Fintech hiring still leans heavily towards one place. Demand for AI skills rose by nearly 200 percent in a year, and London accounted for 80 percent of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all technology vacancies in the UK, according to Accenture data reported by The Register. That tells us two things at once. First, the appetite for technical and AI-literate people is growing fast across the sector. Second, the opportunity to hire is far more concentrated than the talent itself.
Here's the shift worth watching. The same data shows London carrying the lion's share of demand, yet skilled people now live and work right across the country. Regional hubs are where the gap between where the jobs are posted and where the talent sits starts to close. For fintech employers, that gap is an opportunity, not a problem.
AI skills sit at the centre of it. With demand for AI skills up nearly 200 percent in a year, fintech teams are competing for the same engineers, data specialists and machine learning talent as every other sector, per Accenture data reported by The Register. In fintech specifically, that pulls through into roles like backend and platform engineers, data analysts, fraud and risk modellers, compliance-focused product people and the AI specialists who tie them together.
The dynamic that matters most is distribution. When nearly two-thirds of all UK technology vacancies and 80 percent of AI postings concentrate in London, as Accenture data reported by The Register shows, employers who only recruit locally fish in a crowded pond. Regional hubs change the shape of the pool. Remote and hybrid working means a Manchester data scientist or an Edinburgh engineer can build for a London fintech without relocating, and that widens who you can actually reach.
Start by separating location from capability. If the work can be done remotely or in a hub, open the search to the whole country rather than one postcode. That single decision lifts the number of qualified people you can consider and reduces the squeeze that comes with competing in the most crowded market.
Speed and reach work together. The wider you search, the more strong people you surface; the faster you respond, the more of them you keep in the process. In fintech, where the same skills are in demand everywhere, both are worth getting right.
This is where we come in. Reed.ai searches 15 million candidates across the UK, so your shortlist reflects talent from every regional hub, not just the city nearest your office. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you're hiring in fintech and want to widen your reach across the UK talent map, start a role with us today.
