US bank Citi has opened a global research, development, innovation and learning centre at its offices in Dublin and earmarked $24 million for the development of an "intelligent payments" offering.
The additional investment brings Citi's total outlay on research and development in Ireland to $100 million to date. The bank already has a major presence in the country, employing around 2000 people, mainly at its global transaction services business.
The investment will see staff numbers in the country involved in R&D reach 100 by the end of 2010. The new jobs will be for research specialists, analysts and technologists.
The Dublin centre will work closely with leading technology companies, such as Microsoft and Cisco, says Citi.
Francesco Vannid'Archirafi, CEO, global transaction services, Citi, says: "The research, development, innovation and learning centre will enable us to create the next wave of financial platforms and solutions for the financial services industry. We will continue to collaborate with major technology companies, with academia and with government to build upon this success."