By Global investment in financial technology companies rose to $103.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up from $72.2 billion in the second half of 2025, driven by a wave of large acquisitions in the United States, according to a report by KPMG.
The increase puts the fintech sector on track for its strongest annual investment total in four years, KPMG said in its H1’26 Pulse of Fintech report, which tracks venture capital, private equity and merger-and-acquisition activity worldwide.
Despite the jump in capital deployed, the number of deals fell to 2,100 in the first half of the year from 2,501 in the previous six months, KPMG said, as investors concentrated funding on a smaller number of mature companies rather than early-stage ventures.
Ten deals worth $1 billion or more were completed globally in the period, eight of them in the United States. The largest transactions included Global Payments’ $24.3 billion acquisition of Worldpay and the $13.5 billion purchase of Total System Services, KPMG said. Other major deals included the $8.4 billion buyout of Clearwater Analytics and the $6.4 billion take-private of OneStream.
Europe also recorded two sizable transactions: the $1.2 billion buyout of Denmark’s Saxo Bank and a private equity growth investment in Belgium’s Kpler Holding, according to the report.
“The first half of 2026 marked a meaningful turning point for the global fintech market. But while investment continued to recover, the rebound was far from broad-based,” Anton Ruddenklau, KPMG International’s global lead of financial services innovation and fintech, said in the report.
The Americas accounted for $86.9 billion of global fintech investment in the first half, more than 80% of the worldwide total, KPMG said. The United States alone drew $80.8 billion across 933 deals, representing over 75% of global investment and 92% of the Americas total.
By contrast, fintech investment declined in other regions. Investment in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell to $11.3 billion in the first half from $18 billion in the second half of 2025, while investment in the Asia-Pacific region dropped to $4.6 billion from $7.1 billion over the same period, according to the report.
KPMG attributed the weakness in those regions to geopolitical uncertainty, including the conflict involving Iran, as well as concerns over inflation, interest rates and tariff policy.
Within the Americas, Canadian fintechs attracted $1 billion in investment, below last year’s pace, while investment in Brazil fell to $508 million in the first half from $1.6 billion in the second half of 2025, KPMG said.
Payments companies drew the most sector investment globally, attracting $44.2 billion in the first half of 2026, more than double the $20.2 billion invested in the sector during all of 2025, largely due to the Worldpay deal, according to the report.
Payments deal volume fell to 168 in the first half from a pace that produced 577 deals in 2025, KPMG said, as investors favored established, profitable companies over early-stage businesses.
Digital assets remained one of the strongest areas of fintech investment, attracting $11.1 billion across 467 deals in the first half of the year, KPMG said.
That was below the record $21.9 billion invested in the sector during all of 2025 but already exceeded full-year totals for both 2023 and 2024. The United States accounted for $5.9 billion of digital asset investment, more than half the global total, the report said.
Fintech companies focused on artificial intelligence attracted $21.4 billion in investment across venture capital, private equity and M&A during the first half, according to KPMG.
In Asia-Pacific, India drew $2 billion in fintech investment in the first half, close to its 2025 pace, while South Korea attracted $899 million, a four-year high, KPMG said. Australia recorded $456 million in investment over the same period.
“While much of today’s investment is focused on the largest and highest-quality deals, the broader fintech market is gaining momentum,” said Karim Haji, KPMG International’s global head of financial services.
He said artificial intelligence, corporate acquirers and private equity consolidation were likely to support continued growth in the sector through the rest of the year.
KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report draws on data compiled by PitchBook, a private capital markets data provider. PitchBook’s methodology is subject to periodic revision as new information about transactions becomes available, which can result in changes to previously published figures, KPMG said.
KPMG is a global professional services network operating in 138 countries with more than 276,000 partners and employees.
