payabl. has announced that it has secured an Electronic Money Institution authorisation (EMI licence) in the UK.
This marks what has been described by the paytech company as a “pivotal moment” and a “critical step” as it continues its growth trajectory.
payabl. has been preparing for its launch as a fully regulated EMI in the UK across recent months, and is now focused on expanding its team, hiring payment experts from across the region to support business growth, as well as expanding its merchant portfolio.
Sean Forward, UK CEO at payabl., stated: “Becoming an authorised EMI in the UK is a major achievement for payabl. “The whole team has worked incredibly hard on this, regularly engaging with the FCA to meet the requirements and we’re extremely proud of our achievement.
“Being an authorised EMI provides us with a robust regulatory framework that’ll allow us to support UK merchants and allow them to thrive, as we have been doing for merchants across Europe.
“The next step for us will be to grow our UK team, increasing our pool of talented payment professionals to support our growth ambitions, as well as guiding our existing customers who already operate in Europe as they expand their presence in the UK.”
The granting of the UK EMI authorisation allows the payabl. Group, previously operating under the FCA’s Temporary Permission Regime (TPR), to transfer its UK-based customers onto its UK EMI.
The process of gaining this licence has been spearheaded by Forward and his UK team supported by Ugne Buraciene, Group CEO.
Forward has extensive experience and expertise in the payments space and is also a member of the Project Digital Currencies, The Payment’s Association digital currency group, advising and engaging key stakeholders on a range of topics related to digital assets, working on regulatory frameworks to a wider ecosystem design.
With the new authorisation, payabl.’s UK offering will include merchant acquiring for Visa, Mastercard and American Express, point-of-sale (POS) systems, payment accounts and linked payment cards.
Buraciene added: “We’re thrilled to be expanding our presence in the UK with the acquisition of an EMI authorisation.
“With this we can continue to focus on reaching new merchants and clients, evolve key partnerships and bolster our overall growth throughout the payments landscape. Sean is the ideal person to be leading payabl. UK on its growth journey – his industry expertise is unparalleled, and I’m delighted to be working alongside him throughout this process.”
