UK-based payment provider Lanistar is preparing to relaunch in its home country after a two-year hiatus stemming from a clash with regulators.
The fintech, which first launched in 2020 backed with £2m in seed funding, has been focussing its efforts on the Latin American payments market, which the company claims to have been successful in Brazil.
While the company has been headquartered in London since its launch, it ran into trouble with its UK operations in 2020 when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that it was “not conducting regulated activities”.
Known for its influencer campaigns, Lanistar works with social media personalities to capture the young adult market.
In 2021 Lanistar partnered with payments as a service company Modulr – which is regulated by the FCA – but the company has credited its South American success to a separate partnership with Mastercard.
Jeremy Baber, who became CEO last year, said: “The key to our [Brazil] launch and those to follow in other parts of LATAM, has been our alliance partnership with Mastercard members, who offered a ‘banking-as-a-service’ solution.”
Lanistar said this partnership could help drive its return to the UK to offer its payment services on “home turf”.
The company will try to continue its customer growth in the Latin American market as it prepares for a UK relaunch, potentially this Spring.