As the name suggests, FinTech combines modern technology with traditional finance services. Most finance companies that want to keep up with the times have by now adopted modern tech and undergone a digital transformation to enable mobile banking, easier finance management for their users, or even more unique features that keep them ahead of the competition.
But FinTech has also been the seed that resulted in the birth of many unicorn finance companies, such as Revolut, Klarna, Wise, iDeal, Stripe, and others.
FinTech continues changing the financial services industry, making companies that offer user-friendly, border-transpiring, and intuitive solutions for their users better than the rest. It makes sense that it is projected to reach $190 billion by 2026.
So, if you, as a FinTech company, are still struggling to cover these bullet points and make your product the best with the help of talented developers, here is what to look for.
Which skills should FinTech developers have?
This is an extremely broad list since FinTech developer can mean many different particular roles, depending on what precisely the FinTech company they work for does and which technologies it might be built on.
At the same time, FinTech companies need developers who specialize in one particular aspect of their development or perhaps developers who wear many different hats. It can be anything from a mobile app developer to a regulatory generalist.
So, take this list as a directory, not a must-have checklist your ideal developer should tick every item on.
Programming skills
We will mention more than the frameworks and languages listed in this section, but these are the most important for a FinTech developer to know in the current market state.
Developers of FinTech applications use Matlab, a quantitative financial programming language, to build user interfaces, create and use algorithms, visualize data functions, and manipulate matrices. Programs written in other languages, such as Python, Java, C, C++, and C#, can also be integrated with Matlab.
Python is an excellent coding language used to build analytical tools, quantitative models, pricing tools, and platforms for managing risks and trades. These are all crucial in creating trading strategies for hedge funds and investment banks.
C++ and C#
The C++ programming language is suitable for resource-constrained apps and software infrastructure. It is used to develop applications for sophisticated banking systems and can quickly process large amounts of data. The creation of a Windows-based platform and data simulation and modeling are both accomplished using the C# programming language. It uses a combination of the C++ and C programming languages.
Statisticians and data miners utilize the R programming language to develop a wide range of statistical and data analysis software, along with Big Data analytics tools. R experts can effectively apply their knowledge in this context, given the expansion of Big Data.
ETL technologies are crucial for effective data warehousing and the management of enormous amounts of data. Big Data technologies like Cassandra, Hadoop, and Scala are popular as their usefulness rises in the face of Big Data and cloud computing technology.
The financial sector is being revolutionized by blockchain technology. Therefore, developers working for FinTech companies must be familiar with blockchain technology and its related security protocols.
Additionally, they need to understand distributed ledger technology and how to create applications that use it.
Solutions built on blockchain tackle ownership and smart contract issues. These services support various loan types, such as credit cards, mortgages, and consolidated loans.
Blockchain is used in numerous digital transactions involving Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies to ensure security. The financial industry has seen tremendous technological advancement and the emergence of numerous new financial services. Digital currencies like Bitcoin, XRP, and Ethereum are consistently increasing in value, which many consumers notice.
If you are building a mobile application for your financial services, then of course, FinTech developers can also entail mobile app developers.
The technical must-haves for a mobile app developer are one predominant technology, such as:
But, mobile app developers also need to tackle frontend and UI skills, substantial knowledge of cybersecurity, solid QA skills, and, ideally, experience in cross-platform development.
Web development
Similarly to mobile app development, your developers might need to develop web apps that give ease of use to your products.
For your FinTech web apps, a developer might need to be prolific in some of these technologies:
- React.js
- Angular.js
- Vue.js
- GraphQL
- Node.js
- Headless CMS and other
Cloud computing
FinTech developers should also have knowledge of cloud-based platforms and cloud deployment. Some technologies applicable to this skillset are Google Cloud Platform, AWS, Azure Cloud, and others.
The reason why cloud computing is a relevant skill in FinTech is because it enables easy scaling up and down. They also ensure secure access for users from anywhere with a stable internet connection. Both the final users and the developers can access information about finances and services enabled by the company, no matter where they are.
It is a no-brainer that financial institutions would want developers who are experts in cybersecurity. When you are handling precious resources for your final users, you need to ensure the safest solution.
With more and increasingly thrifty online security threats, FinTech developers need to make sure they understand how data can be stolen and how they can protect sensitive data for users.
They need to have knowledge of how to spot a data breach or cyber-attack and how to be able to avoid these worst-case scenarios by knowing:
- Encryption
- Authorization
- Authentication
- Firewalls and other safety measures.
DevOps engineers can be applicable in any industry and setting since their goal is to improve collaboration and communication between teams, ensure good software quality, and get your product quickly to market.
Although not excluded to FinTech only, having a DevOps in your team, especially if you are still in the process of building your product or service, can significantly improve your results and increase your speed of development.
FinTech developers need to understand data science and data analytics since these principles are helpful to them in making informed decisions and building solutions based on proof. This enables them to follow market trends and meet the customers' needs.
Data science and analytics skills include predictive modeling, data visualization tools, statistical analysis, text mining, AI development, Python, Pandas, Microsoft Power BI, DataDog, and more.
The ability to create algorithms and programs that can evolve and learn from data has become a requirement for FinTech developers. They should have experience creating machine learning tools like sentiment analysis programs or predictive analytics algorithms.
Understanding the inner workings of machine learning applications is crucial nowadays, especially process optimization, which is one of the best uses of machine learning in finance.
Machine learning developers can assist your company in locating new opportunities to beat the competition and implement clever solutions to operational issues.
Some technologies that you might spot in a Machine learning developer are:
- TensorFlow
- ScikitLearn
- Keras
- PyTorch
- Azure, etc.
Database management
Database management must be well understood by FinTech developers as well. They will require expertise in designing them to safely store large amounts of data. Additionally, they ought to be adept at using database query languages like SQL (Structured Query Language).
One of the most crucial facets of being a developer is ensuring quality. Before releasing it into production, FinTech developers must be able to test their code for bugs and other defects. They also need to have prior expertise in test design, results validation, and program debugging as necessary.
Other preferable skills for good FinTech developers
Look for these extra touches in a resume that will ensure that your candidate will excel in a FinTech position.
Market knowledge
Creating any kind of software involves gathering knowledge of that specific market and giving it a suitable format for the final users. Market knowledge is necessary for problem formulation, data collection, data pre-processing, and feature engineering.
Regulatory knowledge
FinTech developers must have a thorough understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks to produce solutions that are compliant, given how frequently financial regulations change. To ensure that each new technology is developed in accordance with legal requirements, these regulations must be strictly enforced.
In addition to guaranteeing data security, this compliance will help the business's reputation among clients.
Risk management
Risk management is a decision-making tactic that FinTech developers can apply to identify and evaluate risks and decide what steps should be taken to avoid these possible obstacles.
In such an industry, a risk management expert can be invaluable to any team since the issues that could arise can be very difficult to solve if not spotted in an early stage.
What do FinTech Developers work on?
Since FinTech is an umbrella term consisting of many different businesses building software and products revolving around the finance industry, a FinTech developer might be working on some or multiple of these products or features.
Digital banking
Digital banking offers users unparalleled automation by switching from physical to online banking. This model is comparable to a bank with physical branches, with the exception that it costs less to employ people and reap the rewards of lower fees.
Money transfers
FinTech developers can work in startups that enable money transfers that happen instantly, without the involvement of physical, traditional banks. By building mobile applications with simple yet thorough authentication methods, users can transfer money in many currencies and across borders by using solutions like Wise or Revolut.
Investment platforms
Investment platforms are also known under the term WealthTech. Apart from traditional bank features, FinTech investment platforms offer robo-advisory services, digital brokers, platforms that enable micro-investments, cryptocurrency management, crowdfunding platforms, and online lending.
P2P lending
It is one of the more used areas of FinTech because it allows lending without involving banks. The majority of startups work on a distributed ledger platform and help borrowers and lenders in the consumer and corporate sectors. Student loans, commercial and real estate loans, payday loans, secured business loans, leasing, and factoring are additional types of peer-to-peer lending.
Insurtech and Pertech
These services refer to insurance providers of automated products. Some notable examples are Policy Bazaar, Acko, Articatic, and Mantra Labs. Pertech, on the other hand, allows users to apply legislation changes, FinTech regulations, and market conditions.
Big Data Analysis
FinTech developers sometimes take care of handling and analyzing data. This helps companies allow their users payment services without involving the structure of the traditional banking system. Among their tasks in Big Data analysis, they deal with fraud detection, risk modeling, managing customer data, and helping in personalized marketing.
Investment software and financial planning
Investment software helps FinTech companies' users to make informed decisions on investments. Such software gives them access to analytics so they can review their income and expenses, spending habits, and investment rates. This is especially useful because it cuts the need for extra accounting and consulting services.
Expense management
Expense management systems help companies easily set up periodic expenses, hence making it easy to process and transfer costs like salaries, bonuses, logistical outcomes, etc.
Blockchain solutions
Blockchain services enable users to use usual banks' features but with cryptocurrencies instead of traditional currencies.
Conclusion
A FinTech product's development is challenging. Along with conventional development considerations like retention and user experience, you have to manage a lot of issues, like rules and increased data security.
You now may know how to hire a FinTech developer for your business, but quickly hiring the right person will always be a struggle.
If you need FinTech developers with a specific set of abilities, check Proxify's vast network of experts to build amazing financial services in 2023 and beyond.
Because of the expansion of FinTech services and the rising use of these technologies by organizations, FinTech developers who keep up with the most recent skills and trends will continue to be in demand for many years to come. Proxify has plenty of developers in its network who are always ahead of the curve and ready to scale projects. Their resumes include past work experience in banking, finance apps, and services, as well as data science and analytics.
