There are more than 430 Israeli companies developing products for moving and protecting money in the digital age. ISRAEL21c takes a look at 18 making headlines
If it has been a long time since you’ve waited for a bank teller, called your stockbroker or mailed a check, you can thank financial technology (fintech). And much of that innovation in how we move and protect our money is coming from Israel.
According to The Floor fintech startup hub in Tel Aviv, at least 430 Israeli fintech companies are developing products for needs ranging from digital banking to fundraising.
Israel’s reputation in deep data science has lured some $650 million in venture capital for the fintech sector. Financial institutions including Citibank to Barclays have established innovation labs and accelerators in the startup nation.
“Technology for financial institutions has to be extremely robust and that’s where Israel excels,” says Liat Aaronson, a partner in Marker, a Herzliya- and New York-based venture capital and growth equity firm. “We’re far from the market and that makes it hard to do validation and proof of concept, but despite that, over the last few years we’re seeing more and more banks and other fintech players coming here to offer open innovation projects and scouting innovation in Israel.”
Aaronson previously headed the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at IDC Herzliya, where many successful fintech entrepreneurs got their start. “I think we’re still on the cusp of something that is going to continue to grow,” she tells ISRAEL21c.
Here are 18 of many Israeli fintech companies changing the finance world.
1. Payoneer
Founded in 2005 by Israeli serial entrepreneur and investor Yuval Tal, Payoneer has more than 700 employees globally across 12 offices, and recently completed a $180 million growth equity financing round. High-profile clients including Airbnb, Amazon and Getty Images use Payoneer’s cross-border payments platform to handle currency from more than 200 countries.
Headquartered in New York with a development center in Petah Tikva, Payoneer ranks in the top 100 of Inc. 5000’s Financial Services companies and has made Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list for five straight years.
2. OurCrowd
OurCrowd launched its global online crowd-investing platform in Jerusalem in 2013 and…