The FPAI is an inclusive association which welcomes participation and engagement from all organisations with an interest in the Irish FinTech ecosystem. Its primary aim is to unlock the value of community in helping to foster an environment in which both indigenous and multi-national FinTech companies can thrive and get the very best from locating and doing business in Ireland.

The association will co-ordinate meet-ups and networking events both at an association wide level and also events tailored to specific interest groups within the FinTech community.

Regulatory

FinTech and regulation increasingly go hand in hand and accordingly a cornerstone of the association's activities will comprise consultation with its members and, where appropriate, individual constituencies within its membership, to canvas views on regulatory challenges and opportunities facing the Irish FinTech ecosystem. In due course the association will establish and contribute to initiatives and consultation processes, whether formal or informal, on behalf of its members in respect of government policy and proposed legislation which impacts on Fintech.

The Association will also seek to provide a forum for the sharing of experiences in tackling regulatory challenges amongst members, run focused educational events and programmes and maintain a resource of guidance notes from applicable regulatory authorities. The association will seek to leverage the scale of its membership to gain access to guidance papers and engagement processes with applicable regulatory authorities.

Sector Support

The association will, overtime, take positive steps towards deepening and broadening the FinTech community in Ireland. This will primarily comprise initiatives designed to support indigenous FinTech start- up and scaling companies. Over time the needs of the community may change so the focus of the association in terms of commercial initiatives will need to be fluid. The challenges of start-up office space and engagement between start-ups and established financial services companies and institutions have been identified as currently of significance to the ecosystem.

Community

Fintech is a sector which touches on the interests of both technology companies and their investors and also financial institutions. FPAI was established to fulfil the need for a dedicated forum for these constituencies to meet, interact, network and share perspectives. Technology companies have a number of industry forums and similarly with the financial services sector, but there was little overlap. The constituencies tend to come from different perspectives – one from the City or international financial services centre, one from the R&D centre, the academic institution or even the garage. The FPAI provides an open and inclusive forum for interaction on areas of common interest and networking.

Other technology and financial services centres around the world have also identified a need for similar industry groupings. FPAI can link with those international associations to learn from their experiences and share perspectives with the association's members. The FPAI will also provide local contacts and introductions to overseas Fintech businesses who may choose to locate in Ireland.