This is Financial News’s third Fintech 40, our list of the most influential people in the European financial technology sector. This year's crop of innovators reflects how far fintech has come over the past few years – but also indicates that it has much further to go.
When our first Fintech 40 list was published in 2014, the sector was considered a bit offbeat. That is certainly not the case now, with even the stuffiest bank or fund manager buying beanbags and table football to try to make their offices as cool as Google’s. But it’s important that acceptance into the mainstream doesn’t mean conformity. And so we've got – in the nicest sense – plenty of unreasonable people in this year’s Fintech 40. If the sector is to thrive, we need many more in the years ahead.
The Fintech 40 aims to recognise individuals who are making a significant contribution to the development of Europe’s fast-growing fintech ecosystem. Over the past three months, FN’s team of journalists canvassed the market for opinion and drew up a longlist of more than 115 people. Nominees could impact the retail financial industry as well as FN’s core coverage areas of asset management, investment banking, trading and private equity. All had to be based in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. The individuals were then assessed on their technological innovation and achievements to date; their potential to shape and influence their sector; the assets or resources at their disposal; and their broader contribution to making finance more efficient.
