As the industry grows, companies in France have made relevant in the Fintech sector. Let's review some of them

There are 1,567 FinTech startups in France. Companies showed resilience in 2020, raising a total of EUR 828.2 million through 63 deals, up 18.9% from 2019, according to data from the industry trade group France Fintech.

1. Ledger – EUR 432 million

Blockchain-based hardware wallet for cryptocurrency. Its products offered include Nano X, Nano S, Blue, and OTG Kit. It supports multiple cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, and more. It offers a vault which is a multi-authorization cryptocurrency wallet management solution.

Ledger has sold more than 3 million hardware wallets in 190 countries to date and serves over 1.5 million monthly users on Ledger Live. It claims to secure 15% of all cryptocurrency assets globally.

Ledger raised US$380 million in a Series C funding round in June, reaching a valuation of US$1.5 billion. Data from Dealroom and Crunchbase suggest it has raised EUR 432 million in funding so far.

2. Younited Credit – EUR 340 million

​​Younited Credit is an online lending marketplace for individuals, companies, insurers, foundations, pension funds, etc. Products include auto loans, boat loans, motorcycle loans, marriage loans, travel loans and business loans.

Users can avail of loans from €1,000 to €50,000. The platform offers 8 loan durations: 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 ​​months, 60 months, 72 months and 84 months. The company offers 3 public funds for investors to invest in loans. The minimum investment amount is €1,000.

Younited Credit raised US$170 million in July 2021, bringing the total amount of funds raised since inception to US$400 million (EUR 340 million).

3. PayFit – EUR 179 million

The company’s software automates the payroll of employees and manages social statements as well as offers a flexible HR system to track and manage working time, onboarding process, leaves and expense reports, enabling small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to easily manage payroll and HR information online on a single platform.

PayFit announced in March 2021 that it had secured EUR 90 million, bringing its total funding raised to over EUR 179 million.

4. Shift Technology - EUR 289 million

Shift Technology provides AI-based fraud detection and claims processing solutions for insurers. It features cloud-based end-to-end claim processing and filing solutions. It features underwriting fraud detection and investigation tools. It also offers solutions to accelerate and automate claim decisions.

Shift Technology’s software has analyzed billions of insurance transactions to date, and the company claims and serves more than 100 clients in 25 countries. Last year, it won Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 Global Claims Solutions for Insurance Market Leadership Award and was recognized for the high level of innovation in automation and fraud detection its technology offers.

5. Swile – EUR 115 million

Swile, formerly Lunchr, is the provider of a meal-ordering platform intended to reinvent the experience of lunch breaks with colleagues. The company’s solution replaces the traditional and outdated French paper meal voucher with a digital solution that works with the Visa and Mastercard networks, and an accompanying mobile app.

Swile has plans to extend beyond meal vouchers and lunch break experiences, with a new product that would enable corporate gifts to be distributed to employees using the same system, as well as the addition of features to improve life at work and employee engagement.

Swile closed a EUR 70 million Series C round in June 2020, bringing the total funding raised since its launch in 2018 to EUR 115 million.

Conclusion

The Paris Region has become the leading global financial hub in the European Union. The French market is the most attractive in Europe in terms of opportunities, availability of capital, and regulatory environment.

A combination of factors has contributed to making Paris Region one of Europe’s greatest ecosystems for Fintech businesses:

• Capital availability - During the first semester of 2020, €496 million was raised in VC funding in France. This speaks for the dynamic role played by VCs and why Fintech companies can rely on increasing amounts of capital invested by firms such as Speedinvest, Kima Ventures, Truffle Capital and Breega.

• The diversity of players - For the Region’s large financial players, digitizing their offers and increasing IT agility are top priorities. Besides, French neobanks are on the lookout for innovative solutions and are likely to collaborate with international fintech. Among consumers and corporates, the trend indicates a growing interest in Fintech products.

À bientôt amigos!