Damianos: Cyprus wants fintech jobs, not only company registrations

Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michael Damianos told the Cyprus Fintech Summit 2026 in Nicosia on Thursday that bringing in another international fintech company is no longer enough. The government wants the jobs, expertise and investment that come with it.

He said Cyprus can be a European gateway toward India, the Gulf and emerging African markets, but only if those links produce something concrete. “The value of these connections becomes clear when a company finds a partner, enters a new market or builds a team here,” he said. The ambition, he added, is “a trusted, internationally connected European gateway for financial innovation”, with firms setting up real operations and using the island as a base. He tied that to the European Commission’s 2026 Country Report, which pointed to diversified service exports and high-value activities as part of growth.

“The value for Cyprus lies in turning innovation into productive investment, skilled employment and stronger demand for local expertise,” Damianos said. Preliminary industry research presented in October estimated that Cyprus was approaching 200 fintech companies, about 55 per cent of them in payments. The forthcoming Strategy for Businesses and Talent for 2027–2030 is meant to simplify digital procedures, coordinate support and link companies with universities and research. The ministry’s Business Support Center is to help firms set up or expand, while investment support and financial supervision stay separate. “Clarity and effective support must go hand in hand with robust supervision and consumer protection,” he said.

Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides, in comments released before the summit, said the Cyprus AI Strategy 2032 “focuses on productivity and customer experience”. India’s High Commissioner to Cyprus, Manish, told the summit that India’s Unified Payments Interface processed 25.47 billion transactions in October 2026, worth about 31.53 trillion rupees, according to a summary issued by the Indian High Commission. He discussed work on interoperability between UPI and Europe’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement system.

In May 2026 Ellinas Finance became the first Cypriot company admitted to India’s NSE International Exchange at GIFT City, under an agreement between that exchange and the Cyprus Stock Exchange. The admission was a non-trading listing and left the company’s Cyprus listing unchanged. Separately, NPCI International Payments Limited and Eurobank Cyprus have an agreement intended to support UPI-linked cross-border payments. A Business and Investment Forum attached to the summit was scheduled for Friday, covering India, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and African economies. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce, with Nicosia Municipality, also held a closed investment round table on Friday on projects involving India, Gulf countries and Kazakhstan.