So far this year, 12 European fintechs — including Paddle, GoCardless, Taxfix, Scalapay and Payhawk — have graduated to the unicorn club.

But as an economic downturn looms, fundraising is likely to get a whole lot harder — meaning the companies that manage to reach a $1bn valuation will stand out even more.

We’ve used data from Dealroom to compile a list of Europe’s top 10 fintech “soonicorns”. Each company was founded in 2005 or later, has its headquarters in Europe, and has a valuation ranging between $500m and $900m. All the companies on the list also raised their most recent rounds in 2021 or 2022.