The Covid-19 pandemic certainly hasn’t taken the shine off the fintech space; in fact, European fintech was by far the most funded sector in 2020, attracting $9.3bn in venture capital investment, according to Atomico. “It’s remarkable how resilient the European fintech sector, and the innovation economy more generally, has been,” says Erin Platts, head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and president of the UK branch at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which provides financial services to innovators and their investors.
Mega-rounds have comprised much of the funding uptick in 2020, says Ms Platts, pointing to UK-headquartered Checkout.com’s recent Series C round as a prime example. The payments solutions provider raised $450m in January and is now valued at $15bn, making it Europe’s most valuable venture-backed fintech.
