** Two additional Electronic Money Firms now authorised in Ireland **

Our last post on additions to the Irish regulated fintech family of payment services firms and electronic money firms was back on 30 September when we released Version 2.1 of the 'Emoney & Payment Services Firms Authorised in Ireland Map' as at 11 September 2020.

Again thanks to CompliReg we have released an update to that Map, which now stands at Version 3.0.  The new joiners are Modulr FS Europe Limited and SumUp Limited.  In addition to their emoney authorisations, both firms can provide payment services 3(c) and (5), and in addition, SumUp can also provide payment services 3(b).  See below for a description of these payment services numbers*.

Followers of Fintech Ireland will recall that we co-hosted an event with Modulr at the start of the year (when during pre-covid 19 days we could all get together) on 3rd March 2020, aptly titled 'The Future of E-Money - Modulr & Fintech Ireland' with Myles Stephenson, Founder and Chief Executive and John Irwin, General Manager of Modulr and Fintech Ireland's/Fintech UK's our Peter Oakes.

Welcome to Ireland SumUp and Modulr and soon too the many others making their way through the Central Bank of Ireland authorisation pipeline!  

Those firms in the above Map which are indigenous to Ireland also appear on our bigger Fintech Ireland Map version 3.0 which you can find here. If you think you should be on the Fintech Ireland Map, complete our Survey.  Do it soon as version 4 of that Map is slated for release very shortly!

If you are looking to get authorised in Ireland as an emoney or payments firm, see these Authorisation Guides and feel free to contact us for a informative dialogue on the authorisation process.  We are chatting with about 2-3 firms a week.

* Payment Services:
3 Execution of payment transactions, including transfers of funds on a payment account with the user’s payment service provider or with another payment service provider:

(b). Execution of payment transactions through a payment card or a similar device;
(c). Execution of credit transfers, including standing orders
5. Issuing of payment instruments and/or acquiring of payment transactions

** Another regulated payments institution for Ireland **

It has been an interesting number of months since Fintech Ireland published the last 'Emoney & Payment Services Firms Authorised in Ireland' Map back on 1 July 2020 (thanks to CompliReg). At that date we only had 3 emoney/payments firms authorised in Ireland in 2020.

On 11 September 2020, Ireland welcomed another #brexit hedge firm, this one being Segpay Ireland, authorised as payments institution for 3(c). Execution of credit transfers, including standing orders and (5) Issuing of payment instruments and/or acquiring of payment transactions.

“We’ve spent countless hours preparing for Brexit because it was so important to have our merchants remain on solid ground when Brexit officially goes into motion,” said Cathy Beardsley, Segpay President & CEO. Ailish Penston is Country Manager. 

Welcome to Ireland SegPay and also the many others in the Central Bank of Ireland authorisation pipeline!

Read more about SegPay here.

Those firms in the above map which are indigenous to Ireland also appear on our bigger Fintech Ireland Map version 3.0 which you can find here. If you think you should be on the Fintech Ireland Map, complete our Survey.

If you are looking to get authorised in Ireland as an emoney or payments firm, see these Authorisation Guides.

An MEP representing Ireland in the European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness, has been appointed as EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and the Capital Markets Union – which includes spearheading Europe’s new AML drive.

Ms McGuinness was appointed to the influential role following the resignation of Phil Hogan (a previous nominee of the Irish government) who served as Commissioner for trade.  Mr Hogan resigned his Commissioner role following a scandal involving an Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) Golf Society event at which a number of other people attended - including senior members of financial services and banking representatives - alleged to be in breach of Ireland's coronavirus guidelines last month.

When all is said and done, has to be viewed that Ireland, particularly its ever-growing fintech & financial services industry, should be very happy with Mairead McGuinness -  a current First Vice President of the European Parliament - being appointed as European Commission's new Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services & Capital Markets Union.  Her new role will encompass banking, insurance, fintech  (payments & emoney), insurtech and financial crime including anti-money laundering.

It is important to bear in mind that Ms McGuiness is not appointed to fly the green flag nor wear the green jersey for Ireland.  Just as Mr Hogan was 'not Ireland's man in Brussels' which so many people who should know better said when his role at the EC was being questioned.  The role of an European Commissioner is to serve Europe first, not do deals to put Ireland's (or any Member State's) interest above the EU.  If that happens with respect to any such appointment, then there is at least one word to describe that - "corruption".  See further reading below.

Announcing Ms McGuinness' appointment Ursula Von der Leyen, European Commission President, described McGuinness as having “significant political experience on EU issues” as an MEP since 2004. She added that her previous experience was “crucial in carrying forward the EU’s financial policy agenda” and “ensuring it supports and strengthens the Commission’s key priority”.

McGuinness will oversee the upcoming sixth money laundering directive, which is due to be implemented by December 2020.  Which is rather interesting since Ireland was fined €2 million by Europe's highest court on foot of a complaint from the European Commission for Ireland's failure to implement the 5th AML Directive on time.  Goes to show that when it comes to Ireland, the European Commission acts in a very independent manner! In fairness, important to add that Ireland was not the only naughty school child - Romania was fined €3m for the same breach.

Some other observations, #1 and 2 captured above:

1. Ms McGuiness is not appointed to fly the green flag nor wear the green jersey for Ireland.
2. Ms McGuiness is to oversee the upcoming 6th AMLD due to be implemented by December 2020. Interesting since Ireland was fined €2 million for failure to implement 5th AML Directive on time.
3. Ms McGuiness's Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union is an equally capable person, who also happens to be Irish: the Director-General John Berrigan (see org chart below).
4. Another Irish person with a senior influential role in Europe is Ireland's Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, elected head of eurozone finance ministers back in July https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0709/1152184-eurogroup-president-election/.  What is it with Irish professionals and EU finance and financial services?

Further reading:

"When Ursula Von der Leyen makes her selection, von der Leyen should ignore lobbying for specific posts from Dublin and every other member state and political grouping. It’s her right to assign portfolios as she sees fit, based on her assessment of the skills and experience of her commissioners and the overall composition she believes she needs to implement her agenda. The challenges facing the European Union, and the European Commission as its policy engine-room, are far too great to allow the effectiveness of the institutions to be compromised by the states’ all-too-narrow conception of their own influence."  Irish Times 7 September 2020. 

CompliReg, supporters of the Fintech Ireland Map, have written a short blog on the announcement (10th August 2020) that the Irish Government Cabinet has approved the publication of new draft rules which, if passed by both houses of Ireland's parliament, will strengthen existing Irish money laundering and terrorist financing laws to bring Ireland further into compliance with the 5th AML/CTF Directive.

Readers may recall that in July 2020, together with Romania, Ireland was fined €2 million for its delay in implementing the necessary legal changes to give effect to the 5th AML/CTF Directive.

This blog is particularly relevant for regulated #Fintech firms, such as payment services and emoney firms, and the soon to be captured cryptoasset / cryptocurrency / cryptoexchange / cryptowallet providers operating from Ireland.

More here - ​https://complireg.com/blogs--insights/new-irish-anti-money-laundering-rules-approved-by-government