Fintech market in Iran: an analysis of Fintech ecosystem and business models

ABSTRACT

The global economic is restructured by the wave of deepened technological revolutions brought by the worldwide Fintech storm. To overhaul the rapid growth and expansion of the Fintech industry requires solid data about its market structure. This conceptual study attempts to provide the first inclusive analysis of the Iranian Fintech market as a major player in Middle East. Financial services in Iran are experiencing a quick shift and the adoption of electronic payments is growing rapidly. We identified 275 active Fintech companies in Iran. Our findings show that transaction volume of Fintechs in the payment segment is the largest Fintech solution in Iran amounted to approximately 166.8 billion dollars in 2020. Almost 0.9 million Iranians are using bank-independent personal financial management for analysis of their personal finances. Moreover, crowdfunding solution as a new landscape for financing and innovation is a noble experience in Iranian Fintech market that is growing slowly. The Fintech industry in Iran has great potential and strong infrastructure; however, comparing with the major hubs in the region, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the Iranian Fintech industry requires more immersion.

KEYWORDS:

• Fintech
• financial startups
• digital payment
• crowdfunding
• Middle East

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Asra Ahmadi for her assistance with the data collection, and anonymous peer reviewers for their comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).