Open Banking platform TrueLayer has been authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) as a Payments Institution and established its new European headquarters in Dublin.
The CBI authorisation enables TrueLayer to incorporate payment processing into its Open Banking network and follows the launch in January of its first payments product, PayDirect, which provides users with the ability to onboard customers and bypass card schemes using faster payment rails for account-to-account payouts and deposits.
TrueLayer’s choice of Ireland for its European HQ has been in part motivated by Dublin establishing itself as a European financial services centre and strategic hub for firms escaping post-Brexit trade restrictions.
Francesco Simoneachi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer comments: “When we began our search for a European HQ, we wanted a location that mirrored much of what made the UK such an exceptional base for us - a strong regulator, in an established global financial services centre that embraces fintech and digital innovation. Ireland was ideal, with the CBI’s regulatory regime broadly similar to the UK, and Dublin being a thriving centre for payments and ecommerce."
The company currently claims to offer more than 90% coverage of all major European markets, and account for more than half of all open banking traffic in the UK, Ireland and Spain, processing billions of euros in payments.
Over the past 12 months the firm has expanded across 12 European markets, growing payment volumes by 600%.
The Irish operation will be led by former WhatsApp and Facebook Executive, Joe Morley, TrueLayer’s VP and general manager for Europe, and new COO for Europe, Leigh-Anne Cotter, who was previously head of commerce and payments operations at WhatsApp.