Darragh Deady

Director - Head of Regulated Entities, EMEA, WEX Inc.  

​Darragh Deady is an experienced leader in the financial services and fintech sectors with over 20 years of expertise spanning payments, e-money, fintech innovation, and retail banking. As the Head of Regulated Entities for EMEA at WEX, Darragh oversees the operations of licensed E-Money Institutions (EMIs) across Ireland and the UK. Optal Financial Europe Limited is WEX's Dublin-based EMI, which provides payment services across the EEA. 

Since joining Optal in 2015, Darragh has successfully led the regulatory authorisation of Optal Financial Europe Limited as an EMI by the Central Bank of Ireland, implemented significant operational enhancements post-acquisition by WEX Inc. in 2020, and has led the EMI through a period of significant growth. He has a proven track record in regulatory engagement, compliance leadership, and delivering major strategic initiatives, including the establishment of regulated entities in multiple jurisdictions. 

Prior to joining Optal, Darragh held key roles at Monitise, a UK-based fintech, where he managed the global operations function that supported strategic customers including RBS, Visa Inc and Telefonica, and at the Bank of Ireland, where he supported the oversight of key outsourced consumer-facing ICT and payments functions. 

Darragh is a passionate advocate for Ireland’s position as a leading fintech hub and is deeply committed to fostering innovation, talent development, and collaboration within the ecosystem.