The fintech paradox in France
A Growing Ecosystem, Yet Limited Consumer Adoption
Read time: 5 Minutes
Over the past decade France’s fintech sector has expanded dramatically. The country now hosts well over 1,000 fintech companies - up from around 100 in 2012 - including 14 unicorns and about 54,000 fintech-related jobs. In 2024 alone, French fintech startups raised roughly €1.3 billion, marking a 28% year-on-year increase.
According to KPMG, France is now the EU’s largest fintech ecosystem, encompassing neobanks, digital payments, crypto currency companies, and other digital financial services, and ranks second in Europe only behind the UK in total funding. This momentum has positioned fintech as a key pillar of the nation’s ongoing digital transformation in banking and financial services.
The Fintech Adoption Paradox
Despite its growing fintech ecosystem, France faces a surprising adoption gap. FIBE Berlin’s 2025 B2C survey found that only 34% of French respondents use any fintech apps – a surprisingly low figure given the ecosystem’s scale. By contrast, 78% of consumers in the Netherlands reported using at least one fintech app.
This finding is consistent with previous data. In 2019, approximately 35% of the digitally active French population had adopted fintech services, indicating that the adoption rate has remained virtually unchanged over the past few years. In effect, about two-thirds of French consumers continue to rely primarily on traditional banking channels.
Even with the pandemic-era surge in digital payments, France’s fintech usage trailed behind more digitally mature markets. For a country that generates nearly half of Europe’s fintech unicorns, this mismatch between fintech innovation and consumer uptake remains particularly surprising.
Source: From payments to policy: a FIBE B2C Fintech survey
Why French Consumers Hesitate to Use Fintech Apps
Several factors help explain this, but security and trust concerns top the list. French consumers overwhelmingly prioritize safety: a 2024 survey found that 40% rank account and data security as their most important banking expectation. In 2023, only 4% were familiar with open banking, and just 8.5% had used it. This general wariness of data-sharing models suggests a lack of trust in fintech apps and third-party fintech providers.
Around 80% of French consumers cite fear of online payment fraud, often preferring the perceived safety of established banks over newer digital entrants. Cultural preferences also shape fintech expectations. Unlike many European consumers who prioritize payment functionality in fintech apps, most French respondents in our survey identified household and budget management as their top use case.
Across all markets considered, security was the most frequently cited barrier to fintech adoption, while trust ranked as the second biggest obstacle in Germany, France, and Sweden.
Many French consumers also appear to prefer the familiarity and personalization of traditional banks. According to the French Banking Federation, 90% of customers have a positive image of their local branch, 84% consider banks “indispensable,” and 88% trust their advisor.
Most consumers take a hybrid approach: 94% check bank websites or apps to monitor accounts, but 36% still visit a physical branch at least once per quarter. In fact, around 80% of respondents say they prefer a bank that offers digital and in-person services over a fully digital model.
Overall, the greater perceived security of established financial institutions and the value placed on personalized advice make it more challenging for fintech startups to win over French consumers.
Fintech Super Apps on the Rise
In response to these adoption challenges, fintech experts are increasingly looking to super apps as a possible solution. A super app is a digital platform that integrates a wide range of services - messaging, e-commerce, digital payments, banking, insurance, ride-hailing, and more - within a single digital ecosystem.
It’s no surprise that the super app trend is gaining global traction. Statista projects that by the end of this year, around 3.5 billion people will be using super apps, with the global super app market expected to grow from approximately $95.8 billion in 2024 to $122 billion in 2025.
Asia has led the way: China’s WeChat, with 1.3 billion monthly users as of 2024, has evolved into an “app for everything”, combining chat, digital payments, shopping, and other services. Southeast Asian apps like Grab and Gojek similarly bundle ride-hailing, food delivery, and fintech features to serve tens of millions of users.
In Europe, a similar shift is underway, with financial services increasingly integrating into broader digital platforms. Fintech leaders such as Revolut and Klarna have rapidly expanded their offerings, adding digital payments, shopping tools, and crypto currency services to move toward full-scale super app models.
The Future of Fintech and Banking in France
While new fintech apps often struggle to overcome French consumers’ security concerns, closing the adoption gap demands fresh approaches. Embedded finance - which integrates financial services into everyday platforms - offers a powerful opportunity. For example, if a well trusted supermarket or telecom company were to launch a super app by embedding financial services, its reputation could extend trust to the app’s financial features.
Combining everyday services such as digital payments, grocery delivery, and budgeting tools with digital banking could gradually ease users into fintech in a more comfortable environment. This approach aligns with broader fintech trends in digital transformation, where the increasing impact of advanced AI on fintech enables personalized experiences and enhanced cybersecurity and risk management.
Regulatory evolution will also play a critical role. New EU frameworks, such as MiCA, DORA, and the AI Act, aim to establish a trustworthy and resilient digital finance landscape. MiCA provides clarity and safeguards for crypto currencies, DORA strengthens digital resilience for financial institutions, and the AI Act sets standards to ensure that AI-powered services are safe and trustworthy.
The future of fintech and banking in France may hinge on a synergy of innovation and regulation. Super apps could help bridge the trust gap by embedding financial tools into platforms consumers already know and trust. In this context, if startups, traditional financial services players, and regulators align their efforts, France's fintech potential could finally translate to widespread consumer adoption.