FinTech Startup Launches Plunge 83% in 2024, Hitting a 15-Year Low

After years of explosive growth driven by technological advancements and surging consumer demands, the fintech sector faced headwinds in 2024. While transaction volumes remain strong, particularly in digital payments, which alone accounted for a staggering $11.55 trillion, VC investments and new fintech startups have plummeted.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the number of new fintech startups plunged by a massive 83% to only 479 in 2024, marking the lowest figure in years.

The Lowest Number of New Fintechs in Fifteen Years

The explosive growth of the fintech landscape has led to a flood of new startups, with between 2,000 and 3,000 companies entering the market annually between 2015 and 2021. This surge has helped the total number of fintech firms to more than double and hit over 30,000. But things have changed a lot since then, with the market facing a slowdown, which only worsened last year.

Statista and Crunchbase data show that around 1,750 new fintech startups were launched in 2022, or 1,000 less than a year before that. The downturn accelerated in 2023 with only 1,110 new startups, representing a 36% drop year-over-year. However, 2024 brought the biggest drop so far.

Macroeconomic uncertainty, driven by geopolitical conflicts and high-profile elections, has triggered a significant pullback in fintech investment. As a result, startup launches plunged like never before. Statistics show only 479 new fintechs entered the market in 2024, 56% less than in 2023. Even more striking, this is the lowest number of new startup launches the market has seen in fifteen years.

The slowdown is also evident in the overall number of fintech companies. While the sector more than doubled between 2015 and 2021, reaching 30,900 startups, the total number of new fintechs rose by only 3,400 since then, reaching 34,300 last year.

The United States Remains the Global Fintech Powerhouse

Despite the sharp decline in new startups, the geographical distribution of fintech companies has remained stable, with the United States continuing to dominate the sector. The Statista and Crunchbase data show that more than one-third of all fintechs in 2025, or close to 10,300, are from the United States. That means the U.S. alone counts more fintech startups than the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Brazil, Germany, and Austria combined.

Far below, the United Kingdom ranked as the second-largest fintech market, counting around 3,300 of these companies as of this year. India, Canada, and Brazil follow with 1,900, 1,100, and 1,000, respectively.