Due to technological advances the financial system is quickly being disrupted by a good number of emerging financial technology or "fintech" companies.
Three fintech companies which have made huge strides this year are listed below. Here's why I think they could be worth considering as buy and hold investments:
Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT)
I think that Afterpay is the best fintech share on the local market at the moment. Although its shares have gone gangbusters this year, I believe it meteoric growth justifies this. In its most recent quarterly update the company advised that annualised sales are now tracking in excess of $1.5 billion based on its recent monthly performance. I believe this is still only the beginning and that it has the option to accelerate this growth through an expansion internationally.
Class Ltd (ASX: CL1)
This self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) cloud software provider currently has a 25% market share of the estimated 598,000 SMSFs in Australia. Due to its impressively high retention rate of 99.4%, I expect its share of the market will continue to grow over the next 12 months. This could make it worth considering as an investment, especially with its shares down 28% from their 52-week high.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
Although a recent rally means that I think Xero's shares are about fair value now, the accounting software company could still be a great buy and hold investment. While the company has a strong share of the local market, I believe there is still a massive global opportunity that could provide it with above-average growth for at least the next decade. Especially in the United States market where Intuit leads the way.
