We had a great day at the Fintech Summit 2025 at Croke Park this week. The theme of the event was “Building a Better Financial System, Together.” It featured a range of speakers on subjects including innovation, ESG and AI. Some themes that emerged from these presentations and discussions were the importance of encouraging innovation while managing risk, building infrastructure to take advantage of emerging technologies, and maintaining a focus on grassroots innovation in a challenging economic environment.
At the outset of the event, Mary-Elizabeth McMunn, the Central Bank’s Deputy Governor of Financial Regulation, set the tone for the day with her comments on encouraging and facilitating innovation while managing risk. She spoke positively of Ireland’s current infrastructure for innovation around Fintech, citing the steady growth of the Innovation Hub since its inception in 2018 as an example.
She also flagged concerns that, in the current challenging socioeconomic environment, some organisations are moving away from prioritising ESG. She emphasised that ESG targets must remain a priority.
Peter Kerstens, chief architect of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) discussed how implementation of the Act has progressed so far. Again, he focused on the need to support innovation and to “enable efficiencies” within a comprehensive and secure structure. He also noted that technology experts should be play a crucial role at the very top of financial organisations.
Much of the afternoon’s discussion was unsurprisingly focused on AI. The general sentiment was that, while AI has created a range of new security challenges for financial institutions and their customers, it has also created many opportunities. The speakers encouraged Irish organisations to embrace AI in a secure and controlled manner, including training employees in secure use.
Throughout the day, we heard from Irish business leaders, from established veterans to those leading newer organisations such as Wayflyer and the startup hub Dogpatch Labs. Across these discussions, there was a focus on remaining ambitious even in challenging economic circumstances and on maintaining a focus on the customer at each step of the Overall, this was an engaging event that emphasised embracing innovation even in the current challenging circumstances. We came away feeling confident that Ireland has the potential to become a global leader in fintech innovation.
