Discover the best finance internships 2025

Discover the finance internships offered by the leading graduate employers and get your career off to the best start

Many Bachelors programmes now include work placement opportunities lasting up to a year, allowing students to experience the world of work and use the skills they've learned.

However, these year-in-industry placements are often restricted to science-based fields such as healthcare, engineering or manufacturing.

For finance students, if there's nothing formal in place for your course, your best option is to arrange an internship. It's most common to do this either between your first and second year or second and third year of university.

What are finance internships?

An internship is work experience or on-the-job training carried out at an organisation for a limited period of time.

While they can last up to a year, internships are typically available for between one week and three months during the summer holidays (between June and August). This is in contrast to work placements, which usually take place during term time.

Internships are available in a range of fields, with companies in all sectors keen to take on finance students.

Do you need work experience to get a finance job?

For most entry-level finance roles, you'll find that previous work experience in the industry isn't a necessity as you'll learn on the job. However, if you've worked in an office in some capacity and have already developed commercial skills, this can work to your advantage when applying for jobs.

In situations where you're competing against other finance graduates and those with qualifications in numerical subjects, the work experience you've gained through a finance internship can set you apart from the rest.

This is because these candidates will have already shown an organisation that they can complete real-world tasks and be trusted to take on responsibility.

To land a finance internship without any experience is more common - although you may still need to demonstrate to the employer that you have the drive to succeed. Do this by highlighting relevant projects you've completed at university and any positions you've held, such as treasurer for a society.

If you have no or limited experience, take inspiration from this skills-based CV example.

As well as what employers get out of the experience, it can give you a good insight into the financial sector while you'll have gained relevant skills that can boost your career prospects. Discover the finance skills employers are looking for at graduate finance jobs.

What accounting and finance internships are available?

All the UK's major banks run banking internship programmes:

Barclays - both summer and off-cycle (three to six months) internships are available across 12 areas including corporate, consumer and retail banking, private banking and wealth management, and Barclays payments.
The Co-Operative Bank - eight-week summer internships in technology, digital, product, finance and business banking.
Lloyds Banking Group - in addition to its one-year industry placements, the organisation also offers summer internships for those in their second or final year of university.
NatWest Group - an eight-week finance internship starting in June, which may lead to a place on its finance graduate scheme.
Santander - six to ten-week internships in corporate and commercial banking, corporate investment banking and risk.

To discover how to secure an internship with a leading investment bank, such as J.P. Morgan's global finance and business management analyst programme, consider our 5 tips on getting into investment banking.

If you're planning on working in any area of insurance, including actuarial, accounting and consulting, insurance internships and year-in-industry opportunities are available through:

Aside from working for a financial institution, there are also general finance internship programmes available across all sectors. These will allow you to work in a company's finance department.

The following graduate recruiters all take on finance interns:

If you're seeking a brief introduction to a particular firm or an area of banking, spring week internships are a great opportunity for first and second-year undergraduates to gain insights into areas such as:

corporate finance
investment banking
risk management.

Typically lasting a week over the Easter break, these programmes include:

Spring week internships can be a launchpad for securing full-time work or summer internships at competitive firms. By participating, you demonstrate your initiative and genuine interest in the finance industry, making you a standout candidate for future opportunities.

To improve your chances of securing a spring placement, submit your application as early as possible in the academic year, as competition can be fierce.

Read more about accounting work experience at how to become an accountant.

What about virtual work experience?

If you're just looking for an introduction to finance rather than a formal on-site internship, virtual work experience is another option to consider.

Taking around five or six hours to complete, the banking and financial services job simulations available through Forage include programmes in commercial and investment banking from the likes of J.P. Morgan, HSBC and Goldman Sachs.

In addition, Barclays LifeSkills provides a virtual work experience tool for those aged 14 to 19. This interactive video works as a first-person roleplaying game where you can ask and answer questions using buttons.

Through the online programme you'll get to work with several departments on a project, providing solutions to problems and completing real-life tasks.

What do finance internships involve?

As a finance intern, you could be assigned to a specific business project, get to train with other interns or learn by job shadowing someone in a particular finance role.

For example, at Barclays you'd be working on a real project to get an insight into their business. The nature of what you'll get to work on depends on the specialism you choose.

The Barclaycard payments summer analyst will get to develop and drive business plans and track their return on investment (ROI), while providing analytical support and interacting with teams across the company.

Held over four days, the HSBC Spring Insight programme gives interns a taste of what it's like working in their global banking and markets function. Engaging in skills workshops, interactive learning sessions, and trading games can provide a fast-track entry route to their summer internships, which run from June to September the following year.

At The Co-Operative Bank, interns will rotate across several placements designed to develop commercial and strategic thinking, negotiation, influencing and leadership skills. During the programme, you could work on profit and loss statements and balance sheets for month-end reporting, producing weekly summaries of economic trends or shadowing on financial planning processes and forecast discussions.

On Tesco's 10-week Hertfordshire-based summer finance internship, you'll get to work with various finance teams in delivering a project while understanding how the world of finance works. If you make it onto their finance graduate scheme, you'll get to study towards the CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) qualification.

Explore the full range of accounting courses and finance qualifications.

What are the entry requirements?

To get onto The Co-Operative Bank's student finance internship, you'll require at least five GCSEs (or equivalent), including Maths and English at grade 4 or above and be projected a 2:1 in any discipline.

The NatWest Group also expects interns to be on course for achieving a 2:1 in any subject, while the Lloyds Banking Group and Tesco look for students on track to getting at least a 2:2.

In addition to GCSEs and a projected 2:1, Zurich also asks for at least 96 UCAS points comprised of CCC grades from three A-levels.

Nestlé expects their finance interns to be in the penultimate year of a maths-based degree.

When it comes to admission onto longer industry placements, you need to be studying towards a business, finance or economics degree and be on course for a 2:2 to be eligible for the BMW Group's 13-month programme.

The car manufacturer also looks for those with good communication skills, an analytical mindset, an ability to work accurately under pressure, and a working knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Excel).

When should I apply for work experience in finance?

While most applications will involve an online application form, the deadlines vary between each programme.

For example, RSA internship applications open in December, and assessment centre invitations are sent out in February for sessions in March or April, with the internship starting that summer.

On The Co-Operative Bank programme, held during July and August, you'll fill in an online application form and attend an online interview followed by an in-person assessment centre in Manchester.

To gain a place on the NatWest Group's finance internship programme that takes place during the following summer, you'll be able to apply online from September, with applications being accepted until the roles are filled.

Discover how to ask employers for work experience.

Will I be paid?

While interns are only entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for their age - see GOV.UK - National Minimum Wage rates - most employers in the sector pay over and above this.

Here are the latest wages on offer for 2025 summer internships in finance (all salaries are pro rata):

BDO - £23,750 to £25,100.
BMW Group - £25,300.
The Co-Operative Bank - £22,000.
Lloyds Banking Group - £25,000.
NatWest Group - £24,000.
Nestlé - £24,375.
P&G - £27,996.
Tesco - £26,000.

Most finance interns get paid between £20,000 and £26,000 (pro rata), although salaries can go as high as £28,000.

Does finance work experience result in a permanent job?

By completing a finance internship with an organisation, you can make a strong case for securing a full-time job or place on their graduate scheme.

While this is far from a certainty, many graduate roles are filled by former interns.

Read more about finance graduate schemes and graduate schemes in general.

Find out more

Consider studying finance qualifications.
Get an overview of the UK's financial sector.
Read about student jobs at university.

Finance internships