KPMG has released the global fintech investment trends—Pulse of Fintech report.  Here are the key takeaways. 

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The EMEA region was the only major market to grow fintech investment in H1 2025, while the global fintech market experienced a significant dip in investment.

The total investment volume in fintech within EMEA rose from €9.4B across 780 deals in the H2 2024 to €11.6B across 759 deals in H1 2025, according to the recently published KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report.

Here are the key takeaways: 

EMEA region stands tall

The growth in the EMEA region stands in sharp contrast to the global trend, where total investment volume, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE), and venture capital (VC), declined from €46.1B across 2,376 deals in the H2 2024 to €38B across 2,216 deals in H1 2025. 

This marks the lowest half-year result since 2020.

UK takes the crown in Europe

Within the EMEA region, the United Kingdom led in Europe with €6.2B in investments.

The UK accounted for the largest share of this investment, including eight of the ten largest deals in H1 2025.

Notable transactions included BlackRock’s $3.1B buyout of Preqin, a UK-based company specialising in investment data; a $500M venture capital raise by Rapyd Financial Network, a global payments processing firm; and a $500M private equity investment in FNZ Group, a fintech platform company.

“At the upper end of the UK market, we’re seeing a noticeable uptick in deal activity. Fundraising is happening, but it’s far more strategic than in previous cycles — investors are being selective, focusing on opportunities with long-term value. Areas like AI and digital assets are drawing particular interest, where the potential for sustained growth and strategic advantage is clear,” says Hannah Dobson, Head of Fintech, Partner, Indirect Tax, KPMG in the UK.

France takes second place

France attracted the second-largest deal in H1 2025 — a $1.6B take-private of AI-powered financial process solutions company Esker by Bridgepoint.

In comparison, Germany, with just €553M, fell short of previous performance levels. According to the report, the mature jurisdictions in Europe saw fintech investment decline, including Germany, from $1.2B to $651.2M, and the Nordics region, from $297.2M to $180.5M. 

The Netherlands keeps up momentum

The report reveals that in the Netherlands, investments in H1 2025 focused primarily on innovative technologies such as fintech, SaaS (Software as a Service), AI, blockchain, and mobile applications.

Several companies, such as Harmonix, Inferium, Warlock, and Klearly, received early-stage seed and venture capital funding, primarily in the financial software and business/productivity software sectors.

Finom, an integrated platform for SMEs, attracted new venture funding.

Amsterdam-based compliance platform Duna raised €10.2M to automate corporate onboarding.

GoDutch secured €1.2M in pre-seed for a business payments solution. 

Quantoz drew later-stage VC for crypto transactions and online payment rails.

Strategic activity also featured Fiserv’s acquisition of CCV, reinforcing its European payments footprint.

Digital assets and AI are gaining ground in fintech

According to the report, Digital assets drew €7.1B globally in H1 2025, the largest share of fintech investment, including a €1.7B round for Binance (Grand Cayman). The segment raised €9.1B in all of 2024, signalling durable interest.

AI in fintech attracted €6.1B in H1, versus €7.6B for the full-year 2024. The focus was on applications that accelerate and secure processes, such as KYC (know your customer), AML (anti-money laundering checks), and automated cybersecurity. Regtech (regulatory technology) also continued to grow, partly due to stricter compliance requirements.

Trends to watch for in H2 2025

KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech also outlined the list of trends to expect in the upcoming months:

  • Expansion of open banking and open finance in the UK to allow for data to be used for payment purposes as well.
  • Increasing exploration of tokenisation and trading of all manner of digital assets as actors leverage the regulatory certainty of MiCA and the long-awaited regulation in the UK market. Innovations in tokenised collateral management, such as the Euroclear-Canton project, will trigger further institutional applications.
  • A shift in the value chain, with payments companies getting more into the banking and core banking infrastructure space.
  • A growing number of fintechs are targeting B2B payments and “office of the CFO” to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and cut down on intermediaries.
  • Regulators in Europe are moving the Digital Euro to the forefront in order to potentially stave off US dollar-denominated stablecoins dominating financial markets.

“For the second half of 2025, we expect investors to remain selective, but the focus on digital assets and AI will continue to increase,” says Martijn Berghuijs, Partner Fintech & Payments at KPMG Netherlands.

He continues, “Risks remain, such as geopolitical tensions, a volatile economic outlook, and increasing competition from major fintech hubs like London, Paris, and Singapore. Nevertheless, the fundamentals for EMEA, and therefore also for the Netherlands, appear strong.”