Exclusive interview of the co-founder of Currency Fair

I m proud to post the 1st part of the  interview that Brett Meyers has accepted to give me. Brett Meyers is the co-founder of Currency Fair (2nd company to get the license as a Payment Institution in Ireland).

I will post the interview in 4 times. If you can’t wait feel free to drop me an email to Bruno.joanides@gmail.com , please take 1 minute to tell me why you are interested in PIs.

PI license

Bruno Joanides (BJ): Last April, the Irish Financial Regulator granted Currency Fair the authorization to operate as a payment institution. You are among the first ones in Ireland to get this license. 

Currency Fair – Brett Meyers (CF): Yes, we were only the second new payment institution to be regulated under the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 in Ireland.  There are now nine in total in Ireland we believe based on the most recently published figures.  

BJ: Currency Fair creates a person to person currency exchange market.  Before, this activity was done by financial institutions, how do you feel in this banker environment?

CF: We believe we are using the PSD for the purpose it was intended, providing consumers with an alternative to the banks. We are better able to meet customer needs as without the massive internal structures of banks we are more quickly able to adapt to the changing environment and make use of advances in different technologies.

BJ: When you realized that a PI license was needed to run your business, how long did it take before submitting your application to the financial authorities?

CF:At the outset of setting up the business we knew we would need regulation within a strong regulatory environment. By the very nature of the business being internet based strong regulation gives potential users the added comfort that the business is being run correctly and is a legitimate enterprise. With this in mind and the fact that we were chosen as a high potential start up by Enterprise Ireland we decided to set up in Ireland and started the process of regulation at the very beginning.

BJ :What were your main difficulties during this process? Did you need external help (legal, IT, Financial accounting, etc?)

CF:The fact that we were only the second new firm to be brought under the new regulations meant there were difficulties throughout the process. The application process was obviously new to us but also to the regulator, especially as we were coming to them with a new type of business model that didn’t always fit easily within their existing framework. We retained the services of a well known company to guide us through the process and assist with compiling our application and in ongoing dealings with the regulator throughout the process.

BJ: Regarding your activities, what was the initial capital asked by the Irish Financial Regulator ?

CF:The initial capital required was € 50,000. Under the regulations there is also an ongoing capital requirement.