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We prepare, review and submit the regulatory returns the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires, so the figures are accurate, on time and consistent with your records.
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
FCA regulated firms submit regular returns, mostly through the RegData system, on capital, fraud, complaints, controllers, financial crime and, for payment and e-money firms, safeguarding. Which returns apply depends on firm type: authorised payment institutions file FSA056, e-money institutions file FIN060, and both file REP017 fraud reports and the monthly REP027 safeguarding return. A consultant maps the obligations, prepares returns and checks figures before submission.
Regulatory returns are the FCA's main regular view of your firm. Supervisors use them to compare firms, spot outliers and decide where to look more closely, so a return that is late, inconsistent with earlier returns or out of line with your accounts can prompt questions well beyond the return itself. Inaccurate reporting is also among the issues the FCA cites when it uses stronger tools such as skilled person reviews.
Most returns are submitted through RegData, the FCA's data collection platform, which replaced the older Gabriel system. The FCA charges £250 when a firm misses an annual RegData deadline. The bigger risk is not the fee but the signal: a firm that cannot report accurately often cannot show that its underlying records, such as safeguarding reconciliations or capital calculations, are reliable.
Read our full guide to regulatory reporting for PIs and EMIs
Payment institutions (PIs) are authorised or registered under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs), and SUP 16.13 of the FCA Handbook sets out their reporting. The FCA lists the following returns.
E-money institutions (EMIs) are authorised or registered under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs). Credit institutions that issue e-money do not complete FIN060 or FSA065, and report e-money issued on PRA001, a Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) return, instead. The main returns for EMIs are:
Since CASS 15 took effect on 7 May 2026, every safeguarding institution must submit a monthly safeguarding return to the FCA under SUP 16.14A. The FCA identifies it as form REP027. It is due within 15 business days of the end of each calendar month, and no return is needed for the month in which a firm first becomes a safeguarding institution.
The return draws on the daily internal and external reconciliations CASS 15 requires, so its quality depends on the quality of those records. Figures for relevant funds, safeguarding accounts, shortfalls and breaches must be consistent with the reconciliations, the resolution pack and, later, the annual safeguarding audit, which must be submitted within six months of the end of the first audit period and within four months thereafter. Authorised PIs and EMIs must safeguard. Small EMIs must safeguard e-money funds, and small PIs that choose to safeguard must meet the same standard.
Other returns depend on your permissions, and several are changing.
Most reporting errors come from the same few causes: definitions read differently from the FCA's guidance notes, figures taken from systems that do not match the general ledger, and knowledge held by one person who then leaves. We address each.
We start with a reporting map listing every return your firm must file, the rule behind it, the deadline, the data source and the owner. For each return we document how each figure is calculated, with reference to the FCA's completion guidance, and reconcile it to your accounts, safeguarding records or case management system. Before submission, a second reviewer checks the figures, compares them with earlier periods and investigates any unusual movement. Where we find errors in returns already submitted, we help you correct them and explain the issue to the FCA openly. Your team keeps a reporting calendar and working papers, so the process does not depend on any one person.
Every engagement follows the same four stages, scaled to the size of your firm and the urgency of the issue.
Assessment: we confirm which returns apply to your firm type and permissions, and review recent submissions, calculations and data sources. Written findings: you receive a reporting map and a report on errors, risks and missing returns, with corrections ranked by priority. Remediation: we correct calculation methods, rebuild working papers, resubmit where needed and train your finance and compliance staff. Ongoing support or outsourced roles: we prepare or review each return before submission, run the reporting calendar, test returns as part of your compliance monitoring programme, and can act as your outsourced compliance officer. Your working papers stay with your firm, so each period builds on the last.
Buckingham Capital Consulting (BCC) was established in 2013 and has obtained more than 250 licences in over 60 countries for payment, e-money and crypto firms. That licensing work means we have seen, from the application stage onwards, the controls, people and documents regulators expect to find when they test a firm after authorisation.
We do not stop at the licence. BCC also arranges banking and runs compliance for regulated firms, so the advice you receive reflects how a regulated business actually operates day to day: how its bank partners review it, how its regulator supervises it and how its own board needs to evidence control. Our aim is set out in one line: we open global markets to payment, e-money and crypto businesses, with the licences to enter, the banking to operate and the compliance to scale. If you are weighing your options, use the contact form to describe your firm and the issue, and we will reply with a proposed scope.
FSA056 is the Authorised Payment Institution Capital Adequacy Return. Authorised payment institutions submit it annually through RegData within 30 days of their accounting reference date. Registered account information service providers also submit it, answering only the questions relevant to their activity, such as the value and volume of account information services.
REP017 is the FCA's payments fraud report. Authorised payment institutions, authorised e-money institutions and credit institutions submit it every six months, within two months of 30 June and 31 December. Small payment institutions, small EMIs and registered account information service providers submit two six-month reports within two months of the year end.
Within 15 business days of the end of each calendar month, under SUP 16.14A, which took effect on 7 May 2026 with CASS 15. The FCA identifies the return as REP027. A firm does not need to submit a return for the month in which it first becomes a safeguarding institution.
Authorised EMIs submit FIN060a, small EMIs FIN060b, both within 30 business days of the accounting reference date. Small EMIs also submit FSA065 by the end of January. EMIs also file REP017 fraud reports, REP018 operational risk reports, complaints data, the monthly safeguarding return and, for authorised EMIs, REP001 and REP002.
The FCA charges £250 when a firm misses an annual RegData deadline. More importantly, late or inaccurate returns can lead to supervisory questions about the firm's records and controls. A firm that finds an error in a past return should correct it and tell the FCA promptly.
Yes. Under PS25/19, the FCA is replacing five complaints returns, including the payment services and e-money complaints return, with one consolidated return. All firms will report on a fixed six-monthly, calendar-year basis, starting with the period from 1 January to 30 June 2027.
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