Once upon a time there were banks, and there were only banks. This was the extent of the financial industry for the most part, and then came fund management and other extensions of the banking and finance industry. But they were, for the most part, just that — extensions of the existing structure. Then the Internet became ubiquitous, and out of the primordial online ooze crawled PayPal. Suddenly things were different.
Since then we’ve been introduced to a new version of the financial industry, known as fintech. A merging of the financial industry and the digital revolution, fintech crawled slowly after PayPal become the major player, and to some the only player, in the emerging fintech world. But as all disruptive industries do, fintech progressed from crawling to walking, and today it is running in full stride and gaining speed. Now we have mobile payments everywhere, online banking, and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that threaten to crush the old banking system and pave the way for a new financial world altogether.
It’s no wonder that VCs are carefully considering new fintech startups and throwing significant investments at some. If you’re considering jobs in fintech, it would be great to know who some of the more promising up and coming companies are in the sector, so Media Jobs is happy to fulfill that desire by bringing you a short list of them that have enjoyed VC funding through the second quarter of this year.
A Tradestreaming survey uncovered three trends in investments from a group of 40 VCs and which fintech companies they’ve financed over the past three months.
1) Non-US investments — Companies outside the US are getting VC attention, particularly in the emerging markets of Latin America.
Companies worth noting include:
- TransferWise: International transparent money transfers
- Nubank: Digital financial services company in Brazil
- Capital Float: Digital finance company targeting SMB’s in India
2) Investments in B2C fintech companies — Over 65% of the VCs inveasted in B2C fintech companies, in large part due to the Millennial generation and their demands for newer, better, and more personal products and services than previous generations.
Companies worth noting include:
- Circle: International online payments
- Digit: service that checks spending habits and automatically sweeps money into savings when possible
- Better Mortgage: helping consumers get better mortgages online
3) Investments in insurance technology — Insurance Technology is still in the crawling stages, but may be a very promising sector in the years to come as issues in the traditional insurance sector (like the ongoing health care problems) have entrepreneurs looking at new and more holistic solutions.
Companies to watch here include:
- Clover Health: Low cost healthcare provider
- Jetty: Property and casualty insurance targeting millennials
- Bright Health: Affordable health insurance plans
There’s little doubt that the fintech industry will be a source of growth and employment in the future, and the wave is far from cresting yet. The companies listed here are worth looking into for anyone considering a job in the sector, and even if none of these are your perfect employer they can still give you good ideas about what you should be looking for to find that perfect employer.