UK FinTech hiring shifts toward compliance and payments growth

By Parth Prabhudesai

The UK FinTech sector is entering a new phase of growth marked by operational discipline, infrastructure investment and increasing demand for specialised technology and compliance talent. According to the latest Fintech UK Finance Labour Market Trends report published by Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft, FinTech vacancies in the UK are projected to rise by nearly 14% in 2026 following a strong 28% increase recorded in 2025.

The report highlights a significant shift in hiring priorities across the sector. While consumer-focused neobanks previously dominated recruitment activity, FinTech firms are now directing investments toward payments infrastructure, engineering, compliance and operational resilience. This reflects broader structural changes in the industry as companies focus on scalability, regulatory readiness and sustainable growth.

London continues to strengthen its role as the centre of UK FinTech activity. Vacancies in the capital increased by 17%, with the city expected to account for nearly 71% of all FinTech hiring in 2026. First-quarter hiring trends also suggest continued momentum, with recruitment activity rising more than 13% year-on-year compared with the same period in 2025.

Mark Astbury, Director of Project and Change Recruitment at Morgan McKinley, said the industry is undergoing a structural realignment rather than a slowdown.

“The UK FinTech sector is entering a more disciplined and structurally selective phase of growth,” Astbury said. “Growth is increasingly concentrated in IT infrastructure and engineering roles, as firms prioritise resilience, scalability and cloud-native architecture over pure product expansion.”

The report found that technology-related roles remain the primary driver of hiring growth. IT vacancies are expected to increase by more than 13% in 2026, led by demand for infrastructure and engineering talent. IT infrastructure roles are forecast to grow by nearly 31%, making them the fastest-growing technology segment, while software development and engineering positions are expected to rise by almost 19%.

At the same time, automation and cloud adoption are reshaping traditional support functions. Growth in IT support hiring has slowed significantly as firms increasingly rely on outsourced services and automated systems.

Compliance hiring patterns are also evolving. After a post-pandemic surge that pushed legal, risk and compliance vacancies up by nearly 22% in 2025, overall compliance hiring is expected to stabilise, with vacancies projected to decline modestly in 2026. However, targeted demand for specialist compliance talent remains strong due to tighter regulatory scrutiny across payments, digital lending and cryptoassets.

Hiring for Credit Analysts is expected to rise by almost 46%, while AML risk and compliance vacancies are forecast to increase by 28%. The report suggests that financial institutions are prioritising specialised expertise rather than broad compliance expansion.

The findings also point to changing competitive dynamics within the FinTech industry. Payments infrastructure firms and SME-focused platforms are now outperforming consumer neobanks in hiring growth. Recruitment at Radius is projected to increase by more than 42%, while SumUp Payments is expected to record growth of nearly 28%.

Meanwhile, neobanks including Monzo and Starling Bank are expected to moderate recruitment after years of rapid expansion. Crypto-linked firms are also emerging as a major hiring force, with Payward, operator of Kraken, projected to see vacancies rise by almost 91% as regulatory clarity around digital assets improves in the UK market.