A single investment round for one company has catapulted Amsterdam into the spotlight for fintech.

Sure, the city is known for financial innovation - it was home to the world's first stock exchange, opened in 1602. But Berlin, Stockholm and other contenders were a long way ahead in terms of visible progress in this sector until payments company Adyen raised a whopping $250 million in December from investors including Silicon Valley-based General Atlantic and London-based Index Ventures, which valued it at $1.5 billion.