An annual list of Europe’s top companies in the financial technology sector has been unveiled, with three Irish firms making the cut.

The FinTech 50 list was first put together in 2012 by the company FinTech City in what was then described as an “emerging landscape”. Half a decade later, well over a thousand firms were jostling for inclusion in the 50 strong list - many of them newcomers.

"Of the 24 new companies this year some are relatively new businesses but are already experiencing strong growth, or considerable interest in their product,” list founder Julie Lake told CNBC.

“This year’s FinTech 50 companies can feel very very pleased with themselves,” FinTech City said in a statement after the list was released. “They were selected from over 1,500 FinTechs across Europe by some of the biggest names in the sector, which is no small achievement.”

One Irish firm even made FinTech’s Hot Ten;  the Dublin-based company, Deposify, pitches itself as a solution to that most perennial of property problems - tenants’ deposits.  Security deposits are kept in escrow and are released only after the resolution of disputes between landlords and their tenants.

Another firm in Maynooth based AQMetrics which assesses regulatory risk and helps firms with compliance solutions also made the list.

The third and final Irish firm is Fenergo which is involved in entity data management.

Altogether the list was considered Ireland’s strongest showing to date - with British firms showing strong resilience in the face of Brexit pessimism.