YapStone to create 120 jobs

Some 120 jobs are to be created in Drogheda with the establishment of a new headquarters by US rental payments company YapStone.

The company is to open a base in Drogheda as it expands its operations around the world.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton welcomed the Yapstone initiative when he visited the firm's head office in Walnut Creek, California, yesterday, calling it "great news for the north east and for the country".

Mr Bruton is on a five-day tour of the west coast of the US, visiting Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Silicon Valley. He is travelling with IDA chief executive Barry O'Leary, who was present at yesterday's announcement. The Minister will meet IDA-targeted companies during his trip.

Tom Villante, chairman of Yapstone, which he co-founded in 1999, was enthusiastic about opportunities in Ireland.

He told The Irish Times: "I think it’s going to be a huge opportunity for us. We really looked at a lot of different countries."

Yapstone looked at Ireland very hard, said Mr Villante. "We probably did about nine months of discovery, taking in all factors," he said.

Yapstone already has a temporary office in Dublin. Mr Villante rejected suggestions that the Drogheda jobs amounted to a call centre, saying that some roles would be in customer service, while others would be in sales and in product research.

The 120 jobs will be created over three years, he said.

From its inception Yapstone set out to capture the $300 billion US apartment rental market by allowing rents to be paid online.

The company handles payments for holiday rentals online and also runs ParishPay, which processes online donations for religious organisations. Some $300 million has been donated through ParishPay so far, with the parishes involved "80 per cent Catholic", according to Mr Villante.

The new headquarters will offer jobs in customer support, research and development, software engineering, finance and accounting.

Additional reporting: PA