Public Advisory for Money Transfer Licensing in the UK
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK has implemented a stringent and restrictive approach to licensing, resulting in significant delays and a sharp decrease in approval rates. Entrepreneurs seeking licenses must carefully consider the challenges and requirements before proceeding. Read more here.
If you are an incumbent and would like to set foot in the electronic money market in the UK, you can apply for the UK SEMI License. Electronic Money (e-money) is a digital store of a monetary value on a technical system. It must be accepted as a medium of payment and exchange.
It is imperative that you meet the criteria set by the FCA before making an application for the license, otherwise you may be turned down. An application fee must also be paid to the FCA, failure to do so will result in your application not being reviewed. Extensive documentation, including evidence proving that in the last 12 months before submitting the application, the monthly average of payment services transactions did not exceed €3m, is also required.It is imperative that you submit all documents in a timely manner to receive a decision between three to twelve months.
Using the SEMI UK License, you can issue and redeem electronic money under certain limitations, and can also offer the payment services that are offered by a payments institution. You can find these services in the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). We can help you with not only obtaining a SEMI License in the UK but also meeting the set criteria and making sure that all your policies, plans and operations are in their best possible condition.
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This page was last updated on May 30, 2023.
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