16th June 2022 – Ruth McCarthy, CEO of Fexco Corporate Payments has been appointed Chairperson of the FinTech & Payments Association Ireland (FPAI). FPAI, the FinTech division of Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, is the representative body for the FinTech sector in Ireland, representing over 75 members across the full spectrum of Irish FinTech, from start-up companies through to the multinational banks and big tech companies.
Ruth is CEO of FEXCO Corporate Payments, part of the FEXCO Group, a financial services and outsourcing specialist that processes 100 million transactions on its systems each year and employs more than 2,300 people in 29 countries. Ruth was also a director of Goodbody stockbrokers before its sale to AIB in 2021.
Prior to joining FEXCO Ruth worked with Arthur Cox where she specialised in financial regulation. She is a Chartered Director, a Director of the American Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and a member of the Industry Advisory Group for the Irish government’s IFS2025 strategy for financial services.
Speaking on taking up her new role, Ruth McCarthy said: “I am honoured to be chosen as the Chair of FPAI during such an exciting and important period in the development of this dynamic sector. In a relatively short time, Irish FinTech has grown from being a fringe activity into a core pillar of innovation in financial services.”
The new FPAI Chair continued “The importance of this sector to more established segments such as banking is reflected in the scale of collaboration underway across all areas of financial services. In the past five years the retail banks have spent some €400 million in partnering with, and investing in, over 100 Irish and international FinTech companies.”
Ruth concluded, “I will be working with our new FPAI Council to implement an ambitious work programme with our Regulatory and Policy working groups, including a breadth of collaborative workstreams and events on priority issues for the fintech sector. I’m also looking forward to opening our Annual #fintechnation Conference in September which will bring together expertise and insights from across the full FinTech ecosystem”.
The FPAI was established in 2015 to further the interests of stakeholders in the Irish Fintech ecosystem. It’s objectives are to:
- Facilitate dialogue and promote networking between members and stakeholders involved in technology and innovation in the financial services sector in Ireland
- Provide support to members through education, networking, showcasing and information sharing in the area of technology and innovation across the sector
- Represent member interests with stakeholders in areas of common interest, including regulators and policy makers
ENDS
Note: Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) represents the banking, payments and fintech sector in Ireland. Together with its affiliates, the Federation of International Banks in Ireland and the Fintech & Payments Association of Ireland, BPFI has 100 member institutions and associates, including licensed domestic and foreign banks and institutions operating in the financial marketplace here.
Contact: Jillian Heffernan, Head of Communications, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie 087 9016880
