro Franceschi
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: $1.5 Billion
- Investors Include: Greenoaks Capital, Madrone Capital Partners
For companies that are experiencing a fast growth rate, Brex offers a solution that allows them to spend and scale faster. There are 10-20x higher credit limits with no personal guarantee. The entire team can connect using the mobile app, and expansive software is built-in, making it easy to use. Companies can even store and invest their profits to earn yields over time.
21. Plaid
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: William Hockey, Zachary Perret
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Series D, $734.3 Million
- Investors Include: Bedrock Capital, American Express Ventures
Plaid is a behind-the-scenes financial mediator between institutions and those who use them. It provides developers with tools that help make accessible experiences for users to connect financial institutions to different apps they use. Ultimately, creating a secure and safe way for people to make financial decisions around the globe.
22. Stripe
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: John Collison, Patrick Collison
- Founded In: 2010
- Funding: Grant, $8.7 Billion
- Investors Include: Sequoia Capital, Baillie Gifford
Stripe was created in 2010 and has become one of the biggest fintech companies in the world. The payment processing startup allows individuals and businesses to send and receive money online easily. They also offer a suite of tools that helps developers create customized payment solutions for their websites or apps.
23. Monzo
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Gary Dolman, Jason Bates, Jonas Huckestein, Paul Rippon, Tom Blomfield
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series H, $1.1 Billion
- Investors Include: Accel, Alpha Wave Ventures
Monzo offers an all-in-one financial app that allows users complete access to their money management fee-free. The smart hub includes the spending, saving, and managing of funds — all from a smartphone. The company’s platform is easy to use and navigate and has a suite of budgeting tools to help with long-term financial planning.
24. Chipper Cash
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Ham Serunjogi, Maijid Moujaled
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Undisclosed, $337.2 Million
- Investors Include: Nevcaut Ventures, SVB Capital
While most money transfers come with high fees. Chipper Cash is providing a way for Africans and people across the globe to send money without a large investment. Free transfers, as well as low cross-border rates, are all available using the platform. Using the app, users can send money transfers quickly and easily with a few taps on their mobile devices. The funds arrive instantly instead of recipients needing to wait for banks to process the transaction.
25. Swan Bitcoin
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Founders: Cory Klippsten, Yan Pritzker
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series A, $6 Million
- Investors Include: Plan B Ventures, Mimesis Capital
The world of crypto can be confusing, but with Swan Bitcoin, investors can automate savings and make instant purchases. Clients of any account size can use the app, and integrated budgeting tools allow automatic bitcoin savings every month. This process beats trying to time the market and secures a better financial future for all users. Users can also create automated withdrawals, make wire transfers, and instantly buy bitcoins using a bank account.
26. Brigit
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Hamel Kothari, Len Kunin, Zuben Mathews
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Debt Financing, $115 Million
- Investors Include: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Community Investment Management
Brigit is made to help Americans get in better financial health by providing a suite of tools that are easy to manage. Every user has immediate access to up to $250 without a credit check and with no interest added. Full credit reports are available upon request, and clear insights into spending habits help users make more informed decisions about their money.
27. Clearco
- Location: Toronto, Ontario
- Founders: Andrew D’Souza, Ben Sanders, Charlie Feng, Ivan Gritsiniak, Michele Romanow, Olivier Grinda, Pavel Melnichuk, Tanay Delima
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Undisclosed, $858.6 Million
- Investors Include: Softbank Vision Fund, Moving Capital
Directed at ecommerce founders, Clearco provides a suite of financial performance products that are tailor-made for entrepreneurs at any stage of their journey. The platform gives financial assistance that is equity-free, hassle-free, and bias-free. Over 7,000 businesses have been funded over three continents.
28. Affirm
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Jeffrey Kaditz, Max Levchin, Nathan Gettings
- Founded In: 2012
- Funding: Post-IPO Equity, $1.5 Billion
- Investors Include: SV Angel, GGV Capital
Affirm is a credit-based digital financial institution that allows people all over the world to buy now and pay later. The company integrates with several payment processors and also provides a virtual card in the Affirm app that allows people to make any online or in-store purchase. Users can pick a payment option that works best for them, including four interest-free payments made every two weeks or monthly installments.
29. Luma Financial Technologies
- Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Founders: Timothy J. Bonacci
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Venture, $30.1 Million
- Investors Include: N/A
Luma Financial Technologies has created several financial tools directed at financial advisors to help them learn, buy, create, and track any structured product or annuity. Advisors can mitigate risks, eliminate spreadsheet processes, customize requirements and workflows, and track all performances from one central platform.
30. Chime
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Chris Britt, Ryan King
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Secondary Market, $2.3 Billion
- Investors Include: General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management
Chime is a new way for everyday people to access banking services made for the modern era. It offers up to $200 credits for debit card purchases with no overdraft fees and allows direct deposit individuals to get their paycheck up to two days early. There isn’t a minimum balance, monthly fee, foreign transaction fee, or ATM fees for in-network providers.
31. Finotta
- Location: Overland Park, Kansas
- Founders: Parker Graham
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Seed, $3 Million
- Investors Include: N/A
Built for financial institutions, Finotta is an app that provides guidance on essential actions your business could make to better serve customers and increase revenue. The app keeps customers engaged with games and tools to help improve their financial picture.
32. Ramp
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Eric Glyman, Gene Lee, Karim Atiyeh
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Undisclosed, $1.7 Billion
- Investors Include: Spark Capital, Declaration Partners
Businesses of every size and industry can take advantage of the powerful automation-saving tools created by Ramp. Using the platform, businesses can take advantage of tools, insights, capital, and controls that will help save time and money.
33. Caribou (Formerly Rebank)
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Juan Andrade, Simon White
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Seed, $2.8 Million
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, ADV
Made for entrepreneurs, Caribou tracks money from every bank account and makes it easy to manage in one central location. Making payments as well as receiving payments is made easy, and there are no delays and real-time rates.
34. FlyFin
- Location: San Jose, California
- Founders: Jaideep Singh, Sachin Rajendra
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Seed, $8 Million
- Investors Include: Accel, Alpha Wave Global
Completing taxes as a freelancer involves complex tracking methods and lengthy filing periods. FlyFin makes it easy by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to track every tax deduction, and the platform includes real CPAs to ensure 100% correct filing.
35. Settle
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Aleksander Koenig
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Debt Financing, $521 Million
- Investors Include: Citibank, Atalaya Capital
Settle gives ecommerce owners an easy way to pay bills, manage invoices, and track payments all from one location. The company provides multiple payment options and gives financial flexibility that would be hard to achieve without it.
36. UNest
- Location: North Hollywood, California
- Founders: Ksenia Yudina
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series A, $39.1 Million
- Investors Include: Franklin Templeton Investments, BitFury Capital
UNest is all about creating a financial future for children. The company gives parents a way to create investment accounts for their kids so they can build a nest egg for college, a first car, or even their first marriage.
37. Figure
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Alana Ackerson, Cynthia Chen, June Ou, Michael Cagney, Sara Priola
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Venture, $1.5 Billion
- Investors Include: Rockaway Blockchain Fund, L1 Digital
Using blockchain technology, Figure is attempting the bring speed, efficiency, and savings to consumers and instructions around the globe. Users can apply for loans online, while businesses and institutions can raise capital, manage equity, and trade shares on in one place.
38. OnCredit
- Location: Manizales, Colombia
- Founders: Fredy Rondon
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Undisclosed
- Investors Include: Undisclosed
OnCredit is disrupting emerging markets with its digital lending platform. Their software is built to help businesses digitize their credit operations to streamline and secure their financial processes.
39. Tickertape
- Location: Bangalore, India
- Founders: Ujjwal Ankur
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Seed, $4.4 Million
- Investors Include: Smallcase
Tickertape is a fintech startup based in India providing financial data and content related to stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more in India; increasing users’ ability to make educated investment decisions.
40. R3
- Location: New York City, New York
- Founders: David Rutter, Todd McDonald
- Founded In: 2014
- Funding: Series A, $112 Million
- Investors Include: CLS, Barclays Corporate Banking
R3 is a tokenization platform transforming real-world assets and capital into the digital world for global financial markets. The platform provides expert guidance for institutional investors to digitize their assets.
41. HoneyBook
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Dror Shimoni, Naama Alon, Oz Alon, Shadiah Sigala
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Series E, $498 Million
- Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Durable Capital Partners
HoneyBook is a payment processing company that helps businesses better manage their clients’ contracts, inquiries, and invoices. Through HoneyBook, businesses are able to streamline every aspect of their clientflow on one platform.
42. Fundable
- Location: Powell, Ohio
- Founders: Eric Corl, Wil Schroter
- Founded In: 2012
- Funding: Undisclosed
- Investors Include: Undisclosed
Fundable is a fundraising platform created by Startups.com. An intersection of accredited investors and crowdfunding the Fundable platform allows startups to seek funding from over 20,000 accredited investors on one single platform to raise capital for their businesses.
43. Coinbase
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam
- Founded In: 2012
- Funding: Post-IPO Debt, $678.7 Million
- Investors Include: ARK Investment Management, Starchain Capital
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency management platform that allows users to buy, sell, trade, and store digital assets. While the fintech startup helps consumers build bitcoin wallets and increase their digital asset collection, it also serves as a merchant payment processing system for several high-traffic websites.
44. Happy Money
- Location: Tustin, California
- Founders: Eden Warner, Scott Saunders
- Founded In: 2009
- Funding: $191.6 Million
- Investors Include: Anthemis Group, TruStage Ventures
Happy Money is a financial services startup offering a solution for consumer credit card debt – personal loans with the consumer’s best interest in mind. Their transparent process allows users to get on top of their finances through accessible, trustworthy lending.
45. Flutterwave
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series D, $509.5 Million
- Investors Include: B Capital, Avenir Growth Capital
Built for merchants, enterprises, and payment service providers, Flutterwave is a marketplace for companies to list products, accept payments, and more. Using the Flutterwave platform, businesses are able to choose from a myriad of products, including online checkout and secure payment processing.
46. Rapyd
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Omer Priel
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Secondary Market, $770 Million
- Investors Include: BCS Capital, Spark Capital
Rapyd is a fintech company simplifying digital payments by allowing users to integrate fintech services into mobile apps. Using only one platform, users are able to accept, send, and hold funds from anywhere in the world.
47. Pinwheel
- Location: New York, New York
- Founders: Anish Basu, Curtis Lee, Kurtis Lin
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series B, $77 Million
- Investors Include: Indeed, Franklin Templeton Investments
Pinwheel leverages financial data to improve consumer experience. Used by financial institutions and crypto companies, the platform allows users to build products using their API; accessing valuable data to provide the best financial services possible.
48. Episode Six
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Founders: Chermaine Hu, Futeh Kao, John Mitchell
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series C, $98 Million
- Investors Include: Anthos Capital, Avenir Growth Capital
Episode Six helps fintechs and financial institutions build payment solutions that adapt to ever-evolving payment trends. Partnered with Mastercard, HSBC, and more, Episode Six makes creating flexible, powerful, and user-friendly financial tools simple.
49. Deel
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Alex Bouaziz, Ofer Simon, Shuo Wang
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: $679 Million
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz
Deel is a financial services startup providing valuable tools for payroll, compliance, and hiring to other businesses. Specializing in supporting global teams and used by widely known brands such as Dropbox and Shopify, users can easily manage the entire employee lifecycle on one platform.
Final Thoughts
Fintech companies emerge every day with cutting-edge technology that transforms the financial landscape. Their online platforms solve every consumer pain point, crafting digital solutions to increase financial inclusion and accessibility for consumers and businesses alike.
This regularly updated list encompasses some of the most impressive, innovative, and disruptive financial technology companies scaling within the startup ecosystem today – bringing you the fintech startups you should be eyeing to invest in, partner with, or work at this year.
FAQ
What is a fintech startup?
A fintech startup is a company that uses technology to provide financial services. This can include anything from providing loans to businesses to tracking freelancer tax deductions.
What are 4 categories of fintech?
The four broad categories of fintech include B2B for banks, B2B for business clients, B2C for small businesses, and B2C for consumers. Each of these different categories will require fintech startups to have their own set of features.
What does the future of the fintech industry look like?
The future of fintech services will almost always include some form of AI to manage and provide guidance on solutions. It will take data gathered and make informed decisions on how to move forward for long-term wealth.
How do you start a fintech startup?
To start a fintech startup, you’ll first need to understand the financial services industry and what areas of it you could potentially disrupt. You’ll also need to have a clear idea of your target customer and how you plan to reach them. Once you have those things figured out, it’s time to start building your product and securing funding.
What are some helpful resources for fintech startups?
There are many resources available for fintech startups, but some of the most important ones include startup accelerators, VC firms, incubators, and funding organizations. Many online resources can help you get started, such as startup communities or online courses and tutorials. Finally, finding a mentor or advisor who can help you navigate the waters of the fintech industry is essential.