Irish fintechs attracted just over $1 billion in investment last year, down almost 37% compared with the previous year, a new report from KPMG shows.
The report shows that the sector secured $742 million in transactions and investments in the second half of 2022, a significant increase from $259 million in the first six moths of the year.
However, activity in the second half was skewed significantly by one large transaction - the purchase of Cork-based Global Shares by JP Morgan for $676 million.
The global fintech market attracted $164.1 billion across 6,006 deals in 2022 - a strong showing despite falling by almost a third from the high of $238.9 billion in 2021.
"With interest rates rising, valuations will be under pressure for some time. This may inhibit some of the larger potential M&A transactions as investors wait to see if prices reduce further," said Anna Scally, Head of Technology and Media at KPMG.
"That said, M&A activity will likely increase for smaller size deals as corporates and larger fintechs take advantage of competitive valuations.
"We also expect that good businesses with a unique product or service will continue to attract investment from international players," she added.
