Finance IT

Thanks to information technology (IT), the banking industry can manage countless transactions everyday.

Before the buzz and change fintech brought upon its emergence, finance IT – which refers to technology applied in the back-end of established consumer and trade finance organisations – has long been in existence. To illustrate this point, internet banking had been around for quite some time even before mobile payment became a breeze.

Indeed, technological solutions constantly improve the quality of services banks provide their clients – from frontend sales and trading applications to backend maintenance of quantitative analytics engines, risk analysis systems and data storage solutions – and make finance IT professionals important enablers who facilitate business performance by increasing data quality and security.

As such, banks are heavily invested in creating efficient IT infrastructure and hiring talented specialists within strategic fields in technology, especially in this age and time when digital innovations are regularly revolutionising financial services.

General overview

Beginning with an internship or graduate programme in a financial organisation’s IT department will stand hopefuls in good stead if they decide to pursue a career in this field. In particular, job rotations will facilitate exposure to various parts of the banking industry. Following that, graduates will get the choice to either specialise or be a generalist.

Because working in finance IT is usually project-based, professionals often find themselves navigating teams of various specialists across different departments.

Required skills

Successful candidates who manage to stand out are not only kept up to date on the latest technological developments, but also knowledgeable about how they can help support and enable the market.

An IT-related degree may give a head start, but it does not apply to all positions in finance IT. For instance, knowledge of programming languages is not required for business analysts, though applicants have been known to take postgraduate courses to get into this field.

Banks want graduates with a keen interest in, and strong aptitude for, finance IT, and who are not only enthusiastic, but also energetic and hungry to learn. Most importantly, candidates need to be innovative. Financial knowledge is a plus but not a must – IT specialists are often recruited for their IT knowledge, not their financial expertise, as that can be picked up on-the-job.

Last but not least, an ability to work in a team is crucial for liaising internally and externally, as well as strong interpersonal skills for working across departments. Accordingly, demand for IT specialists with excellent communication skills and outgoing personalities is high.

Pros and cons

Most graduates working in finance IT gain interesting perspectives on how business and IT come together. Opportunities include learning how to design, implement and manage a project abound in this fast-moving and high-pressure area of work.