Financial technology firm Sentenial has recently signed deals with seven companies across Europe, bringing its total new business signings for 2013 to over €8m.
The new contract wins, worth over €0.5m, follow a surge in demand for Sentenial's payment technology services in advance of the switch to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) on 1st February 2014.
Sentenial's recent wins reflect the expansion of the firm into a wide range of European markets, as companies prepare to ensure that direct debit payments do not cease functioning on SEPA changeover day.
In France, Sentenial has recently agreed terms with utility giant GDF Suez, whilst in the Netherlands Sentenial has won business with energy firm Essent, and oil company Argos Energy. In Belgium it has signed up IT group Econocom and leasing firm Parfip. Closer to its home base in Maynooth in Ireland, Sentenial has won Laya Healthcare as a customer, and Cork-based consumer financing group First Citizen Finance.
Commenting on the business wins, CEO chief executive Sean Fitzgerald said:
"We're coming to the end of an exceptional year for the company that will see revenue more than double from the €6m reported in 2012. This has been helped by substantial expansion into European markets, showing the benefit of our decision in 2011 to open offices in 6 European cities.
"As well as large corporate customers, we have also experienced a rush of over 200 SMEs in Ireland and across Europe signing up to our services. Firms are waking up to the reality of the SEPA change over deadline, and the serious implications it has for ensuring their payment systems don't grind to a halt on 1st February 2014"
Sentenial's technology has been chosen by five out of Europe's top 10 banks and in Ireland is used by all the main clearing banks. When the switchover to SEPA is made next year, Sentenial's technology will be responsible for processing over €60bn worth of payments a year for companies and banks across Europe.
Last month Sentenial announced plans to add 110 staff before the end of 2014 to its current headcount of 160 eemployees, making it one of Ireland's fastest growing indigenous technology companies.
SEPA will provide a common payment processing system across the European Union, enabling cross-border payments to be completed as easily as domestic transfers, reducing costs and complexity for all bank account users.
Sentenial is chaired by Kevin Lomax, the founder and former chairman of Misys, which was acquired in 2012 by private equity firm Vista for £1.3bn. Former EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy joined the Sentenial board in 2011, and former A&L Goodbody managing partner and Ryanair director James Osborne has been on the board since 2006.