With its impressive spread of notable financial institutions such as Fidelity Investments and State Street Corp., along with numerous hedge funds and private equity firms, it’s no surprise that Boston has a robust financial industry. But as the city continues to grow its reputation as a hub for tech and innovation, Boston is also becoming known for its impressive fintech space.
Collaborating with the legacy financial sector, local entrepreneurs are creating new ways for people to invest, pay, save, and more. Many of these fintech startups are proving to be game-changers for areas like personal finance, cryptocurrency, investment management, trading, and lending. Below we’ve pulled out a number of fintech leaders, in addition to startups to keep an eye on.
Top Boston Fintech Companies to Know
- Domeyard LP
- Flywire
- Forward Financing
- Kensho Technologies
- Vestmark
- Quantopian
- Circle
- Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
- Algorand
- ProfitWell
Reggora is a Boston-based fintech company that has created software for appraising real estate. Anyone who has purchased a home knows that home appraisal is an important part of buying property. But home appraisals typically rely on manual processes or old technology, which makes Reggora an attractive option for appraisers. The company’s software allows for quicker turnaround times and operational efficiency.
With over 160 years of experience providing its clients with insurance, retirement, investment and financial wellness services, MassMutual’s network of finance professionals possess the expertise to drive big financial goals. The institution produces a variety of digital tools to allow individuals and families to plan for the future, continually making the process of money management simpler.
Kensho is a data analytics and machine intelligence company that combines natural language search queries and secure cloud computing to create analytics tools that a wide range of investment professionals can use. Basically, Kensho’s super intelligent computer systems answer even the most complex financial questions in plain English.
Trefis is an easy-to-use stock analysis service that breaks down a stock price by the contribution of a company's major products and businesses. By simply dragging lines on charts, users of Trefis can transform complex data models into visual interactives that forecast the future price of products and their future expected market share.
Simply Business operates as an online brokerage, using technology and big data to simplify insurance procurement for small businesses. By leveraging data and analytics, the company offers tailored insurance solutions to professionals ranging from landscapers to apparel retailers. With a commitment to owning and centralizing data, Simply Business provides a streamlined platform for businesses to select policies from national carriers.
Using a combination of smart tech and human experience, online insurance agency Goji helps users find the right policy at the best price. Goji’s licensed insurance agents guide users through their options of insurance companies, costs, and coverage levels in a matter of minutes.
Centage is the leading provider of automated, budgeting and planning software catered to small and mid-sized businesses. Centage’s cost-effective and user-friendly solutions help companies move beyond Excel sheets and formulas, enabling them to produce more informed decisions and boost their ROI.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is part of the Central Bank of the United States and seeks to facilitate financial growth and stability throughout the New England area. The bank is heavily involved in the fight against discriminatory lending practices and has supported growth in smaller industrial cities and rural towns, helping bolster citizens throughout the entire nation.
Vestmark provides SaaS technology for comprehensive portfolio management and trading solutions. Vestmark is changing the financial advisory solutions industry with its innovative technologies and its clients currently manage over 5.4 million accounts with over $1.5 trillion in assets under management.
Forward Financing is a Boston-based fintech that provides fast, flexible working capital to U.S.-based small businesses. It uses its proprietary technology to provide same-day funding to business owners who need quick access to working capital and who are often underserved by traditional financing options. Since 2012, it has provided over $2.6 billion in financing to more than 58,000 small businesses.
Bondlink provides products for the Municipal Bond Market. Their platform enables investors and issuers to connect across any device and is currently being used by multiple state and city governments including Florida, Georgia, Chicago and Detroit. Founded by a former issuer, Bondlink’s platform is transforming the market and ensuring more transparency between issuers and investors.
Midaxo is streamlining the mergers and acquisitions process with its software, which helps companies avoid risks, develop better deals and improve collaboration. Over 500 companies rely on Midaxo’s tech to improve the productivity of their mergers and acquisitions teams, giving them the tools to review and evaluate deals faster and get more value out of post-merger integrations.
Cobalt Software provides software that efficiently analyzes and monitors private market data and funds. It has built a new way for investors in private equity or venture capital to receive and review data from prospective and existing managers so that they don’t have to spend countless hours making manual datasets.
Geode Capital Management’s team of collaborative professionals focuses on “developing systematic and risk controlled investment strategies for its clients.” With its services and expertise encompassing various equity and asset classes, the firm has more than $1 trillion in assets under management.
Toast is a tech company developing hardware and software solutions that streamline operations for food and beverage businesses of all sizes. From point-of-sale systems to remote ordering platforms, Toast equips businesses like bars, fine-dining establishments, food trucks and fast casual restaurants with tools to accept payments, while also aiming to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. Headquartered in Boston, the company has a growing international presence.
Quantopian helps smart, talented people get paid for writing investment algorithms that work. In addition to a browser for writing code, the platform also features research and data sets, and hosts competitions each month for the best algorithms. The small startup has a novel approach to investing that encourages any nerd or hacker writing code to use their unique skillset to trade stocks or invest.
Since its 1996 inception, the company has hosted more than $34 trillion financial transactions while averaging 7,600 mergers and acquisitions yearly. Their platform absolves some of the hardships that put M&As in danger by providing a single, secure cloud-based space — a virtual data room — for buyers and sellers to engage in real-time. With this, no signature goes unsigned, no documents are lost, and no information is compromised.
Plastiq makes it possible for business owners to use credit cards for virtually every payment (even for those that don’t usually accept card payment) in order to boost points and better manage working capital. Plastiq’s platform allows for business owners to pay everything from leases to taxes, freelancers and insurance with a credit card. All a business owner has to do on the platform is fill out payment information and Plastiq will relay their payment to the correct party via credit card.
Leader Bank provides financial services for consumers, businesses and government entities. Its offerings include video calls with team members to get banking assistance in a secure, face-to-face format, as well as homeowner, auto, boat and umbrella insurance options through its subsidiary Leader Insurance. The Massachusetts-based banking company says it is “committed to being the leading community-based financial institution by providing client-centric banking products and services.”
Because subscriptions play a crucial role in a business’ growth, ProfitWell is providing more in-depth information on this area. The company has developed a platform where organizations can track subscriptions and see which customers are contributing to growth trends. Companies are able to understand why their customer bases grow or shrink with the tools of ProfitWell. As a result, businesses are able to foresee which customers are likely to join or leave, reducing churn and stabilizing their finances in the long run.
Algorand has created a platform where companies can compose digital contracts and approve blocks in a timely fashion. With the Algorand Virtual Machine, developers have the tools to craft smart contracts and signatures. Algorand is developing technology that intersects traditional and decentralized financial models. With Algorand's platform, blockchain and fintech companies can finish transactions faster than ever while keeping every interaction secure. Plus, the Algorand wallet lets teams track operations while on the go for an even more seamless experience.
Beyond Finance employs proprietary technology to analyze financial scenarios and devise personalized strategies for individuals seeking debt relief. Following a complimentary consultation, clients can choose from various options for debt repayment, supported by Beyond Finance’s mobile app to monitor progress. By focusing on solutions such as debt consolidation or settlement, it aims to help users pursue financial wellness. Beyond Finance is headquartered in Chicago with an office in Needham.
Flywire is a leading international payments processor that connects institutions with consumers on over six continents. Flywire has revolutionized how international students can pay for tuition and health care and is now welcomed in 900+ colleges around the world.
LeaseQ connects customers with instant quotes on equipment leasing, along with sources of financing, which users can apply for online. Equipment ranges from commercial fitness and tech, to construction and medical. Equipment leasing quotes can take up to two days for customers to receive, so LeaseQ’s online marketplace drastically reduces the time companies waste leasing commercial equipment.
ActBlue is a nonprofit that provides progressive campaigns and causes with customizable, secure digital fundraising solutions. ActBlue offers A/B testing tools its customers can use to optimize their contribution forms along with integrations that support efficient compliance management.
Got Bitcoin? Alt-Options is the go-to platform for trading digital currency derivatives. Investors can use the startup’s pricing algorithm to make smarter trading decisions. The founders of Alt-Options saw an opportunity to become an middleman in the emerging world of virtual currency. By connecting asset holders and investors with low-risk and low-cost strategies, Alt-Options solves the uber complex liquidity challenges virtual currency markets face.
Blueleaf uses clients’ financial information to help financial advisors build profitable relationships. Financial advisors have struggled to keep up with the rate of change technology demands, but Blueleaf helps the wealth management industry keep up with other sectors.
Circle is focused on creating a free and easy way to store and access money. They believe accessing and transferring money should be as simple as sharing media and messages over the internet. Headquartered in Dublin with offices in Boston, London and San Francisco, Circle has assembled a knowledgeable team hailing from JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Adobe. Unlike other management systems that are closed or restricted, Circle uses internet open standards and protocol that enables them to offer a free and unrestricted service.
Stride Funding says its work focuses on “transforming access to education and career pathways.” For example, the fintech company matches students with employers that are willing to repay their loans in exchange for a commitment to post-graduation employment. This way, students don’t struggle under the looming burden of debt, and employers like hospitals and health systems can build a reliable talent pipeline.
LevelUp is a mobile app that lets users order ahead and pay with their phone, connecting them to more than 150,000 restaurants in a single place. The company’s mobile payment network also powers loyalty programs with rewards and promotions for frequented businesses. LevelUp makes takeout easier for customers, while helping businesses grow their loyalty and rewards programs.
Hometap offers home equity investments that the company says provide homeowners access to flexible financial support. Hometap also created its Home Equity Dashboard to connect its customers with tools to keep track of the investment and their home’s value as well as educational resources that can inform their financial decision making.
Domeyard LP is a hedge fund that focuses on high frequency trading. Domeyard uses advances in high-performance computing and data analysis to implement trading algorithms across assets like equities, futures, fixed income, energy and commodities.
EverTrue empowers fundraising teams with web and mobile software that identifies and manages their prospects. Over 300 nonprofit institutions with a combined $17 billion of giving data rely on EverTrue's platform.
