Global economic challenges push fintech investments to 7-year-low

Fintech investments shrunk to the seven-year-low of $95.6 billion in 2024 globally across 4,639 deals, Netherlands-based services network KPMG reported.

According to the Pulse of Fintech report of KPMG, the Americas accounted for the largest share of deals with 2,267 totaling $63.8 billion, with the highest share taking place in the U.S.

The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region attracted $20.3 billion with 1,465 deals, and the Asia-Pacific region attracted $11.4 billion with 896 deals.

Appetite for mergers and acquisitions, private equity fronts subsides

Ongoing macroeconomic challenges, geopolitical conflicts, and political uncertainties in advanced markets led to a retreat in fintech investments, particularly on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE) fronts, the report highlighted.

Total global investment fell from $51.7 billion to $43.9 billion between the first and second halves of the year. M&A deal value and venture capital investment declined from $28.1 billion to $21.6 billion and $22.5 billion to $20.9 billion, respectively.

On the other hand, global private equity investments, which declined to $17.2 billion in 2023, rose to $31 billion in 2024.

The largest private equity transaction of the year was the $12.5 billion sale of Worldpay in the first half, while in the second half of 2024, there were notable large transactions in all regions.