Graduate Programmes to Apply for in the UK: Your Way Into Fintech and Payments

Oct 10

3 min read

Somewhere right now, a final-year student is polishing the application that lands them a desk at the Bank of England, a seat in Revolut's graduate cohort or a role on a payments team in the City. It could be you, but only if you move fast.

The 2027 graduate window is open now, and many schemes close the moment they fill. Here's where to apply, what each programme is really like, and how to make your application impossible to ignore.

The shortlist

Organisation	Programme	Good for	What to know	Where to apply
Revolut	Graduate Programme 2027	Strategy & Ops, Product, Data, Design	12 months; open since May 2026; start early or late 2027; 2025-27 grads; visa and relocation support; London hub	Strategy & Ops · Product · Data
Bank of England	Graduate Development Programme	Policy, economics, data, tech, payments infrastructure	24 months into a permanent role; register for 2027; visa sponsorship possible in some cases; security vetting required	Apply / register interest
FCA	Graduate Scheme	Supervision, policy, competition, economics, data	Applications typically open in early October; can pause once volumes are high, so apply early	FCA graduate scheme
Visa	Next Gen Careers: graduates and interns	Tech, product, client services	London; check the application process page for timings	Visa UK Next Gen Careers
Mastercard	Early careers and Launch Program	Product, data, sales, tech	London roles listed alongside global programmes	Mastercard early careers
American Express	UK student and graduate programmes	Finance, marketing, tech	Brighton and London	Amex UK students
Barclays	Graduate programmes 2027	Payments, tech, risk, corporate banking	2027 roles live now in London and Birmingham	Barclays graduates
HSBC	Graduate programmes	Payments, tech, cyber, banking	Filter by country and business area	HSBC find a programme
Lloyds Banking Group	Graduate schemes	Tech and data, commercial banking, risk	Ranked a top-10 graduate employer in 2026	Lloyds Banking Group talent
NatWest Group	Graduate programmes	Payments, risk, markets, tech	Separate graduate tracks by business area	NatWest graduate programmes
J.P. Morgan	Global Payments Analyst Program	Global payments and treasury services	London; very competitive, opens early	JPMorgan Global Payments Analyst
Deloitte	Early careers programmes	Fintech and payments advisory	Broad training; check application timelines	Deloitte UK early careers
PwC	Graduate opportunities	Consulting, technology and AI	Many streams including Technology & AI	PwC UK graduates
EY	UK graduate programmes	Consulting, strategy, digital risk	Search by programme and location	EY UK students
KPMG	Graduate programmes	Consulting, deal advisory, tech	Guidance for international students	KPMG UK graduates

Programmes and dates change every year. Always confirm on the organisation's own careers page before applying.

Fintechs without a formal scheme

Many scale-ups (Monzo, Wise, Starling, Checkout.com, GoCardless, Teya and others) don't run classic graduate schemes but hire graduates directly into junior roles, especially in operations, financial crime, customer success and engineering. Set job alerts and apply as roles appear.

Pipelines that open doors

If you're from an underrepresented background, these programmes give you coaching, networks and early access to employers:

• SEO London: pre-university to graduate coaching with major banks and firms.

• upReach: support for students from less-advantaged backgrounds.

• 10,000 Black Interns: paid internships that often convert to graduate offers.

• Rare Recruitment: contextual recruitment used by many top employers.

• Black in Fintech and similar communities: mentors and real introductions into the industry.

When to apply

Month	What happens
September-October	Most banking, regulator and consulting schemes open. Apply in the first two weeks.
November-December	Many rolling schemes close early as places fill.
January-March	Assessment centres and offers; some late-opening fintech roles.
Spring-Summer	Off-cycle roles and internships for the following year.

How to stand out

Speak the language. Know the right terminologies to use in conversation with employers
Have a view. Pick one trend (pay-by-bank, stablecoins, agentic commerce) and form an opinion you can defend.
Show you've built or done something. A side project, a society role, a blog post analysing a payments company.
Apply early. Rolling deadlines reward the first applicants, not the best-prepared last-minute ones.
Use your network. A referral or a coffee chat with a current graduate beats a cold application.