Short answer: fintech companies in the US and Europe staff engineering teams in Latin America through remote staffing agencies that can vet for regulated work: payments, security and data handling, not only code. The agency should find and test the engineers, sign and pay them locally, and stay accountable for replacements. Colombian fintech ePayco used this model with Interfell and cut its hiring time from about three months to under one month.
Why fintech hiring is different
A fintech engineer touches money, personal data and audits. Beyond the usual stack, you need evidence of:
- Experience with payments, ledgers, card or bank integrations, or lending systems.
- Security habits: secrets handling, access control, code review discipline.
- Comfort with compliance work: logs, change management, documentation an auditor can read.
- English good enough to work with product, risk and compliance teams in the US or Europe.
What to ask a LATAM staffing agency before you hire for fintech
| Question | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|
| How do you vet for fintech experience? | Role scorecard with domain must-haves, technical tests and evidence of shipped payment or banking work. |
| Who signs and pays the engineer? | The agency, locally and compliantly, with one monthly invoice to you. |
| How do you handle confidentiality and IP? | NDA and IP assignment in the engineer's contract, mirrored in your services agreement. |
| What happens if a hire does not work out? | A replacement at no extra cost and within days, not a new search from zero. |
| How fast can you deliver? | A vetted shortlist in days. Interfell delivers the first one in about 72 hours. |
Case: ePayco
ePayco is a Colombian fintech founded in 2011 that processes online payments and collections for people and businesses. It needed developers, database administrators and SDK specialists fast, and help paying talent outside Colombia.
Interfell sourced and screened the profiles, handled hiring in Colombia and other LATAM countries, and took over compliance and payroll. ePayco reduced its hiring process from about three months to less than one month, a 66% cut in time to hire. Read the full ePayco case.
What it costs
With Interfell remote staffing, 80% of the monthly invoice is the professional's pay and 20% is Interfell's fee, with unlimited replacements while the service runs. A senior full stack developer in Colombia earns about 5,900 USD a month for US-facing work. See every role and country in the LATAM IT Salary Guide 2027.
Related guides
- Staffing agency vs EOR vs contractor
- How we vet LATAM developers
- Best countries in Latin America to hire developers
Disclosure: this guide is published by Interfell, a remote staffing and recruiting company in Latin America and part of the Simera group.