This paper assesses the claim that crowdfunding will provide an important contribution to financial development in developing countries. It does so by reviewing recent trends of the industry and against the background of modern banking theory. The authors found that crowdfunding is unlikely to have noticeable impact on financial development in developing countries. While recent advances in mature economies reflect banking sector weaknesses, for crowdfunding to become a sustainable and significant part of the financial sector it has to demonstrate its ability to address moral hazard and adverse selection problems in a more cost-efficient way than banks.