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Funding and advertised pay are reported in USD; filed accounts retain their stated source currency and basis.

Exchange-rate basis

Indicative conversions use ECB reference rates dated 2026-09-14, applied consistently across all periods. They are not historical exchange rates. Indian rupees may use crore (1 crore = 10 million); other currencies use K, M and B. CSV downloads, source documents and quoted news headlines retain their original currencies.

THE CHICAGO EDITION 2026

Chicago’s
fintech industry,
in focus.

The companies, capital and talent shaping fintech in Chicago. Find the leaders. Understand the segments. See where the activity is.

Explore in Radar Read the key signals
Snapshot: Funding in USD
Illustrated cover for Fintech Industry Landscape of Chicago
US
COMPANIES · CAPITAL · TALENT

An industry ecosystem,
measured in context.

Fintech illustration
Companies tracked 426Fintech ecosystem in Chicago Disclosed funding $8.29B109 companies · all recorded rounds Companies hiring 38With open roles at the snapshot Tracked open roles 1231 employers posted in the preceding 30 days
MEET THE COMPANIES

Explore Chicago’s fintech leaders

24 featured companies from the funding, hiring, revenue and team-size leaderboards.

Expand panel +
Explore the full landscape
Fintech company highlights in Chicago, snapshot 5 August 2026
Company
Avantavant.com$1.97B—547—
Kinkin.com$942.45M—504—
Enovaenova.com$625M—1,079$3.15BFYFY2025 filing
Clearcoverclearcover.com$457.2M—450—
M1m1.com$332.94M—448—
Powerusepower.com$316.1M—15—
Aequum Capitalaequumcapital.com$307.5M—9—
OppFioppfi.com$295M—465Financial figure available in RadarView in Radar
Onbeonbe.com—10 roles300—
Tandymbytandym.com—10 roles23—
Snapsheetsnapsheetclaims.com—9 roles199—
Advyzonadvyzon.com—7 roles61—
CME Groupcmegroup.com—7 roles3,565$6.52BFYFY2025 filing
Origami Riskorigamirisk.com—7 roles609—
Payrocpayroc.com—7 roles37—
Akuna Capitalakunacapital.com—6 roles300—
Amountamount.com——626—
CCCcccis.com——6$1.06BFYFY2025 filing
GeoWealthgeowealth.com——90—
K1xk1x.io——61—
M1 Financem1finance.com——328—
Phillip Capitalphillipcapital.com——40Financial figure available in RadarView in Radar
Qumisqumis.ai————
TransUniontransunion.com——834$4.58BFYFY2025 filing
24 featured companies

Locked revenue figures are available in Radar; the eight company financial previews stay the same throughout this page. A dash means the figure is outside these featured lists. Revenue years vary by company; the figures are not a like-for-like revenue comparison. Compare annual accounts ↗

Company discovery

Recorded evidence only

Explore the live startup set in Radar

No company example met every recorded classification, independence and public-profile gate in this snapshot. The live directory may have newer qualifying companies.

Explore classified startups in Radar ↗
THE KEY SIGNALS

Fintech industry KPIs in Chicago

A few useful ratios bring the size of this ecosystem into perspective.

5 August 2026
Hiring participation8.9%

38 of 426 tracked companies have open roles.

Funding participation28.6%

122 of 426 tracked companies have a recorded round.

Top 3 funding share42.6%

Share of disclosed capital received by the three largest recorded recipients.

Median disclosed round$5M

Midpoint of 233 rounds with a disclosed amount.

Scale is concentrated. Opportunity is broader. The three largest funding recipients hold 42.6% of disclosed capital, while 71.4% of tracked companies have no recorded funding round.

Explore the segments →
CAPITAL & COMPANY FORMATION

How Chicago fintech has grown

Recorded company formation and disclosed funding across the complete annual series shown.

Expand panel +
2016 — 2025

Disclosed funding by year

Sum of recorded funding rounds · USD

Chicago fintech
$0$416.64M$833.29M$1.25B$1.67B2016: $170.03M20162017: $344.99M20172018: $576.86M20182019: $232.05M20192020: $380.18M20202021: $1.31B20212022: $1.46B20222023: $168.24M20232024: $289.3M20242025: $966.96M2025
View the numbers
Annual fintech funding and company formation in Chicago
YearFunding (USD)FoundedRaising
2016$170.03M1720
2017$344.99M2516
2018$576.86M2121
2019$232.05M2319
2020$380.18M2521
2021$1.31B2125
2022$1.46B2114
2023$168.24M820
2024$289.3M1120
2025$966.96M218
WHERE CAPITAL SITS

Funding concentration

Share of all disclosed company funding.

  • Avant23.7%
  • Kin11.4%
  • Enova7.5%
  • Other companies57.4%

Funding by stage

280 recorded rounds since 2016

NUMBER OF ROUNDS
Seed & Angel92 32.9%
Series A–B89 31.8%
Series C+ / PE51 18.2%
Grants, debt & other48 17.1%

Recent recorded rounds

Latest recorded rounds · USD
5 rounds

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Series C05/2026
CMG —

Backed by BNP Paribas.

PE04/2026
K1x $175M

Backed by Sumeru Equity Partners and Edison Partners.

Series B02/2026
NEWITY $11M

Backed by CMT Digital.

Largest and notable recorded rounds

Each card is one recorded round
10 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Series E09/2015
Avantavant.com$325M

Backed by JPMorgan Chase and August Capital and others.

Series D12/2014
Avantavant.com$225M

Backed by August Capital and RRE Ventures and others.

Series E07/2021
M1m1.com$150M

Backed by SoftBank Vision Fund.

Series D02/2022
Kinkin.com$134.46M

Backed by QED Investors and Commerce Ventures and others.

THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE ACTIVITY

Revenue, profitability & financial strength

Annual accounts for reporting companies linked to this landscape, on like-for-like currency and reporting bases.

Expand panel +
USD · millions · consolidated

Display conversions use the dated reference rates above. Where a verified rate is unavailable, figures retain their source currency. Each reporting cohort keeps its currency and accounting basis separate.

FY2025 · company accounts; aggregate reporting threshold not met · 5 reporting entities from 6 eligible matches.

Revenue in covered accounts—

Sum of reporting-entity revenue; not Chicago market sales.

Net profit / loss—

Combined result for the same cohort.

Aggregate net margin—

Combined net income ÷ combined revenue.

Median company revenue—

The middle covered reporting entity.

Profitable entities—

None of 5 covered entities.

Top-five concentration—

Share of covered revenue from the five largest entities.

Annual account trend

Reported cohort totals by year; coverage is stated for every period.

Bar height shows revenue. Changes in coverage can affect totals.

Profitability has two perspectives

FY2025 · 5 reporting entities

Open the company accounts

Up to eight fixed company previews show financial amounts. Search and sort the wider company list, then continue in Radar.

5 reporting entities
Continue your financial research in Radar

Explore full company accounts and filings.

View financials in Radar ↗
CHICAGO · INDUSTRY COHORTS

How does fintech compare?

Each pair uses the same year, currency and reporting basis. Cohort overlap is disclosed.

IndustryCovered / eligibleRevenue totalMedian revenueNet profit / lossAggregate marginProfitable shareOverlap

Available-account cohorts are not estimates of whole industries. Overlapping entities can occur in more than one cohort; do not add cohort totals.

Coverage, calculations & financial sources

Filed annual accounts for exact designated national identifiers. Every aggregate and peer pair uses one fiscal year, source currency and reporting basis; periods, coverage and overlap are explicit; 2026 partials are excluded.

The same up to eight reporting entities remain open across years, filters and sorts. Other company figures are available in Radar.

Source currencies and accounting bases stay separate. Missing accounts are excluded rather than treated as zero. Exact reporting periods appear on company previews. Annual totals can change with coverage and do not measure growth of a fixed company cohort.

DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Web traffic, app reach and release cadence

How the Chicago companies on this page show up online: the sites people visit, the apps they install, and how often those apps ship.

Busiest websites

12 of the 426 companies on this page carry a measured traffic record (2.8%); these are the largest of those, by monthly visits. The median among them is 292,458 visits.

CompanyMonthly visitsAuthorityMobile
TransUniontransunion.com10,697,4426879%
CashNetUSAcashnetusa.com2,699,0734897%
CreditNinjacreditninja.com1,704,4184794.8%
Tastytradetastytrade.com1,168,1834221.9%
Kinkin.com481,1874671%
Integra Creditintegracredit.com297,1063594.7%
Sprintaxsprintax.com287,8104520.7%
AMP Futures Tradingampfutures.com276,9923745%
Origami Riskorigamirisk.com270,3593327.8%
Hey Bancohey.inc257,7743783.9%

Visits and authority are third-party web estimates, not company-reported figures.

Most-installed apps

41 of these companies (9.6%) publish at least one Android app — 65 apps in all, carrying 15.7M installs between them.

AppInstallsRatingStore category
Klover - Instant Cash AdvanceKlover5.1M4.6Finance
VentraVentra2M3.1Maps & Navigation
TransUnion®TransUnion1.7M3.4Finance
ParkChicago®ParkChicago1.2M4.6Maps & Navigation
M1: Invest & Bank SmarterM11.2M4.4Finance
AvantAvant833.1K4.6Finance
fepblueBCBS FEP657.2K3.8Health & Fitness
Pangea: Money Transfer AppPangea Money Transfer609K4.8Finance
Bridge: Debit Card RewardsBridge386.7K4.3Shopping
tastytrade: Invest & TradeTastytrade366.8K4Finance

Installs are lifetime totals to date at the June 2026 store reading — a measure of reach, not of people using an app today.

App reach by segment

The busiest app inside each of this page’s own segments, with the quarterly release trend behind it (2024Q1–2026Q2).

SegmentAppsInstallsLeading appRelease trend
Alternative Lending97.7MKlover - Instant Cash Advance 5.1M
Payments133.4MVentra 2M
Road Transport Tech63.3MParkChicago® 1.2M
Banking Tech72.2MTransUnion® 1.7M
Data As A Service51.9MCME Group 151.3K
Investment Tech161.8MM1: Invest & Bank Smarter 1.2M
Service Providers To Banks21.7MTruLookup® 19
Internet First Insurance Platforms11925.8KCCC Mobile™ – Quick Estimate 284.2K

A company can carry several segment tags, so these rows overlap and should not be added together. Trend lines are zero-based and share one quarter grid, so a flat line is a quiet segment, not a missing one.

Release cadence by quarter

New apps published, beside apps whose most recent update landed in that quarter — the second bar is how much of the shelf is still being maintained.

2023Q1: 22023Q1: 02023Q12023Q3: 32023Q3: 32023Q32024Q1: 22024Q1: 02024Q12024Q2: 12024Q2: 12024Q22024Q3: 12024Q3: 12024Q32024Q4: 32024Q4: 32024Q42025Q1: 32025Q1: 12025Q12025Q2: 22025Q2: 22025Q22025Q3: 22025Q3: 62025Q32025Q4: 32025Q4: 82025Q42026Q1: 12026Q1: 72026Q1

Darker bars are new releases, lighter bars apps updated. 60 of 65 apps carry a release date. The series ends at 2026Q1, the last quarter that closed before the June 2026 reading.

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY

The Chicago fintech market map

Explore the segments behind the headline numbers.

Expand panel +

Where companies are building

Rank segments by scale, hiring or disclosed funding.

Enterprise tech244
Consumer digital184
Enterprise software132
Saas68
Online trading platforms52
Nbfc lenders46
Fintech saas44
Business payments solutions38
Blockchain in financial services36
Marketplaces34
Commerce enablers26
Wealth management software25

Companies can sit in several segments. Counts and funding overlap.

SEGMENT TO EXPLORE

Enterprise tech

The largest measured segment in this report snapshot.

244companies
10.2%have hiring activity

25 companies hiring · $3.67B disclosed funding

Explore in Radar

How companies make money

Common revenue models; a company can use more than one.

Subscription255
Commission on transaction234
Fee-for-service101
E-commerce - service68
Lending51
Advertising19
E-commerce - product13
Interest3
THE COMPANIES IN MOTION

Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work

Recorded corporate activity linked to companies in this landscape.

Expand panel +
Recent corporate headlines 10 dated reports
Mergers & acquisitionscumberland.io ↗

According to a release, the buyer is Toronto-based Apotex, billed as Canada’s largest pharmaceutical company.

Mergers & acquisitionsbitnomial.com ↗

Kraken has acquired Bitnomial, a futures and options exchange website, in a tech M&A deal valued at $550 million.

Funding roundsk1x.io ↗

K1x, an AI-native tax data platform for private markets, announced it has secured a $175 million growth investment to accelerate the development of its digital infrastructure for tax compliance and reporting.

Mergers & acquisitionsaaronwealth.com ↗

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period.

Funding roundsbraviantholdings.com ↗

Braviant Holdings, a Chicago-based technology-driven consumer lending platform has secured approximately $145m in committed capacity across two new revolving asset-backed credit facilities, alongside the renewal of an existing forward flow arrangement.

Mergers & acquisitionstransunion.com ↗

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) has successfully completed its previously announced acquisition of the mobile division of RealNetworks.

Mergers & acquisitionsprescient.com ↗

Prescient, which is backed by Bridgepoint, has acquired Dolon, a London-based pricing and market access consultancy for pharma and biotech firms.

Funding roundsgeowealth.com ↗

GeoWealth has now raised a total of $117.5M in total equity funding and is backed by Goldman Sachs.

Mergers & acquisitionsoppfi.com ↗

OppFi, a tech-enabled digital finance platform that partners with banks to offer financial products and services to everyday Americans, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BNCCORP Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, BNC National Bank, in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $130 million.

Funding roundsnewitymarket.com ↗

NEWITY, in turn, received $11 million to be allocated to its crypto credit services, backed by CMT Digital.

Full recorded event mix

Top 10 categories among 305 recorded events in the 24-month window.

Earnings
81
Mergers & acquisitions
62
Leadership moves
51
Funding rounds
32
Company announcements
20
New products
18
Contracts
11
Asset acquisitions
11
Buyback
8
Capital infusions
6
6 activity cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Leadership moves

14 tracked people moves

AIO Logic ↗
Lydia Taylor

Appointment executive lead for business development

Geno Ruggles

Promotion Partner

TransUnion ↗
Derick De Vries

Appointment Chief Executive Officer

Eric Weisheit

Promotion Partner

Onbe ↗
Kevin Ryan

Appointment Chief Financial Officer

TransUnion ↗
Charlotte Yarkoni

Appointment Board Member

TransUnion ↗
Sayan Chakraborty

Appointment Board Member

Cumberland ↗
NIGEL TAYLOR

Departure Previously Head of Brand & Marketing

Product launches

Products, platforms and features in the recorded window

TransUnion ↗
TransUnion Digital Business Profile

Product

Clearcover ↗
Dearborn Labs

AI practice

TransUnion ↗
AI Analytics Orchestrator Agent

Analytics Orchestrator

Advyzon ↗
Advyzon Platform integration with Schwab Advisor Services

Platform integration

K1x ↗
Aggregator Plus

Platform

Contract wins

10 recorded customer wins

Customer: gramercy risk managementInsurance

Snapsheet ↗

Customer: Aspire General InsuranceInsurance

Enova ↗

Customer: GreenHgreen hydrogen

CME Group ↗

Customer: nasdaqFinancial services

Enova ↗

Customer: Navigator Amon ShippingFinance

CME Group ↗

Customer: Ukrainian Futures Exchange

Workforce actions

1 companies with reported reductions

Cumberland ↗

Scale not stated roles

Regulatory events

2 recorded events

TransUnion ↗

fined for preventing whistleblowers from reporting potential misconductUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

TransUnion ↗

fine for whistleblower protection violationUS Securities and Exchange Commission

Litigation

1 tracked suits

Company
consumer financial protection bureau v transunion

Biden‑era lawsuitCivil · Dismissed

Earnings pulse

Reported company results in the recorded window.

5companies
98period observations
10.8%median reported growth

Median across 82 reported growth observations; companies may contribute multiple periods.

Mergers and acquisitions

Company-linked deal reports; status is preserved as recorded.

Acquirer → targetStatusDateValue / context
OppFi→BNCCORPAnnounced2026-04-29$130.0M
apotex→Cumberland ↗Announced2026-04-23Not stated in snapshot
kraken→Bitnomial ↗Announced2026-04-22$550.0M
Payward→Bitnomial ↗Announced2026-04-17$550.0M
Aaron Wealth→valmont industriesAnnounced2026-04-10$540.0K
TransUnion→RealNetworksCompleted2026-04-01Not stated in snapshot

A discussion or rumour is not a completed transaction. An unstated value is not zero.

PEOPLE & OPPORTUNITY

The talent market

1,248 postings in the preceding 12 months. The full 2,004-posting snapshot covers 65 employers.

Expand panel +

Most advertised job titles

Engineering Manager14
Director Of Clinical Operations13
Senior Accountant12
Software Engineer12
Industry Executive Real Estate11
Physical Damage Adjuster11
0 internship postings

40 tracked postings mention remote work.

The seniority mix

769 postings specify a level.

unspecified
1,235
manager
385
senior
270
lead
46
intern
38
entry
30

Skills employers mention

Top skills across 2,004 tracked postings in the available jobs snapshot.

Excel
57
Sql
46
Salesforce
30
Aws
30
Microsoft Office
25
Powerpoint
25
Python
21
Java
19
Word
19
Jira
17
ADVERTISED PAY$100.1K/ year

Median across 252 postings with pay data, expressed in USD.

Salary by seniority

manager$110.0K/ year62 postings
senior$120.0K/ year39 postings

Advertised posting medians do not describe all employees or roles.

THE PEOPLE BUILDING THE FIELD

Founders and leaders

266 founders and chief executives across 185 companies.

Expand panel +
12 profiles

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

DChief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors

David Fisher

Enova ↗

Meridian IT, ex-Potbelly Sandwich Works. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law JD 1994, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign BS 1991

LinkedIn ↗
View in Radar ↗

Education networks

47 profiles with education records.

University of Chicago
11
Booth School of Business
7
Harvard University
6
Stanford University
4
Harvard Business School
3
University of Pennsylvania
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3
Duke University
3

Prior employers

7 profiles with prior-work records.

Amazon
2
McKinsey
1
Microsoft
1
Bain
1
Goldman Sachs
1
Google
1

Profiles cover recorded founders and leaders; contact details remain in Radar.

NEWS INTELLIGENCE

How this industry appears in the news

17,025 articles in the measured 12-month window.

Expand panel +
17,025articles in the measured year
3,527articles in 2026Q1
64.9%positive tone in the latest complete year

News volume trends

Fintech coverage tagged Chicago · articles per complete quarter

01,6943,3885,0826,7762021Q2: 3,3022021Q22021Q3: 4,0622021Q4: 3,3002022Q1: 4,2312022Q2: 3,5332022Q22022Q3: 3,3322022Q4: 3,2142023Q1: 3,5172023Q2: 3,6842023Q22023Q3: 3,4832023Q4: 3,7912024Q1: 5,1112024Q2: 4,0562024Q22024Q3: 5,5302024Q4: 3,6232025Q1: 5,8922025Q2: 4,3482025Q22025Q3: 5,4432025Q4: 3,6902026Q1: 3,5272026Q1
View quarterly article counts
QuarterArticles
2021Q23,302
2021Q34,062
2021Q43,300
2022Q14,231
2022Q23,533
2022Q33,332
2022Q43,214
2023Q13,517
2023Q23,684
2023Q33,483
2023Q43,791
2024Q15,111
2024Q24,056
2024Q35,530
2024Q43,623
2025Q15,892
2025Q24,348
2025Q35,443
2025Q43,690
2026Q13,527

Article volume measures coverage, not market sales.

Tone of coverage over time

2021
8,707 positive · 140 neutral · 3,837 negative
2022
9,947 positive · 152 neutral · 4,182 negative
2023
10,266 positive · 177 neutral · 3,995 negative
2024
11,729 positive · 229 neutral · 6,339 negative
2025
12,550 positive · 249 neutral · 6,548 negative

Leading coverage topics

Fintech coverage tagged Chicago · ranked by full-period article count.

Cryptocurrency Impact On Forex Markets256,685 articles in the full recorded period
81,231 recent · 57,779 prior
Economic Indicators (Gdp, Cpi, Unemployment)85,368 articles in the full recorded period
23,344 recent · 21,792 prior
Trade Wars And Geopolitical Impacts83,564 articles in the full recorded period
27,512 recent · 23,590 prior
Interest Rate Decisions And Impacts72,480 articles in the full recorded period
18,840 recent · 16,113 prior
Central Bank Monetary Policy Announcements65,419 articles in the full recorded period
15,959 recent · 14,566 prior
Federal Reserve Policy Meeting Summaries64,366 articles in the full recorded period
16,609 recent · 14,246 prior
Global Recession Risks And Forecasts63,436 articles in the full recorded period
20,317 recent · 18,051 prior
Regulatory Compliance In Foreign Exchange Trading50,230 articles in the full recorded period
15,481 recent · 8,370 prior
Foreign Exchange (Forex) Rate Fluctuations49,040 articles in the full recorded period
15,924 recent · 11,344 prior
Quarterly And Annual Financial Results48,582 articles in the full recorded period
14,823 recent · 11,621 prior

Recent and prior counts use the source comparison windows.

Topics gaining and losing attention

United States comparison coverage

KeywordRecentPriorChange
stablecoin fx impact13,4346,005124%
stock price9,6904,499115%
investment deal7,3751,414422%
decentralized forex6,9863,54997%
etf trading6,4383,27597%
share price5,7112,242155%
etfs5,6292,88895%
forex liquidity5,3763,54852%
sector etfs5,3602,78792%
etf structures4,9852,54596%
flood stage forecasting11910,236-99%
hydrologic risk modeling2610,145-100%
coastal flooding study1214,687-97%
flood control measures863,644-98%
severe weather warning3403,275-90%

Event and signal lenses

United States comparison coverage

All complete annual cohorts shown
Rising

Regulatory Risk

1,276,365 classified articles

economic slowdown, stock performance, currency intervention policies

49.0% critical · 33.8% positive
Rising

Funding Momentum

268,477 classified articles

inflation reports fx, currency intervention policies, trade deficits fx

37.5% critical · 48.9% positive
Rising

Growth

402,987 classified articles

gdp growth forex, inflation reports fx, trade deficits fx

43.1% critical · 39.1% positive

Fintech coverage tagged Chicago. Topic labels describe recorded classifications and can include broad context.

RESEARCH SIGNALS

What Fintech research is working on

907 papers in the recorded india scope.

Expand panel +
907papers
13,825worldwide comparison pool
907India-affiliated papers

Research orientation

Promising
328
Problem-identifying
180
Descriptive
177
Breakthrough
97
Cautionary
88
Comparative
24
Critical
13

Contribution mix

Empirical
377
Reviews
209
Methods-led
156
Position pieces
151
Theoretical
14

Tone counts: 834 positive · 6 neutral · 67 negative.

Common problems researchers identify
193 papers · 21.3% of this field
  • Financial services116 papers
  • FinTech75 papers
  • Financial inclusion37 papers
  • Payment21 papers
  • Data breach12 papers
  • Retail banking11 papers
  • Cryptocurrency10 papers
  • Investment10 papers

Landmark: Fintech and Financial Services : Initial Considerations

Cautions
88 papers · 9.7% of this field
  • Financial services51 papers
  • Financial inclusion22 papers
  • FinTech22 papers
  • Big data12 papers
  • Transformative learning12 papers
  • Payment11 papers
  • Corporate governance11 papers
  • Financial market10 papers

Landmark: The FinTech Opportunity

Opportunities
425 papers · 46.9% of this field
  • Financial services217 papers
  • FinTech120 papers
  • Financial inclusion82 papers
  • Payment58 papers
  • Database transaction46 papers
  • Transformative learning44 papers
  • Financial literacy34 papers
  • Transparency30 papers

Landmark: Fintech Adoption Drivers for Innovation for SMEs in Indonesia

Leading institutions

Columbia University
667
National Bureau of Economic Research
654
Cornell University
653
New York University
643
California University of Pennsylvania
623
International Monetary Fund
307

Leading researchers

Itay Goldstein
621
Wei Jiang
621
George Andrew Karolyi
621
Thomas Philippon
433
Andrei Kirilenko
214
Andrew W. Lo
214
Vikram Haksar
207
Dong He
198

Highly cited breakthrough-labelled papers

  • E.T.-RNN87 citations
  • Evolutionary Approaches and the Construction of Technology-Driven Regulations79 citations
  • Eagle Strategy Arithmetic Optimisation Algorithm with Optimal Deep Convolutional Forest Based FinTech Application for Hyper-automation32 citations
  • FinTech and consumers: a systematic review and integrative framework28 citations
  • Blockchain technology and real-time auditing: Transforming financial transparency and fraud detection in the Fintech industry12 citations

Common problems researchers identify

893 papers · 7 recurring themes
7 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Mobile Payments Adoption BarriersCommon problems researchers identify · 01

Mobile Payments Adoption Barriers

184 papers

20.6% of this theme group

Researchers examine obstacles and determinants affecting the uptake of mobile payment solutions.

Mobile payment (125) · Payment (101) · Cash (23) · Mobile phone (16)

Determinants of Mobile Payments: An Empirical Analysis

Mobile Payments at the Retail Point of Sale in the United States: Prospects for Adoption

View research history
YearShare index
2022698.8
2023654.9
2024785.7
2025864.1
Financial Crime Detection ChallengesCommon problems researchers identify · 02

Financial Crime Detection Challenges

169 papers

18.9% of this theme group

Papers highlight difficulties in identifying money laundering and fraud within complex financial systems.

Money laundering (27) · Audit (15) · Compliance (17) · Financial fraud (8)

Graph Computing for Financial Crime and Fraud Detection: Trends, Challenges and Outlook

A Systematic Review of Machine Learning in Credit Card Fraud Detection Under Original Class Imbalance

View research history
YearShare index
2022743.3
2023720.0
2024783.1
20251024.3
FinTech Inclusion and RegulationCommon problems researchers identify · 03

FinTech Inclusion and Regulation

158 papers

17.7% of this theme group

Studies discuss how technology impacts financial inclusion and the regulatory gaps it creates.

Financial services (95) · FinTech (57) · Financial inclusion (33) · Financial regulation (9)

FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: A REVIEW OF TRENDS IN EMERGING MARKETS

Digital Banking and Fintech Disruption: A Systematic Review of Financial Innovation

View research history
YearShare index
2022533.2
2023586.1
2024645.7
20251018.9
High‑Frequency Trading ImpactsCommon problems researchers identify · 04

High‑Frequency Trading Impacts

129 papers

14.4% of this theme group

Research focuses on market effects and systemic risks introduced by algorithmic and high‑frequency trading.

Algorithmic trading (55) · High-frequency trading (48) · Trading strategy (25) · Electronic trading (13)

High-Frequency Trading and Its Impact on Markets

High-Frequency Trading: <i>Implications for Markets,</i><i>Regulators, and Efficiency</i>

View research history
YearShare index
202232.6
202331.8
202425.3
202539.6
Payment System Reforms in HealthcareCommon problems researchers identify · 05

Payment System Reforms in Healthcare

114 papers

12.8% of this theme group

Analyses address inefficiencies and reform needs in payment and reimbursement models for health services.

Payment (111) · Payment system (52) · Health care (26) · Reimbursement (19)

Reforming the Primary Care Physician Payment System

Payment and Delivery-System Reform — The Next Phase

View research history
YearShare index
2022735.6
2023708.4
2024839.8
2025935.9
Portfolio Optimization LimitsCommon problems researchers identify · 06

Portfolio Optimization Limits

96 papers

10.8% of this theme group

Works critique the assumptions and practical constraints of modern portfolio theory and diversification.

Portfolio (94) · Portfolio optimization (37) · Modern portfolio theory (26) · Diversification (17)

In Defense of Portfolio Optimization: What If We Can Forecast?

Risk minimization and portfolio diversification

View research history
YearShare index
2022315.4
2023306.5
2024224.6
2025345.5
Insider Trading Legal IssuesCommon problems researchers identify · 07

Insider Trading Legal Issues

43 papers

4.8% of this theme group

Papers explore legal definitions, defenses, and compliance challenges surrounding insider trading.

Insider trading (42) · Insider (17) · Alternative trading system (23) · Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (8)

Information, Privilege, Opportunity, and Insider Trading

The Law of Insider Trading: Legal Theories, Common Defenses, and Best Practices for Ensuring Compliance

View research history
YearShare index
202218.5
202316.0
202410.9
202516.4

Cautions

406 papers · 7 recurring themes
7 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Algorithmic Trading Liquidity RisksCautions · 01

Algorithmic Trading Liquidity Risks

109 papers

26.8% of this theme group

Authors caution that automated trading can destabilize market liquidity and amplify volatility.

Algorithmic trading (52) · High-frequency trading (37) · Trading strategy (18) · Market liquidity (20)

Computerized and High‐Frequency Trading

Banking and Trading

View research history
YearShare index
202232.6
202331.8
202425.3
202539.6
Mobile Money Inclusion RisksCautions · 02

Mobile Money Inclusion Risks

63 papers

15.5% of this theme group

Studies warn of transaction‑cost and security concerns that may limit mobile payment benefits for the poor.

Mobile payment (44) · Payment (28) · Financial inclusion (16) · Mobile banking (5)

Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs: Evidence from Kenya's Mobile Money Revolution

Innovations in emerging markets: the case of mobile money

View research history
YearShare index
2022664.7
2023656.5
2024839.9
20251020.2
Portfolio Choice UncertaintyCautions · 03

Portfolio Choice Uncertainty

62 papers

15.3% of this theme group

Research highlights the difficulty of reliably optimizing asset allocation under stochastic market conditions.

Portfolio (56) · Portfolio optimization (28) · Diversification (15) · Asset allocation (12)

Stochastic optimization of retirement portfolio asset allocations and withdrawals

An Experimental Examination of Portfolio Choice

View research history
YearShare index
2022317.9
2023308.8
2024226.8
2025346.2
FinTech’s Complex Inclusion EffectsCautions · 04

FinTech’s Complex Inclusion Effects

54 papers

13.3% of this theme group

Papers discuss unintended consequences and policy challenges when fintech expands financial inclusion.

Financial services (32) · FinTech (20) · Financial inclusion (21) · Big data (7)

The Complex Implications of Fintech for Financial Inclusion

Leveraging Fintech for Sustainable Development in Emerging Economies – A Policy Perspective

View research history
YearShare index
2022533.2
2023586.1
2024645.7
20251018.9
Bias in Fraud Detection SystemsCautions · 05

Bias in Fraud Detection Systems

51 papers

12.6% of this theme group

Analyses point to algorithmic bias and ethical concerns in AI‑driven financial crime detection.

Financial fraud (6) · Computer security (9) · Audit (6) · Accounting (5)

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Bias In Finance: Toward Responsible Innovation

A Review on Financial Fraud Detection using AI and Machine Learning

View research history
YearShare index
20221506.8
20231510.8
20241550.0
20251481.0
Digital Currency Adoption ConcernsCautions · 06

Digital Currency Adoption Concerns

42 papers

10.3% of this theme group

Researchers raise issues of governance, stability, and consumer protection surrounding cryptocurrencies.

Payment (32) · Digital currency (9) · Cryptocurrency (9) · Virtual currency (5)

Bitcoin: Economics, Technology, and Governance

Digital Payment and Its Discontents

View research history
YearShare index
2022860.7
2023831.5
2024980.7
20251216.6
Prospective Payment System RefinementsCautions · 07

Prospective Payment System Refinements

25 papers

6.2% of this theme group

Studies suggest potential pitfalls and needed adjustments in emerging reimbursement models for care.

Prospective payment system (9) · Payment (23) · Payment system (10) · Reimbursement (6)

Strategic Patient Discharge: The Case of Long-Term Care Hospitals

The Medicare hospice payment system: a consideration of potential refinements.

View research history
YearShare index
2022586.9
2023557.7
2024713.3
2025796.1

Opportunities

2,757 papers · 7 recurring themes
7 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Advanced Portfolio Optimization TechniquesOpportunities · 01

Advanced Portfolio Optimization Techniques

821 papers

29.8% of this theme group

Works explore machine learning and entropy methods to improve portfolio construction and risk management.

Portfolio (763) · Portfolio optimization (448) · Modern portfolio theory (90) · Econometrics (185)

Machine Learning and Portfolio Optimization

An Entropy-Based Approach to Portfolio Optimization

View research history
YearShare index
2022315.4
2023306.5
2024224.6
2025345.5
Graph‑Based Financial Fraud DetectionOpportunities · 02

Graph‑Based Financial Fraud Detection

554 papers

20.1% of this theme group

Papers propose scalable, explainable AI models that leverage graph structures to uncover fraudulent activity.

Financial fraud (54) · Graph (55) · Database transaction (105) · Computer security (96)

Fraud Detection using Machine Learning

Advancing Financial Security with Scalable AI: Explainable Machine Learning Models for Transaction Fraud Detection

View research history
YearShare index
2022199.4
2023181.1
2024119.9
2025234.7
Machine‑Learning‑Enhanced Trading StrategiesOpportunities · 03

Machine‑Learning‑Enhanced Trading Strategies

401 papers

14.5% of this theme group

Research demonstrates how AI can boost algorithmic and high‑frequency trading performance.

Algorithmic trading (177) · Trading strategy (145) · High-frequency trading (80) · Pairs trade (40)

Algorithmic Trading Strategies: Leveraging Machine Learning Models for Enhanced Performance in the US Stock Market

Extracting the multi-timescale activity patterns of online financial markets

View research history
YearShare index
202232.6
202331.8
202425.3
202539.6
Secure Mobile Payment AdoptionOpportunities · 04

Secure Mobile Payment Adoption

380 papers

13.8% of this theme group

Studies investigate trust, security, and marketing factors that drive continued use of mobile payment services.

Mobile payment (184) · Payment (233) · Payment system (48) · Marketing (30)

An Empirical Study of the Impacts of Perceived Security and Knowledge on Continuous Intention to Use Mobile Fintech Payment Services

Assurance on the reliability of mobile payment system and its effects on its' use: An empirical examination

View research history
YearShare index
2022595.2
2023565.3
2024723.5
2025818.2
FinTech for Financial LiteracyOpportunities · 05

FinTech for Financial Literacy

302 papers

11.0% of this theme group

Works examine how digital tools and big data can raise financial awareness and inclusion.

Financial services (145) · FinTech (95) · Financial inclusion (67) · Financial literacy (29)

The Future of Finance: Fintech and Digital Transformation

The integration of big data in finTech: Review of enhancing financial services through advanced technologies

View research history
YearShare index
2022533.2
2023586.1
2024645.7
20251018.9
AI‑Driven Credit Risk ModelingOpportunities · 06

AI‑Driven Credit Risk Modeling

159 papers

5.8% of this theme group

Papers present deep learning and reinforcement methods to predict loan defaults more accurately.

Credit risk (41) · Loan (23) · Gradient boosting (11) · Default (6)

A Dynamic Credit Risk Assessment Model Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning

Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for next-generation credit risk assessment models

View research history
YearShare index
2022257.0
2023259.7
2024185.2
2025266.7
Enhanced Credit Card Fraud DetectionOpportunities · 07

Enhanced Credit Card Fraud Detection

140 papers

5.1% of this theme group

Research introduces novel machine‑learning frameworks to improve detection of credit‑card fraud.

Credit card fraud (122) · Credit card (108) · Computer security (34) · Database transaction (32)

An improved machine learning technique for credit card fraud detection

Enhancing Credit Card Fraud Detection: A Machine Learning Framework

View research history
YearShare index
2022858.0
2023882.7
2024837.4
2025537.3

How this field compares with the research baseline

Orientation shares compared with 25,000 papers in the reference sample.

Research orientationThis fieldReference sample
Promising36.2%36.7%
Problem-identifying19.8%9.6%
Descriptive19.5%17.6%
Breakthrough10.7%26.2%
Cautionary9.7%4.9%
Comparative2.6%4.1%
Critical1.4%0.9%

Concerns receiving less research attention

Counts and shares refer to the stated research pool. A low count describes how much of that research is recorded here, not the absence of a real-world concern.

Concern / example paperPapersShareRaised as a problemWorldwide share
Privacy & surveillanceFraud detections for online businesses: a perspective from blockchain technology2565.02%82 (32.0%)4.6%
Bias & fairnessEvaluating the fairness of credit scoring models: A literature review on mortgage accessibility for under-reserved popul150.29%8 (53.3%)0.14%
Concentration of compute powerRent Seeking by Low-Latency Traders: Evidence from Trading on Macroeconomic Announcements130.25%7 (53.8%)0.17%
Labour & data workEvaluating the Role of UPI in Fostering Economic Inclusion among Gig Workers in Mumbai City110.22%2 (18.2%)0.1%
Safety & misuseUses and Misuses of the Black-Litterman Model in Portfolio Construction60.12%2 (33.3%)0.08%
Energy & datacenter footprintEnergy Portfolio Optimization of Data Centers30.06%0 (0.0%)0.05%
Hardware, e-waste & supply chainMobile Phone Repair as a Strategy for Reducing E-Waste, Enhancing Data Privacy, and Promoting Digital Sustainability in 20.04%0 (0.0%)0.01%
Carbon & emissions of computeRethinking portfolio design with sustainable AI and FinTech: dynamic spillovers in a quantile–frequency framework10.02%0 (0.0%)0.0%
Water use00.0%0 (%)0.0%

Institution and researcher rankings use citations to their covered work. Research scope: United States. This may be broader than the company geography.

UNDERSTAND THE LANDSCAPE

Fintech in Chicago: key questions

Clear definitions for making better comparisons.

What does this landscape measure?

It measures the tracked company ecosystem, recorded funding, hiring and other available evidence. It is not a market-size estimate.

Can segment counts be added together?

No. A company can belong to several segments, so segment counts and funding can overlap.

What does a missing figure mean?

A dash or unavailable panel means the current reviewed source snapshot does not support that figure.

KEEP EXPLORING

Put Chicago in context

All landscapes ↗

Company ecosystem snapshot: 5 August 2026. Funding is recorded in USD; filed accounts retain their stated currency and reporting basis. Each section identifies its own coverage. The news and research behind these sections is explorable in Prism.

Canonical landscape ↗
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