E-money and payments · FCA
UK e-money and payment institution authorisation (FCA)
The United Kingdom built one of the deepest non-bank payments markets in the world, and the FCA permission that sits behind it still carries weight with banks, card schemes, and institutional partners. Since leaving the EU it is a standalone permission rather than a route into Europe, which makes it a market decision rather than a passporting one.
The regulator
The Financial Conduct Authority supervises e-money and payment firms as a conduct regulator, and it has been notably direct about the standards it expects on safeguarding and wind-down planning after reviewing the sector. It expects a genuine UK presence and senior individuals who are accountable by name rather than by job title.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the FCA
- Issue electronic money and hold customer balances as stored value
- Execute payments, acquire transactions, and issue payment instruments
- Provide payment initiation and account information services
- Operate under one of the most recognised names in financial regulation
Who it suits
Firms whose customers or partners are British, and firms that want the FCA name as a credibility signal with banks and schemes worldwide.
Market access
Full access to the UK market. There is no EEA passport, so European customers require a separate authorisation in a member state.
What to weigh
The UK regime rewards firms that treat safeguarding and governance as operating disciplines rather than application sections, because both are examined continuously after authorisation. A smaller registration tier exists for firms below a volume threshold, with no passport and a hard ceiling on growth.
We run the United Kingdom application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in United Kingdom
Related reading
- EMI vs Payment Institution: Which Licence Does Your Payments Business Actually Need?An e-money licence and a payment institution licence look interchangeable and are not. One lets you hold stored value, the other only moves it. Here is the line.
- How to Get an EMI Licence: What Electronic Money Authorisation Actually InvolvesAn EMI application is a business case, not a form. Here is what regulators examine, in what order, and where applications realistically stall.
- Where to Base an EMI: Choosing a Jurisdiction for an E-Money LicenceEvery EEA e-money licence passports to the same thirty markets, so the choice is not about reach. It is about the regulator, the banking, and the substance you can staff.
- Safeguarding: The Requirement That Decides Whether Your EMI Survives SupervisionSafeguarding is the single obligation supervisors test hardest at payments firms, and the one most often got wrong. Here is what compliant actually looks like.
E-money and payments in other Europe jurisdictions
- ItalyBanca d'Italia
- GermanyBaFin
- SpainBanco de España
- AustriaFMA
- IrelandCentral Bank of Ireland
- SwitzerlandFINMA
Discuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
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