The European EMI License Sponsorship, allows you to essentially (for lack of a better word), rent-a-license or in the professional jargon, it is called, getting sponsored by the principal license holder (PLH).
Many startups have no idea of the options available to them when it comes to EMI and getting sponsored. Due to this limited awareness, many think that applying for your own license is the only way out.
They are wrong here.
Whilst applying for a license is very much a possibility, it does take quite a few many months to obtain it (usually a little more than a year) and also, requires a much more substantial injection of capital and accompanying resources.
tl;dr:
- License Sponsorship: Our referral fee of € 28,000 (one-time) and a one-time, non-refundable application fee of € 1,500.
- License Application: Our referral fees of € 20,000 (one-time)
Getting Sponsored for an EMI License
There are essentially three variations of sponsorship and they are:
- Operator Led Model (non-agent)
- EMD: Electronic Money Distributor (agent-based, requires regulator approval), and
- RA: Registered Agent (also, agent-based, requires regulator approval).
You can read more about the different types of delegate status here: Delegate Status Comparison Table
Agent and Distributor solutions both could be described as EMD (Electronic Money Distributor) models as they both require to be approved by the Regulator and both fall under the sub-licensing model.
The difference between the two (Agent and Distributor) is that:
- By becoming an Agent, the Partner is able to provide additional services that the primary license holder, the EMI does not offer, and build partnerships related to these services (with the primary EMI’s approval).
- By becoming a Distributor, the Partner is only allowed to provide services that Primary EMI is providing, nothing more.
- Both of these models must be approved by the Regulator and become sub-licensed by Primary EMI.
In most cases, for companies wanting to get going, the Operator model would suit your description of the Authorized Delegate – in this case, the Partner does not need to be registered with the Regulator, but is also not becoming a sub-licensee of the EMI and is not announced as a financial market participant.
Please note, given the geopolitical environment we operate in, there is unnecessary due diligence (which sometimes can be read as bias or discrimination). As an example, CIS countries, or South Asian or African amongst many other countries are one such where getting regulator approval becomes extremely difficult, not impossible, just difficult.
Videos to Watch for Understanding the EMI Model
Here are some recommended videos to watch, in order to get a better understanding of the EMI sponsorship. Needless to say, rules keep changing, to some information in these videos might be outdated or not applicable. It is always a good thing to ask of us.
- EMI Post Brexit – Where to apply?
- Difference between an API and an EMI
- Difference between EMD (Registered Agent) and Sponsorship
- EMI Agents & Restriction on Correspondent Agreements
- Working with an EMI license and becoming an EMD Agent
- BYOB – Build Your Own Bank! (Video: 1 of 3)
- BYOB – Build Your Own Bank! (Video: 2 of 3)
- BYOB – Build Your Own Bank (Video: 3 of 3)
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This page was last updated on May 30, 2023.
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