Meanwhile, the number of "mega-deals" — or funding rounds of more than $100 million — dropped to its lowest level since 2018, CB Insights also reported.
According to CB Insights, the volume of payments-related dealmaking reached nearly $4 billion, or slightly less than a third of all fintech funding.
And while that's not a record-breaking amount, payments are accounting for a larger amount of the fintech funding pie.
One year ago, when third-quarter fintech funding topped $36 billion in the midst of a bull market, payments accounted for roughly 20% of overall funding volume.
But even amid a relative pullback in broader fintech funding, payments represent a safe, evergreen thesis because it is a largely complicated and analog space.