EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Digitalization is changing our lives in many different ways: we book flights online, compare real estate offers in online-communities and buy clothes via online-shops. But how do we manage our mortgages and other financial transactions? Several banks offer online banking systems which show some innovations compared to traditional retail banking activities. Simultaneously, new pioneering “FinTech” companies come up with solutions that are more customer- and technology-oriented.

Initial Situation

T-Systems is analysing the digitalization of the financial industry as the expected disruptions in this market will be a challenge for all traditional financial institutes. In this context, the main target of this research project is to identify the most interesting FinTech start-ups, which could be potential collaboration partners or acquisition targets for established companies in the financial industry. T-Systems is especially interested in start-ups that operate as “bridge-builder” between two sectors/industries.

Methodology

FinTech start-ups offer highly scalable and innovative technological solutions in order to generate benefits from a customer’s perspective. Focusing on these solutions, extensive database research as well as qualitative interviews with experts from traditional financial institutions and the FinTech community have been carried out. As a result, seven major segments within the FinTech market were identified and an innovative framework to analyse and categorise start-ups was developed. In order to account for fundamental differences among start-ups at different stages of their life-cylce, companies were clustered along the dimensions of “Stage of Development” and “Untapped Potential” within each sector.

This classification served as the basis for a detailed analysis of more than 300 European FinTech start-ups

Results

The analysis and evaluation of over 300 European FinTech Start-Ups was condensed in a short list of the 21 most interesting start-ups. Both hard and soft facts of the companies were compiled to give a detailed picture of the strengths and weaknesses of each start-up.

The results highlight start-ups within the segments of Payment, Crowdfunding, Investment Management, Deposit & Lending, RegTech, Insurance and Data, Infrastructure & Security, as highly interesting for commercial banks. Those particular start-ups can be of vital importance for banks.

Cooperation Partner

• T-Systems Austria GesmbH
  Rennweg 97-99
  1030 Vienna
  Austria

Contact Person

• Andreas Pecka
  andreas.pecka@t-systems.at

Student team

• Lukas Huth

• Mathias Kindl

• Sophie Schönhart

• Luis Gringinger

Projektbetreuung

• Evgeniia Filippova

• Vinzenz Treytl