Why fintechs are buying up legacy financial services companies

Oh, how the tables have turned.

It used to be that if you were a fintech startup or, for lack of a better term, a digitally native financial services business, you might be eyeing an acquisition from an incumbent in the industry.

But lately, fintech upstarts are the ones doing the acquiring. Over just the last year or so, we’ve seen:

So what’s going on here? Why are fintechs now acquiring legacy financial services businesses, instead of the other way around?