United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Mbna Limited
MBNA Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales, with its registered office in Chester. The FCA authorises it as a payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (register number 204487). The firm states that the FCA also authorises and regulates its general activities. Bank of Scotland plc has owned it since 30 November 2022, and Lloyds Banking Group plc is its ultimate parent. Lloyds Bank plc became its controlling shareholder on 1 June 2017, when it was acquired from the Bank of America group. It lends to retail customers in the UK through credit cards and through FlexPay point-of-sale finance under the Black Horse trading style.
Licences and registrations
Held by Mbna Limited (LEI QMFTATNCJ89QAEGW7553). 2 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 | 204487 | United Kingdom | Active | 2018-06-22 | — |
|
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| FCA Financial Services Register - E-Money InstitutionsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Small E-Money InstitutionE-Money / Stored Value Institution | 900093 | United Kingdom | Cancelled - Small EMI | — | Ended 2013-03-28 |
|
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Trading names on the register: MBNA (FCA-PSD, FCA-EMI), Black Horse (FCA-PSD, FCA-EMI)
- 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.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- MBEUGB21XXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Passive participant (no connection)This BIC is registered for identification only. The institution has no direct connection to the Swift network. Messages and payments reach it through a correspondent bank. The “1” in the eighth character of MBEUGB21 marks a passive participant.
- 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
- 2007-06-02
- Last updated
- 2020-03-26
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Ownership
Group subsidiary
100% Bank of Scotland plc
Firm type
Lending or buy now, pay later
Trades as MBNA
- Ownership
- Bank of Scotland plc holds 100% of the firm's shares, and Lloyds Banking Group plc is its ultimate parent and controlling party.
- Direct parent
- Bank of Scotland plc, United Kingdom 100%
- Ultimate owner
- Lloyds Banking Group plc, United Kingdom
- Head office
- Cawley House, Chester Business Park, CH4 9FB Chester, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 02783251
- Incorporated
- 25 Jan 1993
- Former name
- MBNA Europe Bank Limited
Online
- Websites & references
- mbna.co.uk ↗ did not load when checked
blackhorseflexpay.co.uk ↗ Black Horse FlexPay point-of-sale finance site (Black Horse is a trading style of MBNA Limited) - Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 8 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02783251
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02783251/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02783251/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02783251/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02783251/filing-history/MzUzODAyOTUwNGFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
- blackhorseflexpay.co.uk/regulatory-agencies.html
- apps.apple.com/us/app/mbna-mobile-app/id687485560
- bankingexchange.com/news-feed/item/10023-lloyds-to-transfer-10-million-cards-to-visa
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as a payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (register number 204487). The firm states that the FCA also authorises and regulates its general activities, including consumer credit lending, under the same register number.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 204487 | In its own name | Active | blackhorseflexpay.co.uk ↗ |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (general activities) | 204487 | In its own name | Active | blackhorseflexpay.co.uk ↗ |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Small E-Money Institution (cancelled) | 900093 | 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
It offers MBNA-branded credit cards with balance transfer and money transfer features, plus FlexPay retail point-of-sale finance under the Black Horse brand.
According to its 2025 accounts, it lends only to customers located in the United Kingdom.
- Revenue
- GBP 665.9m
- Sells to
- Consumers
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Melanie Candice Campbell Director
- Executive
- Alan Mark North Director
- Executive
- Hiral Gogoi Director
- Executive
- Adam Paul Lishman Director
- Executive
- Alison Elizabeth Mulholland Company Secretary
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Leadership
Annabel Christine Hind, a non-executive director, left the board on 14 August 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Adam Paul Lishman as a director on 20 May 2026, when Richard Stewart Napier left the board.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Hiral Gogoi as a director on 31 March 2026, when Elyn Jane Corfield left the board.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Alan Mark North as a director on 28 July 2025.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Other
Lloyds Banking Group agreed with Visa that most group credit cards, including MBNA cards, would move to Visa by the end of 2026.
bankingexchange.com ↗
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
- MBEUGB21XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- MBEUBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 21Location · passive
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- QMFTATNCJ89QAEGW7553
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 204487
- Licence no. · FCA-EMI
- 900093
- 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
- 4a15618add3d
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-moneyPayment 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
- 2 entries on 2 registers
- Activities
- Payment services
- E-money / stored value
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Website (register)
- mbna.co.uk ↗
- 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
- Direct parent
- Bank of Scotland PLC · United KingdomOQ3T05P7YR8P5YJEVI93 ↗
- Ultimate parent
- Lloyds Banking Group PLC · United Kingdom549300PPXHEU2JF0AM85 ↗
The Lloyds Banking Group PLC group has 55 institutions in the directory, in 11 countries: all hold a BIC.
Including Lloyds Bank GMBH, Lloyds Bank GMBH, Lloyds Bank GMBH, Lloyds Bank GMBH, Lloyds Bank GMBH.
See the Lloyds Banking Group PLC group →Group membership follows the accounting-consolidation relationships reported to GLEIF. It does not show ownership shares or control.
Addresses
- Registered address
- WREXHAM ROAD CHESTER CH49FB UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- WREXHAM ROAD CHESTER CHESTER CH49FB 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+
- Debtor agent, creditor agent or an intermediary agent
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>MBEUGB21XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>QMFTATNCJ89QAEGW7553</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>MBEUGB21XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>QMFTATNCJ89QAEGW7553</LEI>
<Nm>MBNA LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>CHESTER</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>WREXHAM ROAD CHESTER CH49FB</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>This BIC is not connected to Swift. Messages reach the institution through a correspondent bank, so it cannot be the instructing or instructed agent.
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
- FCA Financial Services Register - E-Money Institutions—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Ownership and group—GLEIF Level 2 relationship records (accounting consolidation), matched by LEI.
- 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.
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