New vision for Ireland as the choice location

“Disruption – in isolation – is dead.” That’s according to Anna Scally, fintech leader KPMG Ireland. Scally is also a director on the board of the newly appointed Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI).

“Fintech has moved on and it is now about partnership,” she says. “Fintech companies bring innovation, product development, improvements in customer journey, etc. But they desperately need to work with the industry heavyweights who have scale, big customer bases and a proven regulatory and compliance framework. These partnerships can be uneasy at first, and are still immature in their development. But there appears to be a genuine willingness on both sides to make them work.”

There are real examples of this already. “Financial institutions are increasingly looking to work with the leading Fintech and Regtech companies to continually improve the customer experience,” says Brian Delahunty, head of product and business development, Barclays Bank Ireland. “The regulatory processes and costs for financial institutions have greatly increased over the recent past and Regtech is looking at solutions to ensure those processes are adhered to in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.

Financial institutions, such as Barclays, are always looking at options to improve efficiency and these new tech companies may help support that strategy – albeit we are still at the early stages in a lot of cases but banks are encouraging development in this space.”

Government is also keen to be involved. Its roadmap has been clearly laid out in the IFS2020 strategy document. “This government policy document was developed in conjunction with industry,” says Richard Morrissey, associate director, Moneycorp Ireland. “Its strategy – which includes the development of payments solutions, reg tech, peer to peer lending, Islamic Finance, etc – is expected to create 10,000 extra jobs. This is achievable but only if all key stakeholders are involved, including universities who can help the next generation develop the necessary skillset for this new industry.

“Our vision is for Ireland to be the recognised global location of choice for specialist international financial services, building on our strengths in talent, technology, innovation and excellent client service,” says Morrissey. In order to do this we must not only focus on capturing new opportunities in a changing marketplace but also embracing the highest standards of governance.”