With fewer deals getting done, investors are digging deeper into the ones they back. A founder who closed a round this year and two advisers explain what the data room now needs to prove.

Raising money for a fintech has become slower and more forensic. Fintech funding fell 18% to $11 billion in the third quarter of 2026, its third straight quarterly decline, according to CB Insights. As a result, fintech due diligence now runs deeper than it did two years ago. A strong deck opens the door, but the data room decides the deal.

So we asked industry leaders one question: what are investors scrutinising most closely in fintech due diligence right now that founders tend to underprepare for? We wanted specific questions and data room requests over general fundraising advice. Several respondents answered, and we have used three. Below, we set their replies against recent events.

Fintechbits analysis

Why fintech due diligence got harder

Two forces changed fintech due diligence. First, capital is scarcer, so investors have time to check every figure. Second, the 2024 collapse of Synapse showed how a partner failure can strand customers. The middleware firm’s failure froze accounts at its partner banks, and a court-appointed trustee later reported a large shortfall in customer funds, NBC News reported. Since then, investors have asked hard questions about bank partners, as our explainer on banking-as-a-service describes.

UK rules add another layer to fintech due diligence. Since 7 May 2026, UK payment and e-money firms have faced stricter FCA safeguarding rules, including monthly returns and annual safeguarding audits. As a result, investors in UK fintechs now ask to see reconciliation records and audit findings early. A firm that cannot show its customer money is protected and reconciled every day will struggle to raise.

The numbers behind the deck

Our first respondent closed a $9.5 million seed round in February. His company builds AI-powered travel and rewards programmes for banks, card issuers and fintechs.

“Investors are looking hardest at revenue and margins right now. They want proof that the growth in the deck is real revenue that will keep coming, and that it complies with the rules. Most founders build their decks around projected revenue, but too few prepare the source documents behind those figures.

The data room requests have become very specific: revenue and retention at customer level, customer concentration, signed contracts showing term, renewal and termination conditions, and invoices reconciled to cash collected. Investors also want gross margin broken down by payments, bank partner costs, fraud losses, customer service, data storage and AI infrastructure. Then they test whether those unit economics still work at today’s cost of capital.

Founders also underestimate how hard investors will look at regulatory and operational dependencies. The most revealing question in fintech due diligence is usually: ‘Show me what breaks if your largest customer, bank partner, data supplier or AI vendor stops operating tomorrow.’ If your answer rests on contracts, backup systems, healthy margins and working controls, rather than management’s confidence, the company becomes much easier to back.”

Taylor Garner, CEO and Co-founder, Odynn

His round checks out. Odynn raised $9.5 million in February, led by Bonfire Ventures with fintech investor Fiat Ventures co-leading, The SaaS News reported. His margin list matters most for fintech due diligence. Payments, partner fees and fraud losses can erase gross margin that looks healthy at the top line. AI costs are now part of that picture too. Meanwhile, his closing question is the one founders should rehearse before any meeting.

Concentration is the other figure investors check early in fintech due diligence. If one customer brings in a large share of revenue, its contract terms matter as much as the growth rate. Investors will read renewal and termination clauses closely, because one exit can change the valuation.

Controls that work in practice

Our second respondent advises startups on fundraising, so he sees fintech due diligence from the investor-readiness side.

“The area founders underprepare for most is proving their compliance and risk controls work in practice, not just showing policies and regulatory documents. Investors want the operational reality. Expect questions like these. Can you show the full onboarding journey, including identity checks and failed applications? What share of transactions are flagged, rejected or escalated, and how fast are cases resolved? How concentrated is revenue across banking partners, payment providers or other critical infrastructure? What happens to customers if a banking or payment partner ends the relationship? Can management reconcile transaction volume, revenue and cash balances across reporting periods?

The data room should back that up with compliance monitoring records, partner agreements, reconciliation reports, customer cohort data and unit economics. A polished pitch explains the opportunity. These documents show whether the business is ready to scale.”

Niclas Schlopsna, Managing Partner, spectup

His questions turn fintech due diligence into evidence. A policy document says what a firm intends to do. Alert rates, case times and failed onboarding data show what it does in practice. That difference matters to banks as well. Sponsor banks now ask fintech partners for the same proof, as our report on business deposits at sponsor banks showed. Therefore, founders who build these reports for their bank partner can reuse them for investors.

Can a lender collect?

Our third respondent co-founded an online dispute resolution platform that works with Indian lenders, and he raised a lending-specific point.

“Working with lenders on online dispute resolution has shown me that investors look past disbursal and collection figures. They want to know what happens when borrowers stop paying, and whether the lender can legally recover the money. Many founders have detailed financial reports but struggle to explain the legal process behind recovery.

Take the arbitration clause in a standard loan agreement. Many lenders used clauses that let them appoint the arbitrator themselves. In November 2024, a Supreme Court Constitution Bench raised concerns about one-sided appointments and arbitrator independence, so investors may ask how many awards in a portfolio could be challenged. Borrower consent under the DPDP Act matters too. Investors may want consent records and proof that notices were delivered, not just a privacy policy. I’d keep those records, a review of loan agreement clauses and a note on dispute resolution ready in the data room.”

Rajneesh Jaswal, Co-founder, CADRE ODR

His example is Indian, but the lesson applies to fintech due diligence on any lender. The ruling he cites, in CORE v ECI SPIC SMO MCML, held that one-sided appointment clauses undermine arbitrator independence. However, the court applied it only to appointments made after the judgment. So the risk sits mainly in recoveries started since November 2024, not every past award. The DPDP Act is India’s data protection law, and US and UK lenders face their own consent and notice rules.

What founders should prepare

Taken together, the answers point to a short list for fintech due diligence. First, prepare revenue, retention and margin at customer level, with invoices tied to cash. Next, show controls in action through alert rates, case times and onboarding data. Then map every critical partner and explain what happens if one leaves. Finally, lenders should show how recovery works in law, not just in the collection rate.

What to watch next

Several signals will shape fintech due diligence in 2027. Funding data for the fourth quarter will show whether investors keep rewarding proven revenue over growth. Bank partner scrutiny is also unlikely to ease, as regulators keep pressing sponsor banks on their fintech programmes. Meanwhile, AI costs are becoming a standard line in margin reviews. In the UK, investors will also watch how payment firms handle their first full year under the new safeguarding rules, now a regular check in fintech due diligence on UK deals.

Above all, our respondents agree. Investors now treat the deck as a claim and the data room as the proof. Founders who prepare for fintech due diligence early will spend less time explaining gaps and more time closing.

FintechBits covers payments, banking and fintech developments for readers in the US and UK. This article is for information only and is not financial or investment advice. Views expressed are those of the FintechBits editorial team.