By Business & Finance 
Pictured at the launch of the Business & Finance Fintech Ireland edition at The Marker Hotel (L-R): Garvan Callan, director of Customer, Digital and Innovation, Bank of Ireland; Paul Kerley, leading fintech entrepreneur and investor; and David Tighe, head of Innovation, Bank of Ireland
Ireland’s burgeoning fintech industry was highlighted at the launch of the Business & Finance Fintech Ireland edition at The Marker Hotel in Dublin’s Silicon Docks.
Ireland is fast-becoming a centre of excellence for fintech firms as Ireland gains a reputation as a country embracing competitive fintech businesses. Given that the fintech industry employs at least 7,000 people here, key initiatives and support mechanisms have been put in place in recent years to develop the sector further.
Paul Kerley, one of Ireland’s leading fintech entrepreneurs and investors, was honoured at the event. Kerley served as the CEO of Norkom Technologies, a global financial crime and compliance solutions provider, from its inception in 1998 and took the award-winning company public in 2006 following a successful IPO. Kerley currently serves on the boards of a number of technology companies including Fenergo, SmartBin and MindConnex Learning, and he continues to be a key player across the industry.
Garvan Callan, director of Customer, Digital and Innovation at of Bank of Ireland offered his insights at the prestigious event. Callan joined Bank of Ireland in 2013 from Danske Bank where he led a number of executive roles and is also a council member of the Institute of Banking.
Speaking at the event, Callan said: “Bank of Ireland are thrilled to be sponsoring the Business & Finance Fintech Ireland edition. The Bank continues to build for the future by investing in its customer franchises, propositions and business model – making banking more accessible, simpler and safer, while integrating and moving to more scalable and modern platforms that position the Bank strongly for the future.”
Ireland is gaining a reputation on the global stage as a country that is embracing and spawning competitive fintech businesses …
He continued: “Fintech is a fast growing sector and at Bank of Ireland we are constantly looking at initiatives and mechanisms to develop the industry. It was fantastic to honour one of Ireland’s leading fintech entrepreneurs and investors Paul Kerley at the event and on behalf of Bank of Ireland I would like to congratulate him on this award.”
Business & Finance Editor Niamh Mac Sweeney commented: “Ireland is gaining a reputation on the global stage as a country that is embracing and spawning competitive fintech businesses as an ever increasing number of financial services companies look to technology as a means of making their businesses and customer experiences more agile, efficient and profitable. Since the establishment of the IFSC in 1987, there have been a number of fintech entrepreneurs that have trailed a blaze.”
Four Bank of Ireland Innovation start-ups also exhibited in the main room.
Gecko Governance is the world’s first real-time fund regulation solution that enables companies to manage all their funds and regulation oversight. Clink is a digital wallet that allows the consumer to make secure, small payments to a variety of services, without incurring prohibitive fees or filling in lengthy forms.
Couture Intel is establishing itself as the world’s premier price comparison destination for tourists and Barricade.io is an early warning system against hackers, helps to secure cloud infrastructure.
