Future of Global Fintech Second Edition 2025

Figure 10 illustrates the primary motivations driving fintech partnerships. In total, 48% of fintechs cited technological solutions and infrastructure as their primary reason for partnerships, underscoring the industry’s focus on harnessing technology to drive efficiency and innovation. This was particularly evident in SSA (55%) and APAC (52%), as well as in the digital payments (72%) vertical. This also aligned with the finding that 77% of fintechs in APAC described the digital public infrastructure (DPI) environment as supportive for their growth. Enhanced credibility and trust (34%) was another prominent motivation. It was the top motivation for wealthtech (49%) and digital capital raising (46%) firms. The ability to enhance or create new product and service offerings (34%) followed. This was the second-most reported motivation in APAC (47%) and SSA (45%), as well as for digital payments firms (48%). This was expected, as this vertical uses integrated payment infrastructures to create new products, such as checkout facilities on partners’ platforms. Access to capital and funding and access to customer segments or enhancements to market reach stood at 33%, reflecting the importance of partnerships in financial growth and customer base expansion. Customer segment access appeared to be especially important for wealthtech (45%) and digital payments (38%), with verticals also showing strong international expansion plans, as seen later in this chapter. Motivations related to mitigating risks and ensuring compliance were cited by 23% of respondents. Meanwhile, 41% in MENA and 36% in SSA cited partnerships as an effective way to mitigate risks and compliance, reflecting regional variations in the regulatory landscape. Only 17% described gaining a competitive advantage as their primary reason for partnerships. This distribution indicates a clear emphasis on harnessing partnerships for technological and strategic growth, as well as improved market positioning and consumer trust. Meanwhile, factors like compliance and competitive advantage played relatively more minor roles. Moreover, this emphasis on trust and credibility was especially relevant in EMDEs, where fintechs were found to serve a higher proportion of underserved segments through targeted product offerings. Fintech funding Fintechs expanding across borders often face several challenges, with funding being one of the most significant. To assess changes in the funding environment over the last 12 months, the survey asked respondents to share their perceptions of whether conditions had improved, worsened or remained unchanged, as illustrated in Figure 11. In total, 48% of fintechs cited technological solutions and infrastructure as their primary reason for partnerships. AEs EMDEsGlobal average Significantly improved Somewhat improved Not sure Somewhat worsened Significantly worsened No change6% 2% 41% 25% 11% 15% 5% 3% 42% 23% 11% 16% 8% 1% 40% 28% 10% 13%Perceptions on the funding environment in the last 12 months FIGURE 11 18 The Future of Global Fintech: From Rapid Expansion to Sustainable Growth