Australian payments company to undertake £2.4m R&D project in NI

Pictured (L-R) are Dr Vicky Kell, Director of Innovation, Research and Development, Invest NI; David Woodburn, Global Chief Technology Officer, Shaype and Alan Wilson, Head of International Investment, Invest NI. 

Australian payments and embedded finance company, Shaype, is investing £2.4 million in research and development (R&D) to develop new international payment processing and fraud detection capabilities. 

The OmniRail project will be delivered from its Northern Ireland office. 

The project will develop new technology to make digital payments more intelligent, efficient and secure for organisations to send and receive payments across multiple countries, through a single connection to the payment systems in each market. 

Welcoming the announcement at the company’s office at the Scottish Provident Building in Belfast, Dr Vicky Kell, Director of Innovation, Research and Development at Invest Northern Ireland said: “Shaype’s decision to undertake this significant R&D project in Northern Ireland is down to the expertise and innovation capability we have here.  

“The team here in Belfast will use advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, to develop new solutions for the payments platform. The aims of the project are to enhance fraud detection, improve payment routing and authorisation decisions, and improve operational efficiency. 

“As well as creating four new jobs, the project will enhance Northern Ireland's reputation as a hub for AI and data science.” 

Founded in 2018, Shaype provides an embedded finance and payments platform that enables banks, fintechs and enterprises to launch and run financial products, including accounts, cards and payments. The company has had a team based in Belfast since 2019. 

David Woodburn, Global Chief Technology Officer at Shaype said: “OmniRail is at the heart of our international expansion strategy. We chose Northern Ireland for this project because of the strength of its technology sector and the skilled talent that we have worked with here since 2019. It gives us the expertise we need to develop and scale the platform. 

“The project will build on the technology we have already developed, creating a more intelligent and flexible platform that lets our clients connect once and access payment systems across multiple countries, rather than building a separate integration for each market. We believe this has the potential to significantly strengthen our offering, open up new markets and support our continued growth internationally.” 

Invest NI has offered the company £536,655 of support which helped the Northern Ireland office secure the project over other Shaype offices in London, Bucharest and Sydney.   

Alan Wilson, Head of International Investment at Invest NI said: “This project is a positive endorsement of the skills of the Belfast team, and of our FinTech sector. Northern Ireland has consistently ranked among the top destinations worldwide for fintech inward investment projects.   

“As a result of securing this project, the Belfast team will play an important role in delivering Shaype’s international growth ambitions. And will have the opportunity to showcase the skills and expertise available in Northern Ireland.”