Ms Annmarie O'Connor:

We have raised the issue of sandboxes in a submission to the Central Bank on its consultation on digitalisation. A sandbox is like a safe regulatory space for small start-ups in order that they do not have to invest in the regulatory overhead at the outset. Many countries do this and many different ideas have emerged. I think there is potential in this space because the research indicates that in respect of lending, some FinTechs are bringing atypical consumers into a kind of prime or near-prime market because they have other detail over and above the credit rating in terms of informing their lending decisions and so on.

The other issue is payments. In our view, there is huge potential for our clients under PSD2. Do not ask me about the technical detail, but the research indicates that if payments can be sped up, cashflow is eased. There is a lot of potential in the area of SME lending as well. What I would regret is if we did not put time and investment right now into looking at the social potential of FinTech for our clients and indeed for the underserved populations this report concerns. We would then have a missed opportunity.