Everything candidates and clients ask, answered directly.

FinCircles is a specialist talent partner for the fintech and payments industry. We embed engineering, growth, operations, risk, compliance, and AI specialists into client teams on a flat monthly rate, sourced across the Balkans (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece).

FinCircles was founded by operators who built and ran a payment orchestration platform end to end — processor integration, KYC and AML pipelines, fraud response, and multi-region team operations. Every client conversation is informed by that operating baseline.

FinCircles is a staff augmentation partner — also called outstaffing. We are not a placement agency (no introduction or finder's fee), not a recruiter (we do not take a commission on first-year salary), and not a development shop (we do not scope or own delivery). The client directly manages each embedded specialist's day-to-day work.

Financial circles — the interlocking communities of fintech operators, regulators, and infrastructure providers — and the principle that the right team is built by drawing the right people into a defined circle around a specific operating problem.

Fintech and payments specialists living in one of nine Balkan markets: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, or Greece. We hire across engineering, product, growth, operations, risk, compliance, fraud, AI, and ML — mid to senior level primarily, with senior and staff-level roles a particular focus.

No. The bench is sourced across Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Skopje, Podgorica, Ljubljana, Sofia, Bucharest, and Athens among other centres, but the work is fully remote. The only operational requirement is reliable connectivity and a working day that overlaps with EU business hours.

Yes. Every FinCircles engagement is fully remote, with no expectation of relocation or travel. Clients are headquartered across the UK, EU, and US.

Compensation is paid in EUR on a monthly cadence, benchmarked against EU market rates rather than local rates. Specialists are engaged as independent contractors via FinCircles, with the engagement agreement covering scope, rate, notice period, and the client.

You submit your CV via the apply form. Every application is reviewed by a senior member of the FinCircles team within five business days. If your background fits a current or imminent client requirement, you progress to a technical and contextual assessment. If not, your profile is retained in the talent network and you are contacted when a relevant role opens.

Direct fintech or payments experience is a strong signal but is not the only path in. Operators from adjacent regulated industries — banking, insurance, regulated marketplaces, online gaming — are routinely placed when the transferable skills are clear and the candidate is willing to build domain depth quickly.

Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and the broader agent toolchain. Engineers in particular are assessed for working fluency — prompt discipline as version-controlled production assets, evaluation-driven development, and agent integration into delivery pipelines. Tooling is provided as standard.

Yes. Equipment, AI tool subscriptions (Claude, Cursor, Copilot and adjacent tooling), and any client-specific software access are arranged before the engagement begins. There is no expectation that specialists supply their own paid tools.

Yes. Many specialists in the FinCircles network apply months before they are available, with a clear available-from date noted on their profile. We work to the candidate's timeline rather than pressing on availability.

Yes — referrals from existing network members are the principal source of new bench additions. The referral structure is shared on first conversation; it is straightforward and paid promptly.

Three months or longer is typical, with most engagements extending well beyond the initial term as the embedded specialist becomes a productive member of the client team. Some engagements run for years.

Specialists between engagements remain part of the talent network and are matched to the next suitable client requirement. There is no obligation to take any specific engagement; the match has to work for both sides.

A flat monthly rate per specialist, agreed in advance. No placement fees, no introduction commissions, no margin layers added during the engagement. The rate is determined by seniority and specialisation, not by market arbitrage.

Average time from signed brief to onboarded specialist is 21 days. Senior or niche roles can take longer; the timeline is confirmed during the brief stage.

Yes. Every engagement includes a 30-day replacement guarantee — at no additional cost and without renegotiating the underlying contract.

The client. FinCircles handles the contractual relationship, payroll, equipment, retention, and any commercial issues; the embedded specialist works directly to the client's team lead, sprint cadence, and tooling.

Every specialist signs the client's NDA and follows the client's data-handling policy. Where access to regulated systems (payment processor admin consoles, KYC vendor dashboards, fraud tooling) is required, FinCircles facilitates the access reviews and audit trail.

Yes. Conversion to client direct employment is provided for in the engagement agreement and is straightforward. The fee structure is disclosed up front, and we actively support the transition when it is right for both sides.