12
companies
that have been
successful

There are many different types of companies and niches within fintech, making direct comparisons and rankings difficult. Some would say that comparing a wide range of different fintech companies is like comparing apples and oranges. Based on several independent sources, we have nevertheless decided to highlight 12 exciting fintech companies that reflect the potential, diversity and current size of the fintech industry. 

Adyen / Netherlands

Adyen offers businesses a uniform platform for the payment of services, anywhere in the world. The service also accepts almost all payment formats and other services. The target group consists of companies and organisations that accept payments for the provision of services or products. Private consumers are not part of the target group at present. The company reported revenues of NOK 3 billion in 2015 and NOK 5.8 billion in 2016. The company has large customers, such as Facebook, Uber, Netflix, Microsoft and Spotify.
 

Ant Financial / China

Ant Financial is an aggregate company, which consists of Alipay, Ant Fortune and Ant Financial Cloud. The company offers financial services, such as asset management, credit evaluations, private banking services, payment services and servers for cloud data. The target group is defined by the service, but the company as a whole has a vision to provide all the financial services they need. In 2006, the value of the company was estimated to be NOK 622 billion.

Avant / United States 

Avant uses a digital lending platform based on AI technology to reduce the cost of and threshold for loans. The company specialises in flexibility and organisation and focuses on small to medium-sized loans. The target group is primarily private individuals who need small loans fast, with a short repayment period. The service is, however, open to anyone, also businesses. In 2017, the company was valued at NOK 16.5 billion and had a loan portfolio of NOK 33 billion and 600,000 customers.

Nex Regulatory Reporting (Abide Financial)
England 

Nex provides digitised and automated reporting to the relevant authorities. Users can upload their relevant data, select what jurisdictions they are under, and generate the reports that need to be sent, in accordance with MiFID for example. Nex supports and is approved for a number of jurisdictions, including the European Union and the United States, and it provides services primarily to banks, multinational companies and fund managers. The company was acquired by the NEX Group in 2016 and does not report separate accounting figures. 

Lufax / China

Lufax connects individuals and companies that either want to borrow or offer to lend money. This is done on a digital platform that automatically matches suitable borrowers and lenders. The company has also subsequently expanded into various financial services, such as asset management. The target group is individuals and businesses that request and offer loans. The target group has subsequently expanded based on the new financial services on offer. The company was estimated to be worth NOK 153 billion in 2017. 
 

Klarna / Sweden

Klarna uses a fully digitised payment service for the online sale of goods. The goal is to achieve simple and comprehensive payment solutions, so that the buyer can pay by whatever method and means are most appropriate. The seller avoids having to think about payment solutions and collecting payments. The target group includes individuals, businesses and organisations who buy and sell services and goods. In 2017, the Swedish company was valued at NOK 18 billion and reported annual revenues of over NOK 107 billion..

Oscar / United States

Oscar is a company that uses financial technology and insurance services to make the healthcare system in the United States easier to navigate, and to make the processes faster. This is accomplished by bringing different health insurance schemes, doctors and treatment offers together in the same company, and by using an intuitive app platform via a mobile phone or website. The target group includes all individuals living in the United States who are covered by Obamacare, as well as any businesses that want to offer health insurance to their employees. The company was valued at NOK 22 billion in 2016 and has paid-in capital of NOK 5.6 billion.

Qudian / China

Qudian can offer micro loans to students and instalment payment and investment services to others through a digital multi-platform. The company operates in China, where credit cards are very uncommon among students. The target group has initially been students and young people who do not have access to micro loans through credit card solutions. The target group has expanded for the other services. Just before it was listed in the United States in 2017, the company was estimated to be worth NOK 65 billion and had revenues of NOK 2.2 billion.

Revolut / England

Revolut is a fully digitised bank that offers credit cards, foreign exchange, cryptocurrency, and “peer-to-peer” lending services through a mobile application. The aim of the bank is to eliminate hidden fees on transactions and make banking services more readily available. The target group is anyone who uses or needs banking services. As of 2017, the bank covers 120 countries and has ambitions of global coverage. Revolut has internationally recognised investors behind it and was predicted to reach 1 million users in the course of 2017.

SoFi / United States

SoFi can offer students less expensive loan terms on student loans through a fully digital platform. The company has grown rapidly and now offers most financial services. It also aims to become a full-fledged bank. 
The target group was initially students who wanted to refinance their student loans and alumni as lenders. In 2017, the company was valued at NOK 33 billion, and its value has increased by nearly NOK 8 billion every year for the last 3 years.

Stripe / Ireland (current head office in the United States.)

Stripe can enable individuals and companies to receive payments and pay for goods and services over the internet by means of a digital app solution. In addition, the company is focusing on the further development of measures against digital financial fraud and the development of the banking infrastructure required for direct online payment systems. 
The target group is all individuals and companies. Stripe is already established in 25 countries. In 2016, the company had an estimated value of NOK 76 billion and reported annual revenues of NOK 12 billion.

Xero / New Zealand

Xero can offer all forms of accounting services – such as billing and payments, payroll, transactions, bank reconciliation, receipts and expense register – through a digital app-based platform. The entire system is exclusively available on a computer or mobile phone. The target group is all types of companies and organisations that have accounts. At the end of 2017, the company was estimated to be worth NOK 35 billion. 

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Sources: Forbes, Investopedia, entrepreneur companies’ websites.