Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)
aka CBI, An Banc Ceannais na hEireann, Central Bank
Ireland's financial regulator and gatekeeper for banks, payment firms, e-money issuers, MiFID investment firms and insurance providers. Maintains the public CBI register and operates the Fitness and Probity regime for senior staff at regulated firms.
Last reviewed May 2026
Definition
The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) is Ireland's central bank and integrated financial-services regulator. Established under the Central Bank Act 1942 and reconstituted under the Central Bank Reform Act 2010, it operates monetary functions as part of the Eurosystem and supervises the Irish financial sector under domestic and EU law. For software buyers and operators, the CBI matters in two practical ways. First, it is the gatekeeper authorisation and supervision body for any firm offering regulated financial services to Irish customers. The main authorisation tiers are Credit Institution (banks), Payment Institution (PI) under PSD2, Electronic Money Institution (EMI), MiFID investment firm, retail intermediary, insurance and reinsurance undertaking, and credit union. The CBI publishes the public Registers (registers.centralbank.ie), where any authorised firm can be looked up by name, reference number or sector to confirm exact authorisation type, status (authorised, revoked, in liquidation) and whether the firm is Irish-authorised or passporting in from another EU member state. Second, the CBI runs the Fitness and Probity regime under Part 3 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010. The regime requires individuals in Pre-Approval Controlled Function (PCF) and Controlled Function (CF) roles at regulated firms to meet standards of competence, honesty, integrity and financial soundness. The current standards document is the Fitness and Probity Standards 2025. Senior PCF appointments require CBI pre-approval before the individual can take up the role.
Why it matters for software choice
Before you put working capital, payroll funds or customer card collections through any fintech, accounting integration or payments tool, look up the regulated entity on the CBI register. The register tells you exactly what the firm is authorised to do, whether the supervisor is the CBI or a foreign regulator passporting in, and whether the authorisation is current. That two-minute check materially reduces the risk you carry as an operator.
Authority sources
- Central Bank of Ireland: Registers (registers.centralbank.ie)
- Central Bank of Ireland: Fitness and Probity (www.centralbank.ie)
- Central Bank of Ireland: Payment Institutions (www.centralbank.ie)
Software categories this affects
Vendors covered by this term
AIB Business
Ireland's largest business bank with branch network, lending, and merchant services
Bank of Ireland Business
Full-service Irish business banking with lending, merchant services, and SEPA bulk payments
Revolut Business
EU-licensed business banking with Irish IBANs, SEPA Instant, and multi-currency accounts
N26 Business
German-licensed business account for Irish freelancers and sole traders with EU IBAN
Stripe
Dublin-headquartered EU payments platform with native EUR processing, SEPA, and Irish IBAN payouts
Fire Business Account
Irish-founded, Central-Bank-of-Ireland-regulated business payments account with Irish IBANs, UK Faster Payments, and a payments API for Irish SMEs
Soldo
Irish-regulated prepaid card and spend management platform for European SMEs
Related terms
Fintech
Software and platforms that deliver financial services - banking, payments, lending, insurance, wealth - through technology rather than branch-based incumbents. In Ireland, fintech firms are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Neobank
A digital-first, app-led account provider with no physical branches. Some hold full credit-institution licences; many operate as Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) or under EU passporting rather than Irish bank authorisation.
Electronic Money Institution (EMI)
A specific Central Bank of Ireland authorisation that permits a firm to issue electronic money (prepaid balances, e-wallets, cards) and provide payment services. EMIs cannot take deposits and customer funds are safeguarded, not insured.
Payment Institution (PI)
A Central Bank of Ireland authorisation that permits a firm to provide one or more payment services under PSD2 - account services, payment execution, card acquiring, money remittance, AISP, PISP - without being an EMI or credit institution.
PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2)
The EU directive governing payment services and payment service providers across the EEA. Transposed into Irish law by SI 6/2018 (European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018). Created the open banking and Strong Customer Authentication regimes.
Open Banking in Ireland
The PSD2-mandated regime under which Irish banks expose regulated APIs that authorised third-party providers (TPPs) can use to read account data (AIS) or initiate payments (PIS) on a customer's consent.