A new not-for-profit trade organisation has been set up to provide a single voice for Ireland's emerging fintech and payments industry and to establish the country as a leading international financial services hub. The Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI) was formed by bringing together Payments Ireland and the FinTech-Ireland meet-up group.

The associations Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and the Department of Finance support the FPAI.

Founder members include CurrencyFair, Fexco, Finergo, First Derivatives, Sysnet, Realex, Paywithfire, TransferMate, Linked Finance, Senddr, Britebill, Payzone, Grid Finance, Rubicoin, Version1, Supercharge, Accenture, AIB Merchant Services, Bank of Ireland, Citi and NDRC.

The creation of FPAI is part of the Irish Government's strategy for International Financial Services, which was launched in March 2015.

Anna Scally, of KPMG, is also a member of the FPAI board. She said: “Ireland is one of the best places in the world for tech companies to do business and is fast becoming a global centre for fintech. We already have a vibrant, dynamic technology sector, a well-established global financial services centre and a strong ecosystem of tech start-ups. FPAI aims to bring all of this together and will provide a strong, united voice for the growing fintech community and its investors.”

A report from Deloitte, Why FinTech Collaboration with Financial Services can drive job creation in Ireland, suggested that employment in Ireland's fintech sector, which is currently about 5,000, could double by 2020.