The Central Bank granted authorisation to Google Payment Ireland under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation on Christmas Eve. Having obtained authorisation, the company will be allowed to issue and acquire payments across the European Union under passporting rights. The move comes two years after Facebook obtained an e-money licence from the Central Bank. Currently, Google only offers limited financial services through its Google Pay digital wallet, which is available for use in Ireland. Google Ireland paid a €1.6 billion dividend to its parent last year as it announced a €5.9 billion rise in turnover to €32.2 billion on the back of a sharp rise in advertising revenue.

Source: The Irish Times January 05, 2019 05:48 UTC