London Remains Fintech Hub as Hiring Trends Shift Focus

A new report from Morgan McKinley highlights a notable shift across the UK fintech landscape, with recruitment patterns evolving alongside changes in capital allocation, operational priorities and the growing influence of automation, as neobanks begin to scale back.

According to the latest Fintech UK Finance Labour Market Trends report from Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft, hiring demand is increasingly centred on payments infrastructure, engineering and compliance, rather than consumer-focused neobanks.

This upward trajectory in fintech hiring appears to be extending beyond typical seasonal trends, with early May data reinforcing continued momentum.

First-quarter hiring alone recorded a year-on-year increase of more than 13% compared to the same period in 2025.

London continues to strengthen its position as the UK’s fintech hub, with vacancies in the capital rising by 17%.

The report also indicates that London is expected to account for 71% of all fintech hiring activity.

The findings point to a broader transition within the sector towards a more operationally driven phase. Rather than prioritising wide-scale consumer expansion, firms are concentrating hiring efforts in critical areas such as payments, compliance, engineering and infrastructure.

Mark Astbury, Director of Project & Change Recruitment at Morgan McKinley, explains: “The UK fintech sector is entering a more disciplined and structurally selective phase of growth.

“This is not a slowdown in momentum, but a reorientation of where growth is occurring. Growth is increasingly concentrated in IT infrastructure and engineering roles, as firms prioritise resilience, scalability and cloud-native architecture over pure product expansion.

“Most significantly, the centre of gravity within fintech is shifting. Payment infrastructure providers and SME-focused platforms are now outpacing consumer neobanks, many of which are beginning to moderate hiring after years of rapid expansion.”

These developments reflect a broader reallocation of both capital and talent towards strengthening the structural resilience of the fintech ecosystem.

Compliance hiring shifts

Following a surge in the post-pandemic period, fintech experienced a significant compliance hiring boom, with Legal, Risk & Compliance vacancies rising by nearly 22% in 2025.

However, this trend is now beginning to stabilise, with a projected 4% decline in vacancies expected in 2026. Banking-related hiring is also forecast to fall by 8%.

At the same time, increasing regulatory scrutiny – particularly across digital lending, payments and stablecoins – is driving targeted demand for specialist roles.

Hiring for Credit Analysts is expected to increase by almost 46%, while AML risk and compliance vacancies are forecast to grow by 28%.

In contrast, recruitment in financial crime and credit risk is anticipated to decline sharply following the expansion seen in 2025.

Technology drives demand

Technology remains the primary engine of hiring growth across the sector. IT vacancies are forecast to rise by more than 13% in 2026, with London accounting for the majority of this increase.

Demand in the capital is expected to grow by 18%, significantly outpacing the rest of the UK, where growth is projected to remain below 1%.

Within technology, certain functions are expanding more rapidly than others. IT infrastructure roles are set to lead growth, increasing by nearly 31% and representing the fastest-growing major technology segment. 

IT development and engineering roles follow closely, with projected growth of almost 19%.

By contrast, IT support roles are experiencing a slowdown.

Growth in this area has declined from 17% to 9% over a two-year period, reflecting the ongoing impact of automation, outsourced services and cloud-based systems replacing traditional support functions.

Payments firms outpace neobanks

Consumer neobanks are now entering a period of slower hiring after several years of rapid expansion.

Morgan McKinley’s report suggests that neobanks including Monzo and Starling Bank are expected to scale back recruitment growth in 2026.

Meanwhile, payments infrastructure providers and SME-focused platforms are gaining momentum and outperforming their neobank counterparts.

Hiring at Radius is forecast to increase by more than 42%, while SumUp Payments is expected to see growth of nearly 28%.

Crypto-linked firms are also expanding rapidly. Payward, which operates Kraken, is projected to see vacancies surge by almost 91%, likely driven by anticipation of the Financial Conduct Authority’s evolving regulatory framework for cryptoassets.