Fintech or financial technology in the last decade has been one of the world's most promising sectors. FinTech has changed the way finances are conducted with mobile banking, investing, and blockchain apps. According to the Modern Knowledge World, the centerpiece of this technology trend is the United States where 1,491 startups and 58,5 billion dollars invested in the sector.
Yet banks are not the only financial institutions that have changed technologies. Digital financial access is embedded in entire markets, including digital loans and mobile stock systems, e-commerce payment networks, and digital currency exchanges.
What is Fintech all about?

Fintech refers to innovation in the space of financial and technical crossover and usually refers to businesses or services leveraging technologies to provide companies or customers with financial services.
Fintech defines any business offering financial services through software or other technologies, from smartphones to cryptocurrency payment applications.
Fintech firms have changed nearly every part of the finance sector in recent years. Ten years earlier, individuals had to visit a branch or bank to apply for a deposit, a credit or to transfer funds literally from one bank to another. At present, Fintech has made it possible, without having ever stepped in a bank to spend, borrow, save, and move funds through online and mobile services. Although conventional institutions are picking up technologies from fintech steadily, entrepreneurs as well as existing businesses are using digital financial services.

Evolution of Fintech in USA
Fintech was even longer than most people believe. Though Fintech's current version helps you to pay for a coffee cup with a smartphone app, financial infrastructure history goes back to the first credit cards accepted by the public at the end of the 1950s.
Financial technologies developed and implemented many significant milestones in the mass market after the credit card, such as ATMs, Electronic Shares, Mainframe Bank computers, and internet stock exchanges. Any modern technology improved the financial system that most people used, but had to think seldom about every day.
Today, solutions from the Fintech industry challenge existing banking infrastructure, for example by using a payment app on the mobile wallet, rather than the carriage of physical credit cards in a physical wallet.
Fintech's various markets have been revolutionized, particularly in the financial, commercial, insurance, and risk management industries. Fintech firms include start-ups, technology companies, and existing financial institutions are leveraging digital innovations such as big data and artificial intelligence to enhance financial services usability and performance, blockchain, and edge computing.

List of Top Fintech Startups in USA:
1. SoFi

SoFi began out as a small business with just one commodity, refinancing student loans. The organization sells a number of items today, but refinancing of student loans remains its flagship commodity. SoFi is a value-driven organization with a task to help our members earn a living. We develop new financial goods and services that can enable customers to borrow, save, buy, save and safeguard their cash more, to gain financial freedom and to meet their ambitions—from home ownership to pension plans, to paying student loans, and more.

2. Ripple.Net

Ripple is both a peer-to-peer (RippleNet) and a digital currency transferrer (ripple XRP). The platform itself is a protocol for open source transactions between two parties. All currencies, such as sterling currencies, bitcoins, air miles, among others, can be traded on the site. In 2019, XRP sold $500 million to MoneyGram, using sales to raise and investe up to $50 million, currently using XRP in 10% of its Mexico purchases across borders.
3. Spur

Spur simplifies human capital by leveraging a digital interface to provide embedded financial services on an hourly basis for its staff. Your business plan saves time and resources and allows staff to improve their financial status. Spur was developed by companies who want to take up the responsibility of job management less time and more time for their enterprises, their clients and for their hourly employees.

4. Coinbase

CoinBase has become a regular on-ramp for new crypto-investors as the leading mainstream cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Coinbase provides a broad range of items, including cryptocurrency investment, an integrated trade network, institutional custody accounts, a retail investment wallet, and a secure U.S. dollar coin.
Coinbase has taken the lead in offering cryptocustody services to organizations since having developed its position as stable and regulatory crypto-exchange and a personal wallet and new currencies tailored to cater to those wanting more anonymity.
5. Toast

Toast is a Boston, Massachusetts based cloud restaurant tech firm. Toast was one of the leading technology names when the calendar was turned towards 2020. In the secondary markets, shareholdings of the private enterprise that produces restaurants' apps were in strong demand. In mid-February, current investors contributed to about $5 trillion in investment, almost double the previous year.

6. Chime

A increasing crowd of startups bet on your smartphone for banking. Chime, headquartered in San Francisco, has experienced its sales explosion over the past year and provides a debit card with no annual or overdraft charge. According to a person familiar with the topic, it is set to hit almost $200 million in 2019, up from four times in 2018. With many significant tactics, Chime has drawn 5 million clients – or about 3.3 million users, based on an annual average of 1.5 accounts per client. Chime allows you to pay for a direct deposit in order to control main functionality.
7. Bright Health

Bright Health provides its customers programs through broker partners and private/public markets to connect patients to medical providers. Bright Health offers healthcare users with the tools they need to maximize support and treatment for their patients by lowering medical costs. In six new regions in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois, the company will start selling the Medicare Advantage, citizen and familial programs. In Denver, Nashville, Memphis and Nebraska, Bright Wellness will be selling fully-insured small business policies. They provide small business level-funded programs for 20-100 employees and administratively-service-only plans for organizations with more than 100 employees.

8. Credit Karma

Credit Karma is known best for its free credit and loan reports. It is however a platform that provides its customers the ability to create a stronger financial future.
If you wish to use Credit Karma you should give your name and the last four digits of your Social Security number. You should have simple personal information. Credit Karma can then view your loan report, collect and make it available to you with your consent. For users who utilize credit card reviews, personal, home-and-auto loans or auto insurance, Credit Karma earns a big reference fee.

9. Opendoor

Home sellers in 21 cities can submit all-cash deals online from Opendoor and collect offers within 24 hours. The application initiated last year helps customers to arrange their own guided tours and deliver houses to sell in six cities, Dallas and Phoenix included. You only present details and pictures of your home through their website to sell your home with Opendoor. All these advantages Opendoor especially apply to veterans, openings, relocators or people who have to sell their home quickly. Opendoor also appreciates the ease online and straightforward deals and costs in the youngest generation.

10. Paydiant

Paydiant, Inc. is a PayPal-owned financial technology agency. It offers cloud-based services for supermarkets, insurers, point of sale, and ATM vendors. The enterprise is located in Auburndale, Massachusetts, and was founded in 2010.
The North Bridge Investment Partners and General Catalyst Partners funded Paydiant for $ 7.6 million in 2011. In 2012 and 2013 Paydiant earned $12 million and $15 million in grants.
Conclusion
Through this article, we learnt what exactly Fintech is and how the evolution took place. During the COVID–19 pandemic, particularly in emerging markets, the Fintech industry continued to help widen access to financial services with a strong growth in digital financial services of all kinds. For poverty reduction and economic development, access to quality financial resources is important. The access and use of basic financial resources for poor people, in particular women, will increase wealth, strengthen resilience and better their lives. Fintech developments aim to lower the costs of service supply, enable more customers to be served and reduce the need for face-to-face contact, critical to the pandemic's continued economic activity.
