As global mobility accelerates and financial lives become increasingly borderless, the limitations of traditional banking are coming into sharper focus. For internationally active individuals, fragmented accounts, currency friction, and restricted access remain persistent challenges, creating demand for a more integrated, digitally native alternative.
At the centre of this evolution is iFAST Global Bank, a UK-regulated institution redefining the architecture of modern banking. Under the leadership of CEO Inayat Kashif, the bank is advancing a model built on multi-currency access, cross-border usability, and the unconventional proposition of interest-bearing current accounts.
Positioned at the intersection of innovation and regulation, iFAST Global Bank is not merely digitising legacy systems, it is rethinking them. In this TechBullion interview, Kashif discusses the strategic vision behind “Banking Without Boundaries”, the operational decisions enabling scalable international growth, and how the bank intends to serve a new generation of globally connected customers.
Please tell us your name, a little more about yourself, what inspired you to start iFAST Global Bank and what problems you are looking to solve?
I am Inayat Kashif, Chief Executive Officer of iFAST Global Bank. Before stepping into this role, I served as the bank’s Chief Technology Officer, and my career started with building financial technology infrastructure and digital banking platforms. That technology background has heavily influenced how we approached building the bank. iFAST Global Bank was created to address a simple reality: people, capital, and businesses increasingly operate across borders, but banking systems remain largely domestic and fragmented. Whether you are an internationally mobile professional, an entrepreneur running cross-border operations, or a business managing global payments, the experience is often unnecessarily complex. Our aim is to remove that friction by combining multi-currency banking, payments, savings, remittance services, and lending within a single digital platform. We are also investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to support more intelligent and responsive banking services that customers can rely on. iFAST Global Bank strives to achieve its vision of “Banking Without Boundaries”.
How does this philosophy translate into tangible benefits for globally mobile consumers?
For us, “Banking Without Boundaries” means designing banking services that reflect how customers live and operate today. Through our multi-currency current account, customers can hold and manage multiple currencies in one platform, make international payments to more than 160 countries, and move funds seamlessly across the broader iFAST network in markets such as the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. This approach reduces the need for multiple banking relationships and gives customers greater control over how they manage liquidity, payments, and foreign exchange across jurisdictions.
What strategic rationale led iFAST Global Bank to prioritise digital onboarding for overseas customers?
We recognised that our global banking customers may not be based in the UK. A traditional branch-based onboarding model would therefore limit our ability to serve international clients. By investing in secure digital onboarding and robust remote verification processes, we can onboard overseas customers efficiently while still maintaining the regulatory standards required of a UK bank authorised by the PRA and regulated by the PRA and FCA. This allows us to combine global accessibility with strong governance.
Your multi-currency current account supports nine currencies within one platform. How does this simplify financial management?
Managing multiple currencies through separate domestic bank accounts can be inefficient and costly. Our multi-currency current account allows customers to hold and manage nine currencies within a single account, make payments internationally, and convert currencies with transparent pricing. Most importantly, we also apply interest directly on current account balances. In many traditional banking models, everyday cash sits idle in non-interest-bearing accounts. Our approach allows customers to earn interest while maintaining full access to their funds.
Offering interest on an instant access current account challenges UK banking norms. How do you deliver this sustainably?
A key factor is our digital operating model. Without a large branch network, we operate with a leaner cost structure, which allows us to deliver more value directly to customers. We also take a disciplined approach to balance sheet management and liquidity deployment. By carefully managing our funding base and asset allocation, we can offer competitive interest on operational balances in a way that remains sustainable.
In a volatile rate environment, how do you determine pricing for fixed term deposits?
We look at forward interest rate expectations, funding requirements, and asset liability management when determining deposit pricing. The objective is not simply to lead headline rates but to offer competitive and sustainable returns while maintaining a resilient balance sheet and strong capital position.
As a UK regulated bank, how do you balance agility with governance?
Innovation must sit alongside strong governance, particularly within a regulated banking environment. Our approach has been to embed risk management, compliance, and reporting directly into our technology architecture. This allows us to innovate and introduce new capabilities while maintaining the oversight and control frameworks expected by regulators.
The “Power Up Your Payday” campaign focuses on salary switching. What behaviour are you encouraging?
Salary crediting is often the clearest indicator of a customer’s primary banking relationship. Through this campaign, we are encouraging customers to use iFAST Global Bank as their main account for everyday finances. Once customers receive their salary into the account, they usually start using it more for payments, savings, and international transfers.
How important is peer advocacy in your growth strategy?
In banking, trust takes time to build. Customer referrals are a strong indicator that the product experience is delivering real value. Referral programmes help accelerate awareness, but ultimately long-term credibility comes from consistent service, transparent pricing, and reliable banking infrastructure.
What strategic priorities will define your next phase of expansion?
Our strategic priorities for the upcoming years will be focused on improving our services to meet the needs of global customers.
For our B2C customers, our focus lies in both global and UK customers. We will continue to enhance our digital personal banking proposition with stronger multi- currency capabilities and AI enabled services.
We are also looking into strengthening our business banking services to reach our B2B customers. This includes expanding our digital transaction banking offering to support SMEs, fintech platforms, and financial institutions with cross-border payments, treasury management, and lending solutions.
Lastly, we aim to scale our our global payments and remittance infrastructure, including services such as EzRemit, to further improve how individuals and businesses move money internationally.
Our long- term goal ambition is to build a truly international digital bank that connects banking, payments, and wealth more seamlessly across markets.
