Fintechs plan to grow and hire new staff
Fintechs are prioritising growth and hiring new talent and the majority expect innovation to come from start-ups, research has found.
Barclays Corporate Banking’s State of the Industry report, which compiled results from a survey of almost 1,000 financial services leaders from across EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pacific in 2021, found that growth remains the biggest priority for 23 per cent of fintechs. This is down from 57 per cent in 2020.
Talent acquisition has increased to become the second largest priority (11 per cent) for fintechs.
Across the short to medium term, fintechs are now looking to increase profitability (eight per cent), conduct acquisitions (seven per cent), enhance cross-border operations (seven per cent) and redefine target markets (four per cent). These have all increased in popularity for fintechs from the year before.
The majority of fintechs (60 per cent) identified start-ups as the key drivers of disruption and change last year, up from 53 per cent in 2020.
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“It’s essential to understand that the battle is no longer just for coders and technical payments people,” said Jenni Himberg-Wild, head of fintech and non-bank PSPs UK at Barclays Corporate Banking.
“As the market continues to mature, there is increasing demand for people with a real breadth of experience. We are seeing firms looking at initial public offerings, for example, and they are looking to add people with broad business experience, bolstering their boards and adding credibility.
“The competition is now fierce. As these businesses mature and evolve, it is not enough to just bring in new tech. Talent is essential to the continued growth of these businesses.”
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“What is clear from this report is that the positivity and confidence that we have seen among fintechs in the previous two years has not only continued but has grown,” said Sabry Salman, global head of financial institutions and non-bank PSPs at Barclays Corporate Banking.
“This optimism is underpinned by an apparent maturing in the market, which is demonstrated on numerous levels.
“Fintechs’ outlook on growth, for example, has matured beyond a simple focus on seizing the opportunities created by the pandemic – their overriding focus according to last year’s report.
“We are seeing a return to the far greater investment in strategic growth drivers we saw before the pandemic, and with even greater gusto – with more attention being paid to cross-border activities, acquisition, and internal changes to support new working models. Firms are now focused on more sustainable and longer-term growth opportunities.”