Fexco is an Ireland-based financial services and financial technology company focusing on bureau de change and payment card services.[4][5] Its head office is located in Killorglin, County Kerry. As of 2019, Fexco reports it has more than 2,500 staff[3] and of these, 1,200 are based in Ireland,[6] with other staff in 29 countries worldwide, including the UK, Spain, New Zealand,[7] United States, Middle East[8] and Asia.[9]
Fexco was set up in 1981 by Brian McCarthy, originally to provide bureau de change services to the Irish market.[1] McCarthy, now acting as Fexco chairman, is also chairman of the Irish Prisons Board.[10]
Former Tánaiste Dick Spring was appointed as an executive vice-chairman of Fexco in 2002.[11]
As of 2009, services offered by Fexco included prize bonds, dynamic currency conversion and related customer services.[12]
In 2010, Fexco acquired 75% of Goodbody Stockbrokers for a reported bargain price of €24 million with the management take the remaining 25% stake in the business.[13][14][15][16] The Financial Times commented that the modest price tag placed on Ireland’s oldest stockbroker and "one-time bastion of Ireland's Protestant business elite" was just another measure of the dramatic decline of the Irish economy.[17][18]
In October 2013, Fexco completed the acquisition of Flashiz, a Luxembourg-based mobile payments and customer loyalty startup founded in 2011.[19][20] Flashiz specialized in mobile payment solutions using QR codes and NFC technology for in-store and online payments, money transfers, and bill payments.[19]
In February 2015, Denis McCarthy was appointed chief executive officer of Fexco.[21] McCarthy had been active chief executive since Gavin O'Neill departed the company in 2014.[21] The Currency Exchange Corporation was acquired by Fexco in 2016.[22]
In 2018, Fexco turned down a deal to sell Goodbody to a Chinese consortium for €150 million.[23] In November 2019, it was announced that Goodbody could to be sold to Bank of China for approximately €150 million,[24] however by July 2020 it was reported that Bank of China was withdrawing from this acquisition citing uncertainty over the Coronavirus pandemic.[25][26] In March 2021, AIB confirmed that it had agreed to acquire Goodbody Stockbrokers for €138 million.[27]
