The banking and finance sectors are being pushed into the 21st century due to tech-savvy competition, with both traditional and challenger banks ramping up their fintech recruitment.

Fintech hires are up among finance firms in London, the UK’s largest Fintech hub, according to an upcoming hiring trends report from Robert Walters, a recruitment agency.

In the last 12 months, job listings seeking fintech skills among London banking firms were up 75%, with technology job vacancies up by 88% in London’s financial services sector when comparing 2024 and 2023’s monthly average.

Job listings seeking employees with machine learning skills were up 107%, the report also found.

While finance has been a beacon of tradition, digital transformation, spurred on by the pandemic’s online requirements as well as zeal to jump on the AI bandwagon, has fully taken hold of the sector.

Challenger banks and payment services, such as Monzo, have also been a hit with the younger generation pushed into the gig economy, with these firms regularly beating traditional banks in customer satisfaction, according to research by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Banking and financial services are also on the defensive as new sophisticated scams and fraud regiments proliferate across the fintech landscape. Cyber skills are evermore essential as banking services move online, only increasing the potential threat vectors bad actors can take advantage of.

Further, 5,934 bank branches have closed since January 2015, averaging at 54 closures per month – traditional banking is dying, potentially giving banks more room to invest in fintech capabilities and staff.

Recommended reading

• Fighting Fraud with AI in FinTech and Beyond
• New Payments Innovations Report Highlights Sector’s Failures/Successes
• BR-DGE and Volt Partner to Help Merchants Prevent Payment Fraud

The boom of tech recruitment comes at a tumultuous time, with both advantages in terms of numbers, and potential obstacles in terms of regulation.

Already, 2024 has kept apace the massive tech layoffs seen in 2023, with 60,000 jobs lost just this year. Finance firms could be looking to snatch up the talent in the UK before workers look further afield.

However, new regulations in AI are coming into effect in the EU, the closest market to the UK, which may confound some of the rapid adoption of AI tools already happening across sectors.

For tech workers looking to find a future-proof industry, fintech may be an attractive offering, as the UK’s fintech market is predicted to grow to £19bn by 2029.