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We obtain electronic money institution (EMI) licences for wallet, card, account and fintech businesses from our offices in London and New York: with the FCA in the UK, across the European Union and in more than 60 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 Dzing Finance’s FCA Authorised Electronic Money Institution licence.
Obtained Orbital’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
The short answer
An EMI licence consultant takes an e-money business from its first question to an approved licence: choosing the right licence and country, preparing the business plan, forecasts, safeguarding, anti-money laundering and governance documents, filing the application and answering the regulator's questions until approval. Buckingham Capital Consulting has done this work since 2013, with more than 250 licences obtained in over 60 countries.
Every EMI engagement covers the same core work, whichever regulator we file with. We first confirm that your product issues e-money, meaning balances customers load and spend later, and that an EMI licence is the right permission rather than a payment institution licence or an agent arrangement. We then prepare the application pack the regulator assesses and stay with it through every question until approval.
Three routes cover most e-money businesses. An authorised EMI in the UK holds €350,000 of initial capital and may issue e-money and provide every payment service with no limit on volume. A small EMI is an FCA registration for UK companies whose average outstanding e-money stays at or below €5 million, with no initial capital below €500,000 of e-money. An EMI authorised in a European Union country can passport its licence across the EU, which a UK licence can no longer do.
The right route depends on where your customers are, the volumes you expect over the first three years and how quickly you need to launch. We set the options out side by side before any drafting starts, so the decision is made once and the application is written for the route you choose.
We prepare and file e-money and stored value applications with regulators across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Each guide below sets out the regulator's capital, fees, timing and what it assesses.
Every engagement follows five stages, with a named owner and a written timetable from the first week.
For planning, an authorised EMI in the UK takes six to eight months from submission; the FCA's published median decision time for these applications is 219 days. Lithuania and Ireland publish shorter service standards, which their guides set out.
A selection of the e-money engagements on our record. Each is an application we prepared and obtained for the client.
Our wider record covers payment institutions, money remittance, open banking, cryptoasset and investment firms in more than 60 countries.
A licence earns its value once the business can hold customer funds and move money. We arrange what an EMI needs to operate, through one in-house team that works with you from the application to the day you go live.
These services are open to licensed firms as well as to applicants.
Regulators assess the same core questions on every e-money application: whether the business model is clear, whether customer funds are safeguarded, whether the anti-money laundering controls fit the risks, and whether the people running the firm are suitable. A consultant should be able to show how they meet each of these for your model. These are the questions worth asking before you appoint one.
We open global markets to payment, e-money and crypto businesses: the licences to enter, the banking to operate and the compliance to scale. Since 2013 we have obtained more than 250 licences in over 60 countries.
No. The FCA and EU regulators accept applications directly from firms. A consultant reduces the time and risk involved: the application pack is prepared to the standard the regulator expects, questions are answered quickly, and the bank and safeguarding arrangements the licence depends on are in place before approval.
In the UK, plan for six to eight months after submission for an authorised EMI and four to six months for a small EMI. The FCA must decide within three months of a complete application, and its published median for these applications is 219 days. Preparation time depends on how ready your team, funding and documents are.
Yes. UK firms that serve European customers often hold an EU licence alongside their UK authorisation, because UK licences no longer passport into the EU. We compare the EU options on capital, timing, local people and banking access before you choose.
Yes. A small EMI that expects to pass €5 million of average outstanding e-money, or wants to offer open banking services, applies to the FCA for authorisation as an EMI. We prepare that application, the capital plan and the updated safeguarding and governance documents.
Yes. Most of our clients operate across borders, and we work from London and New York with businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Where a regulator requires people in its country, we assemble your local team.
A short description of the product, the countries and customers you plan to serve, expected volumes, the owners and directors, and the funding available. From that we confirm the licence and send a written proposal the same day.
We agree the fee for the scope in writing before work starts, with regulator fees and other third-party costs shown separately. You receive the proposal the same day as your enquiry.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.