Is Online Lending the Cream of the Fintech Crop?

American fintech companies raised $7 billion over 351 venture capital-backed deals in 2015 and leading the pack were online lenders like SoFi, Zenefits, Avant and Prosper Loans.

A new report released by CB Insights and KPMG shows a record spike in VC-backed fintech deals, hitting $14 billion globally and making up 73 percent of all VC funding. The purview of fintech included companies in lending, payments, personal finance, bitcoin and equity crowdfunding.

In the U.S., the pack was led by marketplace lender SoFi raising over $1.35 billion, with SoftBank investing a billion in the San Francisco-based startup. Other noteworthy investments included $500 million into payroll service startup Zenefits, online lenders Avant and Affirm, which provide installment loans and credit scoring services.

Other Highlights

• Major corporations participated in one of every four fintech deals
• Investment in bitcoin and blockchain was up 76 percent annually
• 14 of the 19 fintech ‘unicorns’ (startups with a billion dollar valuation) were in lending and payments
• Citigroup (13 deals) and Goldman Sachs (10 deals) led investing in VC-backed fintech startups in the past four years.
• Top fintech companies of the year were Lending Club, Square and OnDeck Capital.