In March 2018, the European Commission formulated the ambition for Europe “to become a global hub for fintech, with EU businesses and investors able to make the most of the advantages offered by the Single Market in this fast-moving sector”. Although the US and Asia are known for their larger footprint, Europe is increasingly seen as a breeding place for emerging giants and within Europe, countries are competing to become the most attractive location for businesses.

Atomico, a European venture capital firm headquartered in London, reports the Netherlands as one of the leading tech countries. Dutch Prince Constantijn, envoy of Techleap, however, is critical and claims that the Netherlands does not do enough to attract tech companies.

In the publication ‘The Netherlands: Europe’s number one fintech hub?’ you can read back on our analysis of the registered number of licensed payment and e-money institutions from the EBA register and our analysis on how successful European member states (including the Netherlands) are in attracting these fintechs by examining various country-specific characteristics.

Based on our extensive experience with market entry and license applications, we also present an overview of five key considerations that play a role when fintechs select a European country for their payments or electronic-money registration.

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Please contact Martijn Berghuijs, +31 20 656 7196 or Roderik Jongbloed, +31 20 656 7030.