EU membership highlighted as ‘huge asset’ to Ireland as a fintech hub
The ability to passport through the European Union will boost Ireland’s credentials as a fintech hub, a senior peer-to-peer lending executive has predicted.
David Jelly, founder of Irish P2P lender Property Bridges, said the platform is expecting regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland later this year, after which it will be able to benefit from cross-border EU regulations.
“The EU has taken a much more centralised approach to the regulation of financial markets in recent years as opposed to a country by country approach,” he told Peer2Peer Finance News.
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“In P2P for example, the EU has issued crowdfunding regulation that applies across the block.
“Therefore, when Property Bridges gets regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland later this year we can passport throughout the EU which is a huge asset to have.”
With easy access to cross-border trade across the EU, Jelly said, fintechs can scale much more easily and you will start to see more European unicorns.
It comes as consultancy Hogan Lovells said Ireland has become a key hub for the fintech sector.
This was attributed to its business-friendly environment, committed EU membership and cultural connections to the UK, EU and US.
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“This is evidenced by the large amount of UK firms selecting Ireland to provide their footprint in the EU post-Brexit,” Eoin O’Connor, head of Hogan Lovells’ Dublin office, said.
“The sector continues to expand with both domestic start-ups and by attracting international firms and investors.”
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