Top 10: Fintechs to Watch in 2024
Fintechs sit at the pinnacle of innovation in the financial services sector, offering the latest payments technologies, security features and customer offerings.
In this Top 10, we look at the fintechs to watch this year following some exciting announcements and updates from the industry’s biggest players.
10. Tradiac
Technology-led funded trader programme Tradiac is one of the fastest-growing fintechs today, enabling remote traders to oversee capital allocated by a hedge fund specialising in alternative investments. Tradiac’s bold new approach essentially helps traders get funded by a hedge fund and gamifies the process of scaling one's trade. Today, Tradiac is spearheading the second generation of its alternative investments trading initiative. Its mission is to identify and nurture talented traders, supporting them to thrive in financial markets.
CEO: Michael Buchbinder
Founded: 2019
9. PayPal
PayPal was one of the earliest pioneers to transform electronic money transactions, providing billions with access to an online payment alternative to traditional money orders and checks. Today, it functions much like a payment processor for online vendors too. In January this year, it unveiled six innovations to revolutionise commerce alongside its partner, Venmo. These include the introduction of passkeys to transform the checkout process; the launch of Fastlane, a one-click guest checkout experience for shoppers; PayPal Smart Receipts; an advanced offers platform and a revitalised PayPal app.
Revenue: US$29.77bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 27,200
CEO: Alex Chriss
Founded: 1998
8. Square
Established by Block, Square empowers SMEs to seamlessly process credit card transactions, promoting the use of small devices such as smartphones and tablets as point-of-sale (POS) terminals. Since its founding 15 years ago, the fintech has expanded its product portfolio to include Square Wallet, Square Market and Square Payroll. The organisation has continued to grow in recent times, launching a new reader for its magstripe terminals, releasing Square Stand, a tablet POS system, Square Register, a new digital till system, and Square Directory.
Revenue: US$5.94bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 12,985
CEO: Jack Dorsey
Founded: 2009
7. Plaid
Plaid serves as a data network and payments platform, providing its partners with open banking capabilities through a unified integration offering. The firm has enjoyed a significant rise since its acquisition by Visa, as it continues its mission to simplify linking customers’ financial accounts with third-party fintech services. Today, Plaid collaborates with more than 12,000 financial institutions, fostering the development of at least 8,000 digital financial services on the Plaid platform. With six offices worldwide and an employee base of nearly 1,000 people already 2024 looks set to be a year that Plaid continues to scale.
Revenue: US$64.88m (FY 2023)
Employees: 1,200
CEO: Zach Perret
Founded: 2013
6. Robinhood
US finserv company Robinhood is one of the largest financial trading services on the market today. Its digital trading platform enables users with commission-free stock trades, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrencies. The company is set for a massive 2024 after launching crypto trading in the EU last year, with plans to extend its full-service offering in the UK very soon, offering free trading on 6,000 US stocks. This comes as part of Robinhood’s global expansion plans. The trading platform has already scaled its offering in recent times, introducing extended trading hours, a stock lending platform and automated recurring investments.
Revenue: US$200m (FY 2023)
Employees: 2,300 est.
CEO: Vlad Tenev
Founded: 2013
5. Chime Financial
Chime is the fintech revolutionsing the overdraft fees landscape for customers. The US fintech is one of the most rapidly expanding today, collaborating with regional banks to create customer-centric products that emphasise members’ financial well-being. This approach has helped Chime fork out a more competitive market offering with cost-effective alternatives for Americans who believe traditional banks fall short in effectively serving their clients. After a significant funding round of US$750m in the summer of 2021, during a peak period of investor interest in fintech startups, Chime attained a valuation of US$25bn.
Revenue: US$3.16bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 1,500 est.
CEO: Chris Britt
Founded: 2012
4. Stripe
Stripe is the fintech transforming the world of online payments infrastructure. Today, the fintech serves the financial infrastructure needs of some of the biggest organisations in the world, including Amazon, Meta, Target Corp and Sony. Known for its APIs that allow web developers to incorporate payments processing into mobile apps and websites, Stripe continues to sit at the peak of fintech innovation with new products and services. It recently introduced Data Pipeline, a service facilitating data synchronisation, and Stripe Financial Connections, a tool granting businesses direct access to customers’ bank accounts.
Revenue: US$14bn (est. FY 2023)
Employees: 7,000 est.
CEO: Patrick Collison
Founded: 2009
3. Intuit
Widely regarded for its accounting software QuickBooks and tax platform Turbotax, Intuit's technological platforms assist financial workers worldwide in tackling the prevalent, day-to-day financial challenges encountered by businesses. In recent years, the fintech has expanded its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and the launch of complimentary products. Notable additions include the credit score tool Credit Karma, procured in 2020 for US$3.4bn, and the email marketing client Mailchimp, acquired in 2021 for US$12bn. Ambitious product launches such as this have helped transform Intuit into one of the most robust fintechs in the industry, boasting revenues surpassing US$12bn. Today, its workforce exceeds 17,000 employees.
Revenue: US$14.36bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 18,200
CEO: Sasan K. Goodarzi
Founded: 1983
2. Wise
Known formerly as TransferWise, Wise has helped pioneer international money transactions with its quick, affordable and streamlined money transfer service. In recent years, Wise has added debit cards, multi-currency accounts and business accounts to its offering. It has also scaled up its compliance efforts to meet regulatory requirements across different markets, and partnered with Frontier in the last 12 months as part of its carbon reduction pledge. Wise received its highest funding round in 2020, raising US$319m at a valuation of US$5bn with lead investment coming from D1 Capital Partners and then-already-existing shareholder Lone Pine Capital. Wise, the UK-headquartered fintech, continues to be a leader in Europe and across the world today with offices in London, Estonia, Turkey, Singapore and the US.
Revenue: US$1.07bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 5,000
CEO: Kristo Käärmann
Founded: 2010
1. Revolut
Topping our list of fintechs to watch in 2024 is Revolut. The neobank, which is the largest in the UK today and one of the biggest in Europe, has this year announced it will be offering mobile phone plans in the UK. The move comes amid Revolut’s aim to create a mobile ‘super app’ of integrated services outside of just financial services. This would mark a significant move for Revolut as it looks to scale up its customer offerings in competition with incumbent banks. The neobank has already launched a new AI feature to help protect against card scams, as its widening portfolio increases the attack surface from which fraudsters can strike. Achieving these next steps in its development will be huge for Revolut, which has already established itself as a global leader in fintech with a presence in 150 countries, 35 million personal customers and 500,000 business clients.
Revenue: US$2bn (FY 2023)
Employees: 7,500
CEO: Nikolay Storonsky
Founded: 2015
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