Paytm gained from demonetization policy

Global investment in financial technology (fintech) ventures reached another all-time high in 2017, buoyed by a surge in funding for startups in the United States, United Kingdom and India.

Fintech financing rose 18% in 2017, to US$27.4 billion, with the value of deals in the U.S. jumping 31%, to $11.3 billion, according to Accenture (NYSE:ACN) analysis of data from CB Insights, a global venture-finance data and analytics firm.

Deal values almost quadrupled in the U.K., to US$3.4 billion, and soared nearly fivefold in India to US$2.4 billion.

India’s digital payments startup Paytm received US$1.4 billion in venture capital, helping drive fintech fundraising activity in the country to nearly five times the 2016 levels.

The number of fintech deals in India increased 65% over 2016.

The increased activity was largely spurred by the central bank’s “demonetization” initiative geared to combat corruption by banning high-value bank notes, which prompted millions of Indians to shift to mobile payments and other cashless service providers like Paytm, it said.

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