Critical success factors in the FinTech World: A stage model

The financial sector is transforming while increasingly becoming crowded with FinTech firms. When operating in this sector, FinTechs must understand what factors contribute to success and in what way and when. This paper proposes a Critical Success Factor (CSF) stage model for FinTechs. The paper draws upon existing literature on success factors and insights from 18 interviews in the Danish FinTech sector. We identified nine CSFs: Funding, Networks, Responsiveness, Organizational Governance, Entrepreneurial Culture, Team, Internal Communication, Ease of Compliance, and Customer-Centricity. The first five factors are stage-specific, while the remaining four factors are stage-independent. Practically, our stage model may guide FinTechs to determine which factors to nurture for success during start-up, scale-up, or mature stage of development.