Fintech is a portmanteau of the term “financial technology” and is not legally defined. What it covers are technology-driven financial innovations that bring forth new financial instruments, services or intermediaries. Fintech products can be consumer (business to consumer: B2C) or business (business to business: B2B) solutions, back office applications or different ways of performing core functions of traditional financial intermediaries (such as lending, payments or asset management). In the narrower sense of the term, fintech is often used to describe the businesses providing such technology-enabled financial innovations. These players carve out, automate and rearrange parts of the value-added chain of traditional financial intermediaries. Fintechs tend to be associated with start-ups, but that is not always the case, as established businesses are also engaged in activities that count as fintech business.

This broad understanding of the term means that not all fintech enterprises will be covered by the supervisory regime. A fintech enterprise will be of interest to the supervisory authorities whenever it conducts business that requires authorisation, irrespective of the technology applied. Business that requires authorisation is banking business pursuant to section 1 (1) of the Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz), financial services pursuant to section 1 (1a) of the Banking Act, investment services pursuant to section 2 (2) of the Investment Institutions Act, payment services pursuant to section 1 (2) of the Payment Services Oversight Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz) and e-money business pursuant to section 1a (2) of the Payment Services Oversight Act; as well as activities regulated by MiCAR in the near future. Anyone conducting business that requires authorisation without said authorisation will be subject to criminal prosecution.

Fledgling businesses often will not know whether their business model needs to be authorised pursuant to the Banking Act, the Investment Institutions Act or the Payment Services Oversight Act, which is why they are invited to discuss any issues which might arise in this regard with staff at the Bundesbank's Regional Offices.