fintech report
Opportunities and challenges posed by fintech in Ireland Fintech, as a term of art, describes the impact of digital technology on financial services. It is an important issue for the next phase of development of the Irish economy and one that the Department of Finance takes very seriously. Karen Cullen, Head of International Financial Services, Risk and Compliance Unit, Department of Finance and Secretary to the Ireland for Finance Committee, writes. The role that technology plays in all our lives came into sharp relief during the pandemic, and many commentators refer to 2020 as a digital threshold year, marking a shift to a new era. It was also the year when we in the Department of Finance established the Fintech Steering Group, under the Ireland for Finance strategy, as our considered response to this multidimensional policy issue. As a relatively new international financial services centre, Ireland has always had technology as a crucial feature of its development. Without the advances in telecoms in the 1980s it would not have been possible to attract the new investments that have grown into the vibrant financial services sector in Ireland that we enjoy today. Through my role as the secretary to the dedicated Government strategy to develop international financial services, Ireland for Finance, I have seen first-hand, just how critical fintech has become. It is an opportunity we have focused on for some time and one that has accelerated as an increasingly important driver of growth for people and organisations in the public and the private sector. It is a critical factor behind the recent investments from both indigenous Irish firms that are fostered by Enterprise Ireland and the multinationals whose operations here are supported by IDA Ireland. It is also a trend that is common across all sectors, banking, insurance, and investment management and is of particular importance in the payments sector where Ireland has established a leadership position.
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As a phenomenon, it also brings its own challenges, as technologies are developing at a pace that is several orders of magnitude faster than the speed at which regulation evolves. With the move to online
