The present paper examines how the financial sector is changing after disruptive technical innovations. It analyses the main factors for the recent success of alternative financing instruments for SMEs starting from a general overview on crowdfunding and its mechanisms, peer-to-peer lending and the provision of loans without financial institutions. Furthermore, the contribution of crowdfunding and P2P lending to financial inclusion are assessed, as well as the challenges these tools face in Europe and the field experiences of actors in the sector.