Fintech pay is trending up in 2024, but down at Stripe

Compensation in the fintech industry was down by-and-large across the board last year; in 2024, it's shown signs of recovering, but the results are very mixed. 

Using data from Levels.fyi, we've compiled average pay figures for software engineers at 37 major fintechs. Average pay went up at 21 firms and down at 16. Some of the fintech firms with a reputation for high pay cut their pay the most aggressively.

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In 2024, payments infrastructure firm Plaid pays the most, but its average pay fell 5.7%. It's now the only fintech where pay averages over $400k; previous pay champion Coupang, a South Korean eCommerce giant, saw pay fall by 7.2%. 

Stripe, the fintech most widely recognized for its pay, saw average compensation fall 7% to $344k, after paying over $400k on average two years ago. Blind reviews for Stripe say its pay bands have been "slashed from the 2021 golden era," which means employees who've joined later have "significantly less TC than previous employees." Many Stripe alums have also left for the comparatively better paying OpenAI and its competitors, which may have also contributed to the fall in pay.

Pay has, however, risen at some European fintechs. Revolut saw an average pay bump of almost $20k to $126.7k. Monzo's pay only rose marginally, but it's still the top paying UK based firm, with pay averaging $157k. There have been claims that the UK is becoming an attractive proposition for US firms to hire high-quality engineers at non-US rates, which may have driven up salaries for the incumbent firms trying to compete for talent.

The fintech where pay has risen the most is publicly traded digibank SoFi. Compensation for engineers rose 26.7%, to $316k per head. SoFi made layoffs in early 2023, but said in its most recent quarterly results that it has seen "increases in headcount and salary related to support of our growth and impacts of the inflationary environment."

Klarna, the loss-making Swedish Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech, pays the least well in Europe, but not worldwide. That dishonour goes to NuBank, the publicly traded digital banking decacorn. NuBank is based in Brazil, which puts it at a pay disadvantage and makes its similarity to European firms admirable. However, stock is a key component of compensation for many engineers there, and its market cap has risen over 80% in the past year.

So Plaid, Coupang or Stripe should be your top options, right? Maybe not, if you want meaningful work and/or a relaxed environment. On jobs forum Blind, recent Stripe reviews complain of a "constant pressure to ship" with "a fairly cut-throat culture at times" This is nothing new; a 2023 review warned product teams were inundated with "analysis paralysis," where there are "great ideas, but not a lot of doing." Executives at both Stripe and Plaid have said the work is inherently unglamorous too. At Coupang, meanwhile, despite the notion that fintechs are full of cutting edge tech, one Blind review says there is "a LOT of tech-debt."

Then look at Nubank and Klarna. At the former, Blind reviews in 2023 say it has a "very good work-life balance" and "strong owner mentality." Klarna reviews say the fintech gives its engineers a lot of freedom; they have the "ability to volunteer to do new projects," and teams get to "do what they want," unless an executive takes an interest in them.

Enjoyment isn't the only thing a lower paying firm can give you. If you value career progression, Revolut should be among those you consider. Young employees rise to senior roles very quickly and, if the pay still isn't up to snuff, you'll be happy to know Revolut alumni are known to go on to bigger and better things.

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