Lanistar
“Can an influencer-led neobank survive its reputational and regulatory crises by pivoting to underbanked LATAM markets via BaaS alliances?”
Founded2019
HQLondon, United Kingdom
FoundersGurhan Kiziloz
Total raised$21.3M
IndustryFintech / Neobank
The story
Founded 2019 as an influencer-marketed neobank targeting Millennial and Gen-Z, positioning itself against Monzo and Revolut. After early 2020 troubles (FCA warning, technology partners publicly disavowing the company), Lanistar pivoted to Latin America, launching first in Brazil via a Mastercard BaaS 'one-stop shop' alliance in 2023 before attempting UK re-entry. The company has been in distress with two winding-up petitions filed since late 2024.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2019
Founded by Gurhan Kiziloz as a digital bank challenger to Monzo and Revolut· pivot
2020
Partnership with Global Processing Services (GPS) for issuer processing of polymorphic debit card· card
2020
FCA issued regulatory warning; Modulr distanced itself from Lanistar· pivot
2021
Secured FCA approval; Modulr resumed relationship to underpin UK operations· banking
2023
Launched in Brazil via Mastercard BaaS partnership; planned UK banking launch· banking
2024
First winding-up petition filed· pivot
2025
Second winding-up petition filed by Accomplish Financial Limited· pivot
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Lanistar’s embedded-finance stack
Banking / BaaS
Card issuing
in the full report
Card network
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
2 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.