Future of Global Fintech Second Edition 2025

Factors supporting or hindering fintechs’ ability to grow – top three factors by region FIGURE 8MENAConsumer demand State of DPI Regulatory environmentLACConsumer demand Interoperability of financial service providers Access to skilled talentConsumer demandAPAC EuropeRegulatory environment Digital and financial literacy of users Consumer demand Access to skilled talent Digital and financial literacy of usersUS and CanadaConsumer demand Access to skilled talent Digital and financial literacy of usersSSAConsumer demand Interoperability of financial service providers Access to skilled talent35% 62% 3% 25% 59% 5% 10% 71% 8% 38% 47% 15% 21% 57% 22% 17% 57% 15% 32% 59% 9% 18% 48% 14% 14% 43% 2% 37% 55% 25% 55% 1% 9% 77% 6% 41% 43% 21% 54% 2% 20% 45% 27% 45% 18% 23% 20% 18% 12% 18% Very supportive Supportive Neither supportive nor unsupportive Unsupportive11% 11% 11% 20% 41% 8% 19% 8% 16% 23% 8% 2% 35% 39% 18% 52% Consumer demand: Across all regions, consumer demand was ranked first among the factors supporting fintechs’ growth, being very supportive for 32% to 45% of fintechs (Figure 8). This aligned with the continuous customer growth fintechs have experienced in the past few years. A small portion of fintechs reported that this factor neither supported nor hindered their growth. This trend also persisted across verticals, with 64% of respondents in digital banking and savings deeming it very supportive, followed by 48% of digital lending respondents and 41% of digital capital raising respondents (all above the global average). Access to skilled talent: Access to skilled talent is often a barrier for firms engaging in innovative industries. However, fintechs seemed not to consider it an impediment but a factor supporting development, with very few firms facing hindrances in this regard. Across all regions except APAC and MENA, this factor ranked among the top three, with 21% of fintechs in Europe and the US and Canada deeming it very supportive. This held across many verticals, with access to skilled talent being very supportive for digital banking and savings (37%), wealthtech (20%), digital capital raising (20%), digital payments (20%) and digital lending (19%) fintechs. Digital and financial literacy of users: The digital and financial literacy of users factor completes the top three main drivers of growth (13% very supportive and 57% supportive), suggesting that customers are becoming more familiar with digital financial services. This factor was more supportive in AEs (16% very supportive against 10% in EMDEs), with fintechs in the US and Canada and Europe perceiving it as very supportive for their growth (20% and 17%, respectively). Fintechs in the SSA (35%) and LAC (27%) regions, however, described this factor as unsupportive, indicating a greater need for mechanisms to improve the financial literacy of consumers. Across verticals, the digital and financial literacy of users was deemed very supportive for the growth of digital wealthtech (21%), digital lending (20%) and digital banking and savings (21%). Regulatory environment: The regulatory environment was the fourth most important factor 64% of respondents in digital banking deemed consumer demand very supportive. The Future of Global Fintech: From Rapid Expansion to Sustainable Growth 15