After months of growing excitement and anticipation, UK-based fintech start up Lanistar is thrilled to announce that it is expecting to launch in Brazil very soon. Brazil will be one of the first lucky few countries to gain access to the Lanistar Card.
Lanistar offers a payment card and account provider that is built for millennial lifestyles.
Lanistar is hopeful that it will reach 3 million customers in Brazil in its first year. This is a huge number, as in Monzo’s first year of launch they gained around 50,000 customers.
Since its inception, the fintech company’s campaign has been backed and promoted by important and popular Brazilian influencers. Examples of Brazil’s leading influencers supporting the Lanistar campaign include actress Camila Loures with 15 million followers, actress Flavia Pavanelli with 18 million followers and singer Gabi Martins with 12 million followers. The extensive list also includes many local influencers such as Richarlison and Lucas Guimaraes.
The focus on social media influence has the potential to be extremely successful in securing Lanistar’s goal of 3 million customers in their first year of launching. Especially in this day and age, where social media presence is not only power, but it is also a form of currency.
As a part of the company’s marketing strategy, the fintech company partnered with fully regulated local providers (Bankly and Acesso Bank) to ensure that there is full compliance with electronic bank accounts, customer onboarding processes, card issuer, and transaction / KYC / AML monitoring.
The integration of the App has already started in Brazil, and it is now available to download from both App Store and Google Play. The company has the vision to become a £10bn+ fintech company and to fulfil that, Lanistar has taken the first step in hiring experienced members for its senior team. Key figures include Bill Suglani, CFO, a former BP, KPMG, and Open Banking executive, as well as Jeremy Baber, Director of Banking & Financial Services, who previously worked at GE Capital, Aldermore Bank, and Link Financial.
The card features dynamic CVV2 for secure online transactions, it is Mastercard branded and is accepted at 38m outlets around the world. Lanistar also aims to limit the personal information displayed on the card and adds another layer to protect customers.
Currently, Lanistar has 30 employees across offices in London, North Macedonia, and Athens. But after their launch, the company plans to employ 400 people by early 2022. To date, Lanistar has a following of over 259,000 Instagram followers. To put this figure into perspective, Monzo has63,500 followers and Starling has 34,400 followers, and these numbers were accumulated over 5 years, whereas Lanistar has surpassed this in just over a year.
The CEO of Lanistar, Gurhan Kiziloz, believes that the fintech company will be a strong competitor in the digital banking platform realm and said the following.
“Brazil is a fast-growing and dynamic market and has already entered into contracts with fully regulated partners to serve domestically. This will be a major step in our journey to become a truly global fintech provider. “
Lanistar’s highly anticipated launch in Brazil is expected to be followed by another exciting launch in the UK. However, the date of the UK launch is yet to be released. Speculation seems to suggest that the launch will likely happen in November or December. The company plans to start with a bang and once they do so, the race for fintech dominance will be on.
Exciting times are coming, so make sure you watch this space and don’t miss out on what’s to come!
This article was written in cooperation with Jeremy Mark.