The business verticals of fintech and insurtech are growing at an incredible rate in the UK. Over the course of 2021 alone, the fintech industry attracted a record $11.6 billion in investment—nearly half of all investments in Europe. Much of this rapid growth can be attributed to the world-class talent, business-friendly regulations, and ready access to capital in the country. With this combination, the United Kingdom is a match made in heaven for financial businesses of all shapes and sizes. In this article, we’ll highlight 19 of the most exciting UK fintech and insurtech companies worth keeping a close eye on in the future. Keep reading to learn which organizations we’ve featured on our list!
1. Revolut
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Revolut on LinkedIn
Founded by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut is a neo bank that empowers more than 20 million individuals and 950,000 businesses to manage their expenses from a single app.
In 2021, the company secured $800 million in Series E funding co-led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global—bringing its total valuation to $33 billion and making it the most valuable fintech company in the UK.
Speaking on the funding, Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut’s CEO, said that the investment would further the company’s mission of “building a global financial super app that enables customers to manage all their financial needs through a single platform.”
2. Wise
- Established: 2011
- Headquarters: London
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Wise—formerly Transferwise—is a cross-border payment platform that allows businesses and individuals to send, spend, and receive money internationally.
Frustrated by the cost of sending money overseas, Skype alumnus, Taavet Hinrikus, and Deloitte alumnus, Kristo Käärmann, decided to create a more efficient way to transfer money.
Today, Wise services are available in more than 80 countries, and they support 54 different currencies, including the Romanian leu (RON) and Polish złoty (PLN).
Wise has raised $1.3 billion in funding from investors like Silicon Valley Bank and Index Ventures. In 2021, the fintech giant became a public company on the London Stock Exchange.
3. Monzo Bank
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: London
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Monzo Bank is “on a mission to make money work for everyone.” They offer digital banking solutions like loans, instant payments, savings, and receipts tracking to more than 6 million users in the UK and US.
Monzo has raised $1.1 billion in funding from investors like Tencent, Accel, and Y Combinator. As of 2021, the fintech company was valued at $4.5 billion.
4. Starling Bank
- Established: 2014
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Starling Bank on LinkedIn
Founded by Anne Boden, Starling Bank is Britain’s first digital bank. They are also a four-time winner of the Best British Bank Award.
Starling provides various consumer accounts (personal and joint) as well as business accounts with same-day setup, zero monthly fees, and easy-to-use accounting tools.
Additionally, they offer a mobile banking app with perks like instant notifications on spending and income, no overseas charges, or 24/7 customer support.
In 2022, the financial technology startup introduced their budgeting tool for small businesses. This tool allows Starling’s clients to automatically pay direct debits and standing orders from saving spaces. Customers can also set up automatic payments directly from their accounts.
Starling Bank is committed to green banking and carbon neutrality. In 2021, the company became a founding member of TechZero—a climate action group for UK tech companies committed to fighting the climate crisis.
5. ManyPets
- Established: 2017
- Headquarters: London
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Founded by Steven Mendel and Guy Farley, ManyPets is an award-winning pet insurance company that provides coverage for 50,000 cats and dogs worldwide.
ManyPets customers enjoy up to £15,000 in vet fee cover. They also get 24/7 free video vet calls and multi-pet discounts on the same policy.
The company was named the Pet Insurance Provider of the Year in 2021. They also won the 2022 Moneyfacts Consumer Award.
6. Equals Money
- Established: 2007
- Headquarters: London
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Equals Money enables businesses to manage cash flow efficiently and move money worldwide quickly, so they can scale faster. They support international payments in over 140 currencies and also provide:
- Multi-currency business accounts
- Expense management and budgeting
- Physical and virtual company cards
Equals Money is a subsidiary of the Equals Group—a company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
7. Arabesque Asset Management
- Established: 2013
- Headquarters: London
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Arabesque Asset Management is a financial technology company that invests in companies positioned for long-term financial success.
They use artificial intelligence to identify sustainable equities, reduce investment risks, and generate higher ROI for companies in their portfolio.
Arabesque Asset Management is a subsidiary of Arabesque Group—a global financial technology company with core services across investment, advisory, and AI-powered business analytics.
8. Zilch
- Established: 2018
- Headquarters: Victoria
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Zilch is a BNPL (“buy now, pay later”) fintech company based in England. They offer a mobile payment solution through which people can make zero-interest purchases on ecommerce sites that accept Mastercard, including Amazon, eBay, ASOS, John Lewis, and Tesco.
When Zilch customers reach the digital checkout on an ecommerce website, they only need to pay 25% of the cost of an item—the rest can be paid over six weeks. If they pay all the money at once, they get a 2% cash back!
It’s no wonder, then, that the fintech company has managed to acquire over 2 million customers in less than four years.
Zilch has raised $389.3 million in funding from investors like Gauss Ventures, DMG Ventures, and Ventura Capital. The company is currently valued at $2 billion.
9. Superscript
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: London
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Superscript—formerly Digital Risks—provides flexible, subscription-based insurance coverage for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.
They offer fully customizable insurance coverage, from public liability to personal accident insurance, built to fit over 1,000 business types.
In 2021, the Series A insurtech company became the sole UK insurance partner of ecommerce giant Amazon.
10. PremFina
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: London
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Founded by Bundeep Singh Rangar, PremFina is committed to making insurance affordable, flexible, and accessible for everyone.
As an insurance premium fintech company, they provide direct debit payment facilities to insurance companies and their customers.
The company has raised $36 million in funding from a series of tech investors, including Molten Ventures and Rakuten Capital.
11. Twig
- Established: 2021
- Headquarters: Greater London
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Twig is a Web 3.0 green payment infrastructure that allows people to trade used household items like clothing.
The process is fast and easy. Once you upload the item you wish to sell, you’ll get an instant offer, and if you accept it, you’ll receive your money immediately!
Their goal is to help people reduce their carbon footprint and live a more sustainable life for the benefit of our planet. As a Twig customer, you also get a free bank account for online payments and a debit card for in-store purchases.
12. Kroo Bank
- Established: 2016
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Kroo Bank on LinkedIn
Kroo Bank is providing an easier way to manage expenses with friends. Setting up a Kroo account is free, and once you add your friends to the app, you can track expenses, view outstanding payments, or send money.
According to CrunchBase, “Kroo has raised $71.5M in funding over five rounds. Their latest funding was raised on May 31, 2022, from a Series B round.”
13. MishiPay
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: London
- Follow MishiPay on LinkedIn
MishiPay offers an advanced scan-and-go checkout solution for retail businesses. Shoppers can scan the barcode of items and pay for them with their smartphones, fast and easy!
As one customer said in a G2 review, “The feature of MishiPay that impresses me as a first-time user is its support of web browsers on mobiles. I can instantly use it after scanning the QR code. It allows me to control the budget by showing the total after I scanned a new item.”
Businesses that use MishiPay are reported to have increased checkouts by 87% and saved nine hours of staff time.
14. Xelix
- Established: 2016
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Xelix on LinkedIn
Xelix is providing AI-powered solutions to help businesses eliminate common payment errors like inaccurate sales taxes, money transfers to the wrong vendor, or duplicate payments.
Companies like McBride, Springer Nature, and Wilko rely on Xelix to make their accounts payable processes efficient and error-free.
15. By Miles
- Established: 2016
- Headquarters: Hammersmith
- Follow By Miles on LinkedIn
The cost of car insurance in the United Kingdom has increased by 6% in 2021—from £522 to £554. Thankfully, insurtech startups like By Miles are offering more flexible car insurance policies for drivers to help them save money.
With By Miles, you pay for car insurance by mileage—literally. The company charges a fixed annual cost to cover your car while parked. Apart from that, you only pay for the miles you drive each month.
Unsurprisingly, the customers love By Miles! One Trustpilot user said, “I used to pay a lot for my insurance though I don’t drive much. By Miles is the best thing I found so far; I pay as much as I drive, which is around 2 to 4 pounds a month.”
By Miles was voted UK’s Best Car Insurance Provider and Best Insurance App at the 2019 and 2020 Insurance Choice Awards.
16. hubb
- Established: 2019
- Headquarters: Glasgow
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Hubb is making it easier for businesses to buy and sell insurance. They use artificial intelligence to analyze offerings, ensuring companies have the most valuable insurance cover that meets their needs.
The insurtech’s excellent product and service delivery has been recognized with several awards and nominations, including:
- Global Tech Startup of the Year 2022
- FinTech Startup of the Year 2022
- Glasgow Startup of the Year 2022
- Disruptor of the Year Finalist 2022
- Newcomer of the Year Finalist 2022
17. Bequest
- Established: 2019
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Bequest on LinkedIn
Founded by James Buckley-Thorp, Bequest is an insurtech company that provides access to affordable life insurance from £4 a month.
Customers can choose how much they want to get and how long they want the cover to last. Bequest charges a fixed premium based on these factors. The process is fully transparent and there are no hidden charges.
They also have a super-responsive support team that is ready to provide all the answers you need.
18. Kita
- Established: 2021
- Headquarters: London
- Follow Kita on LinkedIn
Kita is “the world’s first carbon insurer.” This means they provide insurance cover for carbon removal solutions.
With lesser risks, these pro-climate companies can scale their businesses, create more impact, and accelerate the realization of a decarbonized world.
In May 2022, Kita raised £350,000 pre-seed funding from Insurtech Gateway.
19. Rnwl
- Established: 2020
- Headquarters: Cambridge
- Follow Rnwl on LinkedIn
Rnwl is an all-in-one insurance management application that allows you to track all your insurance covers seamlessly and manage them effectively.
As an Rnwl user, you’ll get the best insurance deals and renewal reminders at your fingertips, plus one-click broker contact options.
Final thoughts on the top 19 fintech and insurtech companies in the UK
It’s truly exciting to see how much growth is happening in the UK’s fintech scene. Every day, companies with diverse missions spring up to deliver practical and valuable solutions.
However, this is just the beginning—there’s still a lot of untapped potential in this industry, and we can’t wait to see what happens in the future!
At STX Next, we’re always keeping an ear to the ground when it comes to up-and-coming businesses trying to change the world with their revolutionary products. Check out a few of the other lists just like this one that we’ve put together:
- 9 Most Innovative UK Fintech Startups to Look Out For in 2022
- Paytech in 2021: Top 10+ UK Companies Changing the Payment Market
- Top 9 Noteworthy UK Companies Using Python
Are you looking for an extra pair of hands to support you with unlocking new opportunities for your organization and achieving your business goals? We can help with that, whether your vertical is fintech and insurtech or any other industry.
All you have to do is drop us a line, we’ll get right back to you!
