Sustained but more moderate growth in French fintech than last year, with a significant reduction in the amounts raised, and a still strong recruitment dynamic: this is the main lesson from the 3rd edition of the Fintech100 ranking, produced by Finance Innovation and Truffle Capital, in partnership with the BPCE group and Sopra Steria. The previous edition also reported a drop in fundraising, but with growth twice as high.
To establish this ranking, 201 fintechs and insurtechs responded to a questionnaire between February 1 and April 5. Several hundred pieces of data per company were collected, whether they concern growth rate, turnover, amounts raised, employment strategies, business model or issues linked to artificial intelligence.
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Qonto, Ledger and Younited Credit on the podium
In 2023, fintech start-ups raised 486 million euros, half as much as the previous year (1.12 billion euros raised in 2022). The overall turnover also shows a lower dynamic than last year, with growth of 2.9% if we stick to the scope of the Fintech100. This limited growth is partly explained by the profound restructuring of the top 100: while 10 large companies disappeared from the ranking due to a takeover, 39 smaller companies appeared.
The list ranks Qonto in first position, ranked 5th in 2023. The neobank for SMEs could enter the stock market next year. Next comes Ledger, which moves up one place compared to 2023, and Younited Credit, specialist in instant loans for individuals, in 3rd position. Swile, ranked 2nd in 2023, finishes 4th this year, and Payfit finishes in the top 5. Insurtech Alan, at the top of the list last year, falls to 6th place.
Among the new fintechs in the ranking, the unicorn Pigment, which raised $145 million at the beginning of the month, climbs to 11th place. This is also the case for Indy, a start-up developing a management platform dedicated to the self-employed (20th) or the B2B payment specialist Libeo (36th). The insurer Luko, taken over in January by Allianz, Pledg, a split payment specialist, and the insurtech Dreamquark are among the ten companies leaving the list.
At constant scope, turnover growth of 35%
Excluding takeovers and cessations of activity, the overall turnover of the 61 companies present in the ranking last year stood at 1.85 billion euros, a notable increase of 35% (1, 36 billion euros in 2023). For 64% of companies surveyed, recurring revenue represents more than 75% of total revenue. “We are seeing very high growth for SaaS”specifies Stéphane Hannache, head of digital ecosystem partnerships at BPCE.
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“Talent is no longer the number one concern for companies, but we remain in a recruitment logic”, says Bernard-Louis Roques, managing director and co-founder at Truffle Capital. This is evidenced by the 14,725 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the sector, compared to 13,995 in 2022 and 10,245 in 2021. This employment dynamic remains fairly sustained: “Employment growth, at 5.2%, was eight times higher than for the French economy as a whole”, points out Maximilien Nayaradou, general manager at Finance Innovation. 96% of the companies surveyed planned to recruit in the next 6 months, representing 1,633 jobs.
Massive use of generative AI tools
55% of fintechs surveyed see compliance and changing regulations as a challenge they face on a daily basis. “More precisely, a number of regulations have been produced over the last 12 months: Data Act, DORA, IA Act, Fida…” underlines Bruno Cambounet, research director at Sopra Banking Software.
The results of this 2024 edition finally highlight a much more pronounced use of generative AI. 49% of fintechs surveyed allow open access to generative AI via ChatGPT, 25% via ChatGPT or an alternative in a private space, and 12% only via an internally developed generative AI solution. “12% strongly restrict access to AI, available on specific request, often out of caution due to data security issues”, observes Stéphane Hannache. The start-ups surveyed mainly use generative AI for marketing functions (74%), for IT development or coding (53%) and to optimize internal processes (46%).
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