Northern Ireland is unique. It is made unique by its geography, history, people and resilience. Yes we are known for ‘Game of Thrones’, the Titanic, Narnia, golf and Van Morrison but did you know we are a centre of excellence for technology, and Fintech more specifically?
Northern Ireland is part of the UK, shares a border with the EU being located on the island of Ireland and has strong trading and historic links to the USA. As part of the UK, Northern Ireland operates within its globally respected and robust regulatory framework. At the same time being located on the island of Ireland has also allowed Northern Ireland easier access to the Irish Financial Services market and enables the region to provide support services to firms in the International Financial Services Centre.
In recent years, the growth of the Fintech sector has been fuelled by an unbeatable combination of world-class talent, highly competitive operating costs and research excellence in a pro-business environment. Northern Ireland’s Fintech ecosystem is thriving, with a number of industry accolades bestowed including being ranked as the world’s top destination for financial technology investment projects and Belfast, the region’s capital city, ranked third in the FT fDi FinTech Locations of the Future after Singapore and London.
Northern Ireland has the highest concentration of Fintech employment in the UK with 1 in 5 people working across financial services and technology in Northern Ireland working in Fintech, with core strengths in areas such as RegTech and compliance, TradingTech, InsurTech, Cybersecurity and AI & Advanced Analytics.
