FinTech Awards are several award ceremonies, most of them unrelated, which are held worldwide to recognize excellence in

financial technology Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

as assessed by either a public vote or panels of judges. There are typically many categories, winners and prizes. Hundreds of companies, including several fintech

startups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

, participate as candidates. Major

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

award ceremonies are held on an annual basis in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Other jurisdictions such as

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

run these awards on a less regular basis. Some ceremonies are not national but continental, such as the Africa FinTech Summit, the Asia Fintech Awards and the European Fintech Awards.

Awards by country and continent

Africa

The first ''African FinTech Awards and Conference'' was be held at the Finance Indaba Africa conference and expo in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

on 13 - 14 October 2016. It gathered

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

's leading FinTech entrepreneurs, bankers, investors and advisors. In 2018, the ''Africa Fintech Summit'' was created, running regular award events. The 2024 event is being held in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

on 4 - 6 September 2024.

Asia

The Asia FinTech Awards are organised by FinTech Intel. These awards were developed to celebrate the burgeoning FinTech community throughout Asia, and the achievements and successes of those companies. The

Singapore FinTech Festival Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) is the largest FinTech festival in the world and a knowledge platform for the global FinTech community. SFF is organized annually by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Global Finance & Technology Network and C ...

(SFF), the world's largest FinTech festival, has hosted the annual festival and awards ceremony annually, since 2016. Fintech65, is organized by Fintech Nation, in collaboration with Elevandi an
Singapore Fintech Association
annually since 2022.

Australia

The 1st ''Annual Australian FinTech Awards'' was held on 23 June 2016. The awards were given in thirteen categories. The project, product, research paper, campaign, or activity that is entered must have been created, developed or released in the 18 months before the awards to be a valid entry. Since 2016, the event has been held every year. The 9th edition happened in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 21 March 2024 and had fourteen categories.

Canada

The Canadian FinTech Awards were created in 2015 by the Digital Finance Institute, a prominent global think tank for financial technology created in 2013. The Canadian FinTech & AI Awards were first held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to celebrate Canadian innovation.

Dubai

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

edition of ''FiNext Awards'' was run in 2018 by the InternetShine Corporation, a financial technology development company based in the US. The ''FiNext Conference Awards'' were first held in Las Vegas. The Dubai event received coverage by the online edition of the

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

magazine.

Finland

Helsinki Fintech Farm is the FinTech hub of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

operated by HUB13. The hub is responsible for the award ''Best Finnish Fintech company of the year'', which aims to recognise innovation and scalability in Finnish fintech companies. Enfuce Financial Services was the winner in 2018.

Europe

The ''Europe FinTech Awards'' are organised by FinTech Intel. These awards were developed to celebrate the burgeoning FinTech community throughout Europe and their achievements. The ''European FinTech Awards'' is an organization that aims to disrupt traditional financial intuitions by providing a platform for fintech

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

s to collaborate with one another. Like the Dutch and African awards, the European awards are the result of an initiative of Alex van Groningen BV, a Dutch financial publisher. The awards start with the ''European FinTech 100'', a selection of innovative companies with ground-breaking ideas and technologies. The wide batch is chosen by the vote of more than 55,000 fintech enthusiasts from all over Europe (as of 2016). Then a panel of fintech experts reduces the selection to one hundred companies. The one hundred, in turn, are the pool from which the finalists are chosen. The finalists have the opportunity to pitch during the conference. The first European FinTech Awards & Conference was held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

on 14 April 2016. 413 companies from 34 European countries were nominated. 30% of all nominees were from

. Behaviosec was the winner of the award for the Best European FinTech Company 2016. Winners in the 9 sub-categories were: Monese (Challenger Banks), Funding Circle (Alternative Finance), Ebury (Payments), Wikifolio (PFM), Everledger (Blockchain), Kreditech (Financial Inclusion), Knip (InsurTech),

Backbase Backbase is a Dutch banking software financial technology company that provides a banking infrastructure software platform that it calls engagement banking. The system is used by financial institutions globally from large banks to credit unions ...

(Innovative Banking Software), and Behaviosec (Risk, Intelligence & Security).

India

''FinTech Awards'' is an event organized by the ''India FinTech Forum'' along with several startup accelerators. The winners are decided by a panel of industry stalwarts. The event focuses on actual working product demonstrations to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Italy

The ''Italian Fintech Awards'' originated from the Grand Prix for Italian startups, held in 2014. The Grand Prix and the Fintech Awards were both organized by CheBanca!. The 2016 edition had a call for submission until 31 March, with 12 finalists being chosen among the candidates. The winner was awarded 25,000 euros, personalized workshops with startup coaches, and a visit to a startup bootcamp in London. In 2016, the co-winners of the ceremony in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

were Ovalmoney and . As at 2024, the annual fintech award events in Italy are run by ItaliaFintech.

Luxembourg

The first ''Fintech Lion Awards'', in

, were held on 21 June 2016. Among the candidates, 15 start-ups from Luxembourg were chosen to pitch their projects at the semi-finals in May. Ten of them were chosen for the finals, which were held under the patronage of Prime Minister

Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as the List of deputy prime ministers of Luxembourg, deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Luxembourg), minister for Fo ...

MENA

The ''FinTech Awards MENA'' are organised by FinTech Intel. The Awards were developed to recognise the achievements of fintech companies and individuals operating within the region. Categories include FinTech of the Year alongside categories focused on RegTech, Blockchain, InsurTech and Payments.

Netherlands

The first ''Dutch Fintech Awards'' took place at the headquarters of host ABN AMRO in

in 2015. A 40-member jury gave awards in seven categories. The awards were attended by some 400 national and international fintech investors, companies, experts and executives. In 2015, Adyen was the overall winner, receiving the award for a lasting breakthrough in the current payment industry. The winners in particular categories were: AcceptEmail (Payments), Five degrees (Banking IT), Bux (Personal Finance), Bitonic (Bitcoin), Sparkholder (Intelligence & Analytics), Symbid (SME).

Switzerland

The call for submissions for the first ''Swiss Fintech Award'' was published in October 2015. Any company founded by a Swiss citizen or headquartered in Switzerland could participate. A jury of 16 experts chose the top ten enterprises that would be trained in boot camps. The second round was a

speed dating Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process with the purpose of encouraging eligible singles to meet new potential partners in a very short period of time, so that interested pairs can continue meeting each other after the event. Organiz ...

event with the jury and award sponsors in early February 2016. The three finalists pitched their ideas at the financial and economic forum ''Fintech 2016'' on 31 March 2016. The winner won a cash prize and a stay at the

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...

Fintech Innovation Lab in London.

United Kingdom

The ''UK FinTech Awards'' are organised by the platform FinTech Intel and were developed to celebrate the UK's burgeoning FinTech community and their achievements. The categories are designed to cover the full spectrum of fintech, and submissions are judged by an independent panel of experts. The awards culminate in a black-tie ceremony and dinner, held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The 2024 winners included Wise and

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

. The first ''AltFi Awards'' ceremony was held in 2014. The awards recognised achievements across the global financial technology industry and had

Zopa Zopa Bank Ltd. () is a British online bank which offers deposit accounts, personal loans and credit cards. It began as the world's first peer-to-peer lending company in 2005 and gained a full banking licence in 2020. The peer-to-peer side of ...

, Monzo and

Funding Circle Funding Circle is a commercial lender. Originally it was a peer-to-peer lending marketplace that allowed the public to lend money directly to small and medium-sized businesses. Through this exchange businesses access lower costs of financing tha ...

amongst its winners. There were annual ''AltFi Awards'' until 2023, when the company had to close alleging “severe headwinds.” Another notable fintech awards in the UK are the ''FinanceFeeds Awards'', which had their inaugural edition in 2023 and had

CMC Markets CMC Markets is a UK-based financial services company that offers online trading in shares, spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs) and foreign exchange across world markets. CMC is headquartered in London, with hubs in Sydney and Singapor ...

and TradingView amongst the winners.

United States

The ''US FinTech Awards'' are organised by FinTech Intel. These awards were developed to celebrate the US fintech community and their achievements. The categories are designed to cover the full spectrum of fintech, and submissions are judged by an independent panel of experts. The awards culminate in a black-tie ceremony and dinner, held in New York City. The ''Benzinga Fintech Awards'' take place in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. There are 25 awards and any fintech company can be nominated, with the eligibility not being limited to US companies. The 2023 ''Benzinga Fintech Awards'' had

Coinbase Coinbase Global, Inc. is an American cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase has over 100 million users, and is the largest U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange as well as the world's bigge ...

and

E-Trade E*TRADE is an investment brokerage and electronic trading platform that operates as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. History In 1982, physicist William A. Porter and Bernard A. Newcomb founded TradePlus in Palo Alto, California, with $15,00 ...

among its winners. The ''Efma Fintech Awards'' highlight the best in class fintech solutions in several categories, with a panel of experts voting on the best solutions. In 2016, the winners were announced at Efma's Distribution Summit on 14 April 2016. The ''FiNext Awards'' were created in 2018 by the InternetShine Corporation, a financial technology development company. The ''FiNext Conference Awards'' were first held in Las Vegas to celebrate American innovation in Finance.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Business and industry awards Financial technology