FINTECH MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD AND IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Abstract. The trends of fintech development in the world and in Ukraine have been explored in the article. The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred accelerated financial innovation development and increase of investment in this area. Fintech’s payment sector has the highest investment activity and investors’ interest in such sectors as cybersecurity, regtech, cryptocurrency and blockchain is growing. Investors prefer US, UK, and German markets, as well as already developed, sustainable businesses. These investors’ interests and the concentration of investments are projected to continue in the coming years. Ukraine is characterized by a low level of development of financial technologies, but there has been an increase in investment activity in fintech, particularly in 2020 investments were increased in the early stages of business development. The development of fintech in Ukraine is expected to accelerate due to the recent positive changes that have taken place in this direction: a new law on financial monitoring has been enacted, allowing remote identification and verification of clients; the Law of Ukraine «On Virtual Assets» has been enacted, which will allow to regulate the process of circulation of cryptocurrency and development of the cryptosphere; the NBU has became the regulator of financial institutions and creating equal conditions for banking and non-banking institutions to operate on the market; the Fintech Development Strategy 2025 has been developed to stimulate innovation, improve the availability and quality of financial services, and create a strong fintech ecosystem; the Ukrainian Startup Fund has been established to promote the creation and development of technological startups. The following directions for further development of fintech in Ukraine have been defined: improving financial and digital literacy; increasing the availability and safety of non-cash transactions; developing the infrastructure of the fintech ecosystem; integration of the national fintech ecosystem into the global fintech ecosystem; accretion of the fintech market investment potential; financial services sector digitalization. It is necessary to introduce modern transparent methods of regulating the fintech market in order to stimulate financial innovation projects and consumer protection, to stimulate interaction of fintech companies and banks, other financial institutions towards the development and diffusion of financial innovations. Keywords: fintech, investments, innovations, fintech market, fintech companies. JEL Classification G20, G24 Formulas: 0; fig.: 4; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 13.