These Are the Best Cities for Fintech Innovation
In the hyper-connected, post-pandemic world, does location matter when it comes to driving success? Decentralized workforces, cloud computing and instant communications mean that teams can collaborate from one side of the world to the other, as though they are in the same room.
However, no matter how good the technology gets, when it comes to building a business from scratch, start-up ecosystems tend to flourish in regions where there is an existing educated and highly skilled workforce, an affordable living standard, reliable infrastructure and crucially, favorable government policies encouraging business and entrepreneurship.
It should come as no surprise that San Francisco continues to dominate, cementing its position as the leading global city for fintech innovation.
The city is home to more than 30 fintech unicorns at current count, including the likes of Stripe, Upgrade and Carta. San Jose in particular has one of the highest proportions of tech jobs, with an employment ratio of 131.44 per 1,000 roles.
Alongside San Francisco, here are other major cities leading the way for fintech innovation.
New York
After San Francisco, New York is a close second in the global fintech rankings, due in part to its position as the global capital for investment.
The city hosts 40 unicorns, including payments giant Stripe; just one year ago, Stripe announced a funding round of $6.5 billion, giving the company a $50 billion valuation. It is this kind of success that promotes further investment, innovation and competition in the entire fintech landscape.
Paris
The French capital has climbed up the rankings in recent years, alongside Berlin and Stockholm, challenging the likes of London and Dublin to become a globally renowned European tech hub. Around 78,000 people living in Paris are employed by start-ups, while tech accounts for an impressive 17% of the city’s GDP.
In recent years, France has encouraged tech innovation with initiatives such as the French tech visa, which simplifies the process for immigrant entrepreneurs to set up a new company.
Berlin
Like Paris, the German capital has climbed up the rankings recently. The city’s vibrant culture and lower cost of living contribute to its attractiveness, and it has around 4,400 start-ups, each with an average of 33 employees; in total, more than 100,000 Berliners work in tech. In 2022, the city attracted more than €4.9 billion in tech investment.
Lisbon
As the home of the world-renowned Web Summit conference, Lisbon is decidedly on the map as an innovation hub for fintech and the wider landscape. Interestingly, while its industry is currently smaller than the above locations, strong tax incentives combined with a low cost of living is attracting more start-ups every day. The city boasts more than 100 fintech start-ups, and brought in more than €1 billion in funding in 2022.
Stockholm
Sweden’s capital city has also risen up the ranks as a fintech hub lately; the country’s thriving tech sector overall is often traced back to a 1990s government initiative that provided personal computers to one million households. Today, the city is a focal point for innovation and development of financial technology.
Los Angeles
The eminent Y Combinator accelerator program is an active participant in Los Angeles start-ups, where there are more than 600 active scaling fintech companies. This concentration of talent and innovation, alongside the city’s inimitable lifestyle, is what makes the city one of the leading fintech hubs in the U.S..
Whether you’re seeking a fintech role or an opportunity within another area of the ever-evolving tech sector, visit the nextpit Job Board to find your next placement.
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Plaid believes that the manner in which people interact with their finances will drastically change in the coming years, and so is building its team to reflect this. The fintech company is seeking an experienced Risk Analyst to work across payments compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act, and the Office of Foreign Assets & Control. You’ll provide research and conduct evaluations of anti-money laundering (AML) reviews, accurately and sufficiently.
Elsewhere, Oracle is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to work across Oracle Hardware Development (OHD) which designs and builds industry-leading mission-critical and high-performance cloud servers managed by Oracle ILOM. In this role, you will be working closely with processor and component vendors as well as other Oracle experts in operating systems, electrical design/validation, diagnostics, and quality engineering.
Start your job search today via the nextpit Job Board. This article was written by Doug Whelan.
