AuthoriPay

What AuthoriPay does

AuthoriPay (AuthoriPay Ltd, Company No 11869596) is a Cambridge, UK-based specialist regulatory consultancy serving fintech firms, payment institutions, e-money issuers, cryptoasset firms, merchant acquirers, payment facilitators, and professional services practices (accountancy and law) that require FCA authorisation, AML compliance, safeguarding arrangements or card scheme access. The firm offers a multi-line advisory practice covering FCA EMI and Payment Institution licensing (including FastTrack, Super Fast Track and Ultra Fast Track pathways), principal membership of card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard (plus BIN sponsorship and ATM deployment routes), independent AML audits and gap analyses (typically priced £1K-£5K per engagement), monthly AML retainer support, safeguarding account sourcing and safeguarding audits, and Canadian MSB licensing support. No proprietary software platform, API or AI component is offered; the underlying technology is purely domain expertise delivered via consulting engagements, with offerings monetised on a project and retainer basis.

The firm is led by founder and CEO Andrew Aitken (a published regulatory author) alongside director S Barker and regulatory specialist Richard Ellicott, with co-founders reporting over 40 years of combined practitioner experience at regulated firms. It markets primarily through SEO-optimised editorial content (blog, FAQ), organic social on LinkedIn and Twitter/X, earned media (notably a 2025 ACCA Accounting & Business Magazine feature on rising AML expectations), and a consultative sales motion backed by free initial consultations. Industry standing derives from leadership of the UK Payments Association, advisory membership of the Canadian MSB Association, and membership of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants.

In June 2025, AuthoriPay was acquired by Canadian cross-border financial platform Pesa and rebranded as Pesapeer Payments, transferring its FCA licences and Mastercard membership to Pesa and integrating the consulting practice into a broader payments stack spanning remittance, card issuing and acquiring across Europe and globally. Pre-acquisition, no venture capital or institutional funding rounds were disclosed; the firm operated as a privately held UK Ltd entity with 1-10 employees.

Name

AuthoriPay

Legal name

AuthoriPay Ltd

Website

https://authoripay.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AuthoriPay is a UK-based regulatory consultancy that advises fintech, payment, e-money, crypto and professional services firms on FCA licensing, card scheme membership, AML audits, and safeguarding compliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regulatory Compliance Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

akta.pro primary industry

Fraud Risk Management & Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption (ABAC) (BPAHAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Model Risk Management, Validation & Audit for FCC Systems (FSAMAMAI), Customer Identity (KYC/CDD/EDD) & Onboarding (FSAMAMAA)

Keywords

• FCA licensing consultancy
• AML compliance services
• Card scheme membership
• Payment institution licensing
• Safeguarding audit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Regulatory Consulting & Advisory: Professional services fees for FCA licensing applications, regulatory strategy, and compliance advisory. Services include card scheme applications, AML gap analysis, and ongoing support.
2. AML Audit Services: Fees for AML audits including sanity checking existing policies (approximately £1K) to full policy and process implementation from scratch (approximately £5K).
3. Card Scheme Application Services: Fees for card scheme principal membership applications (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) with reported fee of £15,000 per application. First year combined cost for both major card schemes estimated at approximately £250K.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AuthoriPay is a UK fintech regulatory consultancy that advises payment institutions, e-money firms, cryptoasset businesses, and professional services practices on obtaining and maintaining FCA authorisation. The firm delivers end-to-end support across FCA Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and Payment Institution (PI) licence applications, Visa and Mastercard principal membership and BIN sponsorship, AML audits and gap analyses, safeguarding account arrangements and audits, and ongoing AML supervision support including preparation for the 2026 FCA safeguarding regime.

Product overview

AuthoriPay is a specialised UK fintech regulatory consultancy, not a software product. It does not offer a unified platform or modular product suite. Its offering consists of distinct consultancy service lines: FCA EMI and Payment Licence consulting (covering FastTrack, Super Fast Track, and Ultra Fast Track pathways), Card Scheme Access (principal membership and BIN sponsorship for Visa/Mastercard), AML Audit Services (independent audits and gap analyses), Safeguarding Bank Accounts & Audits, AML Supervision Support (including Annex 1 FCA review preparation), Agent & Programme Models (EMD arrangements), Deliverable FX Advisory, Canadian MSB Licence Support, Crypto Firm FCA Authorisation, and Safeguarding Support Services for the 2026 FCA regime. These services are advisory in nature, not delivered as a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FCA EMI & Payment Licence Consulting

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Thistle Initiatives: UK-based regulatory consultancy focused on FCA authorisations, AML compliance, and payments licensing — a near-direct peer that overlaps materially with AuthoriPay's EMI/PI licensing and AML audit offering for fintech clients.
• Bovill: Specialist regulatory consultancy advising fintechs, payments firms, and crypto companies on FCA, PSD2, and AML requirements — direct competitor for licensing, AML, and safeguarding mandates across the UK payments sector.
• FINTRAIL: UK-headquartered financial crime and AML consultancy serving fintechs, payments, and crypto firms with independent audits, gap analyses, and compliance build-outs — directly comparable to AuthoriPay's AML audit and supervision support offering.
• FinTrU: Belfast-headquartered financial services regulatory and compliance outsourcing firm delivering AML, KYC, and regulatory operations support — comparable to AuthoriPay in serving regulated payments and e-money clients with ongoing compliance services.
• Compliant: UK payments and e-money compliance consultancy providing FCA licensing support, AML, and safeguarding services — a direct competitor in the same niche of small specialist compliance firms serving payment institutions.
• Compliance Advantage: UK financial services compliance and regulatory advisory practice supporting authorised and applicant firms with AML, governance, and FCA readiness — directly comparable in scope and client type to AuthoriPay.
• CCL (Compliance Consulting Limited): Independent UK regulatory and compliance consultancy providing FCA authorisation, AML audit, and risk advisory services to payments and e-money firms — overlapping service lines and target client base with AuthoriPay.

Broad incumbents

• KPMG UK: Big Four firm with a sizable UK financial services regulatory practice covering FCA licensing, AML, payments, and crypto — competes with AuthoriPay on larger FCA authorisation mandates where enterprise clients prefer full-service firms.
• PwC UK: Big Four firm offering payments, fintech, and regulatory compliance advisory across authorisation, AML, and safeguarding — a broad incumbent competing for larger and more complex FCA compliance engagements.
• Deloitte UK: Big Four advisory firm with established financial services regulatory and AML practices serving UK banks, payment institutions, and fintechs — competes with AuthoriPay on enterprise-scale regulatory mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AuthoriPay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/authoripay

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AuthoriPay