Total UK fintech investment dropped to $12.3 billion in 2023, down 34% from $18.7 billion in 2022, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech, a bi-annual report on fintech investment trends.

Geopolitical and economic uncertainty fuelled by events including conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the high interest rate environment, and tight liquidity across regions saw fintech investors holding onto their cash throughout much of last year.

UK fintech investment in 2023 was the lowest since 2020 ($6.5 billion) and the Covid-19 pandemic. Disregarding 2020 as an outlier year means that UK fintech investment in 2023 is at its lowest levels since 2017 ($11.21 billion).

John Hallsworth, client lead partner for banking and fintech at KPMG UK, says: “A storm of global challenges made 2023 an incredibly tough year for the UK fintech market. While there were good deals to be had, fintech investors increased their scrutiny of potential deals, putting a sharp focus on the viability of business models and on profitability.

“This downturn is not isolated to the UK and despite the drop in investment, the UK remains the capital of European fintech innovation with British fintechs still attracting more funding than those in France, Germany, China, India, Brazil and Canada combined.”

“Looking ahead to the first half of 2024, investment in the UK fintech sector is expected to remain relatively soft, although investment will likely begin to pick up as interest rates reduce with common consensus that this will be in Q3/Q4.”

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