Jan 13 (Reuters) - Utah-based fintech startup MX said on Wednesday it raised $300 million in a funding round led by private equity firm TPG Capital, giving it a valuation of $1.9 billion, as companies and investors seek to bet on the fast-growing e-commerce sector. The boom in e-commerce and other contactless payment technology during the pandemic resulted in a record year for venture capital investments in U.S. fintech companies with $20.6 billion invested, according to data firm PitchBook. Globally around $41.4 billion were invested in fintech companies in 2020, still lagging the record $51.4 billion invested in 2018 due to big investments in Asia, PitchBook said. The Utah-based company is a part of a group of technology firms that are the picks and shovels of the financial industry, including startups such as Stripe, which raised $600 million in April last year, and Plaid which Visa agreed to buy for $5.3 billion in January last year, although the U.S. government is trying to block the deal. The company’s technology makes financial transactions clearer and payment processing easier, where consumers can stop looking for that check book to find routing numbers and bank account numbers, said Ryan Caldwell, founder and chief executive officer, MX. While companies such as Amazon, Spotify, and Tesla have been using consumer data to improve the consumer experience for many years already, the financial industry has lagged behind, Caldwell said. Other investors in the fund-raising round include CapitalG, Geodesic Capital, Greycroft, Canapi Ventures, and Digital Garage. MX said it is working with 2,000 banks, credit unions, fintech companies, as well as 85% of digital banking providers, and has a combined reach of over 200 million consumers.