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This is an illustrative example written by PRESSREADY to demonstrate our writing. The company described is fictional.

Fintech agreement announcement press release example

Kestrel Pay Receives Electronic Money Institution Authorisation and Signs Clearing Agreement With Ardan Bank

Authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland allows the company to hold customer funds directly and to passport into the European Economic Area

DUBLIN, Ireland — 18 May 2026

Kestrel Pay has been authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the Central Bank of Ireland, and has entered into a clearing agreement with Ardan Bank. The authorisation, granted on 11 May 2026, allows Kestrel Pay to issue electronic money and hold customer funds directly rather than through a third-party provider, and to passport its services into the European Economic Area.

Founded in 2021, Kestrel Pay provides multi-currency accounts and payment processing to small exporters and freight forwarders. The company has operated since launch under an agency arrangement with a licensed institution. Under the new authorisation, customer funds will be safeguarded in segregated accounts held at Ardan Bank, in line with the safeguarding requirements that apply to authorised Electronic Money Institutions.

“Operating as an agent meant every product decision had to be cleared through somebody else's risk appetite, and every customer question about who holds the money had a two-part answer. Direct authorisation removes both problems. It also means our safeguarding arrangements are our own responsibility, which is the part our customers actually asked about.”
— Niamh Dunleavy, chief executive officer, Kestrel Pay

The company completed a SOC 2 Type II examination in November 2025 and holds ISO 27001 certification for its information security management system. Kestrel Pay processed the equivalent of €340 million in customer payment volume during 2025, and serves approximately 1,900 business customers across Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain.

As a condition of authorisation, Kestrel Pay has appointed a head of compliance and a money laundering reporting officer, both approved by the Central Bank of Ireland, and has established a risk committee reporting to its board. The company employs 47 people, of whom nine work in compliance and financial crime.

Migration of existing customers to the new arrangement will begin in July 2026 and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter. Kestrel Pay has said there will be no change to customer account details or pricing during the migration.

About Kestrel Pay

Kestrel Pay provides multi-currency accounts and payment processing for small exporters and freight forwarders in Europe. The company was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Kestrel Pay is authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the Central Bank of Ireland. Further information is available at kestrelpay.example.

Media contact

Colm HartiganHead of Communications, Kestrel Paypress@kestrelpay.example+353 1 555 0198

The reasoning

Why this release works

The decisions behind the writing above — what each choice is doing, and what the ordinary alternative would have cost.

  1. The regulator, the permission, and the date are all named

    "Authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the Central Bank of Ireland", granted on a stated date. In financial services this is the entire point of the announcement: a compliance reviewer can verify it against a public register. Vague constructions — "now fully regulated", "licensed in Europe" — fail exactly the check the release exists to pass.

  2. It says precisely what the authorisation permits

    Holding funds directly, and passporting into the EEA. Regulatory permissions are frequently overstated in this sector, and describing a registration as a licence, or implying a permission you do not hold, is a supervisory problem rather than a marketing one. Stating the scope protects the company as much as it informs the reader.

  3. The counterparty is named because it was cleared

    Ardan Bank appears by name, which is only ever appropriate with the counterparty's written agreement. Where a bank has not cleared it, the same release works described by category — "a European credit institution". Naming a financial counterparty without clearance is the mistake that turns an announcement into a call from their legal team.

  4. The quote is about operational consequence, not celebration

    The chief executive explains what changed for customers — who holds the money, and whose risk appetite governs the product. It also concedes a real responsibility: safeguarding is now theirs. A quote that accepts an obligation reads as considerably more serious than one that claims a milestone.

  5. The security certifications are dated and named individually

    SOC 2 Type II with the month of examination, and ISO 27001 with the scope it covers. Enterprise buyers and compliance teams treat these as separate facts with different meanings. Collapsing them into "bank-grade security" is the phrase that tells a technical reader nobody serious wrote the release.

  6. No returns, projections, or safety claims appear anywhere

    The release states volumes, customer numbers, and permissions — all matters of record. It never says funds are "safe", never projects growth, and never characterises anything as an investment. Those are the claims that get financial releases declined by the network and can create regulatory exposure for the company that issued them.

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