The shift from on-premise infrastructure towards cloud-based financial software isn’t new.
For years, financial institutions and their technology providers have been balancing the potential benefits of cloud infrastructure against questions around security, control, regulation, integration and cost.
What has changed is the urgency.
AI is adding another reason for businesses to modernise their technology stacks – and we’re starting to see the implications in the people fintech vendors want to hire.
The AI conversation is becoming more practical
Much of the conversation around AI in financial services has focused on what the technology might eventually be capable of.
The conversations we’re hearing from clients are increasingly about much more immediate problems.
Onboarding and KYC
One banking client estimated that onboarding a single corporate client through its existing KYC process could cost around €3,000 and take three to four months.
When technology can materially reduce the manual work involved in a process like that, the commercial case becomes easier to quantify.
Sales enablement.
We’ve also seen commercial leaders begin using AI coaching tools to run MEDDIC roleplays and prepare sales teams ahead of live client conversations.
The objective isn’t to replace the salesperson. It’s to improve preparation, accelerate development and create more consistency across the team.
Operations and data
Reconciliation, exception handling and reporting all involve high volumes of repetitive, data-intensive work.
That makes them obvious areas for businesses to explore automation and AI-assisted workflows.
But adopting those tools successfully depends heavily on the infrastructure and data sitting underneath them.
That’s starting to influence hiring
As financial technology vendors modernise their products and help clients do the same, several talent requirements are becoming more important.
People who have led complex migrations
Moving a regulated financial institution from legacy infrastructure isn’t simply a technical exercise.
It requires someone who understands the product, the client environment, implementation risk and the realities of delivering change inside a regulated organisation.
Candidates who have already done that successfully are particularly valuable because they understand where these programmes tend to become difficult.
Solutions consultants who can connect technology to outcomes
The strongest technical sales conversations increasingly start with the business problem rather than the feature set.
If a platform can reduce onboarding time, automate manual reconciliation work or improve operational efficiency, buyers want to understand what that means in their environment.
Solutions consultants who can translate technical capability into a credible commercial case can therefore play a significant role in the buying process.
Sellers who can demonstrate value
The same applies to sales.
A relationship will still get someone into the room, but increasingly it needs to be followed by a clear explanation of the value the technology creates.
That puts more emphasis on sellers who can understand a client’s operating model, build a business case and demonstrate ROI rather than relying solely on product features.
Customer success teams that can deliver the promised value
The commercial case doesn’t end when the contract is signed.
Once a client has invested in migration or new AI-enabled capabilities, they expect to see the operational benefits they were sold.
That makes strong customer success and post-sale adoption increasingly important to retention and expansion.
The talent pool isn’t unlimited
The challenge for fintech vendors is that many of the people with direct experience of these transitions are concentrated within businesses that began modernising earlier.
They’re often well-networked, highly valued by their current employers and not actively applying for roles.
Which means a job advert is unlikely to show you the whole market.
Understanding which businesses have already completed comparable transformations – and who actually led them – is increasingly important when building a search.
Building a team to support cloud transformation or sell AI-driven outcomes?
EC1 Partners works across financial technology globally and maps the specialist commercial, technical and implementation talent behind these transitions.
Talk to our team about the talent available in your market.
Contact Our Leadership Team
Co-Founder & Managing Director (APAC)
Managing Director (EMEA)
Managing Director (US)
