Ireland represents one of the most attractive jurisdictions for companies operating in the fintech sector. In order to consolidate its position as a center for financial companies, the Irish authorities launched in 2015 a five years stategy addressing to the international financial services sector, which aims at developing innovation in this industry.
The fintech sector is rapidly increasing in Ireland, as the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) announced that at the level of 2016, 10% of the start-up companies registered in Ireland were launched in the field of financial services. Our team of Irish lawyers can advise on the main programs available for start-up companies operating in this field.
Irish strategy for fintech companies
The fintech sector in Ireland is comprised of a wide range of fintech activities, such as cybersecurity, mobile banking or crowdfunding. The Irish strategy for financial industry (IFS 2020) is mainly focused on developing financial services and products by creating a framework for both large international financial services companies and local businesses. Under this strategy, large multinational companies will be able to access the services and products developed by local companies operating in activities such as:
• software;
• payments;
• peer-to-peer lending;
• analytics.
Foreign businessmen must know that, at the moment, the fintech sector in Ireland is not regulated by a specific rule of law but certain regulations do apply and, depending on the specific operations of the respective company, an authorization must be obtained from the Central Bank of Ireland. Our team of lawyers in Ireland can assist businessmen on the authorization procedure.
Main fintech operations in Ireland
Ireland is characterized by numerous types of activities carried out in the field of financial technology (fintech). Irish companies provide, as a general rule, the following types of services:
• transactions and payments;
• asset management;
• currency trading;
• financial advisory;
• security and privacy;
• risk and compliance;
• trading.
Other companies in Ireland provide ATM and card services or online technical support. Numerous businesses operating in the fintech sector developed applications for online payments (especially for mobile payments), including for payments concluded in the newest form of currency, the cryptocurrency, which generally refer to payments in bitcoin, the most popular form of virtual currency in Ireland.
Businessmen are invited to contact our law firm in Ireland for in-depth information on the registration of a fintech company. Our attorneys can offer legal assistance on the registration requirements imposed to a specific fintech activity.