Financial technology, Fintech for short, describes the evolving intersection of financial services and technology. It can be described as an economic industry composed of companies that use technology to make financial services more efficient. It is often a difficult concept to define as the definitions are often changing, however the word “Fintech” actually made it in to the Oxford dictionary and is defined as “Computer programs and other technology used to support or enable banking and financial services”.
When fintech emerged in the 21st Century, the term was initially applied to technology employed at the back-end systems of financial institutions. Since then there has been more of a shift to consumer-orientated services and now includes different sectors and industries such as education, retail banking, fundraising and non-profit. A selection of names of more well-known fintech companies are Monzo, TransferWise, Revolut, Receipt Bank and Tandem.
Main issues facing Fintech recruitment
Employers being able to find professionals in their area is a difficulty for people looking to recruit in the Fintech industry. Skills are often concentrated in areas considered fintech hubs, such as London, Stockholm and Singapore, making it difficult for companies not in such regions to attract the expertise they need. However even when talent is available, role clarity is often an issue. This is because fintech is a mix of skills and it’s often difficult to identify if someone has the right skills for the job. According to a survey of fintech companies, 58% percent of respondents are eager to hire and 85% of respondents expect staffing needs to increase. There is huge potential for those working in the fintech industry, with many companies are looking to hire.
European Fintech hubs
The top fintech hubs in Europe include, Oslo, Frankfurt, Dublin, Berlin, and Amsterdam. London is one of the leading fintech capitals in the world and Europe’s fintech capital. Country wise Germany ranks second, and Sweden third.
Jörn, Business Development Manager in our Berlin office, spoke to us about the fintech industry in Germany – Fintech businesses often face the challenge of putting together high performer developer teams, which needs to be built quite fast. Strategic positions like CTO AND Product owners are preferably filled with permanent employees. However, contractor/ temp roles can often be found in positions such as data scientists, cyber-security specialists, financial analysts and risk control managers. The majority of the fintech jobs in Germany can be found in Berlin and Frankfurt.
Hiring in 2020
Data shows that interviews from financial services firms are up 39 % since the start of the year. There has obviously been a big shift in are working patterns as this year has progressed, with the coronavirus pandemic resulting in many people working from home. Companies have now become comfortable with remote hiring, something they may have never done before, and this has opened up the talent pool and leaving companies with ten times the options they previously had. They can hire people anywhere, which is a big bonus. Where most sectors are contracting because of the pandemic, with people losing jobs and companies not hiring, the fintech sector is uniquely growing and hiring.
Contracting in fintech
Fintech is not only one of the most exciting industries to work in, but arguably one of the most well paid industries. There are more opportunities than there are professionals, and in these market conditions it pays for the best technology professionals or people who link businesses with technology to be flexible in their working situations.
Contractors are a critical part of many financial service organisations. They often rely on interim staff to cope with peaks in demand, deliver projects, carry out systems upgrades, and design and develop new technologies. Many financial services organisations plan their workforce strategies around having flexible staff and this is only set to increase to as many as 50% of each company’s workforce.
How TCP can help?
If you are a contractor working remotely, or a company looking to hire remote contractors to deliver certain projects we can help. Hiring contractors who live in a different country will come with its own complexities as local employment and tax laws must be met. When a company doesn’t have a registered entity in the country where the employee will be working, TCP’s locally registered companies can act as the employer of record and manage the payroll according to local legislation, allowing TCP to manage the risks involved.
TCP operate in 8 countries across Europe, with partners worldwide. Take a look at the countries we operate in here .
Would you like to know more? Call our UK office on: 0044 20 85 800 800 or fill in our contact us form here and a member of our sales team will get back to you as soon as possible.
