If you're hiring in the payments industry, you're probably already aware of one thing: finding great people isn't getting any easier.
Whether you're looking for a Head of Payments, Product Manager, Account Executive, Programme Manager or Commercial Director, the market remains incredibly competitive. While hiring volumes have fluctuated across technology more broadly, payments continues to be a specialist sector where experienced professionals are in short supply.
At Payments Recruitment, we speak to employers and candidates every day. The same themes come up time and again. Businesses are struggling to attract the right talent, candidates have more choice than ever, and hiring processes that worked a few years ago simply aren't enough in today's market. So why is payments talent still so difficult to find in 2026?
Payments is still a specialist industry
One of the biggest misconceptions we see is the belief that payments professionals can easily be replaced by candidates from general technology or financial services backgrounds. While transferable skills certainly exist, payments remains a highly specialised industry. Experienced professionals often have deep knowledge in areas such as:
- Merchant acquiring
- Card issuing
- Open Banking
- Payment gateways
- PSPs
- Digital wallets
- Cross-border payments
- Fraud prevention
- Risk and compliance
- Scheme relationships
- PCI DSS
- Embedded finance
Understanding how these areas interact takes years of experience. Many employers simply don't have the time, bandwidth or resources to train someone from scratch and they need people who can contribute & add value from day one, particularly in leadership, commercial and product roles. That naturally limits the available talent pool.
The demand for experienced professionals continues to outpace supply
Although recruitment activity across some sectors has slowed compared to previous years, demand within payments remains strong. Digital payments continue to grow globally, regulation continues to evolve, and businesses are investing heavily in product innovation, fraud prevention and customer experience. At the same time, the number of professionals with ten or fifteen years of payments experience hasn't suddenly increased. This imbalance creates a simple economic reality. There are more quality opportunities than there are experienced candidates. The result? Employers often find themselves competing for the same small group of professionals.
The best candidates are rarely looking
One of the biggest myths in recruitment is that the strongest candidates are actively applying for jobs. In reality, many of the best payments professionals are already successful where they are, delivering major programmes, leading teams, launching products - trusted by their employers - so unlikely to be scrolling through job boards every evening. That doesn't mean they're impossible to recruit. It simply means they need a compelling reason to consider a move. This is where specialist payments recruitment makes a real difference. Building relationships over many years allows recruiters to approach individuals who may never have applied for a role but are open to the right opportunity.
Counter offers are becoming increasingly common
One trend we've seen continue into 2026 is the rise of counter offers. Employers know how difficult experienced payments professionals are to replace. When someone resigns, businesses are increasingly willing to respond with:
- Salary increases
- Improved bonuses
- Promotions
- Flexible working arrangements
- New projects
- Retention incentives
While counter offers can be flattering, they don't always solve the reasons someone wanted to leave in the first place. Candidates often tell us their motivations include career progression, leadership opportunities, culture or the chance to work on new products rather than simply earning more money. For employers, the lesson is clear. A competitive offer alone may not be enough to secure the right person, and losing momentum during the recruitment process can give a current employer valuable time to react. Make the candidate experience during recruitment an opportunity to demonstrate how your business works, and what it would be like to be part of the culture if they choose to join. Never has interviewing been more 2-way.
Remote and hybrid working has widened the talent market
Flexible working has transformed payments recruitment. A business based in Brighton is no longer competing only with employers in the South East. It may now be competing with companies in London, Manchester, Edinburgh or even internationally for exactly the same candidate.
Likewise, professionals who once looked within commuting distance now have access to opportunities across the UK and beyond. This increased flexibility has undoubtedly benefited candidates, but it has also intensified competition between employers. Businesses that can offer genuine flexibility often have access to a much larger talent pool. Those insisting on office-based working may find their options significantly reduced unless there is a compelling reason for candidates to make that trade-off.
Salary expectations have changed
Salary expectations across payments have evolved over the past few years, and not just because of inflation. Experienced professionals understand the value of their skills and regularly receive approaches from recruiters and employers. When candidates know there are multiple opportunities available, expectations naturally rise. However, salary is rarely the only deciding factor. Increasingly, candidates are evaluating opportunities based on the complete package, including:
- Career progression
- Leadership quality
- Company culture
- Flexible working
- Equity opportunities
- Interesting projects
- Learning and development
- Business stability
Employers that focus solely on salary often overlook the factors that genuinely influence long-term retention.
Hiring processes are often too slow
Another challenge we continue to see is lengthy recruitment processes. In a specialist market, delays can be costly. Exceptional candidates may receive multiple approaches simultaneously. If one organisation takes six weeks to arrange interviews while another makes a decision within ten days, the outcome is often predictable. Speed doesn't mean compromising quality, it just means having a clear hiring process, engaged stakeholders and prompt feedback. Candidates notice when businesses communicate well, respect their time and make decisions confidently.
Employer brand matters more than ever
Candidates are researching potential employers long before accepting interviews. They're looking at websites, reading LinkedIn posts, speaking to former colleagues, evaluating leadership teams. They're asking themselves whether this is somewhere they genuinely want to build their career. Businesses with a clear purpose, visible leadership and positive reputation often attract stronger applicants than organisations relying solely on salary or job titles. Employer brand has become an increasingly important part of successful payments recruitment.
Specialist knowledge makes a difference
Payments is a sector built on relationships and expertise. Understanding the difference between acquiring and issuing, knowing how payment gateways integrate, recognising the challenges of regulated businesses or appreciating the nuances of Open Banking all help identify candidates who genuinely fit a role. General recruitment methods can still have a place, but specialist knowledge often shortens hiring times, improves candidate quality and creates better long-term outcomes. In a market where experienced professionals are scarce, those advantages matter.
Looking ahead
There is little evidence to suggest the demand for experienced payments professionals will reduce significantly over the coming years. Innovation continues across embedded finance, digital wallets, Open Banking, AI, fraud prevention and cross-border payments. As the industry evolves, so too will the demand for skilled people capable of leading that change. For employers, success will increasingly depend on acting decisively, offering a compelling employee proposition and engaging with candidates before they actively enter the job market. For candidates, it remains an excellent time to build a career in one of the most dynamic sectors in financial technology.
Final thoughts
The challenges facing payments recruitment in 2026 aren't simply the result of a busy hiring market. They reflect an industry that continues to grow, innovate and compete for a limited pool of highly experienced professionals. Finding exceptional talent requires more than posting a vacancy and waiting for applications. It requires market knowledge, established relationships and an understanding of what motivates today's payments professionals to make a move. Whether you're building a leadership team, expanding a product function or recruiting your next commercial hire, taking a proactive approach will always deliver better results than waiting for the perfect CV to appear.
If you'd like to discuss the current hiring market, benchmark salaries or understand what's happening across the payments sector, we'd be delighted to share our perspective.