← State of Embedded Finance 2026

ACE Money Transfer

Can a diaspora remittance company become the full financial OS for migrant workers by layering an EMI-licensed neobank and card on top of its corridor network?

Founded2002
HQManchester, United Kingdom (One Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3BE)
IndustryFintech / Cross-border payments
The story

ACE Money Transfer began in 2002 as a single-location remittance shop in Bolton, UK serving South Asian diaspora corridors. Two decades on it has scaled to 1.3M customers and 350,000+ payout locations across 100+ receive countries while holding APIs/registrations with the FCA, AUSTRAC and FINTRAC. The strategic shift is the 2024–2025 launch of ACE Union, an EMI-licensed all-in-one consumer financial app with a Checkout.com-issued card — moving ACE from pure remittance to a diaspora-focused neobank.

Last 12 months
2025-02
2025-11
2026-03
Product timeline
2002
Founded as a small money remittance shop in Bolton, UK· pivot
2018
Partnered with Checkout.com for card acquiring to power money-transfer funding· banking
2022
Added Google Pay as a funding method across UK, Europe, Canada, Australia· banking
2025
Launched ACE Union — EMI-based all-in-one app with online banking and a card, powered by Checkout.com Issuing· card
2025
Announced collaboration with Mastercard Move for near real-time cross-border payouts· banking
2025
Integrated India's UPI rail for instant UK-to-India transfers· banking
2026
Strategic partnership with Askari Bank to expand Pakistan payout coverage· banking
Regulated entities
Authorised Payment Institution (API)
UK FCA
ACE Money Transfer Limited
Remittance Service Provider
Australia AUSTRAC
ACE Money Transfer
Money Services Business
Canada FINTRAC
ACE Money Transfer
EMI (Electronic Money Institution)
EU/UK
ACE Union
The stack
Payments / PSP
Checkout.comGoogle Pay
Banking / BaaS
ACE Union (in-house EMI)
Card issuing
Checkout.com
FX & payouts
Mastercard MoveAskari Bank (Pakistan payout)UPI (India payout rail)
Accounting gap: none