United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Afro International (UK) Limited
Legal name in the LEI recordAFRO INTERNATIONAL (U.K.) LIMITED
Afro International (U.K.) Limited is a private limited company incorporated in England in 1998, with its head office in Harrow, London. The FCA authorises it as an authorised payment institution (firm reference 567426). HMRC registers it as a money service business for money remittance. Its majority shareholder is director Kishin Khushaldas Bhavnani, who holds more than 50% but less than 75% of the shares. Under the Afro International brand it offers money transfers from the UK, and the brand describes itself as specialising in remittances to Sierra Leone.
Licences and registrations
Held by Afro International (U.K.) Limited (LEI 549300IIEMUGQ2EOPQ87). 3 entries on 2 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 567426 | United Kingdom | Active | 2018-03-07 | — |
|
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| HMRC MLR Supervised Business RegisterHMRCLinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Money Service BusinessMoney Transmitter / Remittance | XTML00000189592 | United Kingdom | Active | 2023-02-01 | — |
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| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Small Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 502599 | United Kingdom | Cancelled - Small PI | — | Ended 2012-01-25 |
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Trading names on the register: JAFFA FOOD STORE (FCA-PSD, HMRC-MLR), Rakhs Limited (FCA-PSD, HMRC-MLR)
- Licences belong to the legal entity, not to a BIC.
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
- The register entries and their trading names were not matched against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
Other register entries with this LEI
Shown for reference: they share the LEI but are not merged into this page
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- AFROGB2LXXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Connected to SwiftThis BIC is registered as a live address on the Swift network. The institution sends and receives Swift messages under AFROGB2L directly.
- Swift GPI
- Not on the member list
- Payment schemes and systems
- No entry in the EPC registers, the ECB T2 and TIPS lists or the SIX Bank Master cites this BIC
- Branch codes
- None: head-office BIC only
- BIC first registered
- 2010-10-09
- Last updated
- 2024-02-16
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Ownership
Privately held
Firm type
Money remittance
Trades as Afro International
- Standing
- Companies House shows the company as active, and its latest accounts are for the year to 31 March 2026. It traded as Rikban International Limited from 20 May 1998 to 30 April 2003.
- Ownership
- Kishin Khushaldas Bhavnani, a director, is the only registered person with significant control and holds more than 50% but less than 75% of the shares and voting rights.
- Major shareholder
- Kishin Khushaldas Bhavnani
- Head office
- Pentax House, South Hill Avenue, Northolt Road, HA2 0DU Harrow, United Kingdom (registered office: Suite 1, 7th Floor, 50 Broadway, London, SW1H 0BL, United Kingdom)
- Company register
- Companies House 03567328
- Incorporated
- 20 May 1998
- Former name
- RIKBAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Online
- Websites & references
- afroint.com ↗ did not load when checked
- Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 8 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03567328
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03567328/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03567328/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03567328/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03567328/filing-history/MzUyMTA1MDk4M2FkaXF6a2N4/document?format=xhtml&download=1
- register.fca.org.uk/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015b0000006CXC7
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.afroint.afro&hl=en_US
- trustpilot.com/review/www.afroint.com
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an authorised payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations (firm reference 567426). HMRC supervises it for anti-money laundering purposes as a money service business.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 567426 | In its own name | Active | — |
| HM Revenue & Customs United Kingdom | Money Service Business (Money Transmitter / Remittance) | XTML00000189592 | In its own name | Active | — |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Small Payment Institution | 502599 | In its own name | Withdrawn or expired | — |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
The brand describes itself as specialising in remittances to Sierra Leone, where it reports more than 260 payout locations. Its online service and app offer cash pickup and bank transfers.
The firm sends money from the United Kingdom under its FCA authorisation, with Sierra Leone as the main payout destination.
- Revenue
- GBP 351,645
- Sells to
- Consumers
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Kishin Khushaldas Bhavnani Director
- Executive
- Navin Kishin Bhavnani Director
- Executive
- Rohit Kishin Bhavnani Director
- Executive
- Renu Kishin Bhavnani Director
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
The research found no fines, investigations, security incidents, licence changes or corporate events from the last three years.
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Identifiers
Head-office record
- BIC
- AFROGB2LXXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- AFROBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 2LLocation
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 549300IIEMUGQ2EOPQ87
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 567426
- Licence no. · HMRC-MLR
- XTML00000189592
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 502599
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entries: Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives.
- Register-entry ID
- 5bf1a5f85f84
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-money · Money service businessPayment institutions, e-money and stored-value issuers, and account-information providers. Licensed under payment-services law (e.g. PSD2 in the EU and UK, the Payment Services Act in Singapore). Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Register licences
- 3 entries on 2 registers
- Activities
- Payment services
- Money remittance
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Country · region
- United Kingdom · Europe & Central Asia
- Trading venues (MIC)
- No MIC registered under this LEI list of 2026-09-17
- OFAC sanctions
- No listing cites this BIC
- EU sanctions
- No listing matched this BIC or its LEI
- Country sanctions
- No country programme
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
GLEIF’s relationship records name no parent for this LEI, and no group page is published for it.
Addresses
- Registered address
- SOUTH HILL AVE, NORTHOLT RD, HARROW PENTAX HOUSE LONDON HA2 0DU UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- PENTAX HOUSE SOUTH HILL AV, NORTHOLT ROAD HARROW LONDON LONDON HA2 0DU UNITED KINGDOM
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
A CBPR+ message identifies this institution by its BIC, and may add its LEI or a clearing code. CBPR+ does not allow a name and postal address next to a BIC.
- Identified by
- BIC, with its LEI
- Roles in CBPR+
- Any agent, including the instructing and instructed agents
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>AFROGB2LXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300IIEMUGQ2EOPQ87</LEI>
</FinInstnId>Full record
Every ISO 20022 element the directory holds. Base ISO 20022 allows them together. CBPR+ does not allow a name and address next to a BIC
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>AFROGB2LXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300IIEMUGQ2EOPQ87</LEI>
<Nm>AFRO INTERNATIONAL (UK) LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>SOUTH HILL AVE, NORTHOLT RD, HARROW PENTAX HOUSE LONDON HA2 0DU</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>The BIC, name and address are as published in Swift’s BIC directory. The LEI comes from the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI file. Check them against your own records before use.
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Sources & method
Every value comes from a public source, such as Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory, GLEIF or the OFAC and EU sanctions lists. Most sources are matched on a BIC or an LEI, not on a name.
Swift GPI membership is matched on names and is indicative. A missing sanctions match does not mean that no listing applies. Always screen against the official lists.
Register entries are not screened against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Credits for this page
- FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPs—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- HMRC MLR Supervised Business Register—HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) · register ↗ as at 24 September 2026
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
- Images—logos and photos from Wikimedia Commons (credited with their author and licence) or from the institution's own website, where Wikimedia has none. Elucidate keeps a copy of each; the links lead to the source and the original image. Logo: afroint.com (official website) · original.
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