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Money transfer operators, corridors, agents and MSB networks. Registration, licensing, banking and agent networks for firms that move money between countries.
Selected engagements from more than 250 licences obtained since 2013, for payment, e-money and cryptoasset firms.
Volkswagen
Payment InstitutionObtained Nexpay’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Own Solutions’ Central Bank of Ireland Electronic Money Institution licence.
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Hryze’s FCA Electronic Money Institution licence.
We obtain the MSB registrations and payment licences, the correspondent and settlement banking, and the agent and corridor compliance for money transfer operators, across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
FinCEN and state licences, FINTRAC, AUSTRAC and payment institution licences with remittance permissions.
Settlement and nostro accounts for new operators and for licensed operators opening new corridors.
Agent registration, oversight and the regulator’s notifications.
Financial crime frameworks built for the corridors you serve.
A money transfer business needs a licence in each market where it takes money from customers: federal registration with state licences in the United States, registration in Canada and Australia, small payment institution registration or a payment institution licence in the United Kingdom, an EU payment institution licence, and the local licence in Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE. Sending volume and the use of agents decide the tier.
| Licence | Regulator | Capital | Our realistic timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| US money transmitter licence | States via NMLS | From US$100,000 | 6 to 8 months |
| FinCEN money services business registration | FinCEN | None | Effective on filing |
| Canada money services business registration | FINTRAC | None | 3 months |
| Australia AUSTRAC remittance and virtual asset service provider registration | AUSTRAC | None | 3 months |
| Lithuania payment institution licence | Bank of Lithuania | €20,000 to €125,000 | 4 to 6 months |
| Hong Kong money service operator licence | Customs and Excise | None | 2 to 3 months |
| Singapore standard payment institution licence | MAS | S$100,000 | 12 to 15 months |
| Singapore major payment institution licence | MAS | S$250,000 | 12 to 15 months |
| UAE retail payment services and stored value facility licences | CBUAE | AED 100k to 3m | 6 to 8 months |
| UK payment institution licence | FCA | €20,000 to €125,000 | 6 to 8 months |
| Small payment institution registration | FCA | None | 3 to 4 months |
The sending market first, then the payout side of each corridor (a sending and receiving country pair). Volume and the use of agents, the shops or partners that take payments for you, set the licence.
FinCEN registration takes effect on filing, with no capital or fee. Money transmission is then licensed state by state, with one review coordinated across 32 states. We sequence states by corridor demand and plan six to eight months for a state licence.
Registrations of around three months each, with no capital requirement.
A Lithuanian payment institution licence covers every member state.
Hong Kong’s money service operator licence takes two to three months, with no minimum capital. Singapore takes twelve to fifteen months, so we file it early. The UAE licenses cross-border transfers onshore, with a resident chief executive.
Small payment institution registration up to €3 million a month, agents included, with no capital, in three to four months; we obtained Onpoint Money’s on this route. Authorisation, with €20,000 of capital, follows as volumes grow.
Our guide to obtaining a money transfer licence sets out each market.
Accounts in every payout currency for new and established operators, arranged through our direct relationships with banks, e-money institutions and payment providers.
Accounts ready to pay out from the day of authorisation for new operators. For licensed operators, new corridors or a replacement for a bank that has withdrawn.
Settlement accounts in each payout currency, a safeguarding account, an operating account, and correspondent accounts with banks in the payout countries.
The registration, the anti-money laundering programme and, in the United States, the state licences. In Canada the bank account comes first, because its details go into the registration.
US states require permissible investments at least equal to money in transit. Singapore safeguards by the next business day. A UK payment institution safeguards every payment. See safeguarding.
Built corridor by corridor and run to each regulator’s calendar. Firms licensed in several markets retain our in-house team to run it across every licence, on one framework.
One corridor and fifty carry different risks, and the risk assessment, customer checks, sanctions screening and monitoring rules reflect that. See financial crime.
In the United States, the agent list is revised every 1 January, with FinCEN re-registration when agents grow by more than half. In Australia, affiliate changes are reported within 7 days. In the UK, each agent is registered before it acts.
An independent review of the US anti-money laundering programme, an effectiveness review in Canada at least every two years, an independent evaluation in Australia at least every three, and the UK safeguarding audit and returns.
Bespoke white-label technology for accounts, payments, wallets and card programmes, built around your corridors, for a new launch or for corridors added later.
Regulators examine the path each payment takes from sender to recipient, and the systems you run match it.
Customer checks at onboarding, sanctions screening on every transfer, limits by corridor and the agent records each regulator expects.
A Lithuanian licence brings direct access to the central bank’s payment system and SEPA (the euro payments system), so euro payouts settle without an intermediary bank.
A programme under a licensed partner lets you move money while your own licence is in progress. See BaaS and programmes.
A licensed money transfer company brings its licences, corridors, banking and agent network. Every regime we cover approves the new controller before completion.
Each US state that licenses the target approves the change on its own terms, and FinCEN re-registration follows within 180 days. In the UK, the statutory period is 60 working days from a complete application.
We price the permissions, corridors, settlement and correspondent accounts, agent network and supervisory record, and confirm the accounts continue under the new owner.
State, federal and deal timetables are planned together, so approval and completion land on the same date.
Our register of licensed companies for sale lists payment institutions and money services businesses. See acquisitions and change of control.
Two layers. Every money services business registers with FinCEN, which carries no fee or capital and takes effect on filing. Money transmission is then licensed by each state, with net worth and surety bonds from US$100,000. There is no multistate licence, though one review is coordinated across 32 states. We plan six to eight months for a state licence.
Yes. A business that remits or transmits funds registers with FINTRAC as a money services business, including a foreign firm that directs its services at people in Canada. There is no capital requirement and no fee, most complete applications are processed within three months, and registration lasts two years. Payment providers may also register with the Bank of Canada.
A Lithuanian payment institution licence. Money remittance alone needs €20,000 of initial capital, the state levy is €898, and the licence covers every EU and EEA state. It also gives direct access to SEPA, the euro payments system, through the central bank’s own payment system. We plan four to six months from submission.
Yes. A business sending up to €3 million a month on average, agents included, can register as a small payment institution, with no capital, a £1,130 fee and a timeline of three to four months. Above that it needs authorisation as a payment institution, with €20,000 of capital for money remittance and a £5,640 application fee.
It depends on the market. In the United States agents of a licensed transmitter are exempt in states such as New York and Texas, and do not register with FinCEN. In Canada agents do not register separately. In Australia the network provider registers its affiliates, and in the United Kingdom the payment institution registers each agent with the FCA.
Yes. The regulator approves the new owner before completion: the UK statutory period runs 60 working days from a complete application, and each US state that licenses the target approves separately. The purchase brings the licences, corridors, banking and agent network with it. Our register lists authorised firms for sale, released in confidence to registered buyers.
The licence, the banking and the timing for your business.