If you want a graduate job at an investment bank or a large asset management company then it is a pre-requisite that you had at least one summer internship at a financial institution. Even now, to get an internship in banking, you pretty much have had to already interned at a financial institution, previously, to show that you have a strong enough interest in banking and that you know what you are getting yourself into.Having said that, given how extremely competitive it is to secure a banking internship, there is always the option to spend your summer working at a FinTech company instead, if you weren’t able to succeed at getting a banking internship.What Is FinTech?FinTech is short for financial technology and refers to tech companies that have entered the financial industry, with the intention to disrupt the status quo and provide better products and services than the traditional financial intuitions.Why FinTech?If you are asking yourself now ‘why should I intern at a FinTech company when I want to work at a bank?’ Well, it’s simple. Firstly, you need work experience in the financial industry and, secondly, FinTech companies are looking for interns. Thirdly, I would add the fact that FinTech is a hot topic in banking at the moment. Hence, having completed an internship at a FinTech company is a great conversational topic with interviewers, as bankers will be curious to find out what the world of FinTech is coming up with next.Top FinTech Houses Around The UKI thought for this post it would be good to mention a few of the major FinTech players in the UK to help you kick start your search, should you decide to apply for FinTech internships.Digital/Mobile Banks: Mondo, Atom Bank, MoneseRobo-Advisors: MoneyFarm, Scalable Capital, NutmegRemittance: TransferWise, CurrencyCloud, WorldRemitP2P Lending/Crowdfunding: LendInvest, Seedrs, RateSetter, CrowdCube, Zopa, FundingCircleI suggest you run a Google search for top 50 UK FinTech companies, or something along those lines, and you will find a large amount of companies to apply to. Many you can simply direct email, or tweet them (if you are feeling very techy ;) ), and ask if they are offering summer internships.Keep In MindBankers somewhat look envious at the tech start-up scene, as people are making good money, while getting to wear jeans and t-shirts, work only 5 hours a day, while playing ping pong for 2 of those. At least that is somewhat the impression many bankers have of the company culture at tech start-ups. (In fact, this is a quote from a former colleague of mine.)When it comes to your cover letter or during an interview make sure you highlight the fact that you only did a summer internship in FinTech to get exposure to the financial industry but what you really want is to work in the epicentre of the financial system, i.e. at a bank. If they think you really enjoyed FinTech, and will go back into it after a year or two in banking, then they won’t hire you; something keep in mind.