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WINDSOR DRAKE FINTECH EXIT INDEX

Fintech M&A Multiples: The Windsor Drake Benchmark

The median disclosed fintech M&A valuation is 11.0x EV/Revenue, in a range of 2.4x to 50.0x, across transactions announced January 2020 through June 2026. The figures on this page are computed from the Windsor Drake Fintech Exit Index, a hand-curated record of more than 240 fintech M&A transactions across 23 sub-sectors, each carrying a public source. Last updated June 11, 2026. Refreshed quarterly, updated in place.

THE BENCHMARK

Median Fintech M&A Multiples by Sub-Sector

Fintech does not price as one market. The spread between the cheapest and the most expensive sub-sector below is more than five turns of revenue, and it is persistent, not cyclical.

Sub-sectorMedian EV/RevenueRangeDeals (n)
Regtech, compliance and open banking19.6x8.8x to 50.0x3
Banking and payments infrastructure15.7x12.0x to 25.0x3
Capital markets and mortgage technology11.6x7.6x to 17.8x4
Payments processing3.8x2.4x to 4.7x3
All disclosed transactions11.0x2.4x to 50.0x19
Lending and BNPLSuppressed. Fewer than 3 disclosed multiples.
InsurtechSuppressed. Fewer than 3 disclosed multiples.
WealthtechSuppressed. Fewer than 3 disclosed multiples.

Any cell with fewer than 3 observations is suppressed rather than reported. EV/EBITDA is not reported as a benchmark row: EBITDA was publicly disclosed in only 2 of the 240+ transactions in the Index (Adenza at 31x, Vertafore at 18.4x). Fintech M&A prices on revenue.

The deals behind the medians. A median is only as defensible as the deals beneath it. The full disclosed set follows. Every figure carries its public source.

TransactionAnnouncedSub-sectorEV ($M)Revenue ($M)EV/RevSource
Visa / Tink 20222021-06Regtech, compliance and open banking2,1504350.0xsource
Block / Afterpay 20222021-08Lending and BNPL29,00092542.0xsource
Bill.com / Divvy 20212021-05Banking and payments infrastructure2,50010025.0xsource
Nasdaq / Verafin 20202020-11Regtech, compliance and open banking2,75014019.6xsource
Nasdaq / Adenza 20232023-06Capital markets and mortgage technology10,50059017.8xsource
SoFi / Technisys 20222022-02Banking and payments infrastructure1,1007015.7xsource
Rocket Companies / Truebill 20212021-02Financial data and open banking1,27510012.8xsource
ICE / Ellie Mae 20202020-08Capital markets and mortgage technology11,00090012.2xsource
SoFi / Galileo 20202020-04Banking and payments infrastructure1,20010012.0xsource
FactSet / CUSIP 20222021-12Capital markets and mortgage technology1,92517511.0xsource
Roper / Vertafore 20202020-08Insurtech5,3505909.1xsource
Mastercard / Recorded Future 20242024-09Regtech, compliance and open banking2,6503008.8xsource
ICE / Black Knight 20232022-05Capital markets and mortgage technology11,8001,5507.6xsource
Thoma Bravo / Bottomline 20222022-01Treasury and cash management2,6004945.3x *source
Nuvei / Paya 20232023-01Payments processing1,3002774.7xsource
Goldman Sachs / GreenSky 20222021-09Lending and BNPL2,2405264.3xsource
GTCR / Worldpay 20232023-07Payments processing18,5004,9003.8xsource
NEC / Avaloq 20202020-10Financial data and open banking2,2006603.4xsource
Nuvei / Payoneer2026-06Payments processing2,3009782.4x *source

Enterprise values and revenue as publicly reported at announcement. * Computed from annualized quarterly disclosure or reported terms of a transaction in progress; flagged in the Index. Download the comps set (CSV).

BY TRANSACTION SIZE

Multiples by Transaction Size Band

Size does not price linearly in fintech M&A. The mid-band carries the lowest median because it holds the broadest mix of business models, while the largest transactions are dominated by software and exchange-grade infrastructure that prices on quality rather than scale.

Announced enterprise valueMedian EV/RevenueRangeDeals (n)
Under $1.5 billion12.4x4.7x to 15.7x4
$1.5 billion to $3 billion8.8x2.4x to 50.0x9
Above $3 billion10.7x3.8x to 42.0x6

Bands reflect announced enterprise value at the time of the transaction. Transactions below roughly $1 billion rarely disclose terms, so no band below $1.5 billion clears the 3-observation floor.

The more important reading is what the table cannot show. A disclosed multiple is the exception in fintech M&A: 41% of tracked transactions disclose a value and 8% disclose enough to compute a multiple. Below roughly $1 billion, disclosure nearly disappears. Private lower-middle-market transactions generally clear several turns below these headline comps, which is precisely why a founder should not price a process from public comps alone.

WHAT DRIVES THE RANGE

Four Findings From the Disclosed Record

  • The market repriced and stayed repriced. The median disclosed multiple fell from 12.1x across 2020 to 2021 to 7.6x on transactions announced since 2022. There has been no recovery to peak, only stabilization.
  • Software economics command the premium. Payments processing cleared a median of 3.8x while banking and payments infrastructure cleared 15.7x. Buyers pay for recurring, capital-light software revenue, not transaction volume.
  • The outliers were scarcity purchases. The two largest multiples in the record, Tink at a reported 50x and Afterpay at 42x announced value, were strategic buyers paying for a capability that could not be bought twice. Neither is a pricing benchmark for an ordinary process.
  • Strategic buyers set the clearing price. 98% of tracked transactions went to strategic or PE-backed strategic acquirers. A process that does not reach the strategic buyer pool is leaving the premium on the table.

A disclosed multiple is the exception, not the rule: 41% of tracked transactions disclose a value and 8% disclose enough to compute a multiple. The benchmark exists because the full record does not publish itself.

ESTIMATED RANGES

Where a Founder-Led Fintech Company Prices

The computed benchmark above reports only what was publicly disclosed, and disclosure skews to transactions above $1 billion. For the lower middle market, where disclosure nearly disappears, Windsor Drake publishes the following advisory estimates. They reconcile the disclosed comps with published market benchmarks and the firm’s own process experience, and they are stated as ranges because false precision serves no one.

Sub-sectorEst. EV/RevenueEst. EV/EBITDABasis
Banking and payments infrastructure6x to 12xn/mComps, market benchmarks
Regtech and compliance5x to 10xn/mComps, market benchmarks
Capital markets and wealth technology5x to 10xn/mComps, market benchmarks
Wealthtech platforms4x to 8xn/mMarket benchmarks
Insurtech (software and MGA platforms)3x to 7xn/mComps, market benchmarks
Payments processing2.5x to 5x8x to 12xComps, market benchmarks
Lending and BNPL (capital-light)1.5x to 4x6x to 10xComps, market benchmarks

Advisory estimates for founder-led, lower-middle-market companies, stated as ranges deliberately. Basis: the disclosed comps above, reconciled with published market benchmarks and Windsor Drake’s process experience that private transactions below roughly $100 million in enterprise value generally clear below large-cap disclosed comps. n/m: no defensible basis; nothing is published without one. These are estimates, not computed medians; the computed benchmark contains only sourced, disclosed figures.

A benchmark tells you where the market cleared, not where your company will. Within every sub-sector the multiple moves with revenue quality: recurring share, retention, capital intensity, and regulatory standing. The right use of this page is as a ceiling check and a sub-sector map. A credible number for your company comes from current private comparables and a read on which strategic buyers are active in your category this quarter.

Jeff Barrington, Founder and Managing Director, Windsor Drake. Windsor Drake is a boutique sell-side M&A advisory firm running confidential, competitive sale processes for founder-led fintech and software companies. Published June 11, 2026. The benchmark is refreshed quarterly and this page is updated in place.

METHODOLOGY

How the Benchmark Is Built

  • Source. The Windsor Drake Fintech Exit Index, a hand-curated record of more than 240 fintech M&A transactions announced January 2020 through June 2026 across 23 sub-sectors. Every row carries a public source: company announcement, regulatory filing, or credible trade press.
  • Inclusion. Control transactions in fintech operating companies. SPAC mergers, bank charter acquisitions, insurance agency roll-ups, minority stakes, and duplicate records are excluded from multiple computation.
  • Definition. EV/Revenue is announced enterprise value over the target’s last-twelve-month or current-year revenue as publicly reported at announcement. Multiples are computed only where both figures are public: 19 of the 240+ tracked transactions qualify. Two figures are computed from annualized quarterly disclosure and are flagged as estimates in the Index.
  • Suppression. Any cell with fewer than 3 observations is suppressed rather than reported.
  • Two tiers, never mixed. The computed benchmark contains only sourced, disclosed figures. The estimated ranges are advisory: they reconcile the disclosed comps with published market benchmarks and Windsor Drake’s process experience in the lower middle market, and are always labeled as estimates and stated as ranges. The full comps set is downloadable as CSV.
  • Known limitations. Disclosed multiples skew to transactions above $1 billion in enterprise value. Figures reflect announced values, which can differ from closing values, most visibly in all-stock consideration. One multiple (Afterpay) is computed on an AUD basis.
  • Refresh. Quarterly. The page is updated in place at this URL. The underlying deal record is published at the Windsor Drake Market Intelligence transaction database.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Fintech M&A Multiples: Common Questions

The median disclosed multiple in fintech M&A is 11.0x EV/Revenue, computed across transactions announced January 2020 through June 2026 in the Windsor Drake Fintech Exit Index. The dispersion matters more than the midpoint: payments processors cleared a median of 3.8x while regtech and open banking platforms cleared 19.6x.

Disclosed payments processing transactions in the Index cleared a median of 3.8x EV/Revenue, in a range of 2.4x to 4.7x. Companies selling payments software rather than processing volume price in a different bracket: banking and payments infrastructure cleared a median of 15.7x. The market pays for software economics, not volume.

Because almost nobody discloses them. EBITDA was public in only 2 of the 240+ transactions tracked in the Index: Adenza at 31x and Vertafore at 18.4x. Revenue is the pricing convention in fintech M&A, and any EBITDA benchmark quoted without a disclosed sample should be treated with caution.

No. The median disclosed multiple was 12.1x across 2020 and 2021 and has been 7.6x on transactions announced since the start of 2022. The market repriced and stayed repriced. Sellers anchored to a 2021 comparable are the most common reason a process stalls.

The disclosed record cannot fully answer this, and that is the honest reading of it. Deals under roughly $1 billion in enterprise value rarely disclose terms, so published multiples skew to large transactions. In Windsor Drake’s experience, private lower-middle-market fintech transactions generally clear several turns below the headline comps on this page, with sub-sector and revenue model driving the gap.

Windsor Drake’s advisory estimates for founder-led, lower-middle-market companies: banking and payments infrastructure 6x to 12x revenue, regtech 5x to 10x, capital markets and wealth technology 5x to 10x, wealthtech platforms 4x to 8x, insurtech platforms 3x to 7x, payments processing 2.5x to 5x, and capital-light lending 1.5x to 4x. These are estimates stated as ranges, with the basis published in the methodology; where a company lands inside its range is driven by recurring revenue share, retention, capital intensity, and regulatory standing.

Strategic acquirers dominate the record: 98% of transactions in the Index were strategic or PE-backed strategic buyers, against 2% pure financial sponsors. The clearing price in fintech M&A is set by strategics buying capability, licensing, or distribution they would otherwise build.

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