Fintech and payments businesses need qualified finance professionals who can move at the pace of the business, understand the specific financial model of a payments or technology-enabled financial services platform, and manage the regulatory reporting obligations that FCA authorisation imposes on the finance function. Finding Finance Managers, Financial Controllers and FP&A Managers who combine strong accounting qualification with genuine fintech and payments experience is one of the most consistently competitive recruitment challenges in the qualified finance market.
Accountancy Capital places Finance Managers, Financial Controllers, FP&A Managers and Financial Accountants within fintech, payments, e-money institution and regulated technology businesses across the UK at £50,000 and above. Our candidate network includes finance professionals who have built their careers specifically within growth-stage and scaling fintech businesses and who bring the specific combination of technical finance depth, SaaS/subscription model understanding and regulatory awareness that the role requires.
What Makes Finance Work at a Fintech Different
Three factors differentiate the finance function at an FCA-regulated fintech from an equivalent-sized non-regulated technology business. The first is regulatory capital. E-money institutions (EMIs), payment institutions (PIs) and MiFID investment firms must maintain minimum regulatory capital, calculated under their specific regulatory classification, and submit GABRIEL returns to the FCA covering their financial resources position. The Finance Manager who has never prepared a GABRIEL return or calculated an Own Funds requirement will require significant time to develop that capability independently.
The second is the SaaS or subscription financial model. Most fintechs operate on a recurring revenue model — transaction fees, subscription fees, interchange revenue — that requires specific financial reporting metrics (TPV, active users, revenue per user, churn, net revenue retention, CAC payback) alongside the standard P&L and balance sheet. A Finance Manager who cannot produce these metrics and analyse them in the format that investors and the board expect will struggle to fulfil the FP&A dimension of the role, regardless of their technical accounting depth.
The third is pace. Fintech finance functions are characterised by fast growth, rapid change and compressed timetables. Month-end close at a fast-growing fintech is often expected within three to five working days. The budget and forecasting cycle runs alongside live product launches and market expansion decisions. The Finance Manager who has only ever worked in stable businesses with relaxed close timetables will find the pace of a scaling fintech a significant adjustment.
| Role | Early Stage (<£5m ARR) | Growth Stage (£5m–£30m ARR) | Scale-Up (£30m+ ARR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance Manager / FC | £60k–£80k | £70k–£92k | £80k–£108k |
| FP&A Manager | £58k–£78k | £68k–£90k | £78k–£105k |
| Financial Accountant | £52k–£70k | £60k–£80k | £68k–£88k |
| Regulatory Reporting Manager | £55k–£72k | £65k–£85k | £72k–£96k |
| Interim FM / FC (day rate) | £380–£480/day | £450–£560/day | £520–£660/day |
Brief a Fintech Finance Search
Accountancy Capital places Finance Managers, Financial Controllers and FP&A Managers within fintech and payments businesses. Call us before you brief the search.
Talk to us → or call 0204 553 8893
Fintech Finance Recruitment: The Specific Challenges
The most common challenge in fintech finance recruitment is defining the right seniority for the role. Fintechs often hire their first finance professional at Finance Manager or FC level when the business is at a stage where the Finance Manager scope is genuinely closer to CFO — presenting to investors, managing the regulatory capital position, leading the audit — but where the budget does not stretch to CFO compensation. The candidate who is labelled Finance Manager but is effectively the CFO needs to be compensated at a level that reflects the actual scope, not the title.
A second common challenge is the balance between technical accounting depth and commercial adaptability. Fintechs frequently over-weight commercial orientation and under-weight technical depth in their finance hire criteria, then discover twelve months later that the Management Accountant they hired for their commercial agility cannot manage the audit or produce statutory accounts without significant external support. The right specification balances both dimensions. For SaaS-specific financial modelling and FP&A capability, the FP&A Manager role guide covers the relevant skills in more detail.
FCA Authorisation and the Finance Function
Fintechs authorised or registered with the FCA as e-money institutions (EMIs), payment institutions (PIs), crypto asset service providers or MiFID investment firms have specific obligations that fall partly on the finance function. The GABRIEL regulatory return must be submitted quarterly by EMIs and PIs covering the firm’s own funds, capital adequacy and payment service volumes. The FCA’s e-money guidance sets out the regulatory capital requirements that the finance function is responsible for monitoring and reporting. Fintechs that hold client money as part of their service also have CASS obligations that require specific reconciliation and reporting processes.
FD Capital: The CFO at Your Fintech
For the CFO or Finance Director designated as SMF2 at your regulated firm, contact our sister practice FD Capital. Accountancy Capital covers the finance team below SMF2 level; FD Capital covers the CFO appointment itself. For SMF16 (Head of Compliance) and SMF17 (MLRO), see FD Capital’s compliance practice.
A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA
Fintech is the area where I see the most variation in finance team maturity relative to the business’s commercial stage. I have seen fintechs at £20m ARR with excellent, well-structured finance functions that would not embarrass a much larger business. I have also seen fintechs at the same revenue stage with their first finance professional recently in post and a complete backlog of management accounts to catch up on.
The common factor in the well-run ones is that the founding team understood early that a good Finance Manager or FC is not a cost — it is what lets the CEO and the commercial team make better decisions faster. The businesses that hire their first finance professional late always spend the first twelve months of that hire’s tenure catching up on the backlog rather than building the forward-looking financial capability that the business actually needs.
Adrian Lawrence FCA
Founder, Accountancy Capital — Qualified finance recruitment specialists, £50,000 and above. Adrian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales — verify via ICAEW.
Related Services
| FCA Finance Hub Finance recruitment across all FCA-regulated sectors. | Regulatory Reporting GABRIEL, ICARA and FCA returns specialists. | FP&A Salary Guide Current FP&A Manager salary benchmarks. | FC Recruitment Financial Controller recruitment across the UK. |
Finance Recruitment for Fintechs
Accountancy Capital places qualified finance professionals within fintech and payments businesses at £50,000 and above. We respond the same day.
Brief us on your hire → 0204 553 8893 — Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm