Slides from Peter Oakes' presentation (founder of Fintech Ireland*) at Financial Services Ireland  on 28 May 2015 are available here.  Peter covered topics of:

• What is FinTech
• How big is Fintech
• Recent regulatory developments in Australia, UK and Ireland
• A look at the impact of the Payment Services Directive and the number of e-money and Payment Institutions authorised in Europe 
• The way the Central Bank of Ireland looks at risk through PRISM
• Recent comments by former European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services (Charlie McCreevey) on what the Commission intended when it passed the PSD 

Thanks to the Financial Services Ireland for arranging this great event.   

*Fintech Ireland (CRO 523657) is registered with the Companies Registration Office

www.fintechireland.com

The IFS2020 Strategy for Ireland which covers fintech and payments includes an interesting Action Point which might be easily overlooked.  Under the heading Operational Metrics for Central Bank there appears a less than certain action point stating The Central Bank and Department of Finance will, in accordance with their respective legal roles, review the authorisation service standards reported by the Central Bank in 2015.  See page 28 of the IFS2020 Strategy available here. 

The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority publishes metrics on the authorisation of all categories of firms.  With respect to fintech firms, these generally fall under the Payment Services Directive (PSD), the E-Money Directive (EMD) and crowdfunding.  Depending on the specific crowdfunding model, the firm might be regulated under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive or UK only crowdingfunding regulations.

The idea of metrics for authorisation is a great idea, but it is an idea that should have found light of day a long time ago. However a bigger issue needs to be addressed.  If Ireland is such a pro-business jurisdiction, at the cutting edge of quality financial services, a hotbed of tech savvy human resources and apparently a well functioning bank / other funding community, why do we have such a poor level of firms regulated in the fintech space? A point made by a number of industry experts is (1) Why does Ireland not have any regulated E-Money firms? and (2) a mere 11 regulated Payment Services firms?  The question has to be asked, Why is Ireland so unattractive to these type of fintech firms?  When one looks at Payment Services firms, the picture looks less than favourable in terms of growing these firms indigenously and attracting them to our shores.  Of the 11 regulated firms, 64% (i.e. seven) provide 'money remittance' (which was ably regulated under the former Central Bank Act 1997 regime), leaving only four firms providing what some might say are 'real' payment services firms and one of these firms is the payments firm for Ireland's 380 credit unions.  Ireland's Central Bank is on the record as warning about crowdfunding firms, whereas a more meaningful response would have been to engage the public on what Ireland could do to grow this alternative finance market in the wake of the banking crisis and the widely held belief that Irish banks are not lending to Irish entrepreneurs and small-to-medium size businesses. Furthermore, four of the 11 firms became regulated the day (1 November 2009) the Payment Services Regulations came into effect because they were already in business.  Of the seven that became regulated post November 2009, only two are authorised to provide 'real' payments services (no disrespect intended to money remittance firms!).

However by far the most stark statistic is that the Central Bank last authorised a Payments Services Firm in December 2013. And that was for, you guessed it, money remittance.

No one wants the Central Bank to repeat the mistakes of its past of poor regulatory knowledge, supervision, culture and resources.  However it was not payments firms, e-money firms, crowdfunders or digital currency firms that help cause the almighty crash, it was banks - and in particular just two to three of them.

The Central Bank may no longer have a statutory role to promote Ireland's financial services, but neither does it have the right to overlook the important role it has to play in stimulating business, jobs and the economy. After all, are these not some of the elements that promote its financial stability mandate? 

UK Trade & Investment, in association with AIB, are delighted to invite you to learn more about current FinTech market opportunities in the UK.  Peter Oakes who helped set up Fintech Ireland is a speaker at the event.

To register for this event click here Tuesday March 31, 2015 from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM BST @ The Gibson Hotel, Point Village, Dublin 1, Ireland

This morning seminar will focus on why the UK is the ideal marketplace for indigenous firms looking to expand their operations internationally. 

Speech by Minister of State Simon Harris, T.D. at the launch of IFS2020, the International Financial Services Strategy Wednesday 11 March 2015

Although there are numerous sectors covered in Ireland's IFIS2020 Strategy, this site, as you might expect, is focused on the vitally important sector of fintech in Ireland and its impact on the global stage.  The speech  addresses the realisation of Ireland's vision in which five strategic priorities and 30 concrete actions are identified for immediate delivery, including "the very exciting opportunities FinTech presents for Ireland. Ireland is uniquely positioned to become a leading global centre for FinTech – where global multinationals can develop and implement their innovation strategies, side by side with Irish-owned start-ups who will scale and succeed in global markets".

The strategy document is available here.