Fintech
London Fintechs Raising Funds in 2024 Won’t All Hire in London
Raise funds with a financial technology the start was It’s not an easy feat since the beginning of 2023But a number of London fintechs have been able to raise $40 million or more in Series A funding. These rounds are often designed to spur hiring… though rarely in the UK.
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FintechOS
Founded: 2017
Service: Low-code product management for banking/insurance
Funding: $60 million (Series B)
FintechOS is a fintech that was originally founded in Turkey, but is headquartered in London and New York. When it comes to hiring in 2024, its focus is… none of those positions.
There are currently only two open positions at FintechOS, both for software engineers, both in Bucharest. The most recent hires were also in Romania; among them, account director Bianca Palade, formerly head of the delivery management practice for Deloitte Digital. CEO Ted Blidarus said the money would be spent on upskilling staff, but also stressed the importance of a “sustainable business model.”
FintechOS reviews on Glassdoor state that the fintech has “great, hardworking people, especially engineers in the Bucharest office.” Complaints revolve around a potential chaotic nature of businesscommon among startups.
Lives
Founded: 2014
Service: Treasury and Payment Solutions for the Insurance Industry
Funding: $92.9 million (Series C)
Vitesse, a decade-long veteran of the InsurTech sector, is looking to expand globally. It has raised £73.1m to expand into the US, but has yet to start hiring there. Among the biggest names in 2024 so far is cybersecurity chief Rob Kinson, who has joined construction firm Galliford Try.
Vitesse currently has seven vacancies in areas such as finance and operations. The roles are all hybrid, with Tuesday and Thursday as 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 rating.
Monzo
Founded: 2015
Service: Digital Banking
Funding: $622.8 million (Series I)
The largest funding round in the UK this year belongs to one of the The Most Recognizable Names in Financial Technology. Monzo has been hiring aggressively over the past year and is expanding into the US as Vitesse. Monzo’s expansion, however, is already underway.
Monzo’s US division is led by Conor Walsh, who joined from CashApp last September. We talked about some of his US hires Here AND Herebut for engineers it’s focused on iOS developers: Anthony Guay comes from Japanese mobile market Mercari, while Shashi Lyange arrives after five years at Twitter/X.
Back in the UK, Monzo could see its hiring scene stolen by rivals. Annual reports have shown that Starling Bank hired around 200 more employees than Monzo in 2023, while Revolut recently announced it would move to a new office with 40% more usable surface area to facilitate growth.
Global Screening Services
Founded: 2021
Service: Transaction screening platform
Funding: $47 million (Series A)
The youngest fintech on this list by some margin, Global Screening Services (GSS) is a regulatory technology firm led by Tom Scampion, a former Deloitte partner and its former EMEA head of financial crime. This year, it has focused its hiring efforts on senior engineers in the UK.
GSS is hiring from other fintechs. It has hired two principal engineers from German digital bank 10x, Anish Patel and Martin Jordan, to serve as chief architect and principal platform engineer, respectively. Ashley Anderson, senior software, has also joined from Rob Rooney’s fintech HyperJar. GSS is advertising eight hybrids/remote vacancies In Productengineering and legal.
Bumper
Founded: 2013
Service: BNPL for automotive industry
Funding: $53.4 million (Series B)
Despite being the oldest fintech on this list, Bumper only reached Series B funding this year. BNPL has had a slow and steady 11 years and doesn’t even appear to be ramping up hiring yet.
Despite Bumper announcing it is expanding into more markets, it only has one current vacancy, a backend developer based in Turkey. It has made some senior hires in the UK this month, however; chief financial officer Alfie Samson has joined from data firm Conduktor, while legal and compliance officer Jonathan Westwood has arrived from Mortgage Advice Bureau.
Bumper has a very respectable 4.5-star rating on Glassdoor. Reviews praise the “energy” and “good vibes” of the company, but critics suggest it may have become too ambitious for its own good.
Finbourne Technology
Founded: 2016
Service: Investment Management Technology Solutions
Funding: $71.7 million (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 a software developer, respectively.
As a result, it hires far more quants than the average fintech. In 2024, quants appear to be highly educated but relatively early in their careers; hires include PhD-level physicists from Imperial and PhD-level mathematicians from Bath. It has also hired interns in business analytics and product.
The fintech currently has 10 open positions in engineering, architecture, legal and sales. It is looking for C# engineers in particular and is open to flexible working arrangements.
Finbourne has a solid 4.4 out of five stars on Glassdoor, but some roles might be more enjoyable than others. Software engineers praise the “modern tech stack” and “relaxed atmosphere,” but one reviewer from a non-technologist complained about a “toxic” environment.
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