Raising money with a fintech startup has been no easy feat since the start of 2023, but a number of fintechs in London have been able to raise sums of $40m or more in series funding. These rounds, are frequently set to spur on hiring… though rarely in the UK.
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FintechOS
Founded: 2017
Service: Low-code product management for banking/insurance
Funding: $60m (Series B)
FintechOS is a fintech initially founded in Turkey, yet co-headquartered in London and New York. When it comes to hiring in 2024, its focus is… none of those locations.
There are currently just two job openings at FintechOS, both software engineers, both in Bucharest. Its recent hires have also been in Romania; they include account director Bianca Palade, formerly head of delivery management practice for Deloitte Digital. CEO Ted Blidarus said the money would be spent on upskilling staff, but also noted the importance of a “sustainable business model.”
Reviews for FintechOS on Glassdoor say the fintech has some “great, hardworking people, especially engineers in the Bucharest office.” Complaints revolve around a potentially chaotic nature of business, common among startups.
Vitesse
Founded: 2014
Service: Treasury and payment solutions for the insurance industry
Funding: $92.9m (Series C)
Vitesse, a ten-year veteran of the InsurTech space, wants to go global. It raised £73.1m with an eye on expansion into the US, but it hasn’t been hiring there just yet. Notable joiners in 2024 so far include chief information security officer Rob Kinson, who joined from construction firm Galliford Try.
Vitesse currently has seven job vacancies in areas such as finance and operations. Roles are all hybrid, with Tuesday and Thursday being mandatory office days.
Recent glassdoor reviews for Vitesse praise the learning opportunities for younger employees, but suggest there are few career development opportunities beyond that. CEO Phil McGriskin has a 100% approval rate.
Monzo
Founded: 2015
Service: Digital Banking
Funding: $622.8m (Series I)
The biggest funding round in the UK this year belongs to one of fintech’s most recognizable names. Monzo has been aggressively hiring over the past year, and is expanding in the US like Vitesse. Monzo’s expansion, however, is already underway.
Monzo’s US arm is led by Conor Walsh, who joined from CashApp last September. We’ve spoken about some of its US hires here and here, but for engineers, it’s focused on iOS developers; Anthony Guay joined from Japanese mobile marketplace Mercari, while Shashi Lyange joined after five years at Twitter/X.
Back in the UK, Monzo may be having its hiring thunder stolen by rivals. Annual reports showed that Starling Bank hired around 200 employees more than Monzo in 2023, while Revolut also recently announced it was moving to a new office with 40% more floor space to facilitate growth.
Global Screening Services
Founded: 2021
Service: Transaction screening platform
Funding: $47m (Series A)
The youngest fintech on this list by some margin, Global Screening Services (GSS) is a regulatory tech firm led by Tom Scampion, a former Deloitte partner and its ex-EMEA head of financial crime. It’s focused its hiring efforts this year on senior engineers in the UK.
GSS is hiring from other fintechs. It hired two principal engineers from German digibank 10x, Anish Patel and Martin Jordan, to be head of architecture and a principal platform engineer respectively. Senior software Ashley Anderson also joined from Rob Rooney’s fintech HyperJar. GSS is advertising eight hybrid/remote vacancies in product, engineering and legal.
Bumper
Founded: 2013
Service: BNPL for the automotive industry
Funding: $53.4m (Series B)
Despite being the oldest fintech on this list, Bumper is only reached series B funding this year. The BNPL has had a slow and steady 11 years, and it doesn’t appear to be ramping up hiring just yet either.
Despite Bumper announcing that it’s expanding into more markets, it has just one current job opening, a Turkey-based backend developer. It has made a few senior hires in the UK this month, however; finance director Alfie Samson joined from data firm Conduktor, while head of legal and compliance Jonathan Westwood joined from the Mortgage Advice Bureau.
Bumper has a very respectable 4.5-star rating on Glassdoor. Reviews praise the “energy” and “positive vibes” of the company, but criticisms suggest it may be becoming too ambitious for its own good.
Finbourne Technology
Founded: 2016
Service: Investment Management Technology Solutions
Funding: $71.7m (Series B)
The most recent major fundraising effort in the UK comes from Finbourne Technology. The fintech was founded by two UBS alumni, Thomas McHugh and George Beasley, a quant and software developer respectively.
As a result, its hiring a lot more quants than your average fintech. In 2024, the quants seem highly educated but relatively early career; hires include PhD physicists from Imperial and PhD mathematicians from Bath. It’s also been hiring interns in business analysis and product.
The fintech currently has 10 open roles across engineering, architecture, legal and sales. It’s looking for C# engineers in particular, and is open to flexible working arrangements.
Finbourne has a very solid 4.4 stars from five on Glassdoor, but some roles may be more enjoyable than others. Software engineers praise the “modern tech stack” and “relaxed atmosphere” but one review from a non-technologist complained of a “toxic” environment.
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