Blockbuster deals closed in Singapore in 2019 include US$90 million raised by credit risk analytics and lending startup FinAccel in November, US$90 million bagged by insurtech Singapore Life in July, and US$80 million raised by financial products marketplace GoBear in May.
"There’s been a lot of focus on payments startups and solutions the past years, but we may see a shift in investment trends going forward as some of the new digital banks come onboard and we see more and more companies targeting the commercial banking space with new products and solutions for SMEs that have been underserved by traditional banks," said Mr Vithlani.
The Accenture analysis noted that investments into challenger banks globally have more than tripled in 2019 to US$5.2 billion, from US$1.6 billion the year before. Fintech investments in Hong Kong nearly doubled in 2019 to US$374 million from US$188 million in 2018, while the number of deals increased 32 per cent to 25 from 19.