As the Fintech Sector Develops, Here are the Most In-Demand Skills

Fintechs are part of a thriving ecosystem in which the demand for qualified talent is higher than the offer. According to McKinsey, there are skill gaps of 43 percent and 26 percent for talent in the areas of IT and data analytics. 

Innovation and quick growth are at the core of the fintech sector. Specialists in technology, management and other digital expertises must keep the company on the track to scalability and evolution. The shortage of these professionals makes companies struggle to find the perfect talent on time. 

Here are the most in-demand technological skills to work in fintechs: 

Software Development 

The ability to build platforms, websites and mobile applications is highly demanded across the fintech market. Front-end, back-end and full-stack coders are required by the industry. Full-stack developers are in particular demand for the versatility they offer. 

Software developers are also in demand for code maintenance, to build APIs and to create responsive solutions. For this specialty, programming skills in Java, JavaScript, C++, C#, Python and SQL are the most popular requirements. 

Cybersecurity 

The great switch to digitalization has run in parallel to the increased sophistication of cybercrime. As fintechs process a great amount of data and money digitally, the industry can’t allow security vulnerabilities in their systems. 

That’s why cybersecurity professionals are essential to the success of fintechs. The most common abilities required for the positions are incident investigation and response-ability, governance, risk management and compliance (GRC), digital communication technologies, encryption methods and analytical skills. 

Blockchain 

The cryptocurrency boom means fintechs must be able to use blockchain in order to learn how to build a safe and transparent way of moving money. 

The cryptocurrency system provides high levels of trust and integrity to transactions, and fintechs are interested in this technology to raise their trustability to the public and study how to create safer operations for users. 

Data Analytics 

The fintech industry produces a lot of data from clients and operations. All this data can be turned into fuel to innovation and power the development of new solutions based on customer insights. 

Data analytics specialists are those who mine available data and give a direction on how to use it to make fintechs more competitive and able to address pain points with new products. 

DevOps 

As fintechs need to keep their scalability high, the most automated the processes are, the better. That’s why DevOps and Agile have become essential to fintech’s strategy. 

Problem-solving remains is essential for tech workers to have in this fast-paced and changing environment

DevOps can shorten the software development cycles with the automatization of information processing, and is also used for automating compliance, cutting costs and increasing speed. 

Artificial Intelligence 

One of the greatest triumphs of fintechs is to transform massive amounts of customer data into important actionable insights to improve products and services. 

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning are used to go through the data, analyse it and interpret it into valid information. 

Artificial intelligence is also used in customer support, fraud detection and to make automated decisions based on data, like loan approvals and risk scores. 

Cloud Technology 

There are an infinite number of applications for cloud technology in the fintech industry: from security to data management, cloud services are essential to the scalability and flexibility of fintechs. 

Soft skills are essential to for tech employees to have in order to provide high-quality professional services

Cloud technology allows the safe storage of large quantities of data, making it accessible at any time. It is essential to grant scalability, as the structure provides flexibility and accessibility. 

The Importance of Soft Skills

Problem-Solving

In an ever-changing technology scenario along with the newly born fintech industry, unexpected problems are part of the routine. 

Besides the hard skills, some soft skills are essential to for tech employees to have in order to provide high-quality professional services.

Problem-solving remains essential for tech workers to have in this fast-paced and changing environment.

Adaptability and Flexibility 

Changes happen often and quickly in fintech, and that’s why professionals that do not have flexibility and adaptability in their approach are not suited to the sector. 

In technology, talent must be up-to-date on industry best practices and be ready to adapt to any further changes that may occur.

Emotional Intelligence 

Technical skills are nothing without communication and empathy.

Collaboration among workers is what guarantees successful deliveries, as talents often need one another to complete assignments, share ideas, brainstorm and work in teams. 

As conflicts in the workplace can harm productivity and crash processes, it’s important that co-workers know how to manage their emotions properly. 

Conclusion

Finding skilled talent is the ultimate challenge for most fintechs today.

The opportunities for professionals in the field are many, as are the possibilities of specialization in different subjects.

To guarantee their access to skilled professionals in the long term, fintechs can hire specialists or offer internal programs for generalist technologists to choose the speciality they want to work with. 

The Bridge is currently helping top companies find skilled tech professionals or build agile teams in record time, cutting recruitment costs and saving time to let companies focus on their main goals.