4 French FinTechs to keep an eye on in 2022

By Joy Dumasia

FinTech is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. ​​​At its core, FinTechs help companies, business owners, and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes, and lives by utilizing specialized software and algorithms used on computers and, increasingly, smartphones.

There is a general sense of optimism in the French FinTech scene, owing to effervescent startup culture, increased access to capital, availability of technical talent, financial incentives, and the uncertainty of Brexit as an opportunity for France in the Paris Region. National and foreign investment continues to drive innovation; inevitably, banks and other financial stakeholders will increasingly look to France and the Paris Region for technology, innovation and talent to grow and transform their business.

The following are 4 French FinTechs to keep an eye on in 2022:

• Lydia

Lydia creates mobile daily financial services that remove the complexity and slowness of banking, accessible through an intuitive app and supported by people who genuinely care. It can replace the bank apps only or replace the bank account and services altogether.

IBS Intelligence reported that French FinTech Lydia announced the extension of its Series B with $86 million funding led by Accel. This brings the total Series B funding round to $131 million. Amit Jhawar, the former General Manager of Venmo and Accel venture partner, led the investment for Accel and will join the Board of Directors.

• Payfit

In France, payroll administration has always been a complicated and time-consuming task. Firmin, Florian and Ghislain believed that by creating a platform that could automate payroll tasks, they would revolutionize the somewhat old world of payroll and HR. PayFit serves over 5,000 SMEs in France, Spain, Germany and the UK and has 500 employees, otherwise known as PayFiters, offices in Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and London.

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that PayFit, a payroll and HR management solution for SMEs, announced that it had raised €254 million in a Series E funding round, a record-breaking amount for a French human resources (HR) startup. General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, led the round with existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and Accel Ventures. 

• Spendesk

Founded in 2016 by Rodolphe Ardant, Guilhem Bellion and Jordane Giuly within French startup studio eFounders, Spendesk now serves over 40,000 end-users at growing businesses such as Algolia, Amboss, Curve, Doctolib, Gousto, Raisin, Sezane, Wefox. Headquartered in Paris, Spendesk has offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco.

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that Spendesk, the all-in-one spend management platform for finance teams, has raised €100M in Series C funding led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic. All previous investors, including Index Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures, participated in this round, bringing Spendesk’s total funding to €160M.

• Sopra Banking Software

Sopra Banking Software is a subsidiary of the Sopra Steria Group, a European provider of consulting, digital services and software development. The Sopra Banking Platform offers retail banking functionalities and business features such as accounts, savings, lending, payment, channels, and compliance. Through its engagement platform (DBEP), it designs end-to-end digital banking solutions in a bid to allow customers to transform their bank with integrations and provide customer journeys for an enhanced end-user experience.

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that Sopra Banking Software (SBS), a global giant in financial technologies, have announced the recent partnership with BANK OF AFRICA to launch a new innovative offering for North to South money transfers based on SBS Open Banking Platform, powered by European open banking platform Tink.

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