Zurich is the world’s second-best location for fintechs

The Greater Zurich Area offers the financial services industry the second-best framework conditions worldwide. As such, Zurich is ranked behind Singapore and ahead of its Swiss counterpart Geneva, which took third place. The two Swiss cities have therefore beaten off competition from locations such as London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, Frankfurt and Hong Kong to place inside the top three.

These are the findings from the latest IFZ Fintech Study. The report was prepared by the Institute of Financial Services Zug (IFZ), which is based in Rotkreuz in the canton of Zug, of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU). This year’s study is the seventh edition of this report. Each year, a total of 35 financial centers across the world are analyzed with regard to their respective framework conditions.

Overall, according to a summary press release, the study states that the fintech sector in Switzerland has returned to the growth path. Since 2015, growth rates of between 6 and 18 percent had been recorded on an annual basis, with one exception: In 2021 it fell for the first time, by 5 percent to be precise. In comparison, it increased again by 14 percent in 2022.

The investment management and banking infrastructure product areas recorded the highest growth rates. A trend towards sustainability can also be observed in the Swiss fintech market: 7.3 percent of all companies are focused on offering products and services of this kind.

The study also determines that although the number of financing rounds may have declined slightly in 2022, the overall sum invested actually grew by 36 percent. Nevertheless, although Switzerland was “able to largely escape the global downward trend”, study leader Thomas Ankenbrand explains in the press release, “access to funding for Swiss fintech companies also became perceived as more difficult on average”. mm