Ireland’s Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has announced a new €5m research programme to support the FinTech ecosystem in the country.
The initiative, named FinTech Fusion, will be led by ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology and will aim to support the innovation of blockchain and FinTech research.
FinTech Fusion will aim to support innovation in payment, regulation and insurance technologies through accelerated scientific progress and data-driven research.
During the research program, FinTech Fusion will explore how FinTech is disrupting and evolving financial institutions and technology companies, and the retail and wholesale financial sector. The group will look to support the development of solutions in Ireland but also services which can scale globally.
Researchers at FinTech Fusion will work closely with other companies including Deutsche Börse, Fidelity Investments, Microsoft, Gecko Governance, FINEOS and Zurich.
Minister Donohoe said, “The collaboration between industry and third level institutions in research programmes, such as FinTech Fusion, gives Ireland an early advantage in emerging technologies. Coupled with our open economy and strong background in both technology and financial services, this will add to the opportunities already available for the creation of higher value jobs.
“The investment in ADAPT, from Science Foundation Ireland, is part of the Irish Government’s wider effort to invest in research, support innovation and build Ireland’s knowledge and skills, creating a global hub for digital content technologies.”
FinTech investments in Ireland hit a record year last year, according to data by FinTech Global. Last year there was $309.4m invest through 21 deals, an increase of $54.1m on the previous year. Between 2014 and 2017 investment volume has risen from $65.1m to $309.4m, at a CAGR of 47.6 per cent.
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