What Fire Financial Services does

Fire Financial Services is a Dublin-headquartered, dually-regulated payments fintech founded in 2010 as a spin-out of Realex Payments. It operates a proprietary in-house platform — the Fire Payments API and supporting web/mobile applications — that delivers four core product lines to businesses: (1) multi-currency payment accounts with unique IBANs in euro and sterling, (2) FX and international transfers across 14 payout currencies and 31 SWIFT-collection currencies, (3) principal-issued Mastercard debit cards (since 2016), and (4) account-to-account open banking payment acceptance. The platform processes 'billions' in euro and sterling payments annually for thousands of business customers and is regulated as a Payment Institution by the Central Bank of Ireland and as an Electronic Money Institution by the UK FCA, giving it scheme access to Faster Payments, Bacs, SEPA, and Direct Debits.

The company serves a hybrid mix of high-tech startups and scaleups (self-serve, API-first), corporate businesses with multi-site expense and disbursement needs (direct sales), and financial institutions using Fire as a payment-rail and scheme-access partner. It generates revenue through three streams: transaction fees on payment processing (bank transfers, open banking, debit cards), a €10/£10 monthly service fee per business account, and FX margin on cross-border currency conversions. Enterprise pricing is quote-based. Distribution is API-first for developers and direct-sales-led for enterprise accounts, supported by comprehensive developer documentation, content marketing, and case-study-driven demand generation. Notable customers include AIB Merchant Services, Tirlán (formerly Glanbia), Joe Duffy Group, Circit, GoodBox, and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

From September 2024, Fire paused new personal customer onboarding for 18-24 months, redirecting resources toward the higher-value business and enterprise segments. Ownership remains concentrated with founder and CEO Colm Lyon, with no institutional investors, funding rounds, or parent company disclosed in available materials. The firm operates from Dublin (headquarters) and London (regional office) with 11-50 employees.

Name

Fire Financial Services

Legal name

Fire Financial Services Limited

Website

https://fire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fire Financial Services is a Dublin-based, dually-regulated fintech that provides businesses with multi-currency payment accounts, FX transfers, Mastercard debit cards, and open banking payments via its proprietary Fire Payments API, serving thousands of companies including European financial institutions and enterprise corporates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P) (FSAGAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payables & Disbursements (ACH/SEPA, wires, checks, virtual cards) (FSABAIAB), Bank-to-Bank Transfers & Pay-by-Bank (Consumer & Merchant) (FSAMAFAC), Instant Payment Scheme Connectivity & Processing (e.g., FedNow, SEPA Instant, Faster Payments) (FSAMAHAD), Cross-Border Payments & FX (multi-currency wallets, DCC, remittance) (THALAHAE)

Keywords

• Payment services
• Business banking
• Debit card issuance
• Foreign exchange transfers
• Open banking payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing and Transaction Fees: Revenue generated from processing payments including bank transfers, open banking payments, and debit card transactions. Volume-based revenue tied to transaction amounts processed.
2. Monthly Service Fee: Monthly service fee of €10 or £10 depending on country of business incorporation, deducted from default account monthly.
3. FX Margin: Revenue from foreign exchange transactions with percentage mark-up over ECB exchange rates applied to currency conversions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fire Financial Services provides regulated digital payment services to businesses, including multi-currency euro and sterling accounts with unique IBANs, Mastercard debit card issuance, foreign exchange and international transfers in 14 currencies, open banking payment acceptance, and access to Faster Payments, Bacs, SEPA, and Direct Debit schemes. Services are delivered via the Fire Payments API for programmatic integration and through web and mobile applications, enabling payment automation, reconciliation, and centralized expense management.

Product overview

Fire Financial Services operates as a unified digital payment platform combining multiple payment services. The core offering consists of Payments and Accounts (multi-currency business accounts with IBANs), FX and International Transfers (cross-border payments in 14 currencies), Debit Cards (Mastercard-issued business debit cards), and Open Banking Payments (account-to-account payment acceptance). These services are delivered through the Fire Payments API for programmatic access, the Fire for Business web portal for account management, and the Fire Personal Account platform for individual users. The Fire Open Payments feature enables payment request creation and distribution via QR codes or embedded links, while the TPP API supports third-party provider access to open banking services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payments and Accounts

Quantifiable outcome

• 800% reduction in manual hours for payment disbursements
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationFire is a principal issuer of Mastercard debit cards since 2016, one of the first payment institutions authorized as a Mastercard member. This partnership enables Fire to issue debit cards bearing the Mastercard logo for use at ATMs, in-store, and online transactions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Airwallex: Airwallex provides multi-currency business accounts, FX, cross-border payments, and cards to businesses. Direct competitor across Fire's core product suite, particularly for tech startups and corporate customers managing international payments.
• Wise (formerly TransferWise): Wise Business offers multi-currency business accounts, IBANs, and cross-border payments. Direct competitor to Fire's Payments and Accounts and FX and International Transfers products, serving similar SMB and mid-market European customers.
• TrueLayer: TrueLayer is a UK open banking payments network enabling account-to-account payment acceptance and bank connections. Directly comparable to Fire's Open Banking Payments offering for merchants and TPP API.
• Telleroo: Telleroo is a UK-based business payouts platform enabling bulk payments to employees, contractors, and suppliers via Faster Payments. Comparable to Fire's payment automation and disbursement use cases for UK businesses.
• Currencycloud: Currencycloud provides cross-border payments infrastructure and multi-currency wallets to businesses via API. Comparable to Fire's FX and International Transfers product and developer-led delivery model; Visa-owned.
• Modulr: Modulr is a UK-based payment service provider authorised by the FCA offering business accounts, Faster Payments, Bacs, and SEPA connectivity via API. Comparable to Fire's UK regulatory positioning and B2B payments-as-a-service offering.

Broad incumbents

• Adyen: Adyen is a global payments platform providing unified online, in-person, and platform payment processing. Broader incumbent that overlaps with Fire on enterprise payment processing and multi-currency settlement for large merchants.
• Stripe: Stripe is a global payments platform with developer-first APIs, supporting online card acceptance, Connect (marketplaces), and increasingly Banking-as-a-Service. Overlaps with Fire on developer-led payment automation, but operates at vastly larger scale across many geographies.
• Revolut Business: Revolut Business offers multi-currency business accounts, expense cards, and FX. Overlaps with Fire's IBAN and debit card products, particularly for UK/EU SMBs, though Revolut operates as a broader consumer/business neobank.

Others

• Plaid: Plaid provides open banking connectivity infrastructure (account linking, A2A payments) primarily in the US/UK/EU. Complementary/ecosystem player to Fire's Open Banking Payments product, enabling similar use cases through different commercial models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fireaccount
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firefinancialservices

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fire Financial Services