DLocal is one of the most prominent payment players in Latin America. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country of Uruguay.
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LONDON — Uruguayan payments company dLocal has secured a payments institution license in the United Kingdom, adding to the company’s growing portfolio of regulatory mandates as it pushes for global expansion.
The emerging markets-focused fintech told CNBC that it has acquired an authorized payment institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial services regulator. This would allow him to start involving British retailers for the first time.
DLocal will include UK retailers through a local entity, Larstal Limited. The subsidiary, which operates in the UK as AstroPay, was previously unable to onboard customers locally due to restrictions placed on it by the FCA. DLocal said the restrictions were a result of the UK leaving the EU.
Pedro Arnt, CEO of dLocal, told CNBC that he expects the business to set itself apart from domestic payment technology rivals such as Worldpay and Checkout.com given its focus on emerging markets in places like Latin America, Africa and Asia.
“The differentiating factor when we think about our UK dealer base is that the countries we serve them in are the only countries we operate in,” Arnt said in an interview. He added that dLocal also targets global retailers who have a presence in the UK.
“The UK has become a hub for many global companies — even American companies, some Asian companies — for their expansion into emerging markets, primarily in Africa, and in some cases Latvia,” Arnt told CNBC.
UK expansion plans
Founded in 2016, dLocal is one of the most prominent payment players in Latin America. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country of Uruguay.
With a payments license now under its belt, dLocal is looking to increase its footprint in the UK, with plans to increase staff and grow the business.
Arnt said dLocal is already expanding its footprint in the UK, with a number of senior executives – such as chief operating officer Carlos Menendez and chief revenue officer John O’Brien – based in London. Globally, dLocal currently has over 1,000 employees.
Arnt said a major advantage dLocal’s UK payments license will bring is recognition as a “licensed partner” that companies in the developed world can trust to manage payments in emerging markets with complex regulatory needs. DLocal now has over 30 licenses and registrations worldwide.
However, dLocal will face stiff competition. Britain already has an established fintech ecosystem with a number of well-capitalized players in the payments world operating there, including PayPalstripe, AdyenCheckout.com, Mollie and Revolut — just to name a few.
‘Not for sale’
DLocal went public on the Nasdaq in 2021, reaching a valuation of $9 billion at the time. Since then, the decline in market capitalization is visible. As of Tuesday, the deal was worth $3.4 billion. Still, the stock is up about 40% in the last six months.
last month, Reuters reported dLocal was in the process of exploring a potential sale. When asked by CNBC about the buyout speculation, Arnt said he did not want to comment on the rumors, but clarified that dLocal is not currently for sale.
Overall, Arnt said, being a public company comes with a level of transparency and oversight that he sees as a “commercial positive” for the company. From time to time, he added, “there are rumors that someone is interested in the property — but I wouldn’t guess there’s too much.”
“While there would be a fiduciary duty to shareholders to pursue a takeover, Arnt said that for now, “the company is not for sale.”
