Financial Controller (Fintech / EMI) in London

We are a UK-licensed Electronic Money Institution (EMI), building modern financial infrastructure across accounts, payments, cards, FX, and analytics.

We are looking for a Finance Controller to take ownership of our finance function and support the company through its next growth stage. This is a strategic yet hands-on role where you will own the financial backbone of the business - ensuring clean, audit-ready numbers, strong internal controls, and reliable reporting across all key areas (month-end close, reconciliations, regulatory reporting, budgeting and forecasting). You will help build a scalable finance function aligned with the expectations of a regulated fintech/EMI environment.

Given our rapid expansion, this role will require a proactive, commercially minded finance leader who is comfortable with the complexities of safeguarding, capital adequacy, multi-entity group structures, cashflow management, statutory audits and building internal financial processes. With a lean finance team in the early stages, this role will be very much “hands-on” - from reconciliations and management accounts to designing financial processes and liaising with external accountants, auditors, and regulators.

The successful candidate will be both strategic and hands-on: capable of designing, implementing, and scaling finance processes and procedures from the ground up, while also executing day-to-day responsibilities with precision. As volumes grow, you will build and lead a finance team to support sustainable growth, regulatory excellence, and investor confidence. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) who thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth, and highly regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the workflows, including service pricings across product lines (cards, accounts, acquiring, FX).
• Ensure effective management of regulatory capital, safeguarding arrangements, liquidity, and treasury operations.
• Lead financial planning, budgets, cashflow forecasting, and scenario modelling across group entities.
• Build and scale the future finance function (accountants, treasury specialists, controllers, analysts).
• Oversee all aspects of financial management, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency.
• Produce and review monthly management accounts, P&L, balance sheet reconciliations, and cashflow statements.
• Ensure compliance with UK GAAP/IFRS, FCA returns, HMRC obligations, VAT, and corporation tax.
• Lead statutory and FCA reporting cycles.
• Manage the annual audit process, preparing all necessary documentation and liaising with auditors.
• Conduct reconciliations (bank, safeguarding, card schemes) and ensure timely resolution of variances.
• Design and maintain a strong internal control environment to prevent errors and fraud.
• Provide timely financial insights to senior management to support decision-making.
• Prepare budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis with actionable recommendations.
• Partner with compliance, risk, operations, and commercial teams to optimise performance and support sustainable growth.
• Lead the optimisation and automation of financial processes to improve efficiency and accuracy.
• Act as the key finance lead for accounting systems (Xero, QuickBooks), with roadmap to ERP implementation.
• Implement automated integrations between payment systems, accounting, and reporting tools.
• Manage daily safeguarding reconciliations, treasury movements, and liquidity planning.
• Ensure payroll, pensions, employee loan deductions, and HMRC submissions are completed accurately and on time.
• Ensure full compliance with FCA requirements (PSRs, EMRs, safeguarding, capital adequacy).
• Lead risk management and financial governance across the group.
• Conduct regular internal audits of financial processes and systems for accuracy and compliance.
• Liaise with regulators and auditors to demonstrate ongoing compliance and financial resilience.
• Support and mentor junior finance staff, fostering a culture of high standards and continuous development.
• Work collaboratively across departments to embed financial discipline into all business operations.

Requirements

Must Have

• Experience in fintech, payments, EMI or regulated financial services.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding and reconciliations.
• Experience with multi-entity finance operations.
• Hands-on experience with Xero or similar accounting systems.
• Experience preparing management accounts and working with audits.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-growing environment.

Nice to Have

• FCA / EMI regulatory reporting experience.
• ACA / ACCA / CIMA qualification.
• Experience building finance processes from scratch.
• Exposure to Estonia or international group structures.
• ERP implementation experience.

What We Offer

• A unique opportunity to join a high-growth fintech at a senior leadership level.
• Ownership of the finance agenda, with the autonomy to design and build a best-in-class finance function from scratch.
• Competitive compensation package with potential long-term incentives.
• Benefits: company pension, paid sick leave, work from home possibility.
• A dynamic, innovative, and collaborative environment where finance is central to growth, governance, and regulatory excellence.