New data from Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft is saying that fintech recruitment in the UK has been going up, even as recruitment is a very risky area in the wider tech industry.
Professional vacancies across the UK finance sector rose 13% year on year to about 67,700 roles, according to the Year in Review Finance Labour Market Trends Report by Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft. Fintech vacancies when up 29%, which would make it the fastest growing area inside finance hiring.
This growth came during a year when many employers brought about more strict recruitment rules. Vacancy volumes moderated, unemployment edged higher and organisations applied tougher checks on new hires. Even so, fintech firms added headcount across engineering, product, sales and compliance teams.
Victoria Walmsley, Managing Director at Morgan McKinley UK, said hiring behaviour had changed rather than stopped. 鈥淎fter several years of disruption, the UK financial service jobs market has entered a more selective and disciplined phase. While hiring is no longer volume driven, organisations are investing with greater precision in roles that support productivity, transformation and long term competitiveness.鈥�
Where Is Fintech Hiring Taking Place?
London continued to lead finance recruitment. Greater London recorded nearly 35,900 finance vacancies in 2025, up 17% year on year, lifting its share to 53% of the national total, based on Vacancysoft data.
Outside the capital, growth appeared in specific locations. Scotland recorded a 17% increase in finance vacancies, while Northern Ireland rose 21% to about 1,700 roles. These gains arrived as other regions such as the North East and South East recorded falls.
Fintech hiring centred on a small number of fast growing employers. Radius increased fintech vacancies by 93% year on year to 855 roles. Wise followed with an 85% rise to 618 vacancies, while SumUp jumped 211% to 500 roles.
The report describes fintech as 鈥渢he fastest growing segment of the financial sector in 2025鈥�, driven by companies building payments systems, credit tools, SME software and regulated financial services.
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Which Roles Are Fintech Companies Filling?
Hiring growth concentrated on technical and commercial jobs. Software engineering vacancies climbed 71% year on year to nearly 800 roles, according to Vacancysoft. Product management hiring rose 82% to about 770 vacancies.
Business development and sales hiring increased 47% to close to 1,900 roles. Data analysis vacancies grew 60% to around 340 roles, while compliance hiring stayed close to 270 vacancies.
Fintech firms seem to be building teams to support daily operations, regulation and scale. The report says fintech firms are 鈥渆volving from disruption to infrastructure鈥�, with hiring tied to payments, lending, trade finance and compliance work.
Not every company followed this direction. Starling Bank recorded a 24% fall in fintech vacancies during 2025, showing hiring levels differed sharply between employers.
Why Has Fintech Avoided The Wider Tech Slowdown?
Across much of the technology sector, recruitment slowed during 2025 as funding tightened and costs rose. The Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft report says organisations applied 鈥渆ven greater rigour to workforce planning and hiring decisions鈥�.
Finance related technology roles did not follow that direction, though. IT roles across the full finance sector rose 23% year on year, passing 10,000 vacancies. Banking alone recorded a 42% rise in IT management hiring and a 24% increase in development and engineering roles.
Walmsley said these hiring decisions linked to longer term business needs. 鈥淭his shift reflects structural change rather than short term volatility, with employers positioning now for the next growth cycle.鈥�
