The Russian fintech market continues to grow rapidly and requires more and more capital for the development of new products and infrastructure. The question is from what sources these investments will come in the coming years.
The Russian fintech market is experiencing a stage of active growth – over the past few years it has become one of the most dynamic segments of the digital economy. In many ways, this growth is associated with the processes of import substitution and the departure of a number of foreign services that opened up space for local solutions.
Companies are actively creating various solutions, from payment services and infrastructure for banks to business products based on AI. All this requires significant investments: in the development of technologies, bringing products to the market and their integration with current banking systems.
According to analysts, in 2025 the Russian fintech market grew by about 15-16% and reached about 283 billion rubles. This is noticeably higher than the average pace of the economy and confirms that the demand for financial technologies continues to grow.
Why the need for investment is growing
Many fintech companies are currently at the stage of scaling: their products have already passed the testing stage and began to develop actively. At this stage, funding is needed not only for further development, but also for expanding the business itself. Marketing, team, infrastructure development – all this requires substantial costs.
At the same time, the market itself is actively developing in new directions: AI solutions for the financial sector, payment infrastructure, banking-as-a-service, regtech platforms. All these projects appear at a high speed and require large investments in development and technological infrastructure.
In parallel with this, the regulatory load factor is also increasing. New requirements for security, data storage and financial monitoring require additional investment in adapting business models to meet evolving conditions.
Taking into account the current market volume and the previously mentioned growth rates (~ 15% per year), the annual financing need of the Russian fintech can be estimated at 40-50 billion rubles at least.
Can an IPO become a major source of capital
In recent months, a possible increase in the number of IPOs on the Russian market has been actively discussed. According to analysts’ forecasts, in 2026 their number may increase several times, and the total volume of placements will reach 50-100 billion rubles.
For fintech companies, the stock market can really become one of the sources of capital. However, you should not rush to conclusions. It is also important here to understand the structure of demand in the stock market.
Public investors tend to prefer more mature companies – with an understandable business model, sustainable revenue and scalable products. The experience of previous placements shows that predominantly established companies enter the public market.
Therefore, the main market interest is likely to focus on large technology companies and ecosystems. Already, among the potential candidates for an IPO in 2026, experts name a number of technology players, including companies with a pronounced fintech component.
Small fintech startups are unlikely to go public en masse. For them, the requirements for transparency, corporate governance and business scale remain quite high, and they are simply not ready yet.
So we can expect the IPO to be a reputational benchmark for the industry rather than a massive funding channel. Public offerings form market benchmarks by which investors can compare companies and make investment decisions. In this sense, IPOs become a starting point when evaluating other market players.
What sources of capital will be more important than IPO
For most fintechs, alternative arrangements will be key sources of capital in the coming years.
Among them, firstly, corporate investments. Banks and big tech groups are heavily investing in fintech solutions that can strengthen their own ecosystems.
The scale of such investments is already significant: for example, investments of Russian companies in AI in 2024 were estimated at about 57 billion rubles, and individual players – for example, Sberbank – in the past announced investment programs of hundreds of billions of rubles on the horizon of several years.
Such investments are often accompanied by strategic partnerships, pilots and the integration of technology into existing financial platforms.
Secondly, venture funds and business angels. As a rule, they remain the main source of funding for startups in the early stages. According to analysts, the volume of venture capital investments in Russia in 2025 amounted to about $146 million. At the same time, there is a redistribution of activity within the market: investments from private funds and investors increased by 70% and 28%, respectively, compared to 2024.
Such investors are willing to take on a higher level of risk, especially when it comes to innovative technological solutions. Estimates showed that last year the segments of AI, business software and Big Data took the leading positions in terms of investment.
Thirdly, debt financing – bank loans, bonds and exchange loans. For more mature companies, this tool is becoming more and more in demand. If the business already shows stable revenue and an understandable economy, attracting borrowed capital may be more profitable than selling a share to investors.
This trend is confirmed by real deals. For example, in 2024, Yandex Fintech made its debut placement of bonds secured by a portfolio of consumer loans for 7.7 billion rubles. Later, in 2025, the business group announced new releases for the same model for 9 billion rubles, that shows the growing market interest in such instruments.
M&A deals are likely to become another important mechanism. Large players often prefer to buy ready-made teams and technological solutions instead of developing them within their company.
According to analysts, M&A transactions in Russia are increasingly strategic: in 2025, companies mainly acquired assets that allow them to develop technologies faster, strengthen their customer base and expand their business infrastructure. Under these conditions, M&A is becoming one of the most realistic scaling scenarios for fintech startups.
What it means for the market
Russian fintech is entering a new stage of development. The market is becoming more mature, and companies are becoming more technologically advanced and large-scale. This means that the demand for investment will only grow.
At the same time, the financing structure will be quite diversified: from strategic investors and venture funds to the public market. However, the bulk of the investment is likely to continue to come through corporate funds and strategic partnerships.
By Valentina Drofa, financial markets expert