Worldpay Deal Anchors Fintech’s Best Half in Years: KPMG
There’s a lot of cash, but fewer deals propelled global fintech to the best year since 2022.
When Global Payments completed its roughly $24.3 billion acquisition of London-based Worldpay in January, it would account for nearly a quarter of all global fintech investment in the five months that followed, according to Big Four auditor KPMG International’s latest Pulse of Fintech report released Monday.
That massive transaction captures the central paradox shaping current fintech funding: total capital is surging, yet it is concentrated in fewer hands.
KPMG crunched the numbers using data from PitchBook, which tracks M&A and venture capital activity. Overall fintech investment surged to $103.1 billion across the six-month period — up from $72.2 billion in the second half of last year — putting the sector on track for its strongest annual performance in four years. Overall deal count, however, dropped to a multi-year low.
Deal Volume Remains Soft
The shift reflects a strong preference for mature fintechs with proven track records over higher-risk, early-stage startups.
As a result, global deal volume dropped to just 2,100 transactions in the first half of the year. That’s down from 2,501 in the prior six-month period (the last six months of 2025). Instead of spreading capital across early-stage ventures, investors funneled funds into late-stage blockbuster deals.
Ten deals worth $1 billion or more closed during the period. In addition to buying WorldPay, Global Payments Inc. found itself on the sell side. The Atlanta-based company sold its issuer solutions business, Total System Services (TSYS), to Fidelity National Information Services Inc. for $13.5 billion — also in January.
Among the other megadeals of 2026, thus far, are the $8.4 billion buyout of Clearwater Analytics and the $6.4 billion take-private of OneStream. In Europe, Denmark’s Saxo Bank was acquired for $1.2 billion, and Belgium’s Kpler Holding landed a private equity growth equity investment of over $1 billion from global investment firm Sixth Street Partners in June.
Regional Dominance & Slumps
- 80%+ in the Americas: $86.9B was invested in the Americas across 1,120 deals. The U.S. alone drew $80.8B (over 75% of total global funding).
- Decade Low for EMEA: Europe, Middle East, and Africa dropped to $11.3B across 626 deals, putting the region on track for a 10-year low in both volume and funding.
- Asia-Pacific Slide: APAC funding sank to $4.6B across 350 deals (down from $7.1B in H2 2025).
Sub-Sector Winners
- Payments Broke Records: Payments led all sectors at $44.2B, already surpassing its total investment for all of 2025.
- AI & Digital Assets: AI-focused fintechs pulled in $21.4B, while crypto/digital assets captured $11.1B across 467 deals.
Investment Falls Sharply Outside the Americas
The Americas accounted for more than 80% of global fintech investment, drawing $86.9 billion across 1,120 deals. The U.S. alone attracted $80.8 billion across 933 deals — over 75% of worldwide investment and 92% of the region’s total. American merger and acquisition activity more than doubled, rising to $64.6 billion from $27.4 billion in the prior six months.
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) saw $11.3 billion invested across 626 deals, down from $18 billion in the second half of 2025, putting the region on track for a decade-low in both deal count and value. The UK led Europe with $2.5 billion across 205 deals, followed by Germany ($1.6 billion), the Middle East ($1.4 billion), the Nordics ($1.4 billion), and France ($1.2 billion). KPMG cited geopolitical tension, tariff policy, and inflation concerns tied to the Iran conflict as headwinds.
Asia-Pacific investment slid to $4.6 billion across 350 deals, down from $7.1 billion across 426 deals, with weaker activity in China, Japan and Singapore. India held up better, drawing $2 billion, while South Korea hit a four-year high of $899 million.
Sub-Sector Specifics
Payments, for example, led all categories with $44.2 billion invested, already exceeding all of 2025’s total thanks to the Worldpay deal.
Digital assets, meanwhile, attracted $11.1 billion across 467 deals. Corporate venture arms of major crypto platforms drove much of the activity in that corner. AI-focused fintechs pulled in $21.4 billion combined across venture capital, private equity and M&A.
M&A Across the Board
The dynamics shaping fintech mirror a macro trend sweeping the global dealmaking landscape: total dollars are surging, but transaction activity remains bottlenecked. Across all sectors, PitchBook reported that global M&A deal value posted massive year-over-year gains in H1 2026. It reached $1.6 trillion in Q1 (up 50.5%) and $1.3 trillion in Q2 (up 35.3%). Just as in fintech, capital is concentrating heavily at the top — driven almost entirely by megadeals while overall transaction volume stays flat.
Anthony Noto covers corporate finance and private credit. Contact him at anoto@gfmag.com
