dLocal, Latin America's answer to Stripe, wins UK license in global expansion push

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LONDON — Uruguayan payments firm dLocal has secured a U.K. payment institution license, adding to the company's growing portfolio of regulatory authorizations as it furthers global expansion.

The emerging markets-focused fintech told CNBC it had acquired an authorized payment institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority, which is Britain's financial services regulator. That would allow it to start onboarding U.K. merchants for the first time.

DLocal will onboard U.K. merchants through a local entity, Larstal Limited. The subsidiary, which trades in the U.K. as AstroPay, was previously unable to onboard clients locally because of restrictions placed on it by the FCA. DLocal said the restrictions were the result of the U.K.'s exit from the EU.

Pedro Arnt, dLocal's CEO, told CNBC he expects the business to stand out from domestic payment tech rivals, such as Worldpay and Checkout.com, given its focus on emerging markets in places like Latin America, Africa and Asia.

«The differentiating factor for us when we think of our U.K. base of merchants is that the geographies where we serve them, and those are the only geographies we work,» Arnt said in an interview. He added that dLocal is also targeting global merchants that have a U.K. presence.

«The U.K. has become a hub for many global companies — even the American companies, some Asian companies — for their emerging market expansion, primarily in Africa, and in some cases LatAm,» Arnt told CNBC.

Established in 2016, dLocal is one of Latin America's most prominent payment players. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country Uruguay.

With a payment license now under its belt,