Financial Licences for Companies: Payment, Forex, Crypto, Gaming and Banking
An offshore financial licence is permission from a named regulator for a company to carry on one regulated activity, in one territory. There are 5 kinds, and the regulator decides, not an adviser. The table below routes you to the right one, with the authority that issues it named and linked on every row.
We are an advisory and introduction service, not a law firm, a tax adviser or a regulatory filing agent. Licensing is subject to the regulator’s assessment, and no adviser can promise that a licence will be granted.
Regulator details verified 6 August 2026.
What Is an Offshore Financial Licence?
A financial licence is permission granted by a named financial regulator for a company to carry on a specific regulated activity. It is not a status, and it is not global. It names what you may do and where you may do it.
This is a corporate authorisation. It is not the personal credential an individual financial adviser holds, such as the Series 7 or Series 63 registrations used in the United States. Those qualify a person. A financial licence authorises a business.
The word “offshore” has a narrow legal meaning here. United States federal law defines an offshore banking licence at 31 U.S.C. §5318(i)(4)(A) as “a license to conduct banking activities which, as a condition of the license, prohibits the licensed entity from conducting banking activities with the citizens of, or with the local currency of, the country which issued the license.”
That definition is the clearest statement of the trade. An offshore licence lets you serve customers abroad, and bars you from the market that issued it.
Onshore regimes work by activity rather than by territory. In the United Kingdom, most firms providing financial services must be authorised or registered by the Financial Conduct Authority, and the FCA authorises by activity category rather than by issuing one general licence.
The Five Licence Verticals, and Which One You Need
Pick the vertical by what you intend to do, not by where you would like to be based. The jurisdiction question comes second, and it is answered further down.
| Vertical | What it lets you do | Typical jurisdictions | Regulator | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payment and e-money | Issue e-money, run payment accounts, move client funds | Lithuania, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada, United States | Bank of Lithuania, FCA, CBUAE, MAS, FINTRAC, FinCEN | ⟨…⟩ |
| Forex and investment | Broker foreign exchange and securities for clients, manage assets | Seychelles, Mauritius, Vanuatu, Labuan | FSA Seychelles, FSC Mauritius | ⟨…⟩ |
| Crypto and virtual assets | Hold, exchange, transfer or safeguard virtual assets | Dubai, European Union, Lithuania, Poland, Cayman Islands | VARA, national MiCA authorities, CIMA | ⟨…⟩ |
| Gaming | Run online betting, casino or sportsbook operations | Curaçao, Anjouan, Malta, Isle of Man, Tobique | Published on the vertical page once verified | ⟨…⟩ |
| Banking | Take deposits and lend | Advisory scope only | Varies by regime | ⟨…⟩ |
Name the licence precisely, because the names are not interchangeable. An electronic money institution (EMI) licence lets you issue e-money and hold client balances. A payment institution licence lets you execute payments without issuing e-money. A securities dealer licence or an investment dealer licence covers broking. A virtual asset service provider authorisation covers crypto activity. An MSB registration in the United States or Canada is a registration rather than a licence, and it carries different obligations.
The commonest routing mistake is expensive. Founders who believe they need a banking licence usually need an EMI or a payment institution licence instead. An EMI licence is sufficient for issuing accounts and moving client money, and in every regime we cover it carries a lower capital requirement. Deposit-taking is what makes the banking route harder, because the capital and the supervision that go with it are heavier. The figures for each are on the vertical pages, sourced to the regulator that sets them.
One note for readers in India. On this page, EMI means electronic money institution. It has nothing to do with an equated monthly instalment. This page also does not cover domestic Indian licensing by the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Which Regulator Issues Which Licence
There is no single global financial licence and no single regulator. Each jurisdiction’s authority issues its own, and a licence is valid only for the activities and the territory it names.
| Regulator | Jurisdiction | Verticals it covers | Statutory basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority | United Kingdom | Payments and e-money, cryptoassets, consumer investments, banks and insurers | Authorisation by activity category |
| Financial Services Authority Seychelles | Seychelles | Capital markets, gambling, virtual asset service providers, fiduciary, insurance | Financial Services Authority Act 2013, s.4(1)(m) |
| Financial Services Commission Mauritius | Mauritius | Securities including Investment Dealer, insurance and pensions, global business, fintech | Financial Services (Consolidated Licensing and Fees) Rules 2008 |
| Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority | Dubai | Virtual assets in and from the Emirate of Dubai | Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 |
| Dubai Financial Services Authority | Dubai International Financial Centre | Financial services conducted within the DIFC free zone | DIFC regulatory law |
| Central Bank of the UAE | United Arab Emirates, onshore | Banks, exchange houses, payment services | Federal banking law |
| UAE Capital Market Authority | United Arab Emirates | Securities and commodities activity | Formerly the Securities and Commodities Authority |
| Curaçao gaming regulator | Curaçao | Online gaming | Pending verification, published on the gaming hub |
Two things follow from that table, and neither is published by the sites currently ranking for this query.
The Financial Services Authority Seychelles supervises capital markets, gambling and virtual asset service providers under one roof. One regulator therefore covers three of the five verticals, which matters if you are running more than one regulated line.
The United Arab Emirates runs three separate regimes at once. The Central Bank licenses onshore financial institutions, the DFSA authorises firms inside the Dubai International Financial Centre, and VARA regulates virtual assets in and from Dubai. “A Dubai licence” is therefore an ambiguous phrase, and the ambiguity is expensive if you apply to the wrong one. DFSA authorisations are graded into numbered categories, and which category you need depends on the activity and on whether you will hold client money. The Securities and Commodities Authority now operates as the UAE Capital Market Authority, so older guidance naming the SCA is out of date. If you are also incorporating locally, see company formation in the UAE.
Where a regulator’s current host could not be verified on 6 August 2026, the cell above reads pending rather than carrying a guessed link.
What a Financial Licence Costs
The price of a financial licence is four separate costs, not one. Most published guidance quotes at most one of the four, which is why budgets in this sector are usually wrong by a multiple rather than by a margin.
| Component | Who sets it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | The regulator | A one-off charge to assess your application. Payable whether or not you are granted a licence. |
| Minimum paid-in capital | The regulator | Money placed in the business and maintained. Not a fee, and not spent. |
| Local substance | The regulator, in effect | Office, resident director, and a named responsible manager. An annual cost, not a setup cost. |
| Adviser fee | Us, or another adviser | Preparing the application pack and managing the process. |
Read the second row twice. Minimum capital is the line that separates the verticals from each other, and it is not money you spend. It sits in the business and must stay there. A regime with a low application fee can still carry a high entry cost, because the capital requirement dwarfs the fee.
Per-vertical figures are published on each vertical page, sourced to that regulator’s own fee schedule so you can verify the government half yourself. Figures we could not verify against a regulator are marked pending on those pages rather than filled in from another firm’s number.
We do not publish a figure we cannot link to its source. Where two sources disagree on a fee or a threshold, this site takes the higher cost and the stricter requirement, and says that the sources disagree.
How Long Licensing Takes
Timelines run from a complete submission to the regulator’s decision, and that word carries the schedule. The clock starts when your file is complete, not when you first file it.
Incomplete applications are the commonest reason a six-month timeline becomes a twelve-month one. Regulators do not usually reject an incomplete file. They ask questions, and each round of questions resets your place in the queue.
| Phase | Who controls it | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | You | Business plan, ownership chart, fit-and-proper evidence, AML programme, capital in place |
| Submission | You and your adviser | The file goes in, complete |
| Assessment | The regulator | Substantive review of the business and the people behind it |
| Decision | The regulator | Grant, grant with conditions, or refusal |
Per-vertical ranges are on each vertical page, sourced to the regulator that publishes them.
You can file electronically in most regimes. That is worth saying plainly, because the honest answer to whether a licence can be obtained online is a qualified yes: the filing is electronic, the assessment is not. No regime issues a licence without a substantive assessment of the people behind the business. Any offer of an instant or same-week licence is a reason to walk away from whoever made it.
What You Need Before You Apply
Every regime asks for substantially the same things. The form differs, the substance does not.
A business plan with three-year financial projections. Volumes, customer types, and the jurisdictions your customers sit in.
An ownership chart up to every ultimate beneficial owner. Every layer, named.
Fit-and-proper evidence for directors, controllers and the named responsible manager. CVs, certified identity documents, clean criminal-record certificates, and professional references.
A written AML and counter-terrorist-financing programme. With a named money laundering reporting officer who is a real person available to the regulator.
Client-money safeguarding arrangements. Where the vertical requires them, which covers e-money and payment services.
Proof of the minimum capital. Placed and evidenced before the decision.
Evidence of local substance. Usually a real office and at least one resident officer.
Treat this as months of preparation rather than a form to complete. The FCA’s authorisation guidance sets out the shape of the process for the United Kingdom, and the pattern holds elsewhere.
Choosing a Jurisdiction: The Honest Trade-Offs
Founders ask which country is easiest. The useful answer reframes the question, because the cheapest licence to obtain is frequently the most expensive one to operate.
Payment partners, correspondent banks and app stores price your regulator’s reputation into whether they will work with you at all. A licence nobody respects can leave you regulated and unbanked, which is a worse position than being unlicensed and honest about it.
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Capital and fee level. What you must place, and what you must pay.
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Regulator processing time. From a complete file to a decision.
- 3
Whether the licence passports. An EEA electronic money institution licence covers the European Economic Area. An offshore securities dealer licence covers nothing beyond its own regime.
- 4
Banking and payment-partner acceptance. Ask your intended partners before you apply, not after.
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Listing status. The Financial Action Task Force publishes the jurisdictions it places under increased monitoring, and the EU Council maintains its own list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Both move. The FATF revises at each plenary, three times a year, and the EU list is revised in February and October.
This hub does not name a best jurisdiction, because the honest answer depends on the vertical and on who you intend to bank with. The vertical pages carry the real comparisons. For the corporate side of the question, see the jurisdictions we cover.
What a Licence Obliges You to Do
A licence is the start of an obligation, not the end of a process. This is the part most published guidance omits.
Maintain the minimum capital continuously. Meeting it at grant is not enough.
Report to the regulator periodically. And file audited accounts where required.
Keep the AML programme live. With a named officer, ongoing screening, and records that survive an inspection.
Safeguard client funds separately. Where the vertical requires it.
Notify the regulator before any change of control. Or change of responsible persons. In most regimes this is prior approval, not notification after the fact.
Accept that the licence can be varied, suspended or revoked. It is a permission, and permissions are conditional.
The rulebooks are public. VARA’s rulebooks set out the ongoing requirements for virtual asset firms in Dubai, and the FCA publishes the equivalent for authorised firms in the United Kingdom.
What this means where you live
Licensing a company abroad does not change what you owe your own tax authority. Under the OECD Common Reporting Standard, account information is exchanged automatically between participating jurisdictions.
United States. You remain subject to FATCA and to FBAR filing where your foreign accounts exceed the reporting threshold, and to the controlled foreign corporation rules, including Form 5471 where you hold a qualifying interest.
United Kingdom. HMRC’s controlled foreign company rules can attribute a foreign company’s profits to you.
India. The Liberalised Remittance Scheme and the overseas direct investment rules under FEMA govern what you may send abroad and what you must report.
United Arab Emirates. Federal corporate tax runs at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it, under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Article 3(1). Free-zone treatment depends on meeting the qualifying conditions, not on the address alone.
You remain responsible for reporting your interest in any foreign company, trust or account to the tax authority where you are resident. Speak to an adviser qualified in your own country before you file anything.
What We Do, and What We Do Not Do
We help you choose the vertical and the jurisdiction, prepare the application pack, and introduce local counsel and the licensed agents who file where the regulator requires it. You get one point of contact and a realistic schedule.
We are not a law firm, not a tax adviser, and not a regulatory filing agent. The licence grant is the regulator’s decision. Nobody can promise it, and you should treat any adviser who does as a warning about the rest of their advice.
On ready-made licences, which several sites in this sector advertise: acquiring a licensed entity normally requires the regulator’s approval of you as the new controller. That change-of-control review applies the same fit-and-proper scrutiny as a fresh application, to the same people, with the same documents. It is a transaction, not a shortcut around one. We do not sell licences.
Financial licensing FAQ
What is a financial licence for a company?
Permission from a named regulator for a company to carry on a specific regulated activity. It is valid only for the activities and the territory it names. It is not the personal Series 7 or Series 63 credential that an individual financial adviser holds in the United States.
Which financial licence do I need?
It depends on the activity, not the country. Issuing e-money and running payment accounts points to an EMI or payment institution licence. Brokering foreign exchange or securities points to a dealer licence. Holding or exchanging virtual assets points to a virtual asset service provider authorisation. Running betting or casino operations points to a gaming licence. Taking deposits and lending points to a banking licence.
How much does a financial licence cost?
Four separate costs: the regulator's application fee, the minimum paid-in capital, the local substance you must maintain, and the adviser fee. Capital is maintained rather than spent, which is why a low application fee can still mean a high entry cost. Government fees are shown separately from ours on every vertical page.
How long does it take to get a financial licence?
Ranges differ by vertical and are published on each vertical page. In every regime the clock starts when your application is complete, not when you first file. No regime issues a licence in a week, and an offer to do so is a reason to walk away.
Can I buy a ready-made financial licence?
Acquiring a licensed entity normally requires the regulator's change-of-control approval of you as the new controller, applying the same scrutiny as a fresh application, to the same people, with the same documents. It is not a shortcut. We do not sell licences.
Does a licence abroad change what I owe my own tax authority?
No. You remain responsible for reporting your interest in any foreign company or account to the tax authority where you are resident. Under the OECD Common Reporting Standard, account information is exchanged automatically between participating jurisdictions.
Not sure which licence your business needs?
Tell us what you intend to do and who your customers are. We will tell you which vertical fits, what it will realistically cost, and whether we think you should proceed.