Future of Global Fintech Second Edition 2025

Technological solutions and infrastructure Enhanced credibility and trust Enhanced/new product and service offerings Access to capital and funding Access to customer segments or enhanced reach Mitigate risks and compliance Gain competitive advantage48% Other34% 34% 33% 33% 23% 17% 14%Motivations for partnership FIGURE 10 Funding agreements were particularly important in regions like SSA, where 56% of fintechs identified access to capital as a key challenge.Co-branded products followed, with 22% of fintechs harnessing these partnerships to enhance brand reach and value. Co-branded products, as a factor, were noted most prevalently among insurtechs (26%), digital lending (26%) and digital banking and savings (25%). This type of partnership may be particularly valuable for verticals facing cross-border expansion challenges, as was the case with digital banking and savings and insurtechs. They reported significant difficulties in establishing partnerships for international expansion, as seen later in this chapter, suggesting that co-branding with established partners could be a key strategy for overcoming these barriers. Data sharing agreements, agent banking and other forms of partnership each accounted for 13% to 14%. The relatively low percentage of agent banking partnerships was notable, particularly when compared to the finding that 43% of fintechs serving rural areas relied on agent networks for customer acquisition. This figure rose to 66% in SSA, suggesting potential room for growth in this type of partnership. Joint ventures appeared least frequently, representing 11% of fintechs in the survey – though it was particularly strong in the digital capital raising (27%) and wealthtech (21%) sectors, which rely on equity-based partnerships. Finally, the remaining 16% of respondents indicated that they did not engage in partnerships (N/A), particularly in LAC (29%), Europe (21%) and SSA (18%). Motivations for partnership To explore the motivations underpinning partnerships between traditional financial institutions and fintechs, the survey asked respondents about the driving factors behind their collaborations and how the partnerships contributed to operational efficiency, innovation and market positioning. The Future of Global Fintech: From Rapid Expansion to Sustainable Growth 17