These are the 15 European fintechs VCs think will blow up in 2019

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• We asked several major venture-capital investors to tell us which European fintechs will boom in 2019.
• The companies cover a wide variety of products and services across the financial industry as digital disruption re-shapes everything from banking to insurance. 

Business Insider spoke with some of the most prominent voices in venture capital to pick out the most exciting companies in European financial technology industry this year. 

The experts also highlighted what to look out for going forward. 

Major fintech names to date have mostly been challenger or neo-banks which provide payment services, particularly related to foreign exchange and low-fee transfers. However, there have been some major new trends in the market, such as open banking, the rise of compliance, and a big move towards insurance technology. 

Read more: A fintech 'brain drain' is crippling once-mighty London: 10 UK start-up leaders contemplate life after Brexit

Similarly, companies are leveraging their own platforms to weed out a variety of issues within financial services, often serving other fast growing fintechs with AI and machine learning. 

Here are the fintechs that VCs think will blow up in 2019. 

Startup: Cleo

Cited by these VCs: Rob Moffat (Balderton), Remus Brett (LocalGlobe),

Relationship: Investors

Total raised: $13.3 million

What it does: Cleo is an AI assistant that connects customers' bank accounts helping them to manage their finances through digital responses on Facebook Messenger. 

Why it's hot in 2019: Cleo's really taken advantage of Open Banking and has grabbed the attention of over a million users in two years. They've moved quickly where banks have been slow in this space, according to Rob Moffat at Balderton Capital.

"Our plan for 2019 is continued international expansion and the development of additional products and services," said Thish Nadesan, Cleo's COO, in an interview with Business Insider. 

Startup: Alan

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna (Index), Rob Moffat (Balderton)

Relationship: Investors 

Total raised: $86.5 million

What it does: Alan secured the first health insurance license issued in France for over 30 years and is trying to take on the market for online medical consultations. 

Why it's hot in 2019: Reshaping the insurance industry is one of the main trends for 2019 according to VCs with insurance tech an increasing area of competition, according to Rob Moffat at Balderton. 

Startup: Capitolis

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna, Index Ventures

Relationship: Series A funding

Total raised: $30.8 million

What it does: Capitolis is a technology platform which helps to build new, collaborative models to reshape the way the capital markets operate. 

Why it's hot in 2019: Fresh from receiving funding from Sequioa Capital, Capitolis's attempts to improve the flow of capital from financial markets is seen as a major plus point in the current regulatory environment, according to Vojtech Horna of Index Ventures. 

Startup: Prodigy Finance

Cited by these VCs: Vojtech Horna, Index

Relationship: Investor

Total raised: $1.3 billion

What it does: Prodigy Finance is a fintech platform which helps provide financing options for international postgraduate students who attending business schools or other postgraduate institutions overseas. 

Why it's hot in 2019: Prodigy Finance is teamed up with over 100 top universities and helps provide otherwise inaccessible loans for students seeking to study abroad, aiding thousands of students to access higher education. 

Startup: Zego

Cited by these VCs: Rob Moffat, Balderton

Relationship: Investor 

Total raised: $9.7 million

What it does: Zego is an insurance company that provides loans for the gig economy including motorbike drivers and couriers with flexible provisions dependent on usage and ownership. 

Why it's hot in 2019: Fractional insurance is disrupting the traditional space, with Zego providing a tech-driven approach to the sector. The London-based company has just launched its offering in Spain and is one to watch this year because "the demand economy needs insurance," according to Balderton's Rob Moffat. 

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