Fintech sector increasingly attractive compared to traditional banking for IT professionals

An increasing number of advertised jobs, higher average pay and IT’s prominent position in fintech is making the sector a more attractive option than the traditional banking sector for IT professionals.

The amount of jobs advertised in traditional UK banking was just over 100,000 over the last 12 months, compared with about 39,000 in UK fintech, according to analysis from recruitment search site Joblift.

But job vacancies in the UK fintech sector increased 9% in the last 12 months, while the traditional UK banking sector advertised 3% less. In comparison, vacancies in the overall UK jobs market increased by 3%.

Of the jobs advertised in the fintech sector during this period, 25% were for software developers, and IT jobs didn’t even make the top five in traditional banking (4.7%), where accountants were most in demand (23%).

The analysis also revealed the average fintech employee earns £10,000 more on average than workers in the traditional banking sector. On average, fintech employees earn almost £10,000 more than traditional banking sector employees.

Out of the 53,994 vacancies that stated a salary, the average fintech salary was £45,130, compared with £36,593 in traditional banking. A total of 41% of the fintech jobs advertised a wage over £50,000, compared with just 20% of traditional banking jobs.

The higher average pay at fintechs is partly down to traditional banks having huge back-office operations where pay is generally lower. Joblift said: “While, 30% of all fintech vacancies asked for candidates to hold a university degree, the same was demanded in just 17% of traditional banking openings – presumably down to the large number of secretarial and office administration positions (3% of all vacancies) which do not ask for a specific education in their job advertisements.”

As the fintech sector grows, traditional banks are increasingly turning to suppliers there to provide technology. As a result, the banks are investing directly and indirectly in fintechs, reducing their spending on their own IT development, including recruiting less staff.

But there are risks for UK fintech jobs as a result of the UK leaving the EU. Brexit could mean fintechs decide to move more jobs to EU countries to retain access to the single market and retain the right to sell banking services across the trading block. The traditional banking sector is already seeing banks expand EU operations at the expense of the UK.