Published
- 02:00 am

IRIS Software Group (IRIS) is today announcing it has acquired Paycheck Plus. Founded in 2005, the Drogheda based business has grown consistently into Ireland’s premier payroll services provider, with clients in Ireland, the UK, across Europe, and in the USA.
Paycheck Plus provides an extensive range of payroll outsourcing services and has a relentless focus on accuracy, timeliness and compliance. This closely aligns with IRIS’ mission to take the pain out of processes and ensure professionals get it right first time, every time.
David Lockie, Chief Operating Officer at IRIS says, “Paycheck Plus joining the IRIS group adds further scale and growth to the IRIS managed payroll offerings in Ireland. As the premier payroll provider in Ireland, Paycheck Plus has an unrivalled market reputation, and its significant achievements in the last 17 years reinforces a strong synergy between our cultures.”
Anne Reilly, CEO and founder of Paycheck Plus says, “Since 2005, our mission has been to help our clients be their best by ensuring their payroll function is outstanding. I am incredibly proud to lead Paycheck Plus into its next stage of growth and I know IRIS is an incredibly safe pair of hands for both our customers and colleagues.”
Ireland has become a hub for UK and international businesses wanting to maintain access to the EU market following Brexit. The UK’s Institute of Directors found 26% of SMEs trading with the EU were considering moving some EU operations outside of Britain, and 16% have already moved into the single market. With Dublin consistently proving the most popular choice for UK financial services firms to relocate staff and operations, Paycheck Plus provides a highly credible anchor point for IRIS’ customers, especially those from North America looking to enter the EU market.
Paycheck Plus is ISAE 3402 accredited, which verifies that they have the international standards for outsourcing including all necessary procedures, systems and controls required to effectively and securely meet customers’ payroll service needs. The business perfectly complements IRIS’ global strategy to scale significantly in the managed payroll segment over the coming years. All staff hold, or are in the process of obtaining, IPASS and/or CIPP certifications, and will join IRIS’ dedicated team of professional payroll experts to take the pain out of processes and enable customers to focus on the work they are valued for.
This move demonstrates IRIS’ commitment to investing in people and products that broaden its service offerings for businesses in the UK, Ireland and North American markets. The two companies have strong synergies with regards to core values and culture, with both IRIS and Paycheck Plus achieving Great Place To Work accreditation in 2021. Paycheck Plus also became Ireland’s most highly awarded payroll company, winning more than 30 awards for its client care, management and payroll services.
David Lockie continues, “Bringing Paycheck Plus into the IRIS family enables us to expand our Irish footprint further and provide our customers with a highly credible route into the EU. Combining our decades of experience, our global payroll and HR solutions will enable businesses to continue their EU operations with minimal disruption.
“Our goal is to support our customers to work productively and remain compliant. We are delighted to bring Paycheck Plus onboard and will continue to support its growth and invest in its people to benefit both existing and new customers.
Over the coming years, we will continue to look for further opportunities to build scale in the managed payroll sector as part of our long-term ‘build, buy, partner’ strategy.”
Anne Reilly concludes, “With IRIS’ resources and working with the brilliant IRIS team, who are as dedicated to delivering outstanding payroll as we are, we will be able to take our services to the next level. I look forward to supporting Bróna Grogan as Seamus Reilly steps down and she takes over the reins at Paycheck Plus. We are excited at the prospect of seeing Paycheck Plus flourish further within the IRIS family.”
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- 03:00 am

Having been issued a compulsory strike off means that your company has ceased to exist. However, before that happens you will be given ample opportunity to respond to allegations that you failed to comply with rules and regulations as set forth in UK laws. According to the Companies Act of 2006, you can be found non-compliant, which is grounds for dissolving your company if proven. In other words, you would cease to exist, and all assets would be liquidated. Can you stop it? The process is complicated and even a small omission on your part could hinder your efforts to save your company. If it is a compulsory strike off, you might start by talking to a team of insolvency practitioners and here is why.
Compulsory Is Based on Third Party Evidence
While you can always voluntarily dissolve your company by following the recognised process of settling accounts, liquidating assets and so forth, a compulsory strike off means that you have been accused of one or more of the following:
Failure to submit accounts timely
Annual confirmation statement not submitted
Non-conformance to legal requirements
No directors having been appointed
Company has ceased trading
Typically, it would be Companies House as the ‘accuser’ but it could really be any third party if they have documented evidence.
The Process
In the beginning you will be sent a letter of imminent compulsory strike off after which you will be sent a second letter if you do not respond timely. After no response to the second letter the compulsory strike off will be published in the Gazette and by that point the matter is serious indeed. If you had any intention of saving your company from dissolution, you should probably have acted sooner. However, even at this late stage of the game, all is not lost quite yet. There are still actions you could take to prevent being dissolved and struck off, but it will take the expertise of Insolvency Practitioners to show just cause why this would be a miscarriage of justice.
What Not to Do
It might be mentioned here that one of the worst things you can do is to simply shut your doors and stop trading to await the edict of the court. One of the reasons why you can be issued a compulsory strike off in the first place is because you have stopped trading. You can’t clear your good name and accounts that way. Again, let an Insolvency Practitioner guide you through the process so that you don’t make an even greater error than the error or errors you are now being accused of.
Since you are asking if you can stop a compulsory strike off it is obvious that you want to continue operating and are not amenable to voluntary liquidation. This might mean digging in and letting the process be handled by a pro who can make arrangements with the court to keep you in business. It can be a legal mess, but you can win with proper representation.
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Ian Roberts
Sales and Marketing Director at BrightBridge
Against an ongoing backdrop of economic flux, what can FinTechs do to remain ahead of the game? Enter the transformative tool that is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). see more
- 08:00 am

One of the world’s leading online trading platforms, CMC Markets, has announced a major investment into Manchester, as it plans to launch a technology hub in the city. Due to open this summer, its formation marks the FTSE250 company’s UK expansion beyond its London headquarters.
Decentralizing the firm’s London offices will support CMC Markets’ high growth strategy, enabling the firm to harness the region’s top talent, build on its technology stack, expand its product offering and maintain its enviable market-leading position.
With more than 10,000 tech and digital businesses in Greater Manchester, employing more than 86,000 people rich in specialist skills and talent, as well as the city’s enviable reputation as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in Europe, Manchester was the ideal location for CMC Markets’ national expansion.
David Fineberg, CMC Markets Deputy CEO, commented: “Manchester is quickly proving itself to be one of the leading technology hubs in the country. This investment by CMC will not only enable us to bring jobs to the region, but it will also allow us to build on the city’s vibrant and growing financial technology sector and tap into the diverse, highly skilled workforce.”
Unlike many firms in the sector, CMC Markets undertakes the vast majority of its technology development in-house and over the last decade has invested more than £100 million into its systems and platforms.
Simon King, Head of IT Development at CMC Markets, concluded: “We are truly excited by the potential that an office in the North West brings us. As a company, we know that our clients want to see new product ideas and solutions rolled out quickly, which is reliant on us having the right skill sets at our disposal.
“While many companies may tackle a problem like this by looking to offshore the work, we have chosen to build technology teams in our new Manchester hub where there’s already a growing FinTech sector, a significant talent pool and a number of world-leading universities. We believe we can deliver a step change for the business as well as support the levelling-up agenda,” Simon added.
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- 02:00 am

myTU, from UAB Travel Union, has chosen European payments leader Nets to provide issuer processing and digital services, including cards and mobile payment capabilities, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, for its customers.
myTU is a licensed family, traveller and travel partner-focused e-money institution, offering daily banking, payment and loyalty solutions for private consumers and businesses. Its offer includes personal accounts for parents and children above the age of seven, enabling automated daily allowances, instant money transfers, and real-time monitoring through its modern mobile banking app. It also provides unique value-add services via its marketplace.
myTU operates and focuses across the European Union and European Economic Area. Nets will support myTU with issuing services, issuer processing, tokenisation services, fraud prevention, dispute and chargeback services, customer service and cards personalisation.
“Our mission is to change the existing rules of banking and shape new ones,” said Raman Korneu, CEO and Co-founder of myTU. “All our products are efficient, cost-saving and convenient for the client, and together we are creating high-tech mobile and internet banking that brings family finances into the digital age. Nets provides benefits of scale and international reach that will be invaluable as we grow our digital services offering across Europe.”
Henrik Anker Jørgensen, CEO of Nets Estonia AS and Head of Baltic region in Nets, added, “We are very excited to be working with myTU as it brings its mobile and internet banking offer to wider audiences. Its customers are literally going places, and we at Nets want to be there with them, enabling this growth journey across markets.”
The long-term agreement has already entered into force.
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- 05:00 am

Payer announced today that Dominik Belloin, one of its board members, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board. Dominik Belloin succeeds Annika Javestad, who served in the role during the development phase. The appointment now awaits the approval of the FSA.
Payer is a Swedish B2B payments company serving the European market. It provides end-to-end payment solutions for enterprise companies within verticals such as Industry, Bank & Finance and Digital Commerce.
Payer’s modular API platform is designed to solve complex payment processes for B2B merchants while enabling a ‘consumer grade’ user experience. The company delivers solutions across the entire order-to-cash value chain with a clear focus on conversion, payment, and automation of accounts receivable.
Dominik Belloin brings 34 years of international experience in finance as advisor and principal for Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Oddo, the Bertelsmann Group and Kepler Cheuvreux.
“I’m thrilled to have Dominik Belloin as Chairman of the Board, someone who will greatly contribute to the acceleration of our journey to become a global leader in B2B payment solutions. Dominik’s business acumen and long history of leadership in finance make him ideal for the role, particularly as we enter the scale-up phase.
Now Payer gets an experienced chairman and for me as CEO, an invaluable support for the road ahead. Payer’s growth is like watching a dream come true!”, Peder Berge said.
“Digital payments are massively disrupting business flows. Payer, with its complete toolbox, is particularly well positioned to help those clients who wish to turn this trend to their advantage. This promises accelerating growth ahead for Payer.”, Dominik Belloin said.
Payer’s board of directors consists of 5 members, including Dominik Belloin, Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Kepler Cheuvreux Corporate Finance; Hanse Ringström, Member of the Board of Directors Andra AP-fonden (AP2) former Head of SEB Asia; Peder Berge, founder and CEO; Roland Williams, a Creative Director HiQ and Kai-Stefan Einvik, founder and Managing Partner of Corinthian Venture Partners.
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- 03:00 am

Sella SGR, Sella Group’s Asset Management company, has signed a strategic partnership to integrate into its investment processes the proprietary AI technology developed by MDOTM, the European leader in the development of AI-Driven investment strategies for institutional investors.
The partnership arises from the synergy between the investment teams of Sella SGR and MDOTM, one of the largest in Europe focused on Artificial Intelligence and made up of physicists, data scientists, engineers and finance professionals.
As a result of the agreement, ALICE ® (Adaptive Learning In Complex Environments) – MDOTM's proprietary AI technology – will be integrated into Sella SGR's investment processes. Predictive indicators on risk and return will support portfolio, strategic and tactical asset allocation choices and contribute to developing new investment solutions.
Mario Romano, Chief Investment Officer at Sella SGR, commented: "We are particularly proud of this new partnership with MDOTM that places Sella SGR among the first Asset Managers to integrate AI and Big Data analysis into investment processes. Thanks to innovation, these technologies will give us a competitive edge and make our asset allocation strategies more efficient, aligning with Sella Group's long-term strategic goals."
Tommaso Migliore, CEO & Founder of MDOTM, commented: "We are proud to work alongside an innovative company like Sella SGR in the spirit of Open Innovation. Thanks to one of the largest AI-focused investment teams and considerable R&D investments, MDOTM acts as a strategic partner to enhance the skills and adapt to the needs of our clients, supporting them in integrating AI into their investment process. Synergies between operational experience and technological know-how are key to success, especially at a time when financial markets have become more complex.”
Numerous institutional investors in Europe and US already use MDOTM's innovative technology. It has received the nomination for "Best product of the year 2022" at the New York Fintech Awards and received the AIFIn (Italian Association of Financial Innovation) Award in the Asset Management and Investment Advisory Category.
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- 08:00 am

Worldline, a global leader in the payments industry and the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and acquirers today announced that its Small and Mid-Size Business (SMB) vertical is growing at over 50 per cent y-o-y in India.
Powered by over 7 lakh SMB merchants on its platform and driven by an innovative full-service plug & play payment product suite for every use case, Worldline expects to achieve a milestone of 1 million SMB customer base in 2023 through direct acquiring and channel partners.
Verticals like E-commerce, Education, Hospitality, SaaS, Essential Services, and ISPs contributed to the growth in this vertical for Worldline in the last 12 months. Worldline also noticed that tier II and III cities are at forefront for growth of its SMB vertical in these months purely riding on the wave of digitalisation. A common trend observed from these markets is that the new generation of consumers prefer the fastest means for anything and everything at the click of a button.
Sheik Mohideen, Senior Vice President, SMB, Partnership & Alliances, Worldline said,
“We at Worldline are constantly working towards providing a safe and seamless payment experience for our merchants to ensure sustainable growth. Contactless payments, personalized checkout experience, powerful dashboard, and creation of secure and fraud-proof payment systems are important. With our unique 360-degree payment solution, Worldline is well poised to support and scale this vertical in India.”
It is critical to ensure sustainable growth for online companies with a secure and seamless payment experience. An unsatisfactory payment experience can result in higher customer attrition and drop-offs from the native platform. This is the reason why addressing the payment gap and going omnichannel is extremely important for online companies who are willing to take the direct approach route to expand their business in both the domestic and global markets.
Worldline with its unique 360-degree payment portfolio for instore, online and omnichannel payments is well prepared to solve these payment gaps. It also offers easy-to-use 19+ popular e-commerce plugins to meet diverse needs of online players.
Worldline further plans to strengthen its security and fraud analytics infrastructure along with hyperlocal solutions like no code payment offerings for SMB business vertical.
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- 08:00 am

Prior to launching in the United States, Zilch, a London-based fintech, joined the Financial Technology Association (FTA) to encourage ethical innovation.
When a transaction is complete, Zilch makes consumer credit judgments using open banking, corporate social responsibility, and behavioral data technology. Additionally, the fintech business was one of the first regulated buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers in the United Kingdom, with an emphasis on financial wellness and education.
Zilch joins 20 other fintechs at the FTA after developing BNPL 2.0 and creating partnerships to offer this service in up to 40 million locations or anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Pay in full and earn instant benefits, or pay in four equal payments over six weeks with no interest or fees.
Earlier this year, in a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the FTA's BNPL members expressed their commitment to ensuring access to responsible payment options. Zilch was one of the first BNPL providers to be licensed in the UK, as financial health is ingrained in our business strategy. As such, we are thrilled that the Financial Technology Association will represent us and the financial technology sector in Washington.
Belamant continues:
“This is such a crucial time, with economic volatility creating a cost of living crisis, consumers need access to innovative options to pay and awareness of better alternatives for more responsible spending and lending. We’re excited to partner with like-minded fintech companies to advocate for modernized financial policies that enable responsible, consumer-friendly innovation.”
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- 09:00 am

Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia (YGG SEA), a sub-decentralised autonomous organisation (subDAO) of blockchain gaming startup Yield Guild Games (YGG), announced the upcoming Initial DEX Offering (IDO) of its $SEA token begins on May 9th at 11:00 MYT (GMT+8) and runs until the 14th, on Copper launchpad.
The IDO will offer community members the opportunity to stake a total of 75 million tokens, representing 7.5 percent of the total supply of one billion tokens. The starting price is set at $0.50.
"The IDO is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appreciate our community's unconditional support," said YGG SEA Co-founder Irene Umar. "We are where we are because of the community and we would like the community to own a piece of YGG SEA through the IDO."
As the governance token of YGG SEA, $SEA gives community members the right to vote on governance proposals, ecosystem reward allocations, most desired features and reward models that reflect local needs, and whitelist opportunities for both non-GameFi/GameFi non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The Token Launch Auction on Copper allows for real-time price discovery, open and permission-less participation, and fair distribution of tokens. It disincentivises front-running bots and whales to get the $SEA token into the hands of as many participants as possible, a commitment the guild takes to provide a fair and transparent playing field for everyone who wants to participate in the IDO.
Surpasses 10,000 Scholarships in Just Six Months of Launch
In YGG Ecosystem, the goal is not just to onboard players as scholars; but to also be the bridge that brings the Web2 community into Web3 space through GameFi. It has been aggressively onboarding scholars through heavy localisation and a grassroots level approach in each country.
Invested in 76 projects, it has already offered 10,000 players scholarships since November 2021, which is a revenue-sharing program lending YGG SEA's game assets such as NFTs to players who cannot afford them to start playing play-to-earn (P2E) games. Players, in turn, share a fraction of the in-game rewards with YGG SEA.
This presents an economic opportunity by onboarding more people to blockchain across Southeast Asia which will help local players to benefit financially from P2E game model.
Players can participate in the YGG SEA scholarship by joining the guild's Discord channel, and the program provides training, mentorship, and a plethora of other benefits.
$15 Million from Marquee Investors a testament to the Potential of Play-to-Earn Model as the Future of Gaming Industry
With offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, it plans to expand into three additional countries within six months, with ambition to achieve complete SEA coverage by 2024.
YGG SEA also entered a new partnership last week with Solana Ventures, the investment arm of Solana Labs, to bolster its subDAO's operations in Southeast Asia while providing resources and training to blockchain game developers in Southeast Asia.
Evan Spytma, CEO and Co-Founder of YGG SEA said, "The demand for P2E games is higher than ever, especially in ASEAN countries. The new partnership with Solana Ventures will give YGG SEA a boost in offering the best resources to players and developers in Southeast Asia."
YGG SEA had earlier secured $15 million across two different private funding rounds which the proceeds will be used to boost the adoption of play-to-earn gaming in ASEAN countries.
While the initial round was led by YGG and Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), the follow-up round saw participation from notable marquee investors headlining by Crypto.com Capital, Animoca Brands, Polygon, United Overseas Bank (UOB) Venture Management, and others.