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What the 2024 report covers
FINOS (the Fintech Open Source Foundation) and Linux Foundation Research produced the fourth annual State of Open Source in Financial Services report, with GitHub, Red Hat, and Scott Logic named as partners. It examines open source consumption and contribution, emerging technologies, organizational management and security, and opportunities for standardization. The published summaries draw on a global survey and interviews with subject matter experts. Linux Foundation Research report page and FINOS report page.
The figures below describe what respondents reported or perceived for the 2024 study. They should not be read as audited behavior across all financial institutions, nor as evidence that open source by itself caused a particular outcome.
Who responded—and what the sample can tell you
The Linux Foundation says the survey ran in May and June 2024 and received 249 qualified responses. Its account reports respondents’ geography and employment as follows. Linux Foundation account, November 3, 2024.
#1 Best Overall
| Survey descriptor | Reported share |
|---|---|
| North America | 39% of respondents |
| Europe | 28% of respondents |
| Asia-Pacific | 29% of respondents |
| Financial institutions | 58% of respondents worked at financial institutions |
| Financial or IT service providers | 35% of respondents worked for financial or IT service providers |
The published regional figures add to 96%, and the employment figures to 93%; the summary does not explain the remainder. The surfaced account also does not establish the complete sampling or weighting method, margin of error, or precise wording of survey questions. Treat the results as a useful view of participating respondents, not a statistically guaranteed description of the whole sector.
What respondents said about value
The Linux Foundation’s infographic reports that 88% said open source improves software quality in their organization, while 84% agreed that using open source delivers business value to their organization. These are respondent views, not measured improvements or proof that open source alone produced them. 2024 report infographic.
For finance leaders, the distinction matters: perceived value is evidence of organizational confidence, but it does not tell a firm how much value it will realize, which projects benefit, or what costs accompany adoption. Those questions depend on the software, internal capabilities, licensing and compliance review, maintenance responsibilities, and how a project is governed.
Rank #2
Contribution is broader than using open source
The infographic says 84% reported spending work time contributing to third-party open source, compared with 41% in the infographic’s 2021 figure. It separately reports that 88% spent time contributing to inner source, compared with 63% in 2021. Inner source applies open-source-style collaboration practices within an organization; it is distinct from contributing to an external project. The report abstract describes contributor growth as slower than the increase in contributions, suggesting activity and the number of people participating should not be treated as interchangeable. Report summary and infographic.
The 2021 and 2024 figures are comparisons as presented by the infographic; the available summaries do not establish that the surveys used identical samples or methods. They show a reported change in the figures, not a controlled trend measurement.
Another signal is external platform activity: the infographic says GitHub contributions from financial services professionals were up 26% over the prior year. That is a reported platform contribution change, not a count of unique contributors or a measure of contribution quality, project health, or industry-wide participation.
Rank #3
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Security, maintenance, and contribution policy
Only 50% of organizations included security and vulnerability testing in their open source contribution practices, according to the infographic. That figure does not establish how comprehensive or effective testing was, or whether organizations not counted lacked other security controls. It does, however, make security governance a practical issue for any organization deciding how staff contribute and how dependencies are maintained.
For an OSPO or technology leadership team, the report’s themes suggest questions worth resolving in policy and workflow rather than assuming that contribution happens safely by default:
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- Security checks: Are vulnerability and code checks defined for both contributed code and software consumed internally, with accountable owners for findings?
- Maintenance: Does the organization know who monitors dependencies, upstream changes, and project health, and what happens when a dependency is no longer maintained?
- Legal and compliance support: Can contributors obtain timely guidance on licenses, disclosure, and applicable regulatory obligations?
- Resourcing: Is staff time available for review, maintenance, and upstream contribution—not just initial adoption?
These are operational implications of the report’s subject areas, not a formal checklist or recommendation attributed to the survey. The reported 50% is not enough by itself to judge any individual firm’s control environment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where respondents see room for collaboration
The infographic identifies cross-industry collaboration, industry standards, and open data as leading areas where financial services could benefit from open source. In a sector where organizations often face similar technology and interoperability challenges, shared foundations can offer a way to coordinate work before competitive differentiation begins. The report’s findings indicate these are perceived opportunities; they do not establish that any specific standard or shared project will succeed.
Participation can take different forms: consuming a project, contributing code or documentation, collaborating through an industry group, or funding shared infrastructure. The report infographic says 49% of organizations had funded open source through donations, foundations, sponsorships, funds, or similar means. That is an organization-level reported figure, distinct from respondent-level contribution-time measures. 2024 report infographic.
AI and other future-facing priorities
The infographic reports that 45% agreed AI/ML is important to the future of the industry, described as up 10% from the previous year. This records respondents’ view of importance, not AI/ML deployment rates, realized business impact, or a quantified increase in adoption. It places AI/ML among the report’s forward-looking topics while leaving firms to assess their own use cases, governance, and risk controls.
Best Value
How to use this snapshot
Irving Wladawsky-Berger’s November 3, 2024 Linux Foundation article characterizes open source collaboration in financial services as “a strategically relevant practice.” The article also quotes language attributed to the report about benefits from increased precompetitive collaboration and more sector participants coming on board. Read the article.
The report is most useful as a snapshot of reported attitudes and practices: it can help frame internal discussions about contribution enablement, security and maintenance ownership, or participation in shared standards. It cannot substitute for current evidence about a particular firm, nor should its 2024 percentages be projected forward as 2026 adoption rates. Use newer organization-specific and industry evidence for present-day decisions.
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