Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2015
76. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of payment institutions regulated in the State; the names of same; the date each one was licensed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18803/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra79. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications for licences to operate as payment institutions that have been received by the Central Bank of Ireland in the past two years; his views on the opinion expressed to the Irish Ambassador in Britain that companies were having difficulties in obtaining licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18856/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 79 together.
I am advised by the Central Bank that there are currently eleven payment institutions regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in accordance with the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009. Please see appendix 1 for further details. Furthermore, at the start of 2013 the Central Bank had three applications for authorisation in progress. During 2013, the Central Bank received a further two applications and during 2014 the Central Bank received a further three applications. Of these eight applications, three applications were returned to applicants due to dormancy (i.e. absence of response from the applicant for 6 months or more), one was withdrawn by the applicant, two were authorised and the remaining two continue to be processed.
As part of my role as Minister I meet with a wide range of members of the public and representatives of industry, some of which may outline regulatory issues which they have encountered. In the context of my responsibility to ensure an effective legislative framework for financial regulation I may from time to time raise certain issues in discussion with the Central Bank of Ireland or elsewhere. Furthermore, under Section 32L of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended, the Central Bank is required to prepare an Annual Performance Statement relating to its performance in regulating financial services. In that context, my Department is currently working with the Central Bank in seeking to improve the parameters for reporting on performance contained in that Performance Statement.
I note that, as set out in 'IFS 2020: A strategy for Ireland's International Financial Services Sector', in an Irish context 'the Payments Industry is a highly successful sub-sector of the International Financial Services Industry which has seen considerable growth in recent years'. Officials within my Department strive to ensure that the regulations which are in place operate as envisaged and in this regard they continue to monitor the appropriate legislation.
Finally, I welcome the recent political agreement which was reached on the proposal for a revised Payment Services Directive with the conclusion of trilogue negotiations.
Appendix 1
List of Payment Institutions authorised in Ireland 1.
|
Payment Institution |
Trading as |
Date of Authorisation |
|
CBN Ireland Remittance Centre Limited |
CBN Remittance Centre |
29 Apr 2011 |
|
Chase Paymentech Europe Limited |
Chase Paymentech Europe Limited |
01 Nov 2009 |
|
CurrencyFair Limited |
CurrencyFair Limited |
08 Apr 2010 |
|
CUSOP (Payments) Limited |
CUSOP |
01 Nov 2013 |
|
EU Money Transfer Limited |
EU Money Transfer Limited |
01 Feb 2010 |
|
FEXCO Corporate Payments |
FEXCO Corporate Payments |
01 Nov 2009 |
|
Fire Financial Services Limited |
Fire Financial Services |
04 Jun 2010 |
|
First Merchant Processing (Ireland) Ltd |
AIB Merchant Services |
01 Nov 2009 |
|
InterPay Limited |
Transfermate |
29 Apr 2011 |
|
Primafinance Limited |
PrimaFinance Debt Solutions |
11 Dec 2013 |
|
Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited |
Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited |
01 Nov 2009 |
1. Data were extracted from the 'Register of Payment Institutions who have been granted an authorisation pursuant to Regulation 18 of the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 as at 06 May 2015', which can be accessed at http://registers.centralbank.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx
