A couple of days back, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportedly issued a warning to would-be investors in Lanistar regarding the firm offering service/products without any authorisation. However, in the latest development, FCA has withdrawn its warning against the Instagram-hyper fintech company.
FCA withdraws consumer warning
On their official website, FCA posted, “Following the FCA receiving a number of consumer reports, on Wednesday 18 November we issued a consumer warning against Lanistar. Today, the firm agreed to add an appropriate disclaimer to its marketing materials updating its regulatory status to confirm that it is not conducting regulated activities. The firm is also going to amend certain aspects of its website. On that basis, we have removed the consumer warning. The firm has confirmed it is in a pre-launch process.”
As a result, the UK fintech company agreed to update its marketing material to confirm that it is not in business as of now.
In a statement, Lanistar previously clarified, “Legal and regulatory compliance is central to Lanistar’s business and we confirm that we are not providing financial services or products without the FCA’s authorisation. We have announced our intended future services and we will be partnering with firms that are authorised by the FCA to provide financial services or products.”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said, “We will be working with the firm closely ahead of their launch.”
Signed up 200,000 consumers already
Moving on, Lanistar announced that it had already signed up over 200,000 interested consumers on its waiting list and achieved a staggering 7.8 million engagements via its influencer content on Instagram in the first 72 hours.
According to the company, Lanistar’s signature Volt card will be the world’s most secure card. The card will include its keypad and display – a global first – allowing users to generate one-time PINs and CVV2 codes which expire after one use.
Polymorphic technology
With the polymorphic technology, the card will also allow users to add up to eight bank cards on the Lanistar card and swap between them using the keypad. The cards will also have limited personal details on the card itself to protect users.
People will be able to use a Lanistar card anywhere that Mastercard is accepted globally, and can pay with and convert multiple currencies including Euros, Danish Krone, Bulgarian Lev, Norwegian Krone, Polish Zloty, Hungarian Forint, and more.
Monitor activity, set financial goals, and more
Within the app, users can monitor activity across all of their payment methods including Lanistar, change the payment card used up to seven days after payment was made, set financial goals, and round up and split payments.
Users will be able to sign up for three types of account: Chrome (free), Chrome X (£3.99/month early bird)(£5.99/month), Chrome Volt (£14.99/month early bird) (£19.99/month), each with varying benefits.
Aims to reach £10B valuation
To date, Lanistar has raised a total of £17M in funding over 2 rounds. The company employs 45 full-time staff and has plans to grow a 150-person support team. The company aims to reach a £10B valuation in the next few years.