Payments & Fintech

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About This Sector

Payments is one of the most dynamic corners of UK financial services, and one of the most closely supervised. Whether you are launching a money remittance business, building a payments platform or scaling an e-money product, the FCA will examine your application, and your safeguarding arrangements, in detail.

We help payments and fintech firms get authorised and stay compliant, with support from consultants who understand both the FCA’s payment services expectations and the commercial pressures of building a fintech.

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Common Challenges for Payments & Fintech Firms

Choosing the right authorisation route

Small payment institution (SPI), authorised payment institution (API) or e-money institution (EMI): the right registration or authorisation depends on your services, transaction volumes and growth plans, and changing later costs time and money.

Safeguarding requirements

The FCA’s strengthened safeguarding regime for payment and e-money firms demands robust arrangements for protecting customer funds, with clear records, reconciliations and audit expectations.

Demonstrating readiness

The FCA expects a credible business plan, capital, governance, and IT and financial crime controls that match the Payment Services Regulations and the FCA’s payment services approach document.

Regulatory change

From safeguarding reform to operational resilience, the rules for payment firms keep moving, and the FCA expects firms to keep up.

How We Help

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Payment Services & E-Money Authorisation

End-to-end support with SPI registration and API and EMI authorisation, including your regulatory business plan, safeguarding arrangements and financial crime framework.

Safeguarding Support

Designing and reviewing safeguarding arrangements that meet the FCA’s current rules and prepare you for what is coming next.

Ongoing Compliance

Regulatory reporting, Consumer Duty, change in control support and compliance advice as your firm scales.

How It Works

We begin by understanding your product, your flows of funds and your roadmap, because the right permissions depend on where you are going, not just where you are. We then scope the authorisation, build the application pack with you, and manage FCA queries through to approval. Post-authorisation, we can support your reporting, safeguarding reviews and regulatory change projects.

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Our Clients Say

Fantastic service and support! I cannot recommend enough, Alumni Compliance were always on hand and ensured our journey through a very complex process was simple and straight forward.

William Colthart, Director

Our Clients Say

Alumni is a professional firm. They supported us all the way and were very responsive. We managed to get authorised by the FCA quicker than planned. Definitely recommended for any firm looking for FCA Authorisation or compliance in general.

Mohammed Ragab, Director, AMS Cars Ltd

Frequently Asked Questions

A small payment institution is a registration route for payment firms below certain transaction thresholds. An authorised payment institution is the full authorisation for payment services. An e-money institution is required if you issue electronic money. The right route depends on your services and scale, and we assess this before any application.

Safeguarding is the legal requirement to protect customers’ funds, typically by segregating them in designated accounts or covering them with insurance or a guarantee, so customers are protected if the firm fails. The FCA has significantly tightened its safeguarding expectations, and weak arrangements are a leading cause of application refusals and supervisory action.

The FCA has three months to determine a complete application, and twelve months for an incomplete one. In practice, preparation quality drives the timeline, which is why we focus on complete, credible first submissions.

Talk to us today

FCA regulation and compliance can be complex, but we will help you navigate the process, allowing you to expand your business and create new revenue streams.

Contact us to talk to our friendly team about your requirements.

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