UK watchdog FCA withdraws consumer warning over Lanistar after the fintech startup agreed to add a disclaimer that “it’s not conducting regulated activities”

On Thursday, we wrote about Lanistar after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, issued a consumer scam warning that the London-based fintech startup has been providing financial services without approval from the U.K. government.

In a brief statement, FCA issued a scam warning that Lanistar, which claims to have developed the “most secure card in the world,” has been providing financial services without its authorization. “We believe this firm has been providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorisation. Find out why to be especially wary of dealing with this unauthorised firm and how to protect yourself from scammers,” FCA said in a statement.

Now, the FCA is reversing its earlier warning. Yesterday night, the FCA withdrew its earlier warning after Lanistar “agreed to add an appropriate disclaimer to its marketing materials updating its regulatory status to confirm that it is not conducting regulated activities.” In an updated statement on its website, FCA said:

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. We will be working with the firm closely ahead of their launch.

Lanistar claims to offer the “world’s most secure card” that uses “polymorphic technology to enable card users to add up to eight bank cards onto the Lanistar card. In an email to Tech Startups, Lanistar said: “[We have] made it clear that legal and regulatory compliance are central to the company’s business model and that it would not be providing financial services or products without the FCA’s authorization. The company also said that its intended future services be through partnering with firms that are authorized by the FCA to provide financial services or products.”

Founded in 2020, Lanistar claimed to use polymorphic technology to provide a customer-centric alternative to the personal finance offerings provided by the incumbents in the sector. Lanistar recently announced partnerships with organizations such as Mastercard and Jumio. Lanistar has raised a total of £17 million in funding over 2 rounds and it is rumored to be valued at £1 billion.