Then I stand by what I said, from what you've said and that's not a great deal, you could set up a European regulated company that is allowed to do KYC and AML. A structure that allows you to act like a bank, even call yourself bank, have an an account with a custodian bank, take deposits and offer disbursement and payment services. You don't have to jump through hoops to be regulated/approved and as long as you stay in your lane and don't go beyond the remit and attempt︀ to become the next Wise, you can operate very easily with this set up.
All for under 200,000 GBP.