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 and 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,” said Liat Aaronson, a partner in Marker, a venture capital and growth equity firm based in Herzliya and New York. “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 said.
Here are 18 of many Israeli fintech companies changing the finance world.
Payoneer, founded in 2005 by Israeli serial entrepreneur and investor Yuval Tal, 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.
OurCrowd launched its global online crowd-investing platform in Jerusalem in 2013 and now has 110 portfolio companies and five investment funds in which $320 million has been invested. The OurCrowd app unlocks opportunities to accredited investors worldwide. Along with Payoneer, OurCrowd ranked among the 50 leading established fintech companies on KPMG’s 100 most promising companies list for 2016 and now has seven worldwide offices.
Lemonade, started by Israeli executives formerly with Fiverr and Powermat, is disrupting the way New Yorkers buy homeowners and renters insurance. The online and mobile platform uses bots and machine learning to deliver insurance and handle claims. Started in December 2015 with a $13 million investment, Lemonade raised $34 million in December 2016 and plans expansion to other U.S. states. Lemonade won Best New Startup of the Year at the 2017 Geek Awards.
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