Investment in UK fintech shot up more than 150% in 2017 despite a big global dip

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• British fintech firms attracted $1.8 billion in venture capital investment in 2017, up more than 150% compared to 2016.

• Fintech has emerged as one of the UK's fastest growing business sectors in the years since the financial crisis.

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LONDON — Britain's fintech scene is booming.

British firms such as TransferWise and Monzo attracted more than double the amount of venture capital investment last year than in 2016, according to a report by Innovate Finance, the British fintech trade body.

The firms raised a total of $1.8 billion (£1.29 billion) in venture capital investment in 2017, up more than 150% from $704 million (£505 million) the previous year.

That surge contrasted with an 18% drop in fintech investments to $14.4 billion, and pushed the UK ahead of China to take second place worldwide behind the USA.

The UK scene was boosted by a handful of big-ticket fundraisings. TransferWise, an international payments provider, raised the most at $280 million (£200 million), while digital lender Oaknorth raised $203 million (£146 million).

The next three largest fundraisings were by P2P lender Funding Circle, online trading platform Interactive Investor, and mobile banking app Monzo.

Fintech has emerged as one of the UK's fastest growing business sectors in the years since the financial crisis. The Treasury said last year that the sector is worth £7 billion to the UK economy and now employs 60,000 people.

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