Pliant wins FCA authorization as an electronic money institution
The Berlin-based card and spend management provider no longer needs a partner’s license to issue cards under FCA supervision, after the regulator examined how it onboards customers, manages risk and controls its finances
- Annual recurring revenue: more than $100m, Pliant said in July 2026
- Customers: more than 5,000 businesses and over 35 partners, according to Pliant
- Card issuing: 13 currencies across 32 countries; principal member of Visa and Mastercard
- Staff: more than 300 people across eight offices, Pliant said in July 2026
For finance directors at companies using or comparing corporate card providers, the authorization puts card issuing and the safeguarding of customer funds with the same company that runs the spend management software, rather than with a separate issuer, and places that entity under direct FCA oversight. Pliant has not said when, or whether, existing card programs will move onto its own entity.
“We’ve invested heavily in developing the regulated infrastructure behind our platform, and this authorisation gives us greater independence and flexibility to serve UK customers directly.”Malte Rau, chief executive and co-founder, Pliant
Pliant said on 14 October that its subsidiary Pliant Payments Limited has received full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution (EMI). With its own license, the Berlin-based company can issue cards and safeguard client money for customers in the FCA’s jurisdiction without relying on another firm’s permissions.
Pliant says it will use the license to build out its payment infrastructure for those clients and to take on more complex commercial card programs for businesses, financial institutions and public-sector bodies.
Until now, cards for those clients have been issued by Transact Payments Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, according to Pliant’s press page. Across the European Economic Area, Pliant has issued cards under its own license since August 2023, when its Finnish subsidiary Pliant Oy became an e-money institution and began passporting that license to other member states.
Founded in 2020, Pliant combines commercial card issuing, payment accounts, foreign exchange and spend management, and sells its infrastructure to fintechs, software platforms and banks that run their own card programs. It raised a $40m (£30.2m) Series B in April 2025, led by Illuminate Financial and Speedinvest, to fund its entry to the US, where Coastal became its sponsor bank in July 2026.
Sources
- Pliant, “Pliant Secures FCA Authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution to Accelerate Expansion”, press release (Business Wire), 14 October 2026. https://globalfintechseries.com/banking/digital-payments/pliant-secures-fca-authorisation-as-an-electronic-money-institution-to-accelerate-expansion/
- Pliant, “Pliant Secures FCA Authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution to Accelerate Expansion”, press release (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance), 14 October 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/pliant-secures-fca-authorisation-electronic-060100284.html
- Pliant, “Pliant Surpasses $100 Million in Annual Recurring Revenue”, press release, 29 July 2026. https://www.getpliant.com/en/press/100m-arr
- Pliant, “Pliant Partners with Coastal to Power U.S. Expansion”, press release, 14 July 2026. https://www.getpliant.com/en/press/pliant-coastal
- Pliant, “Pliant Closes $40m Series B Funding to Expand to the U.S.”, press release, 28 April 2025. https://www.getpliant.com/en/press/series-b
- Pliant, “Pliant secures EMI license and Visa principal membership”, press release, 9 August 2023. https://www.getpliant.com/en/press/pliant-secures-emi-license-and-visa-principal-membership
- Pliant, press page (card issuer note), getpliant.com. https://www.getpliant.com/en/press
- European Central Bank, euro foreign exchange reference rates (USD and GBP), 14 October 2026. https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/D.USD+GBP.EUR.SP00.A?lastNObservations=3&format=csvdata
