These are the 15 European fintechs VCs think will blow up in 2019

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These are the 15 European fintechs VCs think will blow up in 2019

Raisin cofounders

Raisin

Raisin's cofounders

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  • We asked several major venture-capital investors to tell us which European fintechs will boom in 2019.
  • The companies cover a wide variety of products and services across the financial industry as digital disruption re-shapes everything from banking to insurance.

Business Insider spoke with some of the most prominent voices in venture capital to pick out the most exciting companies in European financial technology industry this year.

The experts also highlighted what to look out for going forward.

Major fintech names to date have mostly been challenger or neo-banks which provide payment services, particularly related to foreign exchange and low-fee transfers. However, there have been some major new trends in the market, such as open banking, the rise of compliance, and a big move towards insurance technology.

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Read more: A fintech 'brain drain' is crippling once-mighty London: 10 UK start-up leaders contemplate life after Brexit

Similarly, companies are leveraging their own platforms to weed out a variety of issues within financial services, often serving other fast growing fintechs with AI and machine learning.

Here are the fintechs that VCs think will blow up in 2019.

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Cleo

Cleo

Startup: Cleo

Cited by these VCs: Rob Moffat (Balderton), Remus Brett (LocalGlobe),

Relationship: Investors

Total raised: $13.3 million

What it does: Cleo is an AI assistant that connects customers' bank accounts helping them to manage their finances through digital responses on Facebook Messenger.

Why it's hot in 2019: Cleo's really taken advantage of Open Banking and has grabbed the attention of over a million users in two years. They've moved quickly where banks have been slow in this space, according to Rob Moffat at Balderton Capital.

"Our plan for 2019 is continued international expansion and the development of additional products and services," said Thish Nadesan, Cleo's COO, in an interview with Business Insider.

Alan

Alan

Startup: Alan

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna (Index), Rob Moffat (Balderton)

Relationship: Investors

Total raised: $86.5 million

What it does: Alan secured the first health insurance license issued in France for over 30 years and is trying to take on the market for online medical consultations.

Why it's hot in 2019: Reshaping the insurance industry is one of the main trends for 2019 according to VCs with insurance tech an increasing area of competition, according to Rob Moffat at Balderton.

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Capitolis

Capitolis

Startup: Capitolis

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna, Index Ventures

Relationship: Series A funding

Total raised: $30.8 million

What it does: Capitolis is a technology platform which helps to build new, collaborative models to reshape the way the capital markets operate.

Why it's hot in 2019: Fresh from receiving funding from Sequioa Capital, Capitolis's attempts to improve the flow of capital from financial markets is seen as a major plus point in the current regulatory environment, according to Vojtech Horna of Index Ventures.

Prodigy Finance

Prodigy Finance

Startup: Prodigy Finance

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna, Index

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $1.3 billion

What it does: Prodigy Finance is a fintech platform which helps provide financing options for international postgraduate students who attending business schools or other postgraduate institutions overseas.

Why it's hot in 2019: Prodigy Finance is teamed up with over 100 top universities and helps provide otherwise inaccessible loans for students seeking to study abroad, aiding thousands of students to access higher education.

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Zego

Zego

Startup: Zego

Cited by these VCs: Rob Moffat, Balderton

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $9.7 million

What it does: Zego is an insurance company that provides loans for the gig economy including motorbike drivers and couriers with flexible provisions dependent on usage and ownership.

Why it's hot in 2019: Fractional insurance is disrupting the traditional space, with Zego providing a tech-driven approach to the sector. The London-based company has just launched its offering in Spain and is one to watch this year because "the demand economy needs insurance," according to Balderton's Rob Moffat.

Mimiro

Mimiro

Startup: Mimiro (formerly ComplyAdvantage)

Cited by these VCs: Rob Moffat, Balderton, Index Ventures

Relationship: Investors

Total raised: $38.2 million

What it does: Mimiro is a machine-learning platform designed to analyse the risk of financial crime between institutions in a globalized, interconnected economy where "know your customer" compliance is tricky and arduous.

Why it's hot in 2019: Banks have become obsessed with regulation in recent years as compliance takes up increasing amounts of time. Mimiro is set to simplify the process with a major focus on anti-money laundering and the company's rapid growth to-date has been testament that its set to continue this year having just raised Series B funding.

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Raisin

Raisin

Startup: Raisin

Cited by these VCs: Remus Brett, LocalGlobe, Index Ventures

Relationship: Investors

Total raised: $ 178 million

What it does: Raisin is a pan-European deposit marketplace which allows customers to shop around to find the best savings rate across the continent by taking advantage of EU-banking regulations.

Why it's hot in 2019: Raisin recently bought MHB Bank in Germany in order to help "passport" its services further across Europe on the back of its Series D funding. With over 165,000 users and a large number of European partner banks, the fintech is set to have a "very interesting and large scale year" according to Remus Brett of LocalGlobe.

Trussle

Trussle

Startup: Trussle

Cited by these VCs: Remus Brett, Local Globe

Relationship: Seed investor

Total raised: $19.2 million

What it does: Trussle is London-based online mortgage broker recently had a stake bought by Goldman Sach's Principal Strategic Investments as part of a fundraising. The company was set up to tackle the UK's often laborious mortgage application processes and now has major interest.

Why it's hot in 2019: Trussle has an amazing front-end experience for what is an otherwise shocking process in the UK, says Remus Brett at Local Globe. The company's sizeable pool of investors and nimble set-up makes it ripe to disrupt the lucrative mortgage space.

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Tide

Tide

Startup: Tide

Cited by these VCs: Remus Brett, LocalGlobe

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $36.4 million

What it does: Tide provides loans to businesses and other SMEs via an app-focused platform which is helping to plug the gap left by banks. The company also recently won a £60 million ($80 million) grant from the Royal Bank of Scotland's competition remedies fund.

Why it's hot in 2019: While Europe has seen a meteoric surge in challenger banks in the consumer banking space, the business sector is far less populated. Tide has been touted as a company capable of expanding its offering into a sector which is "very attractive to disrupt," according to Remus Brett of LocalGlobe.

Iwoca

Iwoca

Startup: Iwoca

Cited by these VCs: Matus Maar, Talis Capital

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $352.7 million

What it does: Iwoca is another SME loan provider and supplies finance options to companies in the UK, Germany, and Poland. The company has been steadily growing its loan book and has a large machine learning infrastructure in place.

Why it's hot in 2019: The market for disruption to the business lending sector in Europe is vast and poorly serviced. Iwoca's continued growth and impressive tech have led to investors to be "super bullish about this company right now," according to Matus Maar at Talis Capital.

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Onfido

Onfido

Startup: Onfido

Cited by these VCs: Matus Maar, Talis Capital

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $65.6 million

What it does: Founded in 2012 by three Oxford University graduates, Onfido is a software company that helps businesses verify people's identities using a photo-based identity document, a selfie and artificial intelligence algorithms. Security is a major concern in financial services with the company's authentification services in high demand.

Why it's hot in 2019: Onfido's ID verification technology is propriety and a lot of its service powers other fast growing fintechs such as Monzo and Revolut. The company is well funded and is making real strides this year.

Transferwise

Transferwise

Startup: Transferwise

Cited by these VCs: Reshma Sohoni, Seedcamp

Relationship: Initial seed investment

Total raised: $480.7 million

What it does: Transferwise is a money transfer and payments platform with more than 4 million customers moving $4 billion a month through the service. Customers can also exchange between a variety of currencies through the platform.

Why it's hot in 2019: Already one of Europe's best known fintechs, Transferwise is tipped to boom once again this year given its innovative payments processing, according to Reshma Sohoni at Seedcamp.

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Truelayer

Truelayer

Startup: Truelayer

Cited by these VCs: Carolina Brochado, Softbank and Reshma Sohoni, Seedcamp

Relationship: None

Total raised: $11.8 million

What it does: TrueLayer has taken advantage of the shift towards Open Banking to build a developer platform which makes it easier for fintechs and other companies to access bank APIs.

Why it's hot in 2019: "Truelayer has a really experienced team with a track record of growing businesses quickly," said Carolina Brochado at Softbank. Investors are excited about the future of the company as it progresses in 2019.

Behavox

Behavox

Startup: Behavox

Cited by these VCs: Carolina Brochado, Softbank

Relationship: None

Total raised: $21.4 million

What it does: Behavox is an AI led compliance platform which helps companies identify data issues within capital markets.

Why it's hot in 2019: Behavox is now targeting US banks with its exciting tech platform which is going to provide the gold standard in rooting out bad behaviour in institutions, according to Carolina Brochado at Softbank.

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Qonto

Qonto

Startup: Qonto

Cited by these VCs: Carolina Brochado at Softbank

Relationship: None

Total raised: $36.1 million

What it does: Paris-based Qonto is a neo-bank that is optimized for freelancers and small businesses. Founded in 2016 the company is planning to expand into Spain, Italy, and Germany this year.

Why it's hot in 2019: Along with Tide and Iwoca, Qonto is developing a range of products for its customers which is making life easier for SMEs. The company is maturing and has made life increasingly seamless for business owners in France, according to Carolina Brochado at Softbank.

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