Lafferty Group, a major provider of knowledge services for the financial
industry worldwide, today welcomed reports that Facebook is seeking an e-money
license in Ireland that would enable its users
to hold and exchange money on the social networking site. As well as having implications for the
rapidly expanding global electronic payments market, the anticipated
announcement will provide a boost to Ireland.
With 1.3 billion active monthly Facebook users and 680 million mobile
users, the company is well positioned to make a significant impact in the
payments area.
Lafferty Group CEO Robert Grealis put the move in context. He said "We think that Facebook has
enormous potential in the e-payments business – both in developed and emerging
markets – and wish it well. E-money in its various forms is now enjoying explosive
growth around the world. Recent
research undertaken by Lafferty Group’s Westport-based research centre has found
that several Latin American countries are particularly well-positioned in the
field of mobile money, not least because of their willingness to allow telcos
and others to accept and store deposits, which allows them to issue e-money,
thereby compete directly with banks”.
From a licensing perspective there are
wider implications. Mr Grealis
explained that “Several other major internet players with substantial operations
in Dublin are
also known to be considering similar moves. This presents Ireland with a great opportunity to compete with
London in the
field of e-money licensing."
