European FinTech Association (EFA)

What European FinTech Association (EFA) does

The European FinTech Association (EFA) is a Brussels-based not-for-profit trade association, registered in Belgium as an a.s.b.l. (association sans but lucratif) under commercial-register number 0741.453.152 with its office at Rue Washington 40, 1050 Brussels. Founded in 2019, EFA positions itself as the first pan-European trade body dedicated to FinTech and currently represents more than 40 member companies active in the European Union, including major global and regional players such as Wise, Klarna, Stripe, PayPal, Revolut, N26, Adyen, Block, Monzo, GoCardless, Raisin, SumUp, and Satispay, alongside newer entrants across insurtech, wealth, and digital assets.

EFA does not develop or sell technology products; rather, its function is to aggregate the voice of European FinTechs in EU policy debates. Its activities centre on publishing position papers (e.g., on the proposed 28th Regime and on Customer Due Diligence/AML rulemaking in 2026), co-signing joint statements with peer associations such as EMA, EPIF, ETPPA, OFA, and the Dutch Payments Association, and engaging directly with European institutions on payments, digital finance, and market-structure legislation. It also runs an advisory relationship with Kreab, a Brussels public-affairs firm, to support its policy and communications work.

The association is funded through recurring membership dues from its corporate members and is governed by an elected Board of Directors (most recently refreshed in June 2026, with Linda Strazdina as President and Marc Roberts as Treasurer) and led by Secretary General Lucia Pecchini, appointed in April 2026. Member companies span multiple EU jurisdictions including Germany, the UK, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Malta, and range from early-stage FinTechs to large publicly listed and globally scaled platforms.

Name

European FinTech Association (EFA)

Legal name

European FinTech Association a.s.b.l.

Website

https://eufintechs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brussels-based not-for-profit trade association founded in 2019 representing over 40 European FinTech companies, including Wise, Klarna, Stripe, Revolut, and Adyen, advocating for favourable EU regulatory and policy outcomes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels, Brussels Region

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: EFA generates revenue through membership fees from FinTech companies. The association represents over 40 FinTech providers ranging from payments, lending, banking, robo-advice, investment, and software-as-a-service companies. Members include both full members and sponsor members as stated in the privacy policy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EFA is a membership-based industry association that represents European FinTech companies before EU policymakers and regulators. It provides policy advocacy, representation, networking, information sharing, and a unified voice for the sector on issues such as payments, open finance, digital assets, AML, AI, and the EU digital single market. Members pay dues in exchange for representation and participation in EFA's advocacy work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FinTech Industry Membership & Advocacy Paid membership service providing European FinTech companies with representation, advocacy, and a unified voice before EU institutions and regulators. Members receive policy engagement, networking, information sharing, and participation in board governance. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; prospective members contact [email protected].

Named customers25 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dutch Payments AssociationminorOthersJoint industry collaboration on foreign exchange rate transparency in cross-border payments and the use of an aggregated live mid-market benchmark rate. EFA and Dutch Payments Association co-signed a letter to policymakers advocating for live mid-market FX rates as benchmark for disclosure requirements.
• European Third Party Providers Association (ETPPA)coreOthersLong-standing collaboration on AML regulation technical trilogues, joint statements on Recital 34 discrimination against European fintechs, and FX transparency advocacy.
• Electronic Money Association (EMA)coreOthersJoint advocacy partner on AML regulation, payment services, and fintech policy matters. Co-signed multiple joint statements on regulatory technical standards.
• European Payment Institutions Federation (EPIF)coreOthersCollaborates on payment services regulation, AML packages, and joint industry positions on EU fintech regulatory frameworks.
• Open Finance Association (OFA)minorOthersJoint signatory on AMLR technical trilogues and joint industry letters on payment services and FX transparency.
• Smart Fintech NetworkminorOthersCo-signatory on joint industry letter regarding foreign exchange rate transparency in cross-border payments.
• FinTech BelgiumminorOthersCo-signatory on joint industry letter regarding foreign exchange rate transparency in cross-border payments.
• KreabcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEFA works closely with Kreab as its appointed advisory partner to deliver on the Association's strategic priorities. Kreab provides public affairs consulting services to support EFA's advocacy work in Brussels.
• International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN)minorOthersCo-signatory on joint industry letter regarding foreign exchange rate transparency in cross-border payments.
• TrueLayerminorOthersCo-signatory on joint industry letter regarding foreign exchange rate transparency in cross-border payments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UK Finance: The UK banking and finance industry's principal trade association — broader and more established than EFA but functionally comparable in representing financial-services members before UK and EU policymakers.
• Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME): Pan-European trade association for wholesale financial markets with deep Brussels advocacy infrastructure. Overlaps with EFA on payments, digital assets, and capital-markets regulation but serves a broader, more incumbent constituency.
• European Banking Federation (EBF): The largest EU banking industry federation representing incumbent banks in Brussels. Operates on many of the same EU files as EFA (AML, PSD, open finance) from the opposite (incumbent bank) perspective, making it a structural counterpart.

Direct peers

• European Third Party Providers Association (ETPPA): European association representing third-party providers in open banking/PSD2, a long-standing EFA coalition partner on AML and payment services files and a directly comparable FinTech advocacy body.
• European Payment Institutions Federation (EPIF): Federation of EU payment institutions engaging with EU institutions on payment services and AML regulation. EPIF is an existing EFA coalition partner and shares the same Brussels-based payment-industry advocacy mission.
• Innovate Finance: UK-based membership association for the global FinTech community that advocates with policymakers, regulators, and legislators — the closest geographic and functional counterpart to EFA in a major European financial centre.
• Electronic Money Association (EMA): European trade association representing e-money and payment institutions on EU regulatory matters. EMA is already an EFA partner, making it the most directly overlapping peer in scope (FinTech/e-money) and constituency.

Regional players

• Betaalvereniging Nederland (Dutch Payments Association): Dutch payments industry association and an EFA coalition partner on FX-transparency advocacy. Comparable in function (FinTech/payments trade body) but focused on a single EU member state rather than the pan-EU level.
• Finance Denmark (Finansrådet): Trade association for the Danish financial sector engaging with Danish and EU regulators on digital finance and payments — a regionally scoped, comparable trade-body structure to EFA.

Emerging players

• Open Finance Association (OFA): European association representing open-finance and open-banking providers. Already a joint-signatory partner of EFA on AML and FX-transparency files, with overlapping FinTech membership but a narrower thematic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EuropeanFinTechAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fintech-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about European FinTech Association (EFA)