Simon Harris TD, Minister of State for International Financial Services, launched the FinTech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPIA) on September 14, 2015. FPAI is a modern business association that has been established with the aim of promoting the interests of stakeholders who are actively involved in the Irish FinTech sector, which is continuing to evolve rapidly.  

 

FinTech encompasses diverse technologies used in providing or facilitating financial services. This includes peer to peer lending, mobile banking, crowdfunding, digital currency and online payment methods. Crowdfunding, the practice of raising money from two or more people over the internet towards a common project, is therefore, a part of the FinTech systems.

Belfast, Ireland

 

The launch comes after the Irish government published a five-year strategy specifically for the International Financial Services Sector. One of the key areas within the strategy is to make Ireland a top international centre for FinTech investment. It aims to achieve this by boosting partnerships between big global financial services corporations and the local stakeholders so as to establish innovative products and services that will offer real solutions. FinTech is currently the most disruptive tool in the financial services industry, particularly as it relates to crowdfunding, and is rapidly gaining popularity across the world. This is therefore, the best time to launch this association so that the Irish and their business partners will benefit largely from this global phenomenon.

 

FPIA is an all-inclusive association that accommodates all types and sizes of businesses, including startup companies and multinational corporations. The association seeks to evolve Ireland’s FinTech Ecosystem by focusing on the following areas: local Irish early-stage and scaling-up technology businesses; local Irish later-stage technology businesses; international technology firms based in Ireland; local financial institutions; global financial services corporations based in Ireland; private equity and venture capital investors; and other pertinent intermediaries and financial services providers.  

 

The association set  its first networking event on October 15, 2015 in North Wall Quay, Dublin 1.


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