Ireland is the 4th largest exporter of Financial Services in the EU.

Nine of the world’s top 10 global software companies are located in Ireland.

All of the top 10 ‘Born-on-the-Internet’ companies are located in Ireland.

Start-up activity in IFS hit an all-time high in 2015 with activity doubling from 2014 to 2015.

3 Fintech accelerators, NDRC, Mastercard and Accenture Fintech labs, are contributing to the increase in start-ups.

Enterprise Ireland’s client companies employ over 8,500 in the International Financial Services sector.

Enterprise Ireland continues to focus on providing equity funding for start-ups across the range of sectors and also specifically for IFS.

The indigenous payments industry in Ireland is a competitive cluster of 25 payments companies. This cluster is globally recognised for its strengths in Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, and payment processing platforms.

There were significant funding deals by fast-scaling Fintech companies in 2015, including Fenergo’s $75m raise from Insight Partners, and Currency Fairs €10m raise.

PitchBook, which is regularly used by over 70,000 plus venture capital, private equity, angel investors and investment professionals to profile global start-ups, has ranked the top VC investors in seed rounds since 2010. In terms of deal counts, it has ranked Enterprise Ireland as the 3rd largest global investor in seed rounds.

Included in Ireland’s 2016 IFS2020 actions is a commitment by Enterprise Ireland, with support from the FPAI (Fintech & Payments Association), to launch a CSF (Competitive Start Fund) for start-ups, which will result in equity investment support of €50,000 in 10 start-ups.

Enterprise Ireland also has a focus on supporting scaling companies in this sector. A large number of Irish-owned payments companies are world leaders in their area: in particular, companies that are in the dynamic currency conversion, payment card industry compliance, and payment processing platforms.

40% of employment in Irish-owned IFS companies are located in the regions.