Late last year, a little-known company called Lanistar burst onto the sceneA mass Instagram campaign in December saw social-media flooded with ads for a new spending card, claiming to be the “world’s most secure”.Days later, Lanistar was issued a warning by the UK regulator, the FCA, which said: “This firm [Lanistar] is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK… Some firms act without our authorisation and some knowingly run investment scams”. The caution was quickly taken down as Lanistar scrambled to explain they were simply building a pre-launch waiting list rather than offering financial services. But the backlash prompted early payment partners to quietly pull back and spooked the advertising authorities into reviewing Lanistar’s marketing campaign. Now, Lanistar is battling internal problems, Sifted has learned.The company — funded by family members — is facing launch setbacks, widespread layoffs, and staff complaining of missed wages.Delays and late wages Seeking to build on the momentum of its social-media blitz, Lanistar originally circled January as its launch date. But the launch has now been pushed back to at least April, the company confirmed to Sifted.This prompted Lanistar to let go at least 40 staff members across December and January, according to…
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