Looks Impressive Until You’re Inside - Anonymous employee Adyen Employee Review

1.0
Sep 9, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Free lunch Some people are entitled to a 'commuting allowance' Adyen + Benefit to spend on what you want (but take this as a warning that this is for you to be used towards your growth and progression and you not benefit from any investment once you join. No classes, courses, materials for development etc) Healthcare 401k / pension contributions

Cons

If you’ve landed here because you’re considering working at Adyen, pause and read the negative reviews carefully—they’re not exaggerations. From the outside, Adyen markets itself as a polished, world-class fintech. Inside, it is chaotic and high stress with employees that joined early in its conception who never grew up. Stories of inappropriate behavior at company events aren’t rare, they’re normalized. Drinking at company events can get out of hand, even some senior leaders behave without accountability, and these antics are brushed aside as part of the ‘fun’ culture. The environment is cult-like: those in favor can do no wrong, while those who don’t fit the mold are quietly pushed out. Expect cliques, cold regional offices across Europe (UK and France are especially unwelcoming), and a mean-girl dynamic where new joiners are ignored rather than supported. Leadership not only tolerates this but enables it. Processes are inconsistent and chaotic. Performance management feels like a weapon. People are put on PIPs with vague, shifting expectations, while others get away with the same behavior, or worse. Terminations are frequent. Communication is poor, documentation is outdated, and internal tools are riddled with broken links. Turnover is high, and it’s easy to see why. Lots of new hires realize within 6–12 months that this isn’t the dream company they thought they were joining and move on quickly and quietly. The product is also not the market-leading powerhouse it claims to be. It’s expensive, patchwork, and increasingly recognized as replaceable. Competitors are quickly overtaking. Account and Sales team members in particular should beware: team leads often act like schoolteachers scolding children. Feedback is harsh, unprofessional, and personal rather than constructive, with managers leaning heavily on criticism and fear rather than support. It sets a toxic tone that younger employees mistakenly accept as normal. Finally, strategy shifts constantly. “Pillar leads” often lack clarity and conviction, and employees are left chasing confusing, moving targets.

Explore other reviews about Adyen

5.0
Feb 4, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Good people. Hard work. They allow and encourage you to be creative.

Cons

Difficult to move within the company.

2.0
Apr 28, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Office - the offices are some of the nicest offices I’ve worked in. Barista on site and pretty good lunch every day. Travel - there is an annual trip to Amsterdam and you can travel through Europe from that. PTO - European time off mindset. You’re able to take a fair amount of time off. Some people - there are some really smart, caring, hardworking people but unfortunately they aren’t in leadership positions. Product - it’s fun to work on the product while it’s still evolving

Cons

Leadership - some leaders were there at the right place/right time and the lack of leadership experience is evident. They pawn career growth off entirely onto their reports and their ego gets hurt when their leadership is questioned or feedback is given that they should own more. Instead of taking that feedback, they hand over even more “leadership” tasks to individuals. They barely understand the day to day of their peers and are consistently questioned about what they do. If leaders were having an impact on their reports, there wouldn’t be these questions. It’s better to not voice concerns to your lead cause then you’ll just be on their troublemaker list. Toxic culture - if high school like cliquey culture is your thing, Adyen is for you. There’s a weird gossipy vibe for some teams globally. Along with that, there were times harassment and bullying from leadership was condoned. The heavy drinking culture lead to a number of times things got out of hand and lead to people being put into situations they shouldn’t have had to deal with. Then those same leads were given additional chances to continue the behavior till it cost money. If you see something, it’s better to stay quiet than speak up cause then you will have a target on you. Team members are too afraid to actually voice concerns. Pay - Pay can start pretty good but once you’re in, the pay increases are minimal. Options were a joke compared to previous employers. They want people to work there for “the right reasons” but you can compete a bit more on pay. Growth opportunities - there used to be more of a culture to try new roles and go back which was a positive. More recently, growth opportunities are limited and it’s more of a vibe versus tangible impact. You can bring evidence of work but if the you’re not more extroverted or have more of a pick me energy, you likely won’t move up at Adyen. This can be team specific so ask how growth decisions are made within that team. Leadership doesn’t really have an answer on how these things are measured and just get angry if you ask about it. If you want to coast, this would be the spot for you. Numerous people on the team would comment about working too hard and they were right. Product - stop breaking things with product and make operations pick up the slack.

5
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