Can Berlin Outpace Frankfurt as Europe’s Fintech Capital?

The bustling halls of London’s Innovate Finance Global Summit are packed with ambition, coffee cups, and smartphones. Among the crowd, Natalie Schleiz of Credibur waits for a networking meeting, her Berlin-based fintech automating data exchange between banks and startups.

A business one might expect in Frankfurt or London, yet she insists Berlin’s fintech community is unmatched in energy and scale. “Everyone wants to build something, to move forward,” she says. “That’s Berlin.”

Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s economics senator, echoes this sentiment from the summit stage. “It has to be Berlin, and it will be Berlin,” she declares, pitching the city as Germany’s next financial hub. With nearly 200 fintechs—more than Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Hamburg combined—Berlin already leads in numbers. Last year alone, over €300 million flowed into its fintech sector, according to the IBB investment bank. Giffey’s goal? To surpass Frankfurt within a decade, positioning Berlin as Europe’s fintech heart, second only to London.

Yet, London’s dominance is undeniable. In Canary Wharf, the pulse of UK finance beats strong, with towers like One Canada Square housing fintech incubators such as Level39, where Revolut began. Sophie Turner, founder of Beatvest, credits London’s success to its regulatory sandbox, allowing fintechs to test innovations safely. “It’s about developing solutions together,” she explains, a stark contrast to Germany’s more cautious approach.

Berlin’s “House of Finance and Tech” aims to bridge this gap, advocating for a regulator that fosters, not just polices, innovation. Sebastian Schäfer, its chief, argues that Germany must adapt: “The role of a regulator in a fast-changing world needs rethinking.” Meanwhile, Kathrin Robeck of IBB Ventures highlights Berlin’s focus on sustainable “zebras” over risky “unicorns,” though both require venture capital to scale.

Giffey also points to Berlin’s affordability—lower living costs and family-friendly policies—as a competitive edge. Yet, the funding gap remains stark: London’s fintechs raised €5.6 billion last year alone, while Berlin’s total over the past decade is €4.6 billion.

Still, Credibur’s recent milestone—processing over €2.2 billion—proves Berlin’s fintechs are making waves. As Schleiz quips, “That’s a lot.” For a two-year-old Pankow startup, it’s a sign that Berlin’s fintech ambitions are more than just talk.