Fintech developers dissatisfied with their current roles, a major risk for their employers

Rapyd published a report conducted by 451 Research, to assess the market dynamics of fintech developers around the world. Key findings in the report include a growing demand for fintech developers to create payment applications and building in-house tools as well as general job dissatisfaction.

“Strong developer expertise has become one of the most essential inputs for driving differentiation and diversification in fintech,” said Jordan McKee, Principal Research Analyst, Customer Experience & Commerce at 451 Research.

“Given the intense level of complexity, regulatory scrutiny and competition associated with fintech, there is no single role that will be more important to the sector’s continued evolution.”

The report indicates a clear prioritization of payments-related applications over the last 12 months, with 56% of respondents stating that they have been involved with those projects, besting the next closest category (investments) by 15 percentage points.

A troubling level of dissatisfaction among fintech developers

Underscoring how critical having a strong in-house developer base is, only 26% of respondents answered that most of their tools are commercially available off-the-shelf, with the majority of their tools and products designed in-house. Nearly half of the developers surveyed said they are spending more time developing in-house tools than their other job responsibilities.

“On a global scale we are seeing increased focus by developers on Payments, Investing and Digital Banking as a priority for embedding fintech services,” said Drew Harris, Senior Manager of Developer Relations at Rapyd.

“Improving payout processes and integrating local payment methods are top priorities, according to 36% and 33% of respondents respectively, demonstrating the growing need for business to support sophisticated payment integrations. Fintech developers are being tasked with creating new frontiers of embedded finance on which entire business models rely, no small feat.”

Despite the meteoric growth of the industry, the report also identified a troubling level of dissatisfaction among developers, with 26% of respondents somewhat or very dissatisfied with their current jobs, a cause for concern for companies that have come to learn just how critical their developer workforce truly is.