The cutting edge of Fintech
The Netherlands is a hub for fintech with a diverse roster of top companies, world-class infrastructure and new technologies and an excellent location for scaling up fintech companies:
- The Netherlands host 850+ fintech companies, financial institutions, and tech businesses
- The Netherlands is the EU’s second-largest fintech industry, and third in VC funding
- The Netherlands hosts Europe’s third biggest startup and fifth largest scaleup community
- Amsterdam is world’s sixth city for Green Finance
- Industry leaders like Adyen and Mollie call the Netherlands home, and EU base for Azimo, Lemonade, Plaid, Inshur, amongst other international lights
The Netherlands: Europe’s fastest-growing fintech ecosystem
Fintech in the Netherlands is on a steep upward trajectory. Banking and financial investment are shifting faster than ever from brick-and-mortar buildings to online, AI, and blockchain – and Dutch finance is leading the way. This is an industry that is changing the way society handles money. One of the best countries in the world for business, the Netherlands offers an excellent climate for fintechs to expand across Europe.
Europe’s newest hub for finance innovation
We boast an excellent digital infrastructure with unmatched speed, capacity and reliability. Long-known for our high tech adoption rates – we are No.2 in the world for online connectivity – the fintech revolution has made an enormous impact on our commercial landscape too.
From innovation labs and research centers to homegrown successes like Mollie to Adyen, we have cemented our status as one of the world’s most powerful fintech ecosystems. In fact, there are now over 850 fintech companies here, as well as a wide range of traditional financial institutions and innovative technology companies – all disrupting, reimagining and rebuilding the future.
In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automations (RPA) are transforming financial business processes. Amsterdam Science Park focuses on blockchain and AI research. Delft University of Technology excels in machine learning – with the TU Delft Fintech lab offering innovators the scientific tools to further improve their products. Quantum computing already has a foothold too. There really are no limits to how far and wide Dutch financial innovation can go.
A finance and fintech hotspot
Ranked 3rd best European city for startups and 5th for scale-ups, Amsterdam is only part of our success story. The Netherlands as a whole has the EU’s second-largest fintech industry, and is 3rd in VC funding.
And there are other fintech clusters here too, for example focusing on impact financing and institutional finance (The Hague), trade and insurance (Rotterdam), and payments (Utrecht).
Our vibrant, ambitious financial hub connects all of Europe. And everything is built on our trusted world-class financial infrastructure and open and transparent regulatory system. The licenses from the regulators, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and Authority for Financial Markets (AFM), are considered a hallmark of quality and credibility in the EU market.
An attractive investment
The industry is also supported by a welcoming environment for expats and international workers – complemented by a well-educated multilingual local talent pool. Not to mention powerful infrastructure and a tight network of entrepreneurs and business leaders.
This is why the most respected financial and fintech innovators choose to work in the Netherlands, for example Azimo, Lemonade, Plaid, and Inshur – Uber’s insurer. It is why global powerhouses like ABN Amro Bank, ING, Rabobank, Aegon, Nationale Nederlanden, Robeco, PGGM, EquensWorldline, and KPMG have headquarters here. And why we see an ever-growing roster of banking operations, led by BNP Paribas, MUFJ, ICBC, Bloomberg, Norinchukin, and Allianz.
Dynamic, diverse finance ecosystem
As the birthplace of the stock market, the Netherlands has a strong history in financial services. Today, we are proud to also have one of the most diverse. Deloitte notes that the Netherlands exhibits one of the fastest growth rates in the share of women in C-suite roles over the past decade.
We are also home to specialist communities across the country, from insurance, institutional investment and trading, to security, payments and e-commerce. As well as a fast-growing regtech sector, we remain a trendsetter in financing Sustainable Development Goals both domestically and worldwide.
A lifestyle that inspires
Beyond our passion for the new, we are famed for our 1+1=3 approach to collaboration. No one is far away: a train takes just 2.5 hours to traverse the entire country. The business culture is open and international – and we comfortably use English as a business language.
Ranked 8th on the OECD’s global Better Life index, the Netherlands is set up for a great work-life balance. We have diverse communities, exciting culture and a vibrant nightlife. In fact, we offer the complete package. A fertile financial and fintech home. A place for innovation. And people who get excited by the concept of exploration, pioneering, and adventure.