Ireland's ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology Launches FinTech Research Programme

DUBLIN, September 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Minister for Finance announces ADAPT Centre will lead on €5 million research programme which will advance innovations in Blockchain and FinTech Research and build a fintech ecosystem in Ireland.

Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., and the ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology, have announced a new Financial Technology (FinTech) research programme, FinTech Fusion . The academic and industry research partnership was launched today in Dublin city centre.FinTech Fusion will encourage breakthroughs in payment, regulation and insurance technologies by accelerating scientific progress and enabling data-driven research.

The rapid advancements in AI, mobile applications, cloud computing, Big Data analytics and distributed ledger technology such as Blockchain has demanded organisations change in order to remain competitive.FinTech Fusion's research programme will address how financial technology is disrupting and transforming businesses from financial institutions to technology companies, along with the retail and wholesale financial sector, and lead on innovations that are capable of creating significant change in financial services, on a global scale.

Speaking at the launch of FinTech Fusion, Minister Donohoe said: "The collaboration between industry and third level institutions in research programmes, such as FinTech Fusion, gives Ireland an early advantage in emerging technologies. Coupled with our open economy and strong background in both technology and financial services, this will add to the opportunities already available for the creation of higher value jobs. The investment in ADAPT, from Science Foundation Ireland, is part of the Irish Government's wider effort to invest in research, support innovation and build Ireland's knowledge and skills, creating a global hub for digital content technologies. I look forward to the future innovations coming from the ADAPT Centre as it continues to provide cutting-edge solutions to the problems of our digital age."

The research will focus on payments, insurance and regulation. Distributed ledger systems are providing alternative payment systems that are faster, cheaper, and more transparent; technological innovations such as blockchain-based frameworks can reduce human intervention and fraud while increasing transparency and efficiency; the role of regulatory compliance will require state-of-the-art tools for risk prediction and mitigating costly threats. These new technologies are putting pressure on the business models of traditional financial services and how banks and companies react to this disruption will define their future success.

FinTech Fusion's academic researchers will work together with more than a dozen companies including Deutsche Börse, Fidelity Investments, Microsoft, Gecko Governance, FINEOS and Zurich.

Professor Vincent Wade, Director of the ADAPT research centre based at Trinity College Dublin said: "ADAPT's world-leading expertise in content media and intelligence will enable FinTech Fusion to create new solutions for an ever-changing technological and financial world. Partners have a unique opportunity to leapfrog emerging technologies by researching new solutions and develop new paradigms for the FinTech industry."

For media queries contact Olivia Waters, Marketing and Communications Manager at the ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology. Tel: 0879153599. Email: olivia.waters@adaptcentre.ie