What are Payment Services Activities?
Payment services activities include the following:
- Money remittance businesses, commonly referred as money transfer.
- Mobile network operators, offering payment services.
- Credit card issuers, such as prepaid cards.
- Merchant acquiring businesses
Can I passport (operate) across the EU with my Small Payment Institution (SPI) licence?
You can not passport into other European countries with a SPI licence. If you wish to passport or operate across the EU (EEA region), you must apply for an authorised payment institution (API) licence.
What is a payment service?
Below is a list of examples of payment services for which you are likely to require authorisation (licencing) by the regulator:
- Enabling customers to pay cash into a payment account over the counter and through an ATM.
- Enabling customers to withdraw their cash from payment accounts I.e. an ATM.
- Enabling customers to transfer money from one user account to another and to other people.
- Enabling customers to setup direct debits to pay their bills regularly.
- Enabling customers to transfer electronic or e-money.
- Enabling customers to process cash transfers, such as standing orders, BACS or CHAPS payments.
- Enabling customers to use overdraft facilities.
- Enabling people to transfer money to others.
- Enabling customers to make payments from smart phones, such an iPhone
Our Success Formula
When we discuss your requirements, we will assess your business model, directors and senior management, their experience and suitability and your governance (risk & compliance), operations, structure, business model and viability, to ensure that you meet the FCA requirements. Following our assessment, we will provide you with an assessment on application strength, before we take on your application
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SPI licence application – regulator’s requirements.
- Directors and managers of the firm must be of good repute with appropriate skills to provide payment services.
- Projected average monthly payment transactions must not exceed EUR3m (₤ 2.6 m).
- Managers must not have been convicted of money laundering, terrorist financing or other financial crimes.
- Your head office and registered office (or place of residence for natural persons) must be in the UK.
- You must comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
- If the applicant is a partnership, an unincorporated association or a corporation, anyone having a qualifying holding must be fit and proper for the sound and prudent conduct of a small PI, and
- If the applicant is a corporation with close links to another person, the links mustn’t be likely to prevent the effective supervision of the business (if the link’s outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), foreign laws must not prevent the regulator’s effective supervision of your business)
API or SPI licence?
The UK regulator has a two tier structure for payment businesses, namely, Small Payment Institutions and Authorised Payment Institutions. The way to determine which option your firm falls under is to determine your average monthly turnover in transactions.
If your monthly turnover transactions are under 3m EUR (₤ 2.6M) you can become an small payment institution (SPI). If your monthly transaction amount exceeds this then you will need to apply as an authorised payment institution (API)
Furthermore, in the UK, you will be required to register with HMRC for money laundering and fit and proper purposes. We can help you with the HMRC registration
Segmented and Separately Auditable Bank account (Known as a Safeguarding Account)
Payment remittance businesses are required to protect or safeguard their customer’s money.
Our industry experience and relationships with financial institutions means that we can assist you in arranging your bank account
So how long does it all take?
We usually require up to two weeks to prepare and submit your application, but typically 5-7 working days.
The regulatory process and approval for small payment institutions (SPI) applications is up to 3 months, although the average time is often much less.
In a hurry? We Offer a Priority Fast-track Service.
If you are in a hurry or have a deadline to meet, please contact us about our Fast track service. Here, we can complete and submit your application within 72 working hours.
Our success rate.
We have a 100% success rate for SPI licence applications
Our fees and next step.
Contact us on +44 (0) 203 815 7939 or email us on info@complianceconsultant.org. We will then discuss your project and provide you with costing. Once you are happy and we are confident that you have a strong chance of meeting the regulatory requirements of being approved, we will then arrange a telephone call with you to go over your application. Our team of experts will also be briefed on your project and they will then begin working on your application.
Alternatively – you can purchase an Application Pack and the upgrades at our online portal HERE.
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