Online payments player PayPal is to create 35 jobs as part of a €15m investment in a new Centre of Operational Excellence in Dublin, which will be supported by IDA Ireland.
The Operational Excellence and Business Analytics facility will be located in Ballycoolin, Blanchardstown.
Working closely with IDA Ireland, PayPal has designated the Dublin Centre as PayPal’s first regional centre of excellence and the model for PayPal’s international operations worldwide. PayPal employs around 900 people at its Dublin Centre.
To support the new Dublin Centre, PayPal will invest more than €15 million to train employees and optimise operations to meet the needs of PayPal’s growing European customer base.
Additionally, PayPal will enhance its Dublin workforce with new business processes and regional intelligence positions such as business analytics, product design, risk management, information technology, operations and merchant services.
“We’ve grown significantly since we first opened our doors in Ireland in 2003, supporting our growing European business and the millions of customers who live in this region,” Scott Thompson, president of PayPal said.
“This growth is testament to the wonderful collaboration we’ve received from the Irish government and the talent of our employees here in Ireland, both of which have been critical to our past success and our future growth plans,” he added.
PayPal’s systems support more than 70 million active accounts in 190 markets and 19 currencies around the world.
This investment illustrates that Ireland has the capability and the capacity to continue to attract overseas investment during the current global economic climate,” Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD said at the opening.
“Ireland will continue to invest heavily in education to ensure a supply of skilled, multilingual graduates in order to assist companies, such as PayPal, to develop and grow their businesses here.
“For the continued success of existing operations in Ireland it is extremely important that companies have or put in place an agenda to constantly increase their strategic importance within their parent company. Today’s developments by PayPal demonstrate this agenda perfectly,” the Taoiseach said.
He added: “Ireland is becoming renowned as a location for the most important digital media and Internet-based companies, with many of the world leaders in the sector now located in Ireland.
“This additional PayPal commitment to Ireland is an excellent further endorsement of IDA Ireland’s strategy to grow and develop the digital enterprise cluster here in Ireland,” Cowen said.
By John Kennedy
