In 2026, licenses will become a new arena for competition in fintech. While companies previously sought to grow faster than regulators, the strongest players are now betting on the opposite — obtaining banking and payment licenses to scale and launch new products.
In practice, this means a shift in the very logic of the market: fintech no longer opposes traditional banks, but is gradually taking their place, while maintaining speed and product flexibility. This is why it's important today to look not only at user base growth or a company's valuation, but also at its regulatory profile — it increasingly determines who will be able to reach the next level.
