Application cost ≠ economic cost

THE MOST EXPENSIVE LICENSE
MAY BE THE ONE YOU APPLY FOR.

Application fee: relatively inexpensive. Consultants: manageable. Legal: manageable. Then comes the number nobody puts in the licensing budget: time.

CALCULATE THE ACQUISITION ALTERNATIVE →

LICENSE APPLICATION · $85,000ABOVE THE WATERLINE

BELOW THE WATERLINE

12 MONTHS PAYROLL · $4,200,000

ENGINEERING STANDING BY · $2,400,000

REVENUE THAT NEVER ARRIVED · $6,000,000

12–18 MONTH DELAY

Suddenly the “cheap” licensing route can become remarkably expensive.

An acquisition costs more upfront — but sometimes the premium is simply the price of recovering time.

HOW IT ACTUALLY WORKS

You don't literally “buy a license.” You acquire a licensed company.

In most jurisdictions the transaction is an acquisition of a regulated entity, subject to regulatory change-of-control approval. We manage the commercial process around it.

Identify

We source licensed financial businesses available for acquisition — payments, money transmission, EMI/PI, MSB and more — across multiple jurisdictions.

Evaluate

Commercial and regulatory due diligence: corporate history, compliance infrastructure, banking relationships, what the premium actually buys.

Acquire

Structure the transaction and pursue change-of-control approval — so you enter the market months, not years, from now.

Before applying,
run both calculations.