IFX Payments on M&A, compliance, and the return of FX risk

Amid the constant buzz of AI and instant payments at Money 20/20 Europe, a more fundamental conversation is taking place. For established fintechs, the challenge is evolving: how to scale responsibly, navigate a consolidating market, and address the real-world risks that clients face beyond the speed of a transaction.

IFX Payments, a bootstrapped firm that has successfully transitioned from a traditional FX brokerage to a sophisticated alternative banking partner, embodies this evolution. At the event, Bobsguide spoke with CEO Will Marwick and COO Adam Dowling about their compliance-led strategy, ambitious M&A plans, and why the industry is having a sharp wake-up call about foreign exchange volatility.

From FX Brokerage to FinTech Powerhouse

The journey of IFX Payments mirrors the maturation of the fintech sector itself. Will Marwick, who stepped into the CEO role in 2021, joined in 2018 to help secure the company’s EMI license, catalyzing its pivot. “We’ve been on a steady and controlled growth trajectory, which has all been organic,” Marwick explained. “I think [we’ve] successfully transitioned from being an FX brokerage into a payment and alternative banking FinTech.”

This evolution is bolstered by deep industry expertise. COO Adam Dowling brings 17 years of experience from giants like Barclays and Banking Circle. He joined IFX to scale its operations, product, and technology. His focus is on addressing a persistent market failure. “Speaking to people here that still struggle for access to clearing… the barrier to entry is only getting higher and higher,” Dowling noted. “That is our offering for the market, and it’s still quite surprising to see today that that’s still a real challenge.”

A Compliance-Led Strategy for a New Era

While the first wave of fintech disruptors focused on speed and user experience, IFX believes the next phase must be built on a foundation of regulatory rigor. The firm is targeting financial intermediaries—EMIs and PSPs that need reliable access to FX and payment capabilities.

“A lot of these providers, the original disruptors, are now actually struggling like the traditional banks are, because technology’s moved so far, and regulation’s moved so far,” Dowling explained. “That’s where we’re really investing at the moment, is building the new world for financial intermediaries that is a compliance-led solution… We believe now going compliance-led in this market is the only way for future scalability.”

This strategy involves leveraging technology not just for efficiency, but for robust compliance. Marwick highlighted their work with partners like Intrepid Fox to integrate AI into transaction monitoring and onboarding, reducing false positives and streamlining manual reviews. It’s a practical application of the AI theme dominating the conference, aimed at keeping their cost base down without passing on high fees to customers.

Growth Through Acquisition: The Argentex Deal

While organic growth has been core to their story, IFX is now pursuing an ambitious M&A strategy to accelerate its global reach. The company is in the process of acquiring Argentex PLC, a move Marwick described as perfectly aligned with their vision.

“We’ll go from being a UK-based FX and payments FinTech to a global one overnight,” he stated. The acquisition will expand their regulatory footprint to the Netherlands and Australia, add new capabilities like structured products, and grow the team from 220 to over 400 people. “The payments and FX market is consolidating quite a lot, but it’s also evolving very quickly,” Marwick said. “We do need to have an M&A strategy, because if you’re not looking at that, you’re going to be left behind.”

The Wake-Up Call

Perhaps the most salient theme Marwick identified was a return to fundamentals. For years, the industry has been laser-focused on payment rails and settlement speed. However, recent market volatility has delivered a stark reminder of a risk that never went away: foreign exchange.

“Following the tariffs and the volatility of currency markets… there’s a lot more of a focus now of people starting to realize that, whilst it’s great to focus on your payment settlement, having a sophisticated FX provider who can support you through those challenges has almost fallen to the back of people’s minds,” Marwick observed. “They’ve had a really sharp wake-up call in the last few months.”

This trend plays directly to IFX’s core strengths. “It’s great if my money can get there on time, but actually, if it’s going to cost me 200, 300, 400 grand more, it doesn’t matter how quickly it’s got there. I need to protect that,” he concluded. For IFX Payments, the future is about providing value beyond the transaction, combining cutting-edge payment technology with the sophisticated risk management that a volatile world demands.