WWW.IDAIRELAN .COM The Dock, Accenture


Why FinTech is choosing Ireland


Gateway to EU: As an English speaking country in the Eurozone, Ireland becomes a strong proposition should UK-based financial services companies lose the freedom to sell services to the EU post-Brexit.


Government priority: The Irish Government sees the FinTech sector as a developmental priority, as evidenced by the strategy document IFS 2020.


Stable and attractive tax regime: Ireland’s attractive 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate is further supported by the R&D credit of 25 per cent.


IT and social media fusion: Ireland is home to over 50 per cent of the world’s leading organisations in the financial services sector, while nine of the world’s top 10 technology companies are located here. The country’s main financial district, the IFSC, is within walking distance to its IT hub, the ‘Silicon Docks’.


Workforce: Ireland can seamlessly draw on an EU-wide pool of educated, multilingual talent.


Regulatory environment: The Central Bank of Ireland recently stated that, ‘FinTech innovations can bring benefits to consumers and firms,’ and is streamlining the authorisation process for FinTech.


Common law jurisdiction: Ireland’s common law jurisdiction is familiar territory to international investors, and US multinationals in particular.


Source: Mason Hayes & Curran


CEO of FEXCO’s Corporate Payments (FCP) division Ruth McCarthy notes that collaboration is increasingly central to the innovation process. “FinTech companies are sometimes portrayed as challengers to the incumbents, but the reality is we are mostly adding value. We are seeing more and more partnerships emerge and that makes sense for both sides.” She adds that innovation isn’t the only


area where FinTechs need to be at the top of their game. “FinTech companies not only need to be cheaper and faster; they also need to show that they are reliable and transparent in order to earn and maintain the customer’s trust.”


FOCUS ON COLLABORATION With activities in Ireland dating back almost 60 years, and 2,500 employees in the country focused on consulting, technology and outsourcing services, it


FEXCO Head Offi ce, Killorglin, Co Kerry can be no


surprise that consultancy firm Accenture has had FinTech on its radar for some time. Financial services represent one of the firm’s five operating streams here and, within this, the development of a vibrant FinTech ecosystem is supported in a number of ways. The most explicit


is Accenture’s FinTech


Innovation Lab, an accelerator programme that provides a range of supports to new companies developing in the space. Key among them is access to leadership in Ireland’s major financial services and technology companies. It’s a process that Country Managing Director for Accenture Ireland, Alastair Blair, says is facilitating important conversations on potential joint projects, and means start-ups with potential are


being seen as more


opportunities for investment. While the first


than merely stage of the FinTech


revolution was characterised by disruption, Alastair sees the second phase as far more about collaboration. “The


FinTech


Innovation Lab has had overwhelming support from the financial services industry, who all want to be part of its mentorship programme. Financial


services businesses


realise the best new ideas are coming from this kind of start-up environment.” Among companies of note


ADDING VALUE Staking a claim to be


to have Ireland’s oldest


indigenous FinTech company, Kerry- headquartered FEXCO offers an interesting perspective on this developing landscape.


emerged from the Lab are Xtremepush, an analytics and engagement marketing platform that joined in 2014. It has since gone on to scale and partner with leading financial services players across the globe. Direct


access to mentors from leading


financial services institutions in Ireland was, Alastair says, key to its ability to scale fast.


21 ISSUE 13


Lorna Martyn, SVP, Head of Technology, Fidelity Investments Ireland


GLOBAL AND LOCAL In 2015, Accenture opened The Dock, a multi-disciplinary research and incubation hub based in Dublin with a global audience in mind. The development of The Dock is, Alastair says, “a very conscious decision to position Ireland as a nexus for innovation, at the crossroads of the East and West, as a great place to do business and a place that attracts the very best


in terms of talent,


design and technology.” Some days, indeed, the work can be so cutting edge that “it may seem like a solution looking for a problem,” he


jokes. “We see The Dock as an


opportunity to provoke a conversation with clients, taking new products and translating them to real business solutions.” While its innovations are often global in


ambition (ID2020 has been one early output of The Dock, a technology that can address the challenges of proving identity that


is


faced by more than 1.1 billion people around the world), the immediate access it enjoys to


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