What the UK’s Fast-Track Licence Means for Fintechs Expanding Cross-Border
Expansion is a present-day requirement for banks and fintechs, but the routes to market are not one-size-fits-all.
Fast-track or provisional licences can offer a direct path into new corridors, yet they come with operational demands, regulatory ownership, and long-term obligations that may not suit every business model. At the same time, alternative approaches to expansion are gaining attention.
We’ll compare fast-track licensing and Remittance-as-a-Service (RaaS) so you can be more confident in choosing the option best suited to your needs and goals.
Why RaaS is Gaining Momentum
RaaS has been gaining more of an uptake by banks and fintechs because it allows them to:
- Grow new revenue: capture customers rapidly on the send side without losing time to regulatory delays
- Move faster to market: start offering cross-border services immediately, without waiting for provisional or full licences.
- Reduce internal strain: compliance, onboarding, and transaction flows are handled by the RaaS provider, freeing internal teams to focus on strategy and growth.
- Test and scale strategically: test new corridors without committing to long-term infrastructure or licensing obligations.
RaaS vs Fast-Track Licensing
The UK’s provisional licence is designed to help early stage fintechs get to market sooner, but it comes with limits:
- Time-bound operations (up to 18 months)
- Internal compliance and operational demands still remain
- Limited flexibility to test new markets or scale quickly
RaaS complements and even accelerates this process. In short, it gives you options and flexibility that a provisional licence alone cannot provide.
What This Means for Your Money Service Business (MSB)
For banks and fintechs looking to grow cross-border without unnecessary risk or delay, RaaS offers a practical path forward:
- Unlock revenue from existing customers more efficiently
- Free internal teams from operational bottlenecks
- Expand strategically while staying fully compliant
- Test new markets before committing long-term
Choosing the Right RaaS Provider
Not all RaaS providers are created equal, and the right partner can make a real difference to your speed, compliance, and strategic flexibility. When evaluating options, you should consider:
- Regulatory coverage: Ensure the provider understands your key markets and can manage compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
- Platform maturity: Look for a solution that’s proven, reliable, and capable of handling the scale and complexity of your operations.
- Operational support: A strong provider will manage onboarding, transaction flows, and reporting, reducing internal strain.
- Value-added services: eSIMs, airtime, open banking are just some examples of how you can generate more revenue around the transaction whilst providing more benefits to your customer.
- Long-term partnership mindset: Beyond technology, the best providers work with you strategically, helping you test, scale, and optimise your cross-border operations.
At RemitONE, we’ve built our RaaS solution with these principles in mind. It’s designed to help banks and fintechs move quickly into new markets while keeping compliance front of mind, simplifying onboarding, and providing full transparency across transactions.
More than just a solution, you gain a partner who understands both the operational and strategic challenges, helping you navigate complexity with confidence.
Our RaaS is available for sending markets across the UK, Europe, and the US.
Next Steps
The remittance market is moving fast, and the right approach can help you enter new corridors with speed and confidence.
If you’d like to explore how RaaS could fit with your growth plans, book a free call with our team.
Update: Integrated PEP & Sanctions Lookup Checks
From 1 March 2026, we will introduce an integrated screening service that covers both sanctions and PEPs lookup checks for each transaction on the beneficiary and sender.
Sanctions and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) screening is a regulatory requirement across both sending and receiving markets. In the UK, this is mandated by the FCA, with similar obligations enforced by regulators globally. These checks must be completed on a transaction-by-transaction basis to ensure ongoing compliance.
Our platform already supports sanctions screening and is routinely reviewed by regulators across multiple jurisdictions. Building on this foundation, we are now extending to include PEP checks, enabling full sanctions and PEP screening to be completed seamlessly in one place.
This enhancement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a robust, regulator-aligned compliance framework that our clients can rely on as they scale across corridors and markets. By centralising these checks within our platform, we help ensure consistency, reduce operational friction, and support confident regulatory engagement with regulators and partners.
PEPs and sanctions screening is a mandatory requirement and must be applied on a transaction-by-transaction basis. If you are reviewing your current setup or evaluating providers, contact us to understand how integrated screening is delivered within our platform at marketing@remitone.com
Episode 5: Your 2026 Headstart – Trends, Predictions & Insights Shaping Cross-Border Payments
2026 is shaping up to be a year of rapid change, and standing still is no longer an option. The question is: how will your business not just keep up, but grow on top?
In Episode 5 of the RemitONE podcast, Natalie Perkins sits down with Aamer Abedi (CMO) and Oussama Kseibati (Head of Business Solutions) to break down the trends shaping the year—AI-driven automation, evolving fraud patterns, shifting customer behaviour, and early Web 3.0 use cases—and what they mean for your business.
Those who act early will be best placed to grow, protect margins, and stay ahead. If you want to discover the forces redefining cross-border payments and turn them into opportunities, this episode is your roadmap.
You’ll uncover:
• How agile MSBs are outpacing larger incumbents across key corridors
• The product areas creating meaningful new revenue channels
• A fast-growing opportunity expanding 85% year-on-year
• What the convergence of remittances and payments means for long-term strategy
• The early indicators pointing to next year’s competitive advantage
Watch the full episode below:
2026 won’t slow down. Adapt, diversify, and seize the tools that will put your business ahead of the competition. Book a free call with our team, and we’ll walk you through a solution tailored to your needs.
The Next Step for African Central Banks: Technology-Enabled Compliance Solutions
Across Africa, central banks are under increasing pressure to improve transparency and oversight in cross-border payments. As digital transactions grow, the need for real-time monitoring and reliable compliance tools has never been greater.
Common Challenges Regulators Face
Many regulators share similar problems:
- Limited visibility of FX rates applied by Money Transfer Operators
- Difficulty tracking USD and EUR inflows into the banking system
- Risks of structuring and smurfing in remittances
- Uncertainty around governing crypto-assets and stablecoins
- Pressure to adopt AI responsibly
- Balancing financial inclusion with strong compliance
The Solution: Introducing Regulatory Compliance Manager
Many central banks are now turning to technology to tackle these growing challenges. That’s why we at RemitONE developed our Regulatory Compliance Manager (RCOM™), empowering regulators and central banks to:
- Gain instant visibility of cross-border money movements and FX rates.
- Automate oversight with configurable compliance rules.
- Access actionable intelligence through advanced reporting and analytics.
With RCOM™, regulators can make proactive, data-driven decisions — turning compliance into a strategic advantage.
Those who move first are already seeing results. Find out how our solution can increase visibility for your central bank by booking a free call with Ababacar Seck, our Managing Director in Africa.
RemitONE x LimitFlex: Powering Global Connectivity through eSIMs
The global eSIM market is expected to reach approximately $11.98 billion in 2025, representing an 85% year-on-year growth as more operators and apps promote eSIMs as the preferred alternative to traditional roaming. By 2030, nearly 70% of all cellular devices shipped are forecast to be eSIM-capable.
That’s why we’ve partnered with LimitFlex to introduce eSIM services, helping your customers stay connected wherever they travel. With instant access to local data plans, they can receive payment alerts in real time, manage their money transfers on the go, and communicate seamlessly without worrying about roaming costs or network issues.
This opens new revenue streams while helping you strengthen customer loyalty and reduce customers from switching.
If you want to stay one step ahead of competitors, reach out to activate the integration on your RemitONE Platform.
New here? Book a free demo and discover how our platform can help your business keep up with today’s digital pace.
Upcoming Webinar: AI in Cross-Border Payments – Winning Customer Loyalty and Cutting Fraud
Only 16% of cross-border payment customers stay loyal to the same provider.
That means most are just one bad experience away from switching, often due to slow transfers, fraud scares, or compliance headaches.
In this 30-minute RemitONE webinar, you’ll explore how AI is transforming cross-border payments by helping you tackle these challenges head-on.
You’ll discover how to:
💡 Use AI to retain customers and personalise payment experiences
🛡️ Detect and prevent fraud without slowing transactions
⚙️ Apply practical AI frameworks to boost compliance and efficiency
Plus, catch a live demo of our AI-powered loyalty use case in action.
📅 Tuesday 11 November 2025
🕒 15:00–15:30 GMT
Bring your questions, we’ll be answering them live!
Secure your seat now, as spaces are limited: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3acd679a-a6a8-4182-9388-09b9403ff629@36d5614f-f651-4945-9632-7053acdae73a
Meet RemitONE at Singapore Fintech Festival to Explore AI-Driven Cross-Border Payment Solutions
We’re heading to the Singapore Fintech Festival, 12th – 14th November, to connect with businesses looking to scale. Oussama Kseibati, Head of Business Solutions, will be at the event to explore cross-border payment opportunities with our AI, open banking and blockchain solutions.
Whether you’re expanding into sending markets like the UK and Europe, paying out in asian markets, or navigating complex compliance demands, our innovative solutions can help fuel your growth and unlock new revenue streams
We provide the building blocks to future-proof your operations, even if cross-border payments aren’t your core offering, with solutions such as:
- White-label Money Transfer Software (online and app)
- RaaS (Remittance-as-a-Service) and AI-driven automation
- Automated KYC/AML
- Scalable payout infrastructure to new send and payout markets
- AI-driven payment optimisation
To arrange a place and time, please email us at: marketing@remitone.com
About RemitONE
RemitONE is an award-winning, leading provider of money transfer software solutions for banks, telcos, and money transfer operators (MTOs) worldwide. With multi-channel access, including agent networks, online, and mobile, RemitONE empowers organisations to streamline and scale their remittance operations.
Episode 4: Central Banks & Remittances: How to Monitor Cross-Border Payment Flows in Real-Time | The IPR Podcast
Africa’s remittance flows are bigger than you think, but most of it goes unseen.
In many countries, remittances surpass foreign direct investment, yet central banks only track a fraction of what’s really coming in. The result? Lost reserves, unstable currencies, and limited financial visibility.
But what if central banks could monitor every inflow in real time – enforcing official FX rates, ensuring compliance, and strengthening national reserves?
In Episode 3 of the IPR Podcast, Aamer Abedi (CMO, RemitONE) and Ababacar Seck (Managing Director for Africa, RemitONE) unpack how technology, automation, and real-time data can help African regulators turn this vision into reality. From tracking settlements to integrating mobile money, this episode explores how digital transformation can redefine financial inclusion and empower central banks to lead confidently in the digital era.
🎧 Watch the full episode to discover how real-time monitoring, big data, and automation are shaping the future of Africa’s remittance ecosystem.
At RemitONE, we’re helping financial institutions and regulators achieve:
✅ Real-time visibility across cross-border flows
✅ Seamless FX rate enforcement and reporting
✅ Stronger compliance and financial inclusion initiatives
Want to see how our solutions can support your region’s remittance infrastructure? Book a free consultation with our team today.
Episode 3: How AI is Transforming Cross-Border Payments | The IPR Podcast
AI is transforming cross-border payments in real time. In Episode 3 of the IPR podcast, Dr. Senaka Fernando, a leading voice in digital transformation, reveals how AI agents can be the key to automating compliance, speeding up transactions, and even preventing fraud before it happens. From startups automating onboarding to banks upgrading systems without disruption.
Want to see how your business can stay ahead in the AI-powered payments game? Watch the full episode for practical strategies and real-world insights you can start using today.
At RemitONE, we’ve been developing new AI Agent tools designed to help you:
- Automate KYC/AML processes
- Expand payout infrastructure into new sending markets
- Offer value-added services like airtime, top-ups, and utility bill payments
Want to see how this can boost revenue for your business? Book a free call with our team.
Money 20/20 Middle East Key Takeaways: Embracing AI and Strategic Partnerships
Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the nation’s Vision 2030 initiative. With over 260 licensed fintech firms and $860 million in venture capital funding in the first half of 2025, the Kingdom is positioning itself as a regional leader in financial technology.
It’s no surprise that Money20/20 Middle East 2025 drew thousands of innovators, investors, and financial leaders, sparking three days of collaboration. The event buzzed with new ideas, partnerships, and strategies that are shaping the future of finance in the region.
Here’s what stood out.
- Saudi Arabia: A Fintech Powerhouse
Unlike other editions, this year’s conference was centered on the Saudi market, where cross-border payments are becoming a major focus. Global names like Visa, Amex, Worldpay, and Habib Bank Limited were present, signalling strong international interest.
With robust investor backing and government support, fintechs in Saudi Arabia are driving change across payments, regtech, governance, and risk. This momentum cements the Kingdom as one of the most exciting and fast-moving fintech ecosystems worldwide.
- AI Integration: Transforming Financial Services
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a core topic of many panels. The financial sector is projected to invest $28.3 million in AI technologies, contributing $135.2 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy by 2030.
Agentic AI was also highlighted as a technology revolutionising how financial institutions operate. A common challenge for many Money Service Businesses (MSBs) is upgrading systems to adopt AI without disrupting existing operations. We’ve resolved this issue with our new AI bolt-on tools, including Agentic AI, designed to grow revenue without system migration.
👉 Explore how RemitONE’s AI bolt-ons can transform your operations.
- Strategic Partnerships: Accelerating Growth
Key partnerships are playing a huge role in accelerating fintech adoption in Saudi Arabia. This was clear at the event with several major collaborations: Visa expanded digital acceptance, Google Pay and Alipay teamed up with Saudi banks, and alliances like MoneyGram & D360 Bank and Thunes & Barq were taking cross-border payments to the next level.
These collaborations are streamlining digital payments, expanding access to global wallets, and enabling real-time cross-border transactions across hundreds of corridors. For MSBs, these partnerships are golden opportunities to scale faster and reach new markets.
Unlock the future of fintech in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector is set for strong growth, fuelled by AI integration and strategic partnerships. With the market projected to reach $4.5 billion by 2033, MSBs must embrace innovation, leverage AI, and forge strategic partnerships.
Our AI-powered tools make it simple to tap into Saudi Arabia’s fintech boom—unlock new revenue streams, scale your business, and stay ahead without operational disruption.
👉 See how AI can fuel your growth – book a free call to find out how