Adempi Taps Lorraine Mouat to Lead Payments Practice as Regulatory Pressure Intensifies

Adempi, the specialist UK compliance consultancy focused on financial services regulation under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has appointed Lorraine Mouat as Partner to lead its payment services and e-money practice — a strategic hire designed to expand the firm’s expertise in an area facing heightened scrutiny from regulators and market participants alike.

The appointment comes as payment firms, fintechs, electronic money institutions (EMIs), and other regulated entities are navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment in the UK — including tighter authorisation standards, enhanced compliance expectations, and rising enforcement activity. Adempi’s investment in senior-level payments expertise reflects both market demand and a clear bet on deeper compliance advisory needs across the payments ecosystem.

Why This Appointment Matters: Payments Compliance in the Spotlight

Payment services and electronic money issuance have become some of the fastest-growing segments in fintech and financial services, driven by trends such as embedded finance, digital wallets, cross-border payments and open banking. At the same time, regulators like the FCA have signalled stronger oversight, stricter authorisation regimes and heightened expectations around controls, risk management and conduct frameworks for firms offering payment and e-money products.

Against this backdrop, experienced regulatory advisors — especially those with deep domain knowledge in payments — are in high demand. Adempi’s partner-level hire shows that demand isn’t just coming from early-stage challengers, but also from established firms that need seasoned guidance on FCA applications, compliance remediation, risk frameworks and ongoing regulatory engagement.

This signals an industry turning more seriously toward compliance as a strategic capability rather than a box-ticking exercise — particularly for firms that straddle the line between traditional finance and innovative payment services.

Who is Lorraine Mouat and What She Brings to Adempi

Lorraine Mouat arrives at Adempi with a strong track record in payments and regulatory compliance. Over her career, she has supported a broad range of firms — from payment service providers (PSPs) and EMIs to fintech start-ups and listed entities — in navigating FCA authorisations, safeguarding requirements, controls frameworks, compliance monitoring and conduct risk management.

Her expertise includes:

• FCA authorisation and regulatory strategy — guiding firms through complex application processes and regulatory expectations.
• Compliance frameworks and systems & controls — designing and strengthening internal compliance systems tailored to payment firms’ operational needs.
• Monitoring, culture and conduct risk — helping firms embed robust risk governance and ethical culture.
• GDPR and data-protection compliance — bringing added value around privacy and data-related regulatory obligations.

Her breadth of experience — spanning start-ups, private-equity-backed growth firms and larger listed entities — positions her well to support a diverse client base that includes fintech innovators alongside established financial institutions.

In her new role at Adempi, Lorraine will lead the payment services and e-money practice, offering consultancy on project work, retainer relationships and ad-hoc advisory mandates. She will also play a leading role in expanding the consultancy’s risk management and compliance capability, assisting clients as they interpret and implement regulatory expectations within their business strategies.

What Adempi’s Senior-Only Model Means for Clients

Adempi’s business model is built around senior-only consultants — meaning clients work directly with experienced subject matter experts rather than junior teams. This approach is particularly valued in high-stakes compliance areas such as payments and e-money, where regulatory missteps can lead to lost authorisations, enforcement action or reputational harm.

By placing an expert like Lorraine at the helm of its payments practice, Adempi reinforces its commitment to hands-on, practical compliance support — blending regulatory rigour with an understanding of commercial objectives and operational realities.

According to one of Adempi’s cofounders, Gillian Roche-Saunders, Lorraine’s addition is a response to rising demand from firms incorporating payments into their business models — whether they are fintechs, investment firms, crypto businesses or consumer credit providers. The consultancies see a gap in the market for advisors who can navigate FCA expectations while supporting growth and innovation goals.

Payments and E-Money: A Complex, Fast-Evolving Regulatory Landscape

The payments space has historically been attractive to innovators due to clear regulatory frameworks such as the EU’s Payment Services Directive (PSD) regime — transposed in the UK as part of its own regulatory standard post-Brexit — and newer expectations around anti-money-laundering (AML) conduct, safeguarding of client funds and operational resilience. However, recent trends such as:

• Increasing FCA scrutiny of authorisation applications, including rejections and conditional approvals.
• Heightened expectations around compliance culture, risk management and governance structures.
• Growing adoption of new payment technologies that intersect with crypto and digital assets.

have made strategic regulatory advice more important than ever for firms operating in this domain.

Adempi’s decision to beef up its payments practice with a seasoned leader reflects this shift — and suggests that payments compliance is no longer a “nice-to-have” but a strategic imperative for firms looking to scale while staying within regulatory guardrails.

Industry Implications: Growing Need for Specialist Expertise

Across the UK fintech and financial services landscape, regulatory expectations continue to evolve — not just in payments, but across areas such as digital assets, credit, consumer finance and open banking data frameworks. Firms are increasingly aware that regulatory compliance must be embedded into their business models from the outset, rather than retrofitted as an afterthought.

This talent demand is reflected in advisory firms bolstering senior leadership teams and specialist practices to meet market requirements. Lorraine’s appointment at Adempi is a case in point — and suggests that similar moves could be on the horizon at other consultancies and industry groups focused on payments, e-money, and related fintech segments.

Conclusion: A Strategic Move in a Dynamic Market

Adempi’s appointment of Lorraine Mouat as Partner to lead its payment services and e-money practice is a strategic response to the increasing complexity and regulatory rigour shaping the UK payments landscape. By bringing in a seasoned expert with firsthand experience across regulatory, operational and risk domains, the consultancy reinforces its commitment to supporting clients with high-value, practical compliance guidance that enables growth rather than constraining it.

As the payments sector continues to evolve — from embedded finance to digital wallets and blockchain-related innovations — strong regulatory expertise will remain a competitive advantage for firms navigating regulatory expectations while pursuing innovation.

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