The global fintech market reached its third-highest annual total ever with 2,861 deals in 2020, bouncing back from a pandemic-related quiet period in the first half of the year, according to a report by KPMG. (The Logic)

Talking point: Fintech is one of those lucky sectors that actually benefited from the pandemic, with businesses accelerating digitization to serve customers and workers staying at home. In particular, payments, e-commerce and cybersecurity saw a lot of investment activity. American fintech businesses attracted the most investment, accounting for US$76 billion of the US$105 billion raised around the world in 2020. American investing app Robinhood, famous for its role in the recent meme-stock craze, raised the most money of any fintech firm in the world in the second half of the year, with US$1.3 billion across two rounds. In Canada, fintech investment didn’t rebound until the fourth quarter, when Affirm’s acquisition of Paybright and a large fundraise by Wealthsimple helped the country catch up.