Fintan Byrne

Chief Executive Officer CR2 (part of HPS)

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Fintan Byrne is Chief Executive Officer of CR2, the Dublin-based provider of digital banking, self-service and payments software whose BankWorld platform is used by more than 90 banks in over 50 countries. He took over in January 2017 and has since built the company into a digital partner for banks across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and in 2024 led it into the Hightech Payment Systems (HPS) group, the Casablanca-listed payments software company. His background spans both sides of the industry: more than a decade inside Bank of Ireland, then international roles at NCR, Transaction Network Services and Mastercard, where he ran the payment gateway business in Europe.

Career Highlights

• Appointed Chief Executive Officer and a director of CR2 in January 2017.
• Led CR2 through its acquisition by HPS in May 2024; CR2 now operates as part of the HPS Group.
• Heads a business whose BankWorld platform serves more than 90 banks across more than 50 countries, with offices in Dublin, Dubai, Jordan, India and Australia.
• At TNS, led the global eCommerce payments gateway MIGS, and after Mastercard acquired it in 2014 ran Mastercard’s payment gateway business in Europe.
• Earlier held Managing Director, General Manager Europe and VP Sales roles at TNS, and global sales and marketing roles at NCR.

Professional Journey

Byrne studied computer science at Trinity College Dublin and began his career at Bank of Ireland, where he spent more than a decade in senior business and IT roles and saw from the inside how technology creates value in a bank. During the early fintech wave he launched a start-up in London, an experience he credits with shaping how he leads.

He moved into international payments and banking technology at NCR, in global sales and marketing, and then at Transaction Network Services, where he was VP Sales for the UK and Ireland, General Manager for Europe and Managing Director of TNS Pay. At TNS he led MIGS, a global eCommerce payments gateway. When Mastercard acquired that business in 2014 he went with it, becoming General Manager for Europe of Mastercard Payment Gateway Services. He later completed an Executive MBA at the Smurfit Business School.

In January 2017 CR2 appointed him chief executive and a board member, alongside a new CFO. Byrne said at the time that he could see both the strength and potential within the company and would focus on developing it to meet the needs of existing and new customers. Under him CR2’s BankWorld platform came to span digital banking, digital wallets and payments, used by more than 90 banks in over 50 countries, with revenue of nearly EUR 24 million in the year to June 2023.

In May 2024 CR2 was acquired by Hightech Payment Systems. Byrne described the deal as recognition of what the team at CR2 had created, and HPS’s co-founder and CEO Abdeslam Alaoui Smaili called it a significant milestone. CR2 continues under Byrne’s leadership as part of the HPS Group, with a focus on banks across Africa, the Middle East and Asia; in late 2025 he was speaking on banking transformation as its chief executive.

Outside work he has named cycling, reading, walking and philosophy among his interests, and describes himself as an active supporter of sport.

Education

Trinity College Dublin

BSc, Computer Science

UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School

Executive MBA