Big banks may have scoffed when a gaggle of financial technology upstarts promised to reinvent their business. Now they want to buy them.

Almost 50 per cent of financial services firms around the world plan to acquire fintech startups in the three to five years, according to a report Thursday by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. And eight out of 10 institutions foresee making strategic partnerships with peer-to-peer lenders, digital money transfer platforms, and myriad other firms that are reshaping the business of money.

The findings show that fintech is shifting into a new dealmaking phase, said Steve Davies, the head of PwC’s fintech practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Fintech collaboration is not about jumping on the latest bandwagon — it’s about finding the best, most efficient way to deliver your business strategy and ultimately better serve your customers,” Davies said in a statement. “The financial services industry has embraced fintech.”