The UK can thank London’s fintech sector, as it’s experiencing its strongest hiring surge since 2021.
New data from Morgan McKinley shows the capital is forecast to see a 37% year-on-year rise in vacancies for 2026.
London remains the epicenter of UK fintech hiring, and it’s not even close. Nearly three-quarters of the nation’s fintech jobs will be based in the capital next year, cementing its position as Europe’s undisputed fintech powerhouse. While regional markets are projected to increase hiring by a healthy 16%, London’s dominance shows no signs of slowing.
Fuel the growth
According to Morgan McKinley’s latest analysis, development and engineering roles dominate the tech hiring landscape, while support roles are declining amid automation and outsourced models. This shift reveals a fundamental transformation in how fintech companies are structuring their operations – prioritizing innovation over maintenance.
The momentum was already building throughout this year. Data from four months ago showed London’s finance hiring grew 10% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, supported by a sharp 24% quarterly increase. IT roles led that surge with a 39% year-over-year jump.
Risk and compliance hiring more than doubles
The risk and compliance space is doing well. Specialist roles in credit risk and financial crime have more than doubled, driven by firms responding to fraud, compliance, and AI-enabled risks. Risk and compliance hiring is up nearly 26% year-on-year and now accounts for more than half of all banking roles in fintech.
London dominates this space completely, holding nearly three-quarters of all risk and compliance vacancies. Credit risk roles have more than doubled, while fraud risk has climbed sharply – clear evidence that companies are taking emerging threats seriously.
Financial crime specialists are particularly sought after, with hiring projected to jump by 50% and fraud-related roles expected to double. Companies are building sophisticated infrastructure to protect their scaling operations, creating unprecedented opportunities for risk professionals.
AI positions command premium salaries
The AI boom is reshaping London’s fintech landscape in dramatic ways. AI positions offer salaries 20% higher than non-AI roles, reflecting fierce competition for skilled professionals. London hosts 1,387 AI-focused enterprises, including firms like DeepMind and BenevolentAI.
Companies have already posted 6,425 fintech positions this year, surpassing all of 2024’s recruitment activity. Five of the quarter’s biggest raises went to AI-driven finance platforms, and AI-enabled fintechs captured 23% of fintech funding in Q3 2025 – the highest since Q4 2023.
The UK Government has committed £2.3 billion to AI initiatives since 2014, and major US investment through the £150 billion US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal will inject even more momentum into the digital economy. But bear in mind, that US-UK deal has just gone on hold. It may move forward later.
High-growth companies reshape the market
A select group of high-growth firms is fundamentally reshaping fintech hiring patterns. Companies including Radius and SumUp are accelerating expansion, building out teams in risk, engineering, and product areas.
These companies represent the new fintech reality – fewer bets, bigger conviction. Fintech funding hit $10.9 billion in Q3 2025, with mega-rounds accounting for 40% of all funding. Average and median deal sizes are more than 35% above 2024 levels, even as deal count declines.
London’s status as a global fintech hub has been reinforced by geopolitical uncertainty and stable governance. The city continues to benefit from its unique position as a bridge between European markets and global finance.
What this means for jobseekers
The hiring surge creates opportunities for professionals at all levels. Median salary across fintech job postings is £43,308, with specialized roles like IT project managers commanding over £69,000.
Top in-demand skills include programming languages like Python and Java, blockchain technology, financial modeling, data analysis, and machine learning. The sector employs 362,651 people across 3,348 companies nationwide, generating a combined turnover of £213.6 billion.
For those entering the field, the trajectory remains decisively upward. London stands firmly at the center of the UK’s next phase of digital and financial expansion.
In other fintech news, cryptocurrencies are set to be regulated much like stocks, shares, and other mainstream investment products.
