“Dozens left unpaid” after UK fintech advised by Conservative peers winds down

A UK money management app for Gen Z-ers which counted two Conservative peers as advisers is closing- and ex-staff claim dozens of staff are owed money. One disgruntled former employee said: “My personal estimate is that the number of unpaid folks is in the dozens, if not 100+.”

Another ex-employee said: “W1tty had a very good tech team but the management was the root cause of failure.” W1tty was founded in 2019 by Ammar Kutait, a Syrian-born British citizen, who became wealthy through commodities trading and energy investments.

Kutait bankrolled the fintech with $10m of his own investment, with plans to invest millions of dollars more, according to the Times.

The London-headquartered fintech targeted Gen Z-ers, such as students and other young people starting their careers.

In an interview, Kutait, W1tty founder and CEO, said:

“The current wave of neobanks we are seeing are geared towards millennials and above, but what about the 16–24-year-olds? They have their own wants and needs for a banking partner, and that’s the gap we’re hoping to fill at W1tty.”

In another interview, he said:

“Our aim at W1tty is to put customers in control of their finances through a customisable suite of attractive products and services available on the app, with transparent and flexible pricing.”

The fintech had offices in London and Lithuania but in December last year, it is understood significant parts of the business were moved to Dubai. In total, it is thought to have had over 100 staff. W1tty acquired a UK Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the FCA in 2021 ahead of its launch in the UK in early 2022.

It also had a Lithuanian EMI licence, which it used to launch in Poland and Lithuania. W1tty Global LTD, its UK entity, began winding down in September this year while W1tty Global, its Lithuanian-licenced entity, began winding down in July, according to the W1tty website.

W1tty Global is still active at Companies House, and last reported financials for the year ending 2022, reporting a loss of $682,000.

Lord Hill of Oareford, a former European commissioner who laid out plans to free up the UK’s listing rules to accommodate more tech businesses, sat on W1tty’s advisory board, as did Lord Chadlington, a former adviser to Sir John Major and David Cameron.

Gene Lockhart, the former chief executive of Midland Bank who helped set up First Direct and has also been on the board of Metro Bank, was also on W1tty’s advisory board. Lord Hill and Lord Chadlington stood down from their roles in February this year, according to the Lords Registered Interests.

Sara Waclawik, who was head of customer care at W1tty between April and October 2023, posted on LinkedIn about the plight of a W1tty employee she employed, who she said was owed money.

Waclawik said:

“The company owner Ammar Kutait has since disappeared from LinkedIn (not a big surprise). He’s probably flying his private jet now, while claiming he cannot afford to pay a few thousands of EUR to a person who worked for him with all devotion.”

She added:

“It seems many people have been exploited which is horrific and sad, given that the person who owes money is not affected at all, and regular people for whom it’s a big sum they depend on has been left with nothing.”

Responding to her post, Salman Mohammmad Mujtaba said:

 “I have not been paid my dues from November 2023.”

Another former employee said:

 “My personal estimate is that the number of unpaid folks is in the dozens, if not 100+.”

Another said:

“Before I left they had few delays with payments which was a warning for me.”

W1tty did not respond to a request for comment.