The payments sector, also known as fintech, is one of the best and fastest growing industries and has been growing at an amazing rate in the last few years. It is predicted that it will continue to grow into the future, exponentially, for years to come. Being one of the fastest growing industries means that there is also a huge increase in the need for employees.
What is payments recruiting and why is it important?
Payments recruiting is a form of employee recruitment specifically for the payments companies. As payments companies continue to grow and demands increase, the need for competent, well-qualified employees also grows in demand. Payments recruitment businesses help place employees ranging from starting roles to C-level executives, for specific positions at all types of payments companies
How the payments recruitment industry has evolved?
The payments industry has experienced drastic changes in the last decade. In a world where instant gratification is desired and expected, a whole shift in the way consumers pay for products has revolutionized payments companies. People are simply paying for things electronically, more than ever before.
What the stats say about the payments industry:
1. Consumers spending is on the rise
According to Commerce Department statistics, consumers spent a total of $305 billion in sales in 2014 in the U.S, compared to just $91 billion in 2005, and this is expected to continue to grow.
2. The Compound Annual Growth is expected to experienced huge increases
According to Gartner, it is predicted that the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) will grow at rates of 15%, from 2015 to 2020.
3. Consumers are using credit cards more than ever
A report released in the U.K. shows that consumers used credit cards for 78.5% of transactions in 2016 compared to only 55% in 2006.
With cash becoming less and less used as the main source of payment transactions, payments recruiting companies will continue to see increases in demands, and as a result, there will be continued growth.
What are payments headhunters?
On a very simplified level, headhunters are recruiters that literally search for candidates, most specifically, in the realm of executives. In almost all cases, organizations or firms will hire headhunters to search for high-level positions.
Companies will pay headhunters large sums of money to find the best candidates for the highest positions in their company. What makes the process of headhunting vastly different from the typical job hunting search, is that headhunters go out and find candidates – not vice versa.
In the payments industry, there is a high need for headhunters, probably more so than almost any other industry. This is because of the exponential growth experienced in the industry. There is such a high demand for the top-level companies to fill C-level positions, that headhunting now plays huge role in job placement. To put the growth of the fintech industry in perspective, there were approximately 1,000 financial technology companies in 2005, compared to over 8,000 in 2016!
The difference between payments recruiters, payments staffing, and payments headhunters:
What is a payments recruiter?
A payments recruiter, also known as a fintech recruiter, will typically work with multiple companies to help them fill positions within their companies. These positions are typically for the long-term, as companies want to fill positions that are currently open, permanently. Just like in a typical job hiring process, payments recruiters will screen, interview, and review multiple candidates for the available position, to find the best possible employee for the specified company. Because this position is desired to be for long-term employment, in addition to qualifications, these recruitment agencies also screen the individual, to see if he or she would be a good fit for the potential employer’s company culture. In this process, the potential employee does not pay the payments recruiter any sum of money, as the recruiter is paid directly from the hiring company.
What is a payments headhunter?
Payments headhunters, also known as fintech headhunters, are a little bit different than payments recruiters. In many ways, payments headhunters are considered payments recruiters. Fintech headhunters will work with a company to find employees to fill positions, just like payments recruiters do. However, payments headhunters, unlike fintech recruiters, work on a contingency basis, and only get paid if they are able to find the right candidate to fill the desired position. Payments headhunters are often considered more valuable by potential employers. There is a greater incentive for them to find positions quickly and proactively since they do work solely on commission. Another difference between payments headhunters and payments recruiters is that headhunters can choose to be paid by either the hiring company, the employee, or both.
What is a Payments Staffing Recruiter?
Payments staffing companies, also called fintech staffing firms, are very similar to payments recruitment firms, in that they work with companies on a long-term basis, to find potential candidates. Payments staffing firms, unlike payments recruitment companies, look to hire candidates to fill short-term, temporary positions. Due to the nature of the hiring process for payments staffing agencies, the positions are filled much more quickly than those filled by recruitment companies or headhunters.
| Payments Recruiters | Payments Headhunters | Payments Staffing |
| Place candidates in long-term positions | Place candidates in long-term positions | Place candidates in short-term positions |
| Are not paid solely on commission | Work solely on commission | Are not paid solely on commission |
| Work with all different types of candidates | Tend to work primarily with C-level executives | Are not typically for high-level executives |
| Fill openings more slowly | Since they work on commission, tend to try to fill positions quickly | Fill openings quickly |
| Get clients through Referrals, networking, social media, advertising | Get clients through Referrals, networking, social media, advertising | Get clients through Referrals, networking, social media, and advertising |
| Paid by employer | Paid by employer, the employee, or both | Paid by the employer |
How are payments headhunters, staffing, and recruiting changing the industry?
Due to the incredible growth in the payments industry, employers are seeing increasing demands for positions to be filled at all levels of their respective companies. The hiring process often takes a lot of time and energy when it comes to selecting the ideal candidate for the open position. By using reputable recruitment firms who specialize in finding the best candidates for business openings, organizations can use their valuable resources in other areas of their payments companies, more effectively and efficiently.
What has caused this growth in demand for payments headhunters, recruiters, and staffing?
The increased need for companies to rely on payments recruitment companies and agencies is directly correlated to the recent trends in the fintech industry.
Based on current forecasts by leading experts in the industry, the fintech industry is expected to grow by 6% annually, over the next 5 years. It is simply unheard of, to have this kind of consistent growth. The reason for these increasing trends makes sense when looking deeper into it. With the rise of a variety of virtual payment technologies, such as virtual currency, it is no surprise.
What this means for payments recruitment agencies:
Many of the increased needs for payments recruiters, is a direct result of the increase in demand in the consumer desire for virtual payments technologies.
This is allowing a large number of startups to grow quickly, more-so than it ever had been in the past. People are overloaded with information day in and day out, and with this plethora of increased information, comes desire and opportunity for change. With virtual currency technologies progressing so quickly, it is causing a huge number of payments companies to become innovative and expand, leading to increased demands for payments headhunters and staffing agencies.
The use of mobile payments apps has changed the industry
This shift in consumer behavior has led to the increased usage of mobile apps to make payments easy, and as fast as possible. It has also allowed for companies to redefine how we distribute money altogether, by creating alternative forms of virtual currencies.
Increases in travel by consumers has caused shifts in the payments sector
This is not to mention that with the increase in demand, and competition for improved payments services, companies are having to change their fee structures to accommodate consumer needs. People that are traveling constantly are tired of being charged massive fees for money retrieval and transactions. This has opened up huge markets for new companies to positively change the consumer experience. With the increased number of people traveling globally, payments companies are having to change their international policies, such as providing flat transaction fees, or no fees at all.
What do these changes mean for the payments industry?
In the current global economy, at the rate of change in the fintech industry, it appears the possibility of a creating a unified payments platform, in which payments companies work together to create the most ease of use for consumers via mobile payments, is becoming a major possibility.
How exactly do payments headhunters find top-level payments employees?
It all comes down to networking. The age old saying of “It’s not what you know but who you know” is the name of the game, for fintech headhunters. For top-quality headhunters, what they know and who they know are virtually the same. By becoming an expert in the area of networking, payments headhunters find highly-qualified, talented executives to fill positions in top-level companies methodically and efficiently. By use of an internal database, as well as social networking sites such as LinkedIn, payments headhunters are able to find C-level talent for the most prestigious companies.
Tips for finding the best payments recruiting, staffing, and headhunting agencies:
1. Choose a recruitment company specializing in your niche
To really find the best talent, the recruitment agency you choose should be specialized in your specific field. For example, if you are a fintech company, you should find a company that specializes in filling fintech positions. A recruitment agency that spreads itself too thinly over a wide range of industries will, most likely, be less effective at placing employees in your specialized industry.
2. Build a good relationship with the payments headhunter or recruiter
A good recruitment agency will communicate openly with you, and figure out what your company is all about. They will want to learn the in’s and out’s of your company, ranging from the company culture to the specific qualities you and your company desire in a potential candidate. If a potential recruitment firm does not get to know your company extremely well, consider looking elsewhere. If you are going to find top-level candidates, you will need an agency that puts time and effort into knowing exactly what you and your company need.
3. Make sure the recruitment agency you use has a history of successful candidate placements
An excellent payments recruitment firm will have a rich history of employee placements. Ask them to show you some information about their experience in the industry. A great recruitment, headhunter, or staffing agency will be transparent, and will gladly show you their success, as a selling point to your company. Once you have this information, it may be a good idea to contact some of those companies to see how their experience with the potential recruitment agency went, and if they found employees for them that fit their company needs.
How Go-Impact Payments Recruiting can help your company hire the industry’s best employees:
Here at Go-Impact Payments Recruiting, we have have been placing high-level executives at top payments companies for more than a decade.We have helped fill top-level positions for companies such as Paypal, Discover, and Stripe, and we can help your organization as well. Our rich history of finding the ideal candidates for the right fintech business firms has made us stand out in the industry. We take the time to get to know what your company is all about, and what exactly your organization needs. Because we work exclusively in the payments industries, we are able to find the best candidates quickly and effectively, by leveraging social media platforms, using our vast array of contacts to network, and utilizing our database of over 10,000 C-level executives. Give us a call at 480.307.9000, to see if we would be a good fit to help take your company to the next level, or contact us by email at jobs@go-impact.com.