There have been changes in the financial technology (FinTech) industry in the last ten years that have never happened before. New businesses are changing the way people and companies handle their money, get loans, and save for the future. These changes are happening because cloud computing, AI, and open banking projects are all getting better. According to Forbes’ 2025 FinTech 50 list, these companies raised billions of dollars together, and some of them became unicorns in record time, which changed how banks do business.
FinTech startups have stepped in to fill the gap left by old banks because digital-first customers want financial experiences that are smooth, personalized, and open. The newest group of innovators is using the newest technologies to solve problems that have been around for a long time, like high transaction costs, slow credit approvals, and data that is spread out.
In this article, you’ll learn about the five FinTech startups that are most likely to be successful in 2025. We picked these companies based on how much money they were making, how well they were doing in the market, how unique their products were, and how likely they were to change the industry. We’ll talk about what makes each company special, important funding events, and how they can grow. We’ll also talk about big changes in FinTech that are going to shape the future of the industry.
Why FinTech is Important Right Now
What Online Shoppers Want
People today want financial services that are just as easy to use as their favorite apps. FinTech startups do a great job of making things easy for people to use. They have features like being able to set up an account right away, getting alerts when you spend money in real time, and budgeting tools that use AI.
Regulatory Tailwinds
Open banking rules, like the UK’s Open Banking and Europe’s PSD2, say that financial data must be shared with the customer’s permission. This has made the ecosystem more cooperative and competitive.
High-Tech
- AI and machine learning are used to automate things like chatbots that help customers, credit scoring, and finding fraud.
- Blockchain: Smart contracts make it possible to lend money and make safe, open payments across borders.
- Cloud Infrastructure: Lets you quickly grow and deploy all over the world while keeping costs low.
Markets that don’t get enough attention
Banks have always ignored small businesses and gig workers, but now they can use platforms for flexible financing and expense management that are made to fit their cash flow needs.
How to Pick
We used these criteria to find the “Top 5 FinTech Startups to Watch”:
- Funding and Valuation: Investors trust a company that gets a lot of money and knows it can grow.
- Customer traction: Means that the market is ready for your product if you have a lot of active users, a lot of transactions, and revenue that is growing.
- Differentiation: Things like unique technology, product features, or business models that make them stand out from the rest.
- To stay within the law: There need to be strong rules for KYC, AML, and data security.
- Leadership and Team: Founders who have been in the business for a long time and have a track record of getting things done.
1. A Look at Mercury
Mercury is a digital bank in the U.S. that only works with small and new businesses. It has checking and savings accounts that are safe because the FDIC protects them. It also has corporate cards and a treasury API that works with other apps.
Things That Matter
- Simple Account Creation: You can create an account online in less than 10 minutes and get virtual cards right away.
- Treasury API: Set up payments and handle cash on your own.
- No Fees: You don’t have to pay any monthly fees, and you don’t have to pay any fees if you go over your limit. Wires within the US and to other countries are also free.
Money and traction
- Total Funding: $152.2 million (in the secondary market)
- Investors: Serena Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.
- Users: Over 15,000 startups, including new SaaS companies and companies that YC has put money into.
Why You Should Watch
Mercury’s platform is easy for developers to use, which solves a big problem for fast-growing businesses: they don’t have the right financial infrastructure. This is because startups that get money from venture capitalists need more specialized banking services. Mercury’s API has been updated recently, making it a one-stop treasury solution for the next generation of business owners. These changes make it possible for payroll and tax withholdings to happen on their own.
2. A Quick Look at Spiff
Spiff handles the whole sales compensation process, so SaaS and enterprise businesses don’t have to use spreadsheets or do things by hand.
Important Features
- Tracking Your Commission in Real Time: You can see right away how much money you will make and how close you are to your goals.
- Customizable Plan Logic: Can deal with systems that are hard to understand and have many levels and accelerators.
- Integrations that work without a hitch: Works with major HRIS systems like HubSpot and Salesforce.
Money and Growth
- $122 million for Series C
- Investors: Stripes and Salesforce Ventures.
- Clients: Dozens of SaaS companies that are growing quickly and paying out millions of dollars in commissions every month.
Why Watch
Pay for sales is often wrong, hard to understand, and reported late. Spiff’s cloud-based solution makes it easier to keep track of commissions, which makes salespeople happier and gives the finance team less to do. As businesses grow all over the world, it will be more and more important for Spiff to be able to handle more than one currency and entity.
3. A Brief Overview of Capchase
Capchase gives loans to businesses that make money on a regular basis, like SaaS, without taking away their equity. Startups pay back loans as a percentage of their monthly income instead of giving up equity.
Important Parts
- Flexible Repayments: Payments depend on cash flow, which helps keep burn rates stable.
- Quick funding: The money is sent in a few days, and there is no need for board votes.
- Data-Driven Underwriting: Uses AI to figure out how much a customer is worth over time and how likely they are to leave.
Money and traction
- Total funding: More than $550 million in debt and equity
- Clients: Over 300 subscription and SaaS companies in Europe and North America.
Why You Should Watch
Capchase is a new way to grow because it’s getting harder to raise money for new businesses in a more cautious business climate. Its data-driven risk model lowers the cost of credit, and its move into Latin America and Asia-Pacific could make a huge market for subscription companies with a lot of potential.
4. A Look at TrueLayer
TrueLayer is an open banking platform based in the UK that lets businesses safely access bank data and make payments through APIs.
Main Features
- Data Access: With permission, you can read customers’ bank account information to check their accounts and give them a credit score.
- Payment Initiation: Customers can pay from their bank accounts right away.
- The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is in charge of making sure it happens.
Money and traction
- $271.5 million for Series E
- Investors: Tiger Global and Stripe.
- Partners: The biggest neobanks, fintechs, and wealth platforms in Europe.
Why You Should Go
TrueLayer has an advantage over its competitors because it was the first to build secure API infrastructure. This is important because more and more places, like the EU and Australia, are putting open banking rules into place. Its data pipelines with low latency can handle new tasks like AI-based credit underwriting and keeping track of your own money.
5. A Quick Look at Lili
Lili is a neobank that was made for people who work for themselves or do short-term jobs. It has banking services and a set of tools to help you keep track of your money.
Most Important Parts
- Automatic Expense Categorization: Tagging business and personal transactions as they happen.
- Tax Savings Vault: It automatically saves a part of your income every three months to pay your taxes.
- Early Direct Deposit: You can get direct deposit up to two days before payday.
Money and traction
- $80 million for Series B
- Investors: Google for Startups, Target Global, and Foundation Capital.
- Users: More than 200,000 freelancers in the U.S.
Why You Should Watch
The number of freelancers in the U.S. has grown to over 60 million. Banks that are more traditional don’t help people with irregular income much, and they don’t automate taxes either. Lili is the best choice for this group, which is growing quickly, because it lets you do all of your banking, budgeting, and tax preparation in one place.
Big Changes That Will Affect the Next Stage of FinTech
- Finance Built into Non-financial platforms: e-commerce and HR software are adding lending, payments, and insurance services to their workflows.
- AI for making things more personal: Machine learning models are making it possible to make financial products that are very specific to each person, like robo-advisors and changing credit limits.
- Regulatory Technology and Compliance: More and more, startups are using automated compliance tools like digital identity verification and transaction monitoring to help them deal with complicated global rules.
- Sustainability and Green Finance: FinTechs are coming up with loans that are good for the environment, products that keep track of carbon footprints, and ways for people to invest in ESG.
How to Handle These New Businesses
- Investors: Should look at their financial data, how ready they are for rules, and the backgrounds of their teams.
- Partnerships: Well-known banks and other financial institutions can use APIs like TrueLayer to improve their online services.
- Customers: Small businesses and freelancers should look into specialized platforms like Mercury and Lili to find the banking services that work best for them.
- Developers: Check out developer portals and sandbox environments to learn how to connect to Treasury or open-banking APIs.
Questions that are often asked (FAQs)
What makes a FinTech startup different?
A FinTech startup uses technology to make it easier for people to get and use financial services like loans, payments, wealth management, and insurance than banks and other traditional institutions.
What rules do these new businesses have to follow?
FinTechs have to register with financial regulators like the FCA in the UK and the SEC in the US. They also have to follow rules for KYC/AML, data protection (GDPR), and payment security (PCI DSS).
Is it safe to go to these sites?
The best FinTech companies use bank-level security features like end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication, and fraud monitoring that happens in real time. They also work with top-tier partners and government agencies a lot.
What are some ways I can put money into FinTech startups?
AngelList and other sites for accredited investors let them join venture rounds. They can also go straight to VC firms. You can also find equity deals on crowdfunding sites like SeedInvest.
What kinds of risks should I think about?
Some of the biggest risks are changes in laws, technology failures, cyber threats, and market swings. You can lower these risks by learning a lot and trying new things.
In short
In 2025, the FinTech world will have digital banking that is very focused, AI-powered workflows, and easy API integrations. Mercury, Spiff, Capchase, TrueLayer, and Lili are five startups that use strong technology stacks to solve important problems in new ways. They show how dynamic the sector is.
These innovators are in a good place to get a big piece of the market because people want more convenience, openness, and personalization. If you want to find the next unicorn as an investor, personalized banking solutions as a gig-economy worker, or just want to know where finance is going as a business owner, you should keep an eye on these FinTech leaders.
References
- Forbes. 2025 FinTech 50 – The Top Fintech Companies. Forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/lists/fintech50/
- Startup Savant (TRUiC). Top Fintech Startups to Watch in 2025. StartupSavant.com. https://startupsavant.com/startups-to-watch/fintech
- StartupBlink. Top Fintech Startups in 2025. StartupBlink.com. https://www.startupblink.com/blog/top-fintech-startups/
- Economic Times. After RBI nod, fintech Xflow plans global payments expansion. ETtech.com. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/after-rbi-nod-fintech-xflow-plans-global-payments-expansion/articleshow/123013139.cms