Modulr's customer onboarding ban lifted by the FCA

Modulr, which has an EMI licence and is backed by PayPal, provides payment services for the likes of Revolut, Sage, and Ripple. By using its tech, its clients circumvent the need to build their own payment infrastructure, become regulated and run a payment network.

When Modulr decides to start onboarding new customers after the ban, it must give the FCA a 10 days notice.

How the ban came into effect

In October 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told Modulr to stop onboarding new customers over regulatory concerns. In more detail, the ban meant it could not onboard new ‘partner’ clients, specifically ‘agents and distributors’, which use its payment services for cards or accounts.

The move came amid regulatory changes including new rules on consumer protection across financial services and new rules on push payment fraud. However, the temporary ban has now been lifted.

According to the FCA, the Modulr has agreed with the authority that it will not without providing prior written notification to the Authority of at least 10 business days, on-board any new agent and/or distributor.

Modulr said that following the pause, they have made enhancements to their Agent & Distributor (A&D) partner onboarding and oversight processes. Having now implemented these changes as well as undertaking extensive internal and external testing and assurance, they have agreed with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to recommence new A&D Partner onboarding subject to providing advanced notice of each A&D Partner.