The Fintech Top 50 UK

Sarah Cheesman, updated: 12 February 2024

We’ve ranked the UK’s top 50 fintech companies by the total amount of equity investment received to date, including through rounds that remain unannounced to the public.

What is fintech?

Fintech, a portmanteau of “financial technology”, is an industry that seeks to make financial services more efficient and accessible for businesses and consumers alike. This includes technology companies such as challenger banks, payment processors, budgeting apps and cryptocurrency startups.

Fintech companies often use artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, blockchain and automation, along with other kinds of digital banking technology. Read our Ultimate Guide to Fintech to learn more. Or, check out our recent blog on the top London-based early-stage fintech startups.

Learn more about how our client, FPE Capital, uses Beauhurst to drive their client prospecting and visualise their data in a more digestible way.

Fintech in the UK

Fintech is one of the UK’s strongest startup sectors, with more than 1,500 high-growth fintech companies currently active, including three challenger bank unicorns. Collectively, UK fintech companies have raised £26.8b in equity funding so far, with a staggering £6.48b of that secured in 2022 alone.

As they continue to grow, these fintech startups and scaleup companies are successfully disrupting the traditional banking and financial services industry, and catalysing innovation amongst incumbents.

In our ranking, we’ve included private companies that are currently tracked by Beauhurst, and have head offices in the United Kingdom.

50. Tractable

49. Cloudpay

48. Fnality International

47. Railsr

46. Clearscore

45. Sonovate

44. Neyber

43. Moneyfarm

42. Capital on Tap

41. PaySend

40. Prodigy Finance

39. Tide

38. Monese

37. Kriya

36. Soldo

35. Wagestream

34. Genesis

33. TrueLayer

32. Form3

31. Lendable

30. TradingView

29. Updraft

28. 10x Banking

27. Curve

26. Zego

25. Paddle

24. Copper

23. PrimaryBid

22. PPRO Group

21. Funding Circle

20. Wise

19. Zilch Technology

18. Smart

17. PaymentSense

16. Clearbank

15. Teya

14. Tandem

13. Allica Bank

12. GoCardless

11. Thought Machine

10.

Blockchain.com

Total amount raised: £444m
Total equity rounds: 6
Established: 2011
Location: Hackney

Blockchain.com offers an online wallet for cryptocurrency storage and delivers a suite of search tools, analytics, and charts for the cryptocurrency market. It allows users to buy or trade cryptocurrencies as well as offering real-time data as it comes in.

It attended the Future fifty accelerator in 2019, and it’s been named on five high-growth lists. It was on The FinTech50 twice consecutively, from 2015 to 2016. Most recently it featured on the Deloitte Fast 50, in 2021.

Located in Hackney, this company has grown significantly since its inception in 2011—raising a total of £444m over six fundraisings.

09.

Zepz

Total amount raised: £528m
Total equity rounds: 10
Established: 2009
Location: London

Zepz has created a digital platform that allows migrants and expats to transfer money to their loved ones in other countries. It works across two brands: WorldRemit, an app that allows you to send money to over 130 countries, and sendwave that lets you send money to friends and family in Asia and Africa.

This company has been on an unbelievable 19 high-growth lists, including the Deloitte Fast 50 three times, 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain twice, and most recently, the London Tech 50 in 2020.

Altogether, Zepz has raised £528m in equity investment, across 10 funding rounds.

08. OakNorth Bank

Total amount raised: £637m
Total equity rounds: 4
Established: 2013
Location: Westminster

OakNorth Bank was designed ‘for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs’, providing them with business loans and property finance, between £500k and £45m. It offers loans to the ‘Missing Middle’, the businesses that contribute most significantly to economic and employment growth but struggle to access fast, flexible debt finance.

OakNorth’s borrowers can attend credit committees to discuss their business growth plans and funding requirements directly with decision-makers. As well as loans, businesses can choose from a range of business savings accounts with OakNorth. These include Fixed Term savings, Notice accounts and Easy Access accounts, with competitive AER.

In 2021, OakNorth Bank made its first acquisition, purchasing cashflow software firm Fluidly. The fintech company has raised a staggering £637m worth of investment so far, across four equity funding rounds, and has been listed on several high-growth lists. Its backers include NIBC Bank, Softbank Vision Fund, Clermont Group, and Coltrane Asset Management.

07.

Zopa

Total amount raised: £657m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2004
Location: Southwark

Formerly a global peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, Zopa now operates an online bank. In December 2021, the London-based fintech firm announced its decision to close its P2P operations after 16 years, to focus more on its challenger bank offering. Zopa Bank was launched in 2020 and has been granted a full banking licence.

Zopa’s banking service offers fixed-term savings (backed by FSCS protection) and credit cards, along with unsecured personal finance loans and secured car finance. Its loan calculation allows users to see the rate they can get without impacting their credit history.

In 2021, Zopa was named the Best Personal Loan Provider at the British Bank Awards for the fifth year in a row, as well as achieving the Best Credit Card Provider for the first time. The fintech company has secured a massive £657m worth of equity investment to date, across 14 funding rounds, from the likes of Augmentum Fintech, Finch Capital, Balderton Capital, and VentureFounders.

06.

Starling Bank

Total amount raised: £715m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2014
Location: City of London

Winner of the Best British Bank award for four consecutive years from 2018 to 2021, Starling Bank also operates a challenger bank. It offers various consumer accounts (personal, joint, business, and euro) as well as business accounts with same-day setup, no monthly fees, and easy accounting tools.

Through the company’s mobile banking app, users also benefit from instant notifications on spend and income, no overseas fees, and 24/7 support. In 2021, the fintech company introduced its ‘Bills Manager’, helping customers to pay their bills on time and better manage their money. It allows users to automatically pay Direct Debits and standing orders from a Saving Space.

Starling Bank has secured £715m in equity fundraisings so far, through nine rounds, alongside a £100m innovation grant in February 2019. It also acquired Hampshire-based lender Fleet Mortgages in July 2021.

10.

Total amount raised: £185m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2014
Location: Oxford

Oxa develops software designed to power driverless vehicles, with technology that uses features such as cameras and lasers in order to sense and navigate the surrounding environment. In 2023, the UK government announced that Oxa had been included in their Advanced Manufacturing Plan, setting out £150m of investment to supercharge the self-driving vehicle sector. They have received £185m to date through five rounds of fundraising, including £113m in December 2022, aimed at selling its software to a wider range of industries and growing worldwide.

9. Callsign

Total amount raised: £215m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2010
Location: City of London

Focusing on creating smooth customer interactions, AI company Callsign has produced technology for passive authentication, fraud prevention, and intelligence. Its proprietary technology uses artificial intelligence to mimic how humans recognise each other. In October 2021, Visa choseCallsign as their preferred behavioural biometric and device intelligence identity partner across Europe. Callsign is the world’s fastest-growing behavioural authentication and intelligence company. It has raised a total of £215m in investment, across five funding rounds. The company’s main investors include JP Morgan, AllegisCyber, and NightDragon Security.

8. Lendable

Total amount raised: £216m
Total equity rounds: 7
Established: 2014
Location: Hackney

Lendable is a fintech company developing a peer-to-peer lending platform for consumer finance. The company’s AI software matches users with appropriate investors, leveraging artificial intelligence and automated underwriting to quickly approve loans. Lendable also offers loans to those with lower credit scores to provide a fairer borrowing solution. Lendable has raised £216m, across seven funding rounds, since 2014. It’s expanded to offices in New York, Nairobi, and Singapore, and has featured in several high growth lists: 2022’s FT 1000, the Deloitte Fast 50 in both 2019 and 2020, and the Fast Tech Track 100, also in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, in 2018, Lendable participated in Addleshaw Goddard’s AG Elevate accelerator programme for scaling fintech startups.

05.

Atom

Total amount raised: £735m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2013
Location: County Durham

Another challenger bank on the list is Atom, the first app-based bank in the UK. It provides digital banking services, including saving accounts, mortgages, and business loans. Atom’s shift away from current accounts and its lack of debit or credit cards differentiates the challenger bank from many of its competitors.

Atom’s mobile app is available on iOS and Android, allowing users to bank and access statements anywhere, 24/7, with customer service accessible year-round. Mortgage repayments can be monitored through the app, with Atom providing an independent broker to offer advice on the best deal.

Atom has secured £735m in equity fundraisings so far, across 14 rounds. Investors include Anthemis, Conviction Investment Partners, Middleton Enterprises, and Toscafund, amongst others. The fintech company has acquired one other startup, Grasp, and has also been awarded three large innovation grants, totalling more than £10m in additional funding.

04.

SumUp

Total amount raised: £771m
Total equity rounds: 7
Established: 2011
Location: Westminster

Payment processing firm SumUp allows sellers to process payments using smart devices. SumUp operates across 34 markets, on three continents, and works with over 3m businesses. The fintech company was founded in 2011 and has acquired a total of six companies since then, including Payleven, Shoplo, and Tiller.

SumUp has secured £771m in equity investment so far, across seven funding rounds. This includes backing from Blackrock, Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and several other investors. SumUp’s latest deal, in December 2023, saw the firm secure £244m in equity and loan fundraising to help grow the business and launch more financial services.

The fintech company has also ranked on the Deloitte Fast 50 high-growth list in 2019 and the 100 FinTech Disrupters list in 2020.

7. Huma

Total amount raised: £236m
Total equity rounds: 10
Established: 2011
Location: Westminster

Huma (previously Medopad) is developing a web-based portal for hospitals and healthcare professionals to contain, manage, and collect health records. This data is then accessible to patients through a mobile app. Alongside its main goal of managing healthcare data, Huma also works on digital health insights and has developed wearable technology to detect digital biomarkers and assess health in real-time. Huma has been working with many organisations around the world, including the NHS, to monitor COVID-19 patients remotely. The AI company has secured £236m in fundraisings, from investors including Healthbox, Nexus Investments, Bayer, and NWS Holdings. In 2020, the company acquired two businesses: stress and productivity biometric startup BioBeats, and Tarilian, an optoelectronic sensor company that makes technology for measuring blood pressure and heart monitoring. They have since acquired Alcedis, developers of a platform for the digitisation of clinical trials that can be integrated with third-party systems, and iPLATO, developers of an app that improves patients’ access to GP practices through an online booking system, and provides a platform for healthcare campaigns.

6. Patsnap

Total amount raised: £251m
Total equity rounds: 4
Established: 2007
Location: Southwark

Patsnap has created a web-based platform to help clients assess intellectual property patents, with access to patent expiry dates, licensing, renewal, and legal information for tech companies. The lawtech company’s platform is powered by artificial intelligence algorithms and natural language processing, to parse patents and IP, as well as extract and cross-match critical information. It can even analyse more complex documents, like clinical trials, chemical structures patents, and litigation records. Patsnap has over 10k customers in over 50 countries, including big names like Tesla, Dyson, and NASA. So far, the company has secured £251m in investment, across four funding rounds.

5. Quantexa

Total amount raised: £286m
Total equity rounds: 6
Established: 2016
Location: Lambeth

Quantexa is a cybersecurity firm that develops AI technology to secure organisations’ data and flag illegal activity. It works closely with industries that handle large datasets (such as banking, e-commerce, and the public sector), to create analytical models that uncover data risk, reveal opportunities, and enhance decision making. The company is backed by AlbionVC, Dawn Capital, HSBC Enterprise Fund, and Accenture, among others. In its latest funding round, Quantexa raised £104m in investment. This took the company’s total fundraisings to £286m. Quantexa has attended both the Microsoft ScaleUp accelerator and Tech Nation’s Future Fifty accelerator. It has also appeared on several high-growth lists, including The Telegraph’s Tech Hot 100, Fast Track’s Tech Track 100, InsurTech 100, and the 2021 edition of The Regtech 100.

03.

Monzo

Total amount raised: £927m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2015
Location: City of London

Also operating a challenger bank is Monzo. Fully authorised and regulated by the PRA and FCA, over 6m people use Monzo to manage and spend their money around the world. The London-based fintech company employs over 2,400 people, with offices in London and Cardiff.

With an impressive 14 equity rounds under its belt, Monzo has secured £927m in investment so far, with investors including Accel, Coatue Management, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, General Catalyst Partners, and Crowdcube.

02.

Revolut

Total amount raised: £1.27b
Total equity rounds: 10
Established: 2013
Location: Tower Hamlets

Another fintech unicorn, challenger bank Revolut provides a financial services and digital banking app where users can track and send money, trade cryptocurrency, and more.

In December 2021, Revolut was granted a full banking licence by the European Central Bank. Also last year, it acquired Nobly and Wanted. To date, the company has secured £1.27b in equity investment, across 10 funding rounds, with the likes of Seedcamp, Index Ventures, Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit), Ribbit Capital, Schroders, and Tiger Global, amongst others.

01.

Checkout.com

Total amount raised: £1.36b
Total equity rounds: 4
Established: 2012
Location: Hackney

At the top of the list is startup unicorn Checkout.com. It develops software for businesses to process its online payments in multiple currencies, with over 150 different currencies available. Checkout.com’s payments platform helps to manage every stage of the process, combining several separate payment technologies. It accepts a variety of payment methods, with direct access to Visa, Mastercard and American Express, alongside other popular methods.

Managing risk is high on the fintech’s priorities, with Checkout.com providing a machine learning model that’s trained to identify potentially risky transactions. This risk-scoring solution prevents fraudulent activity and ensures payments are secure. The firm’s clients include leading brands like Sony, Klarna, and Deliveroo.

Altogether, Checkout.com has raised £1.36b in equity investment, across four funding rounds, and acquired three other startups (ProcessOut, Pin Payments, and Icefire). The fintech company’s backers include Blossom Capital and Insight Partners.

4. Gousto

Total amount raised: £321m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2012
Location: Shepherds Bush

Gousto is a meal kit delivery service that provides exact ingredients and portions to customers with instructions on how to prepare the dish. The food tech unicorn, backed by celebrity fitness coach, Joe Wicks, and Japanese investment giant SoftBank, is powered by AI, a technology used since its founding. They have received £321m in funding to date, through 14 rounds of funding. The most recent of these was in February 2023, which saw £50m invested to support them during times of economic uncertainty. Their post-money valuation was listed as £239m. They have been named on a number of high-growth lists, including the FT 1000, Fast Track Tech Track 100, and Top 100 – Britain’s Fastest Growing Businesses. They also attended the Future Fifty accelerator in 2017.

3. Cera

Total amount raised: £366m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2015
Location: Islington

Cera provides homecare, telehealth consultations, and prescription services, which can be managed through a mobile app, which also allows users to book appointments with nurses on demand. To date, they have secured £366m through nine rounds of fundraising. In August 2022, they raised £81.3m to invest in increasing their capacity to help more patients, a project that was invested into by 8090 Partners, Evolve Healthcare Partners, Guinness Ventures, and Jane Street, amongst others. They have attended DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, PwC Scale Programmes, and Govstart.

2. Thought Machine

Total amount raised: £392m
Total equity rounds: 8
Established: 2011
Location: Islington

Thought Machine develops fintech software Vault, which enables banks and financial services providers to centrally manage a range of products. Its core banking platforms can be used to run day-to-day operations, improving the cost, speed, and adaptability of legacy systems. Thought Machine’s software is accessed through an API and has a large artificial intelligence component. The AI company has raised £398m in growth capital so far, across seven funding rounds, with the likes of Molten Ventures (previously Draper Esprit), IQ Capital, Playfair Capital, and British Patient Capital. Its most recent fundraising, secured in July 2020, saw the company valued at £221m pre-money. Alongside new investors ING Ventures, JP Morgan Chase Strategic Investments, and Standard Charter Investments, this latest raise also saw Thought Machine reach unicorn status.

1. Graphcore

Total amount raised: £528m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2016
Location: City of Bristol

Graphcore operates in the semiconductor processing chip industry, developing and manufacturing chips made specifically to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks. Graphcore’s chips use Intelligence Process Unit (IPU) technology, housing 1,472 separate IPU-Cores, capable of executing 8,832 separate parallel computing threads. The Bristol-based AI startup has grown from strength to strength since 2016, with a total of nine funding rounds under its belt, which saw it reach unicorn status after just four years of trading. Graphcore has raised more than half a billion pounds in investment, and is partnered with large tech companies such as Microsoft and Dell Technologies. The company has offices in London, Cambridge, Oslo, Beijing, Seoul, and across the US.

The future of fintech companies in the UK

As the financial technology sector continues to gain momentum globally, the UK, with its thriving ecosystem, is well-positioned to be at the forefront of this revolution.

One key aspect defining the future of UK fintech lies in the ongoing integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and machine learning. These technologies are not only streamlining financial processes but also enhancing security measures, making transactions more efficient and secure. The evolution of open banking is another notable trend, fostering increased collaboration among financial institutions and fintech firms, ultimately delivering more diverse and personalised services to consumers.

Additionally, the emergence of digital currencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is likely to play a pivotal role in shaping the future fintech landscape in the UK. The exploration and potential adoption of these digital assets are poised to bring about a fundamental shift in the way financial transactions are conducted, offering speed, efficiency, and increased accessibility to a broader population.

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