Future of Global Fintech Second Edition 2025

Customer revenue proportion – comparison of the Future of Global Fintech studies TABLE 2 MSMEs Women Low-income Youth Senior Rural/ remotely located 2022 51% 39% 26% 30% 20% 31% 2023 55% 37% 43% 33% 28% 36% Source: World Economic Forum & Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF). Figure 20 shows that traditionally underserved segments formed a larger percentage of fintechs’ customer bases in EMDEs than they did in AEs. This was most prominent with low-income customers (54% in EMDEs versus 38% in AEs), followed by rural/remote customers (40% in EMDEs versus 31% in AEs). Seniors, however, comprised a larger percentage of the customer base for AEs, coming in at 27% (versus 22% in EMDEs). Across verticals, digital lending (70%) and insurtech (60%) reported the highest MSME customer shares, reflecting their role in serving small businesses. Digital payments also performed well, with MSMEs making up 56% of its customer base. Low-income customers were most prevalently served by insurtech (58%), digital lending (53%) and digital banking and savings (52%) firms. Youth customers were most prominent in digital payments (45%) and insurtech (43%) firms, while seniors were most heavily served by wealthtech (36%) and digital capital raising (34%) firms. Lastly, rural/remote populations were served most strongly by insurtech (47%), digital payments (39%) and digital banking and savings (37%) firms, indicating these verticals’ role in extending services to last-mile customers. Revenue by customer segments In regard to revenue, the study reflected the growing contribution of underserved customer segments to fintechs’ revenue, with notable shifts across all segments except women (Table 2). Low- income customers had a significant YoY increase of 17 percentage points (43% in 2023 against 26% in 2022), while senior segments saw a YoY increase of eight percentage points (28% in 2023 against 20% in 2022). Notably, although the overall customer base grew in 2023, the share of fintech revenue from women customers slightly declined. In aggregate, underserved customer groups had a greater impact on revenue in EMDEs than in AEs (Figure 21). This trend was particularly evident in the low-income segment (48% versus 36%), indicating fintechs’ ability to profitably serve customers with limited capital. Women (41% versus 33%), rural/ remote locals (38% versus 33%) and youth (34% versus 32%) also had higher revenue in EMDEs than they did in AEs. Conversely, seniors in AEs had higher revenue compared with their counterparts in EMDEs (33% versus 24%). By region, SSA and MENA received the strongest revenue contributions from underserved groups. SSA fintechs derived 63% of revenue from MSMEs, 60% from low-income customers and 58% from rural populations. MENA followed closely, with 59% of revenue coming from low-income customers and 66% from rural/remote populations. Conversely, the US and Canada and LAC reported lower revenue from rural/remote customers, at 23% and 22%, respectively. Europe and the US and Canada had the highest revenue from seniors (41% and 32%). Youth contributed the most in the US and Canada (37%) and SSA (36%), while MENA reported the lowest youth contribution at 18%. By vertical, digital lending (65%), insurtech (63%) and digital payments (56%) led in generating revenue from MSMEs, while digital banking and savings (35%) and digital capital raising (32%) lagged. Low-income customers contributed significantly to insurtech (63%), digital lending (47%) and digital payments (44%) but provided little revenue to wealthtech and digital capital raising firms (22% and 14%, respectively). Youth contributed above- average revenue in insurtech (38%) and wealthtech (33%), while seniors generated the highest revenue in insurtech (38%), digital capital raising (36%) and digital payments (33%). Rural or remotely located customers generated the highest transaction revenue in digital payments (50%) and insurtech (44%). SSA fintechs derived 63% of revenue from MSMEs, 60% from low-income customers and 58% from rural populations. 31 The Future of Global Fintech: From Rapid Expansion to Sustainable Growth