payabl. secures an EMI licence in the UK

As outlined in the official press release, the paytech has been preparing for its launch as an EMI in the UK. Before the announcement, the company has been operating under the FCA’s Temporary Permission Regime (TPR). After receiving the EMI licence, payabl. is now able to transfer its UK-based customers to its UK EMI. The company reportedly expects that being an authorised EMI will provide them with a strong regulatory framework that will allow them to support UK merchants.

As emphasised in the official statement, payabl. is one of the few companies to have acquired an EMI licence following Brexit. According to data shared by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), just seven applications have been approved in the first quarter of 2023. 

The FCA further revealed that the approval rate for EMI applications witnessed a substantial decline, plummeting to a mere 8% in 2022. This stands in stark contrast to the 90% approval rate recorded in 2018 and the 47% rate in 2021.

When commenting on this latest announcement, a representative from payabl. emphasised that this accomplishment opens noteworthy prospects for the paytech's growth within the UK market. More precisely, this advancement purportedly propels the company closer to its goal of becoming a services partner for merchants worldwide. 

With the recent authorisation, payabl.'s UK operations will encompass services such as merchant acquiring for Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, point-of-sale (POS) systems, payment accounts, and linked payment cards.

payabl.'s strategy and past developments

payabl. is a paytech that reportedly facilitates payments from over 300 payment methods. The company extends payment solutions for merchants from a wide range of sectors worldwide via its network of offices in Germany, the Netherlands, Cyprus, and the UK.

The company's payment offerings encompass card acquiring, alternative payment methods, local solutions, and a range of banking services such as IBAN accounts and prepaid cards, thus enabling worldwide transactions for its customers.

payabl. is also a regulated payments institution specialising in acquiring, issuing and mobile payments with a licence extended by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

This is not the only strategic decision announced by the company recently. Earlier in 2023, the paytech launched a point-of-sale (POS) solution for in-person payments via a collaboration with Mastercard. Moreover, the paytech became part of the Visa Direct Preferred Partner programme in a bid to get access to tools that it can leverage to facilitate its expansion.