This paper provides evidence on Fintech platforms operating worldwide and in Italy, in both lending and funding through debt and equity financing. The objective of the analysis is to assess the actual market footprint of these activities, describe the business processes and identify the main characteristics of customers who lend and borrow funds through these platforms.
Excluding China – where very strict regulation has drastically reduced volumes – transactions finalized by Fintech platforms have continued to grow in recent years, reaching 113 billion dollars in 2020. In Italy too, there has been marked growth in the activities of these platforms, primarily those related to business lending and invoice trading. Despite the considerable growth observed in recent years, Fintech lending still represents a small share of overall loans in all the main countries.
