Fintech hiring is moving fast, and the people you want are already thinking about their next move. 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026, according to recruitment firm Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report, which surveyed over 500 employers and 1,000 candidates. That churn matters for payments engineers, where the skills are specialised and the market is tight.
Pay sits at the centre of it. Top technology firms can pay sizeable wages to skilled migrants, leading to wages far above the salary threshold, while pay for engineering professionals on the Skilled Worker route is broadly in line with the UK average, according to the Migration Advisory Committee's report on professionals in IT and engineering. In other words, the top end moves quickly, so a pay band fixed months ago can drift out of date before you fill the role.
The hardest roles to fill are the senior, qualified ones, and the official data points the same way. In the financial services sector, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3 to 5, according to the Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. RQF 6+ broadly means degree-level and above, so demand is concentrated at the experienced end of the market.
For payments teams, that usually means backend and platform engineers who understand transaction flows, settlement, fraud screening and the rules that govern them. When you compete for those people, your pay band has to reflect what the market is paying today, not what it paid when you last hired.
Start by checking live signals, not a static benchmark. Look at what similar roles are advertising now, how quickly offers move and where the top end has shifted. Because top technology pay can run far above the salary threshold while route-based pay tracks the UK average, as noted by the Migration Advisory Committee, a single number rarely captures the full picture. Set a band with room to flex for scarce skills.
Speed is the quiet advantage here. With 79% of technical professionals planning to move in 2026, per Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report, the employers who shortlist and interview fastest tend to win the person they want.
This is where we come in. We search a database of 15 million candidates, give you a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched candidates in under one minute and can book an interview in under three minutes, so you can act while the market is still moving. We handle recruitment end to end, which keeps your pay band tied to live demand rather than a stale benchmark. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. Ready to hire? Start your search with us today.
