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For businesses that hold customer balances in wallets, prepaid cards or accounts and want one authorisation covering e-money and every payment service in the UK market.
Selected engagements from more than 250 licences obtained since 2013, for payment, e-money and cryptoasset firms.
Volkswagen
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Dzing Finance’s FCA Authorised Electronic Money Institution licence.
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Hryze’s FCA Electronic Money Institution licence.
Variation of PermissionObtained Moneliq’s FCA PSD2 variation of permission.
Our realistic timeline from submission to decision.
Safeguarding, operating and settlement accounts opened alongside the application, so you trade on authorisation.
We assemble your team: directors, a compliance officer and an MLRO.
The licence, the requirements, the cost and the timing for your business.
You will need directors with payments experience, a compliance officer, a senior manager to run the e-money and payment services, and an MLRO.
One programme, from scoping to launch. Speak to an expert about this licence.
Outcome. EMI licence granted by the FCA.
Outcome. EMI licence granted by the FCA.
Outcome. EMI licence approved for operations across the UK and Europe.
Buckingham Capital Consulting guided us through the EMI licence process with precision and clarity. Their regulatory experience made all the difference.
Requirements, capital, timing, fees and common questions, drawn from the regulator’s own publications.
A business that issues electronic money, meaning stored value that customers load and spend, needs authorisation under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. That covers digital wallets, prepaid card programmes, virtual IBAN and account products, and any platform that holds customer balances it can spend on their instruction. An authorised EMI may also provide every payment service a payment institution provides, including money remittance, card acquiring, payment initiation and account information, under the same licence.
A business that moves money without holding stored value needs a payment institution licence instead. A business that will hold limited balances and serve the UK only may register as a small EMI.
| Authorised EMI | Small EMI | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Authorised | Registered |
| Outstanding e-money | No limit | Average not above €5 million |
| Initial capital | €350,000 | None below €500,000 average outstanding e-money; 2% of average above it |
| Payment services | All, including unrelated services | Limited; monthly payment transactions not above €3 million |
| Application fee | £5,640 | £1,130 |
| Geography | UK; passporting to the EEA is no longer available | UK only |
| Safeguarding | Required | Required |
Most businesses with investors, a card programme or an ambition beyond a single product apply for authorisation from the outset. A small EMI that grows past the limits must apply for authorisation and may not continue past them.
The regulations set the conditions; the FCA’s application form and its published expectations set the standard. An applicant must show all of the following.
From 7 May 2026 the FCA’s supplementary safeguarding regime applies to every authorised EMI, small EMI and authorised payment institution. It keeps the existing safeguarding methods and adds the controls of a client-assets regime.
| Requirement | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Daily reconciliation | Internal and external reconciliations on every reconciliation day, with discrepancies resolved and recorded |
| Resolution pack | The records an administrator would need to return funds, maintained continuously |
| Monthly return | A monthly safeguarding return to the FCA |
| Annual audit | An annual safeguarding audit by a qualified auditor, submitted to the FCA; firms safeguarding under £100,000 for 53 weeks or more are exempt |
| Third parties | Due diligence on, and diversification of, the institutions holding safeguarded funds |
| Insurance and guarantees | Payouts conditional only on an insolvency certification; replacement cover arranged three months before expiry |
We run this regime for you on Safeheld. Our safeguarding service sets out the full requirements.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory decision period | 3 months from a complete application; 12 months maximum | Electronic Money Regulations 2011, regulation 9 |
| Regulator’s published figure | 219 calendar days, about 7 months, median time to determination for new payment and e-money authorisations | FCA authorisations operating service metrics, Q1 2026/27 |
| Application preparation | 6 to 10 weeks | From instruction to submission, including banking in parallel |
| Our realistic timeline | 6 to 8 months after submission | Our own figure, from the regulator’s published data and our applications |
Regulator figures are quoted as published and converted to months. Our realistic timeline assumes a complete, well-prepared application.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | £5,640 | Authorised EMI, pricing category 5; £1,130 for a small EMI; paid on submission and non-refundable |
| Initial capital | €350,000 | Held before authorisation; remains in the business as own funds |
| Periodic fee | From the first year | FCA fee-block for e-money issuers, by relevant income |
| Safeguarding audit | Annual | Auditor’s fee; we prepare the file |
| Professional fees | Fixed | Quoted after scoping |
The FCA publishes the reasons it rejects or returns applications. Three recur.
The Central Bank of Ireland and De Nederlandsche Bank publish the same three causes for their own regimes, which is a fair indication of what every regulator looks for first.
Authorisation starts supervision. An EMI reports to the FCA on capital, safeguarding and conduct, notifies changes in controllers and permissions, maintains its policies and its MLRO, and files its annual safeguarding audit. Our regulatory compliance service runs that programme for you, as a project or on retainer.
An EMI needs a safeguarding account that meets the acknowledgement-letter requirement, an operating account for its own funds and settlement accounts in the currencies it issues. We open each alongside the application, so you trade on the day the licence is granted. See banking and payment processing.
The FCA must decide within three months of a complete application and twelve months of an incomplete one. Its published metrics for the first quarter of 2026/27 show a median of 219 calendar days to determination for new payments and e-money applications. We plan for six to eight months after submission.
Initial capital of €350,000, held before authorisation, and own funds thereafter of at least 2% of average outstanding e-money, plus capital for any unrelated payment services.
£5,640 for an authorised EMI and £1,130 for a small EMI, paid on submission and non-refundable.
No. Passporting from the UK ended with the transition period. Firms serving the EEA obtain an EU licence, most often in Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands or Malta.
The EMI must be a UK body corporate with its head office in the UK and carry on at least part of its business here. The FCA expects the people who run the business to be here; there is no fixed residency rule for directors.
From 7 May 2026 EMIs and payment institutions reconcile safeguarded funds daily, keep a resolution pack, file a monthly safeguarding return and submit an annual safeguarding audit.
Yes, subject to the FCA’s approval of the new controller. Our marketplace lists authorised companies for sale and our transactions practice runs the change of control.
A registration for firms whose average outstanding e-money stays below €5 million and whose monthly payment transactions stay below €3 million. It is cheaper and quicker, serves the UK only, and converts to full authorisation when the business grows.
A regulatory advisory firm to payment, e-money and cryptoasset companies since 2013, with more than 250 licences obtained in more than 60 countries. The firm builds licensed payment, e-money, crypto and stablecoin businesses: the licence, the team, the technology, the bank accounts and card issuing.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements and fees change, and the regulator’s own publications take precedence.
The licence, your team, banking and technology, delivered as one programme.