The Rise of Sustainable Innovation in Fintech

If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught us, it's that the shift from offline to online significantly accelerated the digitalisation of financial services. At the very centre of this transformation are fintech companies, reshaping how people access, manage, and move money.

Valued at $340 billion as of 2024, the global fintech market is expected to more than triple within the next decade, reaching $1.13 trillion by 2032.

The sustainable fintech companies that stand to benefit from this growth are those that offer innovative technological solutions across multiple areas (such as payment processing, data analytics, lending services, and more) while creating a transformative positive impact on society and the environment.

Innovation with impact will take centre stage at the first annual Sustainable Times RISE Awards on 6 November in London. With categories spanning startups, investors, and businesses, the awards will celebrate those championing sustainability. 

Ahead of the awards, we spoke with several fintech leaders about the challenges they’ve faced, the lessons they’ve learned, and why they believe combining financial innovation with sustainability considerations can shape a more inclusive and resilient financial system.

Accessibility beyond affordability

The purpose of fintech is to make financial services more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly. However, when economic and cultural barriers are unaccounted for, that promise can fall short, leading to the financial exclusion of vulnerable communities that need support the most. 

One group often left behind is immigrants. 

UK-based startup Bloom Money aims to address this challenge by serving the needs of Europe’s immigrant population.

According to Western Union, on average, migrants send 22% of their annual income back home as remittances. The remaining 78% of that income remains largely underserved. 

Having grown up in an immigrant household, Bloom Money founder Nina Mohanty witnessed firsthand the significant financial needs of this community beyond just remittances. The startup was born out of that experience and insight. It offers financial products and tools that are culturally aligned with diaspora communities.

One key feature is inspired by rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), informal saving and borrowing groups common in many cultures. Bloom Money digitises these groups, enabling users to form money clubs with friends and family, pool funds, and work toward shared financial goals. 

It’s a powerful way to bring financial stability to overlooked communities through culturally resonant innovation and Mohanty sees it as an area ripe for digital disruption. 

Still, building trust with these communities will take time, as many of them have historically faced discrimination from financial institutions.

Wagestream is another example of a fintech startup that empowers focused communities. Its financial platform enables frontline and shift workers to access part of their earned wages in real time. This helps lessen the volatility of their income stream and reduces their reliance on higher-cost short-term credit.

As Douglas Sloan, impact investor at Better Society Capital and co-founder of ImpactVC, tells Sustainable Times, inclusion must be intentional. “It is important to think through and understand the demographics of who you are reaching such that you are alleviating rather than enhancing inequalities,” he notes.

That’s especially true for lower-income groups, who are often the last to benefit from technological innovations. Sloan adds, “Designing solutions in a systematic way that involves direct engagement with communities that are going to benefit from these products can be really powerful for business building and driving impact at the same time.”

In contrast, overlooking this aspect can lead to risks of unintended exploitative consequences.

Building investor confidence through simplification

Asset-heavy hardware companies, such as those operating in the energy, construction, and mobility sectors, often struggle to access institutional debt. Their operations are usually manual, complex, and costly, and their physical assets don’t always effectively translate to standard investment models. This leaves startups in this space with an abundance of assets but little funding. 

Tangible is one startup aiming to solve this problem. It streamlines the financing process for these companies by converting their physical assets into credible, asset-backed investments that investors can easily understand.

Tangible’s end-to-end platform provides services and tools ranging from deal structuring modelling and lender matching to workflow automation. By managing deal structuring, legal processes, lender access, and ongoing monitoring, Tangible enables companies to scale more quickly, reduce costs, and build greater investor confidence.

CEO William Godfrey views this as a valuable opportunity that has finally been unlocked. Still, he’s quick to note that scaling these businesses with debt financing requires a change in mindset, particularly around how startups manage and mitigate credit risk.

Another company focused on underserved markets is Urban Jungle. Operating within the affordable home and contents insurance space, it uses proprietary data modelling to improve the accuracy of credit underwriting. In doing so, Urban Jungle offers insurance to people that traditional insurers could not serve, especially renters.

Both companies demonstrate that emerging fintech innovation can offer financial access to groups and sectors that traditional systems have overlooked. However, this opportunity demands responsibility. 

Poorly regulated technology can have significant negative impacts on the financial system and the well-being of customers. That’s why robust governance is imperative to safeguard data privacy, prevent financial exclusion, and reduce systemic risks.

Powering good habits with data

In the UK, there are 211,000 transactions worth approximately £370 trillion taking place every day on average. Yet, little is known about how our day-to-day payments impact the environment.

As a sustainable fintech platform, ekko aims to help banks and businesses embed climate action into everyday spending by tracking carbon footprints in real time and funding environmental initiatives with each transaction.

According to co-founder Oli Cook, “It’s about giving people clearer information, helping them make more meaningful choices, and turning something they already do into something that can do some good.”

Rather than adding another layer of application or tool, ekko’s environmental intelligence is built into its existing customer experiences across banking apps, checkout flows, and loyalty platforms.

The result? Climate action feels seamless and less like a chore.

Recognising the scrutiny surrounding green claims, ekko strives to balance science with simplicity by ensuring its approach is grounded in data and avoids greenwashing (i.e., the practice of making false, exaggerated, or misleading claims about a product or practice’s environmental or social benefits).

“Fundamentally, we’ve challenged the idea that sustainability is a niche interest,” Cook tells us. “The data shows otherwise. People care. They just haven’t been given a simple way to act on it.”

Impact and returns are inextricably linked

Following a peak in investment in the first half of 2022, capital flowing into fintech has been steadily declining. While this is consistent with broader venture capital investment trends, fintech as a sector is particularly susceptible to macroeconomic changes, making it harder for early-stage companies to secure funding.

That’s why fintech startups must have a business model with a clear path to profitability. 

As an investor, Douglas Sloan looks for three traits in a sustainable fintech business:

1. A mission-driven founding team with a clear intent to deliver transformative impact at scale, whether by creating and providing access to quality products and services or improving financial well-being. 

2. Commercial viability that offers attractive returns without compromising on purpose and impact. 

3. A strong link between impact and business performance, such as customer acquisition and retention, regulatory strength, or capital access. 

   
   

ekko’s founders recognise that the more impact its business makes, the stronger the customer engagement and retention and, in many cases, the higher the revenue. As such, recent conversations with its investors have centred around how to scale the business across over 140 countries and drive capital toward the highest-impact projects.

Ultimately, companies that can build impact-driven businesses while achieving commercial success are best positioned to thrive. They will be able to attract capital in a cautious funding environment and penetrate markets that other businesses struggle to enter.

Purpose-driven founders need purpose-driven investors

Startup founders often have a deep, personal connection to the causes they champion, frequently shaped by their own lived experiences. This connection provides both insight into the problems they’re striving to solve and a powerful source of motivation. It fosters resilience, sharpens vision, and drives ambition. 

But even with a clear purpose and firm conviction, securing funding isn’t always straightforward.

This is especially true for women and founders of colour, as highlighted in findings by the British Business Bank. In 2022, just 2% of UK deal value went to all female-founded, a figure that drops even further for women of colour.

Mohanty’s advice to founders? “Seek mission-aligned investors who will understand what you are building.”

Unlike some entrepreneurs who are in it for short-term gains, impact founders often view their ventures as integral to their identity and purpose. That’s why Mohanty believes alignment must go both ways.

She stresses that it is equally important for founders to ask investors the right questions to ensure alignment of vision, whether it is regarding their funding approach or the diversity and impact metrics of their portfolios.

Spotlighting fintech leaders making an impact

Are you a UK-based startup, scaleup, or investment manager working to solve critical sustainability challenges? 

The 2025 Sustainable Times RISE Awards celebrate impactful startups and growth ventures driving innovation across sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) areas. With 19 award categories, the RISE Awards honour companies and investors who are reshaping the future—from climate tech and the circular economy to financial inclusion and social equity. 

By entering the awards, you can connect with other changemakers, spread the word about your innovations, and gain business-changing recognition. 

Shine a light on your efforts—apply to the 2025 Sustainable Times RISE Awards by 31 August.

Sustainable Times RISE Awards

6 November 2025 at 18:30 – 7 November 2025 at 01:00London

Register Now