Solving challenges for Payments & Card Service firms

The payments industry is rapidly evolving, driven by technological innovation, changing customer expectations and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Payment Service Providers (PSPs), e-money institutions (EMIs), fintechs and alternative banking platforms must navigate complex governance, compliance, anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), fraud prevention and other regulatory compliance requirements while maintaining seamless payment experiences for their customers.

Discover industry services
A portable payment solution designed for businesses on the go. Perfect for small businesses and vendors, enabling seamless contactless transactions in any setting. This modern, easy-to-use device provides convenience for both merchants and customers by offering a fast and secure checkout process.
Supporting businesses in your industry

Lysis Group has a proven track record of supporting payment firms in meeting these challenges. We work with some of the world’s leading payment institutions, challenger banks and fintechs, providing expertise in compliance frameworks, financial crime risk management and regulatory advisory services.

We help firms achieve regulatory alignment, mitigate financial crime risks and enhance operational efficiency, allowing them to scale and grow with confidence.

‍

How We Help the Payments & Card / Merchant Acquirers Sector

We work with payment firms at all stages of their growth, from startups seeking regulatory authorisation to established institutions optimising their compliance and risk management frameworks. Our solutions are tailored to the specific challenges and regulatory requirements faced by firms operating in the UK, EU and global payment markets.

Consulting & Advisory services

Regulatory Compliance & Payments Licensing Support
Financial Crime Risk Management
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Frameworks
Technology & Operational Efficiency
  • Assisting firms in obtaining and maintaining FCA, Central Bank of Ireland and other EU regulatory approvals.
  • Ensuring compliance with PSD2, upcoming PSD3, AMLD5, AMLD6 and the EU AML Authority (AMLA) requirements.
  • Designing financial crime compliance (FCC) frameworks aligned with FCA, Central Bank of Ireland and European Banking Authority (EBA) expectations.
  • Conducting regulatory gap analyses to ensure firms are audit-ready and compliant.
  • Developing risk-based AML/CTF frameworks tailored to different payment models.
  • Designing and implementing customer risk rating models (CRRM) and Enterprise Wide Risk Assessments (EWRA).
  • Establishing fraud prevention controls to mitigate exposure to financial crime risks.
  • Developing and refining AML governance structures, including Board and Senior Management oversight frameworks.
  • Designing risk appetite statements and governance models to support compliance decision-making.
  • Providing health checks and maturity assessments to benchmark firms against industry best practices.
Discover service
  • Advising on API-based compliance solutions for real-time regulatory reporting and fraud detection.
  • Implementing AI-driven transaction monitoring to enhance financial crime detection capabilities.

CLM/ AML Middle & Back Office services

The business operations division of the Lysis Group, can your firm in the following ways:

Customer Due Diligence (CDD) & Know Your Customer (KYC)
Sanctions Compliance & Screening
Transaction Monitoring & Suspicious Activity Reporting (SARs)
Regulatory Engagement & Remediation
  • Implementing Customer Due Diligence (CDD) frameworks aligned with regulatory requirements.
  • Conducting Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) reviews for high-risk customer clients.
  • Streamlining KYC onboarding processes to ensure efficient and compliant customer verification.
  • Implementing sanctions screening programmes to ensure compliance with UK, EU, OFAC and UN sanctions regimes.
  • Conducting sanctions risk assessments to identify and mitigate exposure to sanctioned entities and jurisdictions.
  • Enhancing sanctions governance frameworks to support ongoing compliance monitoring and regulatory expectations.
  • Implementing and optimising transaction monitoring systems for detecting and managing suspicious activity.
  • Clearing backlogs of transaction alerts, ensuring compliance with Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) reporting requirements.
  • Enhancing suspicious activity reporting (SAR) processes to meet FCA and Central Bank of Ireland standards.
  • Supporting firms in responding to regulatory inquiries, remediation actions and enforcement risks.
  • Managing interactions with FCA, Central Bank of Ireland and other regulators, ensuring firms demonstrate compliance commitment.
  • Delivering corrective action plans to address compliance weaknesses before regulatory sanctions arise.

Training & Capability Development services

Lysis Academy can support your firm’s specific staff training needs by providing:

  • AML/CFT training tailored to the risks in the payments industry. All staff, not just those in Compliance functions, need to understand their responsibilities with regards to the prevention of money laundering and financial crime.
  • Ongoing training and staff education.
Discover our services

Case Studies

Suspicious Activity Reporting backlog for an Irish Payment Services Provider

Our client had a substantial backlog of transaction alerts. They were concerned that these included a number of true positives that therefore indicated suspicious activity and required reporting.
Service
Operations & Resourcing

Regulatory Permissions for an Irish Payment Services Firm

Our client was applying for Payment Services permissions from the Central Bank of Ireland and required support in defining and documenting the Governance and Compliance framework.
Service
Consulting & Advisory

AML Framework Uplift for a UK Payment Services Provider

Our client had been advised that their AML provisions were not up to the required standard and wished to remedy this before regulatory sanctions were imposed.
Service
Consulting & Advisory

AML Framework for an Irish Payment Services Provider

Our client was in the middle of an extensive regulatory remediation for the Central Bank of Ireland and the remediation.
Service
Consulting & Advisory

On-boarding of Payment Programme Managers for a UK Payment Services Provider

Our client had acquired a business from a competitor and had c.50-60 Payment Programme Managers and their programmes to on-board. They asked Lysis to supply a team of experts to do this work.
Service
Operations & Resourcing

FC Framework, Uplifted SAR reporting, engaged with the FCA

Following a review from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2021, and a subsequent letter from the regulator, the client had to address a number of gaps that were identified by the regulator.
Service
Consulting & Advisory

Providing an AML and Governance Framework

A large U.S. based end-to-end human resources management firm and Lysis delivered a solution for the newly established UK/EU subsidiary which forms part of the SEC regulated entity.
Service
Consulting & Advisory

Experts in this Industry

Jon Sweet

Chief Executive Officer

Jon has 35+ years’ wholesale financial markets experience in London, New York, Singapore and Frankfurt. He specialises in Regulatory Strategy, Governance, Regulatory Change Management and M&A/Integration. Jon founded Lysis in 2001. He was previously Head of the Investment Banking, eBusiness and Trading Floor practices at AIM-listed TCA Consulting. Notable clients include Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, RBS/ABN, ICAP, JCB cards and Uphold.
Group Board
Group Management Team

Wendy Murray

Head of South Africa Operations

Wendy has more than 18 years’ experience within regulatory operations and financial crime compliance.
Group Management Team

Mark Davy

Principal Consultant

Mark has been working within the AML/CLM industry for over 15 years, gaining experience within tier 1/2 investment banks and a Big Four consultancy. He has also managed operational and transformation teams for Online Gaming Compliance and PSP clients. Mark has expertise in AML/CLM processes, data, and operational risk, and likes to view this all through a regulatory compliance lens. He also has a knack for creating insightful Management Information, allowing clients to track project progress, report AML and other regulatory risks and identify areas for cost-saving efficiencies.
Group Management Team
Consultants

Offices across the globe

UK

EU

USA

ASIA

SA

Core PAGES
HomeCase StudiesInsightsTeamOffices
BRANDS
Lysis AdvisoryLysis OperationsLysis Academy
TOP INDUSTRIES
Investment, Asset and Wealth ManagementGaming & Gambling