Report finds fintechs have been resilient in the face of Covid-19
Fintechs have been resilient in the face of Covid-19 but will face more funding challenges in the next six to 12 months, a new report has found.
The ‘State of European FinTech 2020’ report, published by venture capital firm Finch Capital, said that European fintechs have been resilient during the lockdown period.
The report said during the lockdown the fintech sector took the chance to revaluate cost inefficiencies and benefited from government support programmes, reduced sales and increased customer support.
And the lockdown had a positive effect on payments, as an e-commerce boost made up for declines in travel, the report added.
It forecasted the next six to 12 months to be more challenging for the sector when funding by new investors is required, as most existing investors will have run out of steam.
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“Government interference provided short-term economic stability, but the actual effects of the crisis have been pushed towards the first half of 2021,” the report said.
The report said that proptech firms operating in the commercial real estate sector have been hit hard and may never be the same again.
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“Now more than ever they will need to digitise their entire value chain (not just documents) to survive,” the report said.
“Harnessing as much yield from property remains valuable but 2020 has been a subdued start.”
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The report predicted this will be the year that tailwinds in AI and open banking will drive mass adoption across the ecosystem.
It also expects to see massive consolidation of the number of fintechs with revenues below €5m (£4.6m).