US MSB and MTL · July 2026
[email protected]
+44 7563 115980 (phone and WhatsApp)
Money transfer operators, corridors, agents and MSB networks.
We obtain the MSB registrations and payment licences, the correspondent and settlement banking, and the agent and corridor compliance for money transfer operators, across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
A money transfer business needs a licence in each market where it takes money from customers: federal registration with state licences in the United States, registration in Canada and Australia, small payment institution registration or a payment institution licence in the United Kingdom, an EU payment institution licence, and the local licence in Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE. Sending volume and the use of agents decide the tier.
| Licence | Regulator | Capital | Timeline | All-in first year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US money transmitter licence | States via NMLS | From US$100,000 | 6 to 8 months | California: US$105,000, plus a surety bond of at least US$250,000 |
| FinCEN money services business registration | FinCEN | No minimum | Effective on filing | No regulator cost |
| Canada money services business registration | FINTRAC | No minimum | 3 months | None at FINTRAC; C$2,500 for Bank of Canada registration |
| Australia AUSTRAC remittance and virtual asset service provider registration | AUSTRAC | No minimum | 3 months | None published |
| Lithuania payment institution licence | Bank of Lithuania | €20,000 to €125,000 | 4 to 6 months | €20,898 for remittance alone |
| Hong Kong money service operator licence | Customs and Excise | No minimum | 2 to 3 months | From HK$3,810 |
| Singapore standard payment institution licence | MAS | S$100,000 | 12 to 15 months | S$101,000, plus the annual licence fee |
| Singapore major payment institution licence | MAS | S$250,000 | 12 to 15 months | S$351,500 to S$451,500, with the security deposit |
| UAE retail payment services and stored value facility licences | CBUAE | AED 100k to 3m | 6 to 8 months | AED 100,000 to AED 3 million; no fee published |
| UK payment institution licence | FCA | €20,000 to €125,000 | 6 to 8 months | €20,000, plus £6,268, for remittance |
| Small payment institution registration | FCA | No minimum | 3 to 4 months | £1,782 |
All-in first year adds the minimum initial capital (or net worth, share capital or security deposit), the regulator's application fee and its first annual fee where the regulator publishes a fixed amount. Annual fees are counted in full, although several regulators pro-rate the first year. Fees set by income or volume, staff, audit, insurance and professional fees are excluded. Where currencies differ, capital and fees are shown separately.
Each step with the time it usually takes. Steps three to five run in parallel.
Built corridor by corridor and run to each regulator’s calendar. Firms licensed in several markets retain our in-house team to run it across every licence, on one framework.
One corridor and fifty carry different risks, and the risk assessment, customer checks, sanctions screening and monitoring rules reflect that. See financial crime.
In the United States, the agent list is revised every 1 January, with FinCEN re-registration when agents grow by more than half. In Australia, affiliate changes are reported within 7 days. In the UK, each agent is registered before it acts.
An independent review of the US anti-money laundering programme, an effectiveness review in Canada at least every two years, an independent evaluation in Australia at least every three, and the UK safeguarding audit and returns.
Tell us where you are and where you want to be.
[email protected]
+44 7563 115980 (phone and WhatsApp)
A money remittance licence authorises a firm to take money from senders and pay it out elsewhere. In the US, registration with FinCEN, the federal financial crimes regulator, is free and state licences start at US$100,000 net worth.
The UK registers small operators for £1,130 with no capital; an EU licence needs €20,000. Plan three to eight months.
Registration, licensing, banking and agent networks for firms that move money between countries.
The sending market first, then the payout side of each corridor (a sending and receiving country pair). Volume and the use of agents, the shops or partners that take payments for you, set the licence.
FinCEN registration takes effect on filing, with no capital or fee. Money transmission is then licensed state by state, with one review coordinated across 32 states. We sequence states by corridor demand and plan six to eight months for a state licence.
Registrations of around three months each, with no capital requirement.
A Lithuanian payment institution licence covers every member state.
Hong Kong’s money service operator licence takes two to three months, with no minimum capital. Singapore takes twelve to fifteen months, so we file it early. The UAE licenses cross-border transfers onshore, with a resident chief executive.
Small payment institution registration up to €3 million a month, agents included, with no capital, in three to four months; we obtained Onpoint Money’s on this route. Authorisation, with €20,000 of capital, follows as volumes grow.
Our guide to obtaining a money transfer licence sets out each market.
Every regulator in the table reads the same four things first. A file that answers them clearly is decided faster.
Where the sender’s money is held, which accounts it passes through, when it is converted and how it reaches the recipient. Regulators compare the diagram with the bank accounts named in the file.
The countries you serve, the customers you expect and the limits you set. A corridor into a higher-risk country needs enhanced checks and a written rationale.
How agents are chosen, trained, monitored and removed. In the UK agents count towards the €3 million monthly limit for a small payment institution, and each one is registered before it acts.
A UK authorised payment institution safeguards every payment and holds €20,000 of capital for remittance. US states require permissible investments at least equal to money in transit. Singapore requires base capital of S$100,000 for a standard licence.
Accounts in every payout currency for new and established operators, arranged through our direct relationships with banks, e-money institutions and payment providers.
Accounts ready to pay out from the day of authorisation for new operators. For licensed operators, new corridors or a replacement for a bank that has withdrawn.
Settlement accounts in each payout currency, a safeguarding account, an operating account, and correspondent accounts with banks in the payout countries.
The registration, the anti-money laundering programme and, in the United States, the state licences. In Canada the bank account comes first, because its details go into the registration.
US states require permissible investments at least equal to money in transit. Singapore safeguards by the next business day. A UK payment institution safeguards every payment. See safeguarding.
Bespoke white-label technology for accounts, payments, wallets and card programmes, built around your corridors, for a new launch or for corridors added later.
Regulators examine the path each payment takes from sender to recipient, and the systems you run match it.
Customer checks at onboarding, sanctions screening on every transfer, limits by corridor and the agent records each regulator expects.
A Lithuanian licence brings direct access to the central bank’s payment system and SEPA (the euro payments system), so euro payouts settle without an intermediary bank.
A programme under a licensed partner lets you move money while your own licence is in progress. See BaaS and programmes.
A licensed money transfer company brings its licences, corridors, banking and agent network. Every regime we cover approves the new controller before completion.
Each US state that licenses the target approves the change on its own terms, and FinCEN re-registration follows within 180 days. In the UK, the statutory period is 60 working days from a complete application.
We price the permissions, corridors, settlement and correspondent accounts, agent network and supervisory record, and confirm the accounts continue under the new owner.
State, federal and deal timetables are planned together, so approval and completion land on the same date.
Our register of licensed companies for sale lists payment institutions and money services businesses. See acquisitions and change of control.
FinCEN and state licences, FINTRAC, AUSTRAC and payment institution licences with remittance permissions.
Settlement and nostro accounts for new operators and for licensed operators opening new corridors.
Agent registration, oversight and the regulator’s notifications.
Financial crime frameworks built for the corridors you serve.
Two layers. Every money services business registers with FinCEN, which carries no fee or capital and takes effect on filing. Money transmission is then licensed by each state, with net worth and surety bonds from US$100,000. There is no multistate licence, though one review is coordinated across 32 states. We plan six to eight months for a state licence.
Yes. A business that remits or transmits funds registers with FINTRAC as a money services business, including a foreign firm that directs its services at people in Canada. There is no capital requirement and no fee, most complete applications are processed within three months, and registration lasts two years. Payment providers may also register with the Bank of Canada.
A Lithuanian payment institution licence. Money remittance alone needs €20,000 of initial capital, the state levy is €898, and the licence covers every EU and EEA state. It also gives direct access to SEPA, the euro payments system, through the central bank’s own payment system. We plan four to six months from submission.
Yes. A business sending up to €3 million a month on average, agents included, can register as a small payment institution, with no capital, a £1,130 fee and a timeline of three to four months. Above that it needs authorisation as a payment institution, with €20,000 of capital for money remittance and a £5,640 application fee.
It depends on the market. In the United States agents of a licensed transmitter are exempt in states such as New York and Texas, and do not register with FinCEN. In Canada agents do not register separately. In Australia the network provider registers its affiliates, and in the United Kingdom the payment institution registers each agent with the FCA.
Yes. The regulator approves the new owner before completion: the UK statutory period runs 60 working days from a complete application, and each US state that licenses the target approves separately. The purchase brings the licences, corridors, banking and agent network with it. Our register lists authorised firms for sale, released in confidence to registered buyers.
A UK small payment institution costs £1,782 in FCA fees in the first year, with no capital. A Lithuanian licence for remittance alone needs €20,898 in capital and state levy. In California a licence needs US$100,000 of net worth, a US$5,000 fee and a surety bond of at least US$250,000.
Regulator and legislation pages checked on 26 October 2026.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements and fees change, and the regulator’s own publications take precedence.
Cited in the sections above
Where to license. Sources: FCA: authorisation application fees and pricing categories; FCA Handbook FEES 4 Annex 11: periodic fees for payment services and e-money issuers; Bank of Lithuania: authorisation of payment institutions; MAS: how to apply for a payment service licence (application fees); MAS: major payment institution licence (base capital and security); Hong Kong Customs and Excise: MSO application fees from 15 May 2026; CBUAE Rulebook: Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, Article 6; California DFPI: money transmitters (application fee); California Financial Code sections 2037 and 2040 (surety bond and net worth); FINTRAC: register your money services business (no fee); Bank of Canada: retail payments supervision FAQ (C$2,500 fee).
US MSB and MTL · July 2026
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