Unlimit: Building Borderless Payments Through Innovation And Infrastructure

In a world where seamless, global payments are increasingly central to economic growth, Unlimit has positioned itself at the forefront of financial technology by removing friction, middlemen, and limitations. Winner of the Most Innovative Payments UK 2025 award, the company has steadily transformed from a niche provider into a full-stack payments powerhouse with a proprietary infrastructure spanning over 1,000 payment methods and 100 currencies worldwide.

In this edition of Leaders InFocus, Brett speaks with Nadia Ivanova, Chief Communications Officer of Unlimit, about the company’s unwavering commitment to technological independence, regulatory discipline, and product foresight. From pioneering Banking-as-a-Service before it was a buzzword to building direct integrations in markets as diverse as Brazil, India, and Africa, Unlimit is creating a truly borderless financial ecosystem. As Nadia explains, the company’s success lies in marrying local expertise with global vision, and in anticipating the next evolution in payments—whether traditional, digital, or Web3.

Brett

Congratulations on winning Most Innovative Payments UK 2025. What does this accolade represent for Unlimit’s standing and long-term strategy?

Nadia  

Unlimit prides itself on continually pushing boundaries to improve and adapt in tandem with the evolving market from one year to the next. For us, receiving this award provides solid confirmation that we’re advancing in the right direction. Regarding our long-term strategy, it offers us extra impetus to keep forging ahead, innovating, and building new solutions and features. This ensures that the products we deliver to the market, as well as to our clients, remain not only relevant for the times and for the broader industry but also practically anticipate where the sector is heading, a goal we have consistently pursued over the past several years. We began focusing on BaaS (Banking as a Service) well before BaaS was widely recognised in the industry. Equally, we started designing and implementing our cryptocurrency off-ramp and on-ramp solutions long before Web3 saw a substantial surge a couple of years back. We might not have crystal balls, but we do try to ensure that every feature we develop provides at least a small peek at what lies ahead, allowing our clients to trust the solution under all circumstances. In that sense, winning an accolade like this is confirmation that ‘Yes, we are indeed on the correct path,’ and it compels us to persist in this direction with unwavering determination.

Brett  

Just thinking about Unlimit and the proprietary infrastructure that you've built in payment processing, banking as a service, multi-payment accounts, card issuing and on-off ramp capabilities. How has this all-in-one approach given you an edge in the global payment arena?

Nadia  

Well, I’d say that everything you’ve mentioned is exactly what gives us that edge. One of my favourite questions is when people ask, “Who are your competitors?”. I tend to laugh at it, because the answer depends on how you slice it. If you dissect our different products, sub-products, and features, then naturally each of those has its own competitor set. But if you take a step back and look at our entire offering, observing everything together, I would argue there’s almost no direct rivalry. We’re not simply a payment processing company. We’re not just an account management company. Nor are we merely an on-ramp provider. We bring all these capabilities together in a single space, creating a full-scale payments hub for businesses. So, regardless of the payment hurdle that might prevent a company from growing, expanding, or evolving, we can handle it with our in-house solution.

To me, that’s unquestionably our main value proposition. Then there’s the point about being truly global. Nearly every company claims to be global these days, but not everyone truly is. We have the actual licences and the payment rails in place, which is what allows us to make that claim. If you compare the number of licences we hold to what our competitors have, you’ll find a marked difference. We possess more licences and have more direct integrations with multiple payment methods. It’s definitely a more challenging and time-consuming road, because each licence is hardly granted overnight, or even within the year. Some take a seriously long time to secure. But that’s the only genuine way to earn the right to call yourself global, and truly provide a worldwide offering in the payments and FinTech sphere.

Brett  

Considering that and discussing regulations. Maintaining an EMI license in the UK and Europe, along with the local licenses in such diverse markets; it must present unique challenges and opportunities. How do you manage that regulatory compliance while scaling your operation internationally?

Nadia  

Remaining compliant with the applicable regulations wherever we’re present is essential for us. We go through audit after audit, so we're constantly being checked and reviewed under a microscope. Thankfully, we have a very, very strong internal legal and compliance team that supports us and makes sure that we are able to provide all of the required documents and go through all of those checkups on a constant basis.

Brett  

Support for over 1000 payment methods and more than 100 currencies; there would have been key hurdles in achieving such extensive global coverage. How have you overcome them? 

Nadia  

It comes down to two major factors: on one side, we have the licences, and on the other, the direct integrations. Usually, if you approach a payment provider that says they can offer countless payment methods in a specific region, say, Brazil, in many scenarios, what happens is that these methods aren’t provided firsthand. Instead, they’re channelled via a local partner acting as a third-party intermediary. This not only influences the tariffs or pricing for the services rendered, but also complicates the technical integration aspect.

Our goal was to avoid exactly that. We wanted to ensure that whenever we work with a client, we’re delivering each service directly, without involving any external middleman. That means when we handle something for you, it’s genuinely just our team, with our technical specifications. The pricing considerations are straightforward, reflected purely by our rates, and you don’t get saddled with hidden fees stemming from a third-party layer. The challenge, of course, lies in making that happen. Our robust internal teams, the alternative payment method department, and the Card Scheme department, are dedicated to forging and maintaining these direct relationships with a wide array of payment providers across the globe.

We take pride in truly operating on a global scale. We can confidently make that claim because we maintain local offices in every region where we have a presence, staffed by local experts and seasoned payment professionals who’ve been active in the field anywhere from five to fifteen years. Their role is pivotal in helping us navigate the regional payment landscape and deciding which payment portfolio is indispensable if a business wishes to expand successfully in those territories.

For instance, if you’re venturing into Brazil nowadays and you don’t support Pix, you might as well pack up, because you won’t make much headway. It’s simply a prerequisite. If you’re branching out to Mexico, you need to consider SPEI. If you’re heading into Asia, WeChat Pay or Alipay come into play. So it’s crucial to have that local expertise and nuanced understanding of the local payment ecosystem from a business development standpoint. Combined with our strong internal product teams, who keep working on these direct integrations day in and day out, we ensure our payment portfolio remains both dynamic and meticulously updated. That’s what has empowered us to tackle these hurdles effectively and construct such a comprehensive range of methods.

It’s undeniably a more demanding route, both timewise and resourcewise, yet it’s also the single way to deliver a genuinely global, directly integrated service. Having local know-how, and an unwavering commitment to forging our own connections and licences has given us the capacity to offer the exact solutions our clients need, no matter where they wish to extend their reach.

Brett  

The development of your proprietary global payment rails appears to be the cornerstone of your strategy. Could you explain how these rails adapt to local market requirements and drive efficiency for international transactions? 

Nadia  

This is linked to what I said earlier, because the rails themselves don’t so much adapt to markets, they’re built from the start to factor in local market requirements. We rely on the expertise we’ve gained, along with a sound grasp of the local payment environment we’re stepping into. Naturally, when you already know the payment landscape and what a business needs to excel in that market, you can focus on the right payment methods, reduce churn, increase approval rates, and so on. That’s what ultimately drives efficiency: you arrive armed with a transparent plan and a firm understanding of precisely what actions are required for growth.

As a result, our clients see clear benefits, which is why they choose to stay on board, not just in one region but across many. They realise we bring consistency and insight wherever they expand. We’re not hurriedly reworking our rails each time; instead, we’re building them from the start in a way that meets the needs of local customers. That’s how we help businesses settle into new territories while maintaining smooth operations. In short, careful planning and local knowledge guide how we establish those rails, ensuring each market is well supported.

Brett  

Unlimit has enhanced payment experiences for major partners like Xiaomi and inDrive. How do these      strategic collaborations influence your approach to innovation? 

Nadia  

I’d say it comes down to the fact that our clientele is remarkably diverse. Each of our products and sub-products can serve an array of needs, whether that’s a start-up, a multi-national enterprise, or an SME. We’re able to mix and match our solutions to help them grow, evolve, and expand their cross-border reach. So when we work with large-scale, established companies looking to enter emerging markets, it motivates us to keep enhancing our offering to anticipate where they’ll go next.

In recent years, for instance, Latin America and Africa have garnered considerable interest, with strong opportunities for global businesses. We recognised that in advance and concentrated on building a firm presence there, fully expecting that momentum. A similar process is unfolding in India, where we acquired our licence last year, having already begun investing our effort in the market’s potential several years ago.

For us, it’s about evolving alongside our clients and staying driven to explore new regions. We ask ourselves, “What will a company like this aim for next, and how can we be part of that journey?” By supporting them in attaining their objectives, wherever they happen to set their sights, we’re able to grow together. Essentially, that’s how we ensure we’re consistently positioned to meet their ambitions and help them succeed in new markets.

Brett  

In a market where third-party dependencies often hinder progress, how has eliminating these dependencies helped you deliver a more cost-effective and scalable solution?

Nadia  

I’d say it’s really a combination of things. From a technical standpoint, there’s simply less hassle when you partner with one single provider, because you only have to figure out how that one system integrates with yours. That means there’s just one set of credentials to manage. If you have multiple providers, you end up juggling different logins and configurations, which can conflict with each other. Sometimes they might even require extra development work to ensure everything runs smoothly together.

When you eliminate those third-party players and work directly with just one, you skip all the extra effort of making different systems cooperate. Plus, since we provide our entire suite of solutions from one place, and each is developed in-house, we can confidently say that everything is designed to function in harmony. It’s proprietary code and proprietary infrastructure, all built by the same R&D team. Essentially, it’s crafted by the same minds, so the programmes align well without the need for extensive onboarding or extra technical development time.

I believe this approach is what has enabled us to bring a more cost-effective and genuinely seamless solution to the market, since every element is purpose-built to fit together efficiently from day one.

Brett  

What advanced measures have you implemented to ensure that your infrastructure remains robust and secure across all your operating regions?

Nadia  

As I mentioned before, we operate as a heavily regulated financial institution. Inevitably, that means continuous checks and audits, and security remains a major priority for us. We take pride in not only being accredited under all vital security frameworks, but also holding certifications that range from PCI DSS Level One to annual audits for PCI DSS 4.0, as well as having 3DS 2.0 and other certifications in place. On top of that, we built an anti-fraud system in-house, which is included with our services. So when we say we handle security seriously, we truly mean it: we devote a significant portion of our resources to ensuring that anything we provide is always protected, exceeds industry standards, and stays at the forefront of security requirements.

Brett  

Emerging technologies such as Web 3.0 is beginning to reshape the financial landscape. How does Unlimit plan to integrate these innovations with traditional payment methods while staying ahead of the curve?

Nadia  

I believe the main point to realise is that Web3 is here to stay. A few years back you might have heard about Web3 and thought, “Not entirely certain.” Now it’s pretty clear that it’s becoming a steady fixture in our everyday payments landscape. As far as we’re concerned, it represents yet another direction—an exciting one—to incorporate into our product development. We’ve already broken ground in this area with our on-ramp and off-ramp solution, and we’ve been quite proactive in pushing it forward over the past few years.

We will keep pushing boundaries and evolving in keeping with our “borderless payments” ethos, in order to serve our goal of establishing an all-encompassing payment solution that grants genuine freedom within the payments realm. That means giving everyone the ability to pay however they choose and wherever they like, without fretting over which payment method they’re using, what currency is involved, or whether it’s crypto or a traditional means of payment.

We want it to be a straightforward, intuitive process, allowing people to decide what suits them best. That’s the direction we’re heading in, and we’re intent on pressing forward with this in the coming years. Ultimately, it’s about offering the convenience and flexibility that let individuals and businesses transact in whichever way works for them, free from the usual constraints and middlemen.

Brett  

What a fabulous place to end. That's a great you know, clearly, you've done this before, because you mission statement at the end. How fabulous.

Brett Hurll, Executive Editor at Global Financial Market Review, draws on over 35 years of international experience across technology and finance sectors, providing readers with sharp analysis and unique perspectives on emerging trends, market shifts, and the complex interplay between global business and political dynamics. His extensive background and senior leadership role position him as a trusted voice on financial markets and economic developments. If you have an interesting editorial reach out to our team at editoral@gfmreview.com