Germany is Europe’s underappreciated fintech capital, often overshadowed by its British neighbor. It does, however, have a booming scene and a few mega-success stories. Last year, Germany came in second in Europe for fintech venture capital investments and that too with foreign funds. Berlin has risen to prominence as a financial technology hub, with more fintech’s than Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg combined. In this article we will talk about top fintech startups in Berlin
Fintech Startups in Berlin
Startups are the new common thing in today’s world. It all started when people started to realize that they can be their own boss too. Despite all the perks that a job can provide you, people hate to be dictated. They want the work to be done at their own pace with their own time management. And this is where the concept of startup was generated. Also startup not only brings the ease but also it helps to execute some ideas that some innovative minds have. This generation has brilliant ideas to put on the table. They have acquired this knowledge from various sources such as the internet through social media. Afterall, social media is not such a bad place to be.
Fintech is a portmanteau for financial technology, according to the Forbes definition. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach to augmenting, streamlining, and digitizing the traditional financial services framework. Fintech is defined as a combination of software, algorithms, and apps for computer and mobile devices. Hardware, such as smart or connected piggy banks and virtual reality platforms, is also included. Depositing checks, transferring money from one account to another, paying bills, and receiving financial help are all chores that fintech platforms can handle.
Fintech and Startups combine have much scope in todayβs world. These two are the most talked about thing in the town. And Berlin has taken the most advantage of this situation. It is said that Fintech Startups have taken up around 10% of the market in Germany since 2018 and the numbers have only grown up since. This dominance implies that, after information and communication technology, financial technology has the second-highest startup activity in the country’s startup ecosystem.
Here, we have gathered the top Fintech Startups in Berlin to be inspired from.
Fintech Startups in Berlin
- MoonFare
Moonfare is an award-winning digital wealth platform that allows users to access top-tier private equity firms. Through meticulous fund curation and a flawless digital experience, their team of industry insiders assists investors in achieving outstanding returns.
Individual investors’ contributions are pooled in Moonfare’s independent Luxembourg-based feeder funds, which invest directly in the underlying target funds. This structure allows for the reduction of minimum contributions to a level suitable for individual investors while ensuring the safety and security of your funds.
- Trade Republic
Trade Republic is Europe’s first commission-free and mobile broker. The startup allows individual investors to trade stocks, ETFs, and derivatives commission-free via their mobile devices. Trade Republic aspires to be the simplest, fastest, and most affordable way to invest in the capital markets.
Trade Republic will develop itself as a stand-alone brand. However, there is clearly a new financial ecosystem forming in Berlin, where fintechs may interact, co-exist, and benefit from one another.
- Penta
Penta is a digital bank account for startups and small businesses. Small to medium-sized enterprises, including startups, can use the service to meet all of their banking needs.
The startup is on a quest to create a platform of connected services centered on a bank account that will allow business owners to manage all of their financial needs from a single location. Penta was created to help business owners save time and money on banking so they can focus on what they do best.
- FinCompare
FinCompare owns and licenses a digital platform that allows small and medium-sized businesses to compare and execute corporate financing. It was founded in 2016 and now has over 250 financial institutions with whom it has examined over 30,000 loan applications totaling EUR 3 billion.
FinCompare, a Berlin-based fintech firm, has been sold to a group of financial institutions.
- Taxfix
Taxfix, a platform for automatic tax filing and reimbursements, now has over 2.2 million app downloads and 3,300 tax declarations every day. The firm just established a presence in Spain.
Even if you have no prior tax experience, filing taxes with Taxfix is simple and accurate, whether you use the app or your browser.
- Friendsurance
Friendsurance is a social media platform that connects friends to buy non-life insurance plans in bulk from recognised insurers. Friendsurance now offers four insurance products, including third-party liability and household insurance, and is trying to expand into additional industries such as car insurance.
When someone joins Friendsurance, they are automatically placed in a group with whom they are already familiar. They pay a premium up front, but if no one in the group files a claim throughout the year, the entire group is compensated. Small claims are handled by the organization, and larger claims are handled by an insurance carrier that backs the agreement.
- Bitbond
Bitbond Finance GmbH, a subsidiary of Bitbond GmbH, is the token’s issuer. Bitbond has been providing blockchain-based financial technologies in the areas of SME financing, tokenization, and digital asset custody since 2013.
In recent years, the platform has facilitated thousands of loans by connecting borrowers with investors all around the world, and Bitbond customer ratings have been overwhelmingly positive.
- N26
With the rapid pace of digitisation, N26 sets the stage for the next step in banking by establishing a fully digital bank; the Berlin-based company has had a globalized worldview since 2013, with the goal of transforming the financial landscape from an outdated industry to one that uses the latest technology to provide an optimized customer experience.
They have developed its business over three continents and 25 regions with more than 1,500 workers, surpassing the 5 million client mark earlier this year under the leadership of Co-Founders Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal.
- Solaris Bank
Solarisbank provides Banking as a Service (BaaS), a business concept that provides financial services to firms outside of the banking and finance industries without the need for significant banking licenses. Solarisbank has broken down this barrier, allowing their financial services to expand into new markets and situations. The system gives enterprises the ability to establish their own banking products.
- Finleap
Finleap is a platform that allows other fintech aficionados to enter the sector. Since 2014, CEO Ramin Niroumand has built a fintech ecosystem that has enabled them to establish fintech startups that surgically fix consumers’ pain problems. Since then, Finleap has launched 17 firms in 15 countries, employing over 1300 people in Berlin, Europe’s largest fintech hub.
Ending Notes
Compliance difficulties made it difficult and time-consuming for small companies with little resources to enter the fintech market a few years ago. Many fintech firms have launched across Germany as a result of the relaxed approach and policies.
Note: If you want to read more tech articles head over to the tech profile section.