The Netherlands top three favorite for fintech entrants
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Spain in the past five years have managed to attract the latest new businesses. This is apparent from the research by consultancy KPMG into the main drivers for fintech entrants to establish themselves in the European payments market. Access to knowledge, a strong digital economy, market potential and acceptance of digital payment services, investment, the tax environment and ease of knowledge are the most important factors for the country choice of foreign fintech companies. This is the conclusion of the KPMG report ‘The Netherlands: Europe’s number one fintech hub?’.
According to the EBA (European Banking Authority), 852 new payment fintech companies entered the European market between 2017 and 2022. These are payment institutions (530), electronic money institutions (219) and domestic Account Information Service Providers (103). Well-known examples are Google, WeChat and Alipay. In the Netherlands, 84 fintech companies such as Uber, Yolt, Modulr and Floryn have been authorized to do business in this domain. According to the KPMG research, the Netherlands is mainly praised for the availability of knowledge and talent and market acceptance of digital (payment) services. More than 20% of new fintech companies in the Netherlands have a foreign branch.
“The Netherlands has an attractive business climate for fintech companies. They also see our country trekking as the first access to the rest of Europe. Compared to countries such as Lithuania and Luxembourg, the Netherlands can improve even further. Among other things, in the field of the authorization process and offering support in the intervention of the new market. Now companies often have to undergo a rigid entech authorization process. That is a high for many new, especially smaller entrants, “says Roderik Jongbloed, senior manager Digital Strategy Fintech at KPMG.
The European Commission has previously expressed the ambition to position Europe as a fintech hub. After Brexit, the European PSD2 legislation and the major influence of technologies in the financial sector, the fintech market is rapidly strengthening. The Dutch payment company Adyen, the Swedish post-payment company Klarna and the Lithuanian Revolut contribute to this success.