Ireland Preparing to Woo Britain’s Fintech start-ups

The Irish government is preparing a coup to attract fintechs based in the United Kingdom, following their decision to leave the European Union. The government is organising events in the heart of the British financial market to sell Dublin as the ideal location to set up shop in order to maintain their passporting rights. The junior finance minister Eoghan Murphy will spearhead the sales events, alongside the country’s top experts on fintechs and payment systems. The major sponsors of the event are IDA Ireland, which is the agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and the law firm William Fry. Ireland has made changes to its regulatory process to ease the registration of start-ups and make it easier to get an e-money license. Facebook secured their e-money license towards the end of last year.

Start-ups attending the first event will be treated to a more in-depth session with the Central Bank of Ireland. Ireland’s chances are being helped by the results of a six-month study published by the UK’s Emerging Payments Association (EPA), which found it a suitable location for fintechs. Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg are the other contenders, but given Ireland’s favourable tax policies and close-ties with the United Kingdom, it appears to be the frontrunner. Germany was excluded from the list, as it has an “impressive reputation for being antagonistic to the innovative European payments sector.” However, it will all depend on if the UK does decide to pursue a hard Brexit and lose its passporting rights, an outcome everyone in the Capital is eager to prevent.