Your gateway to financial licensing worldwide
Find the Right Financial Licence. Build Your Financial Business.
Explore financial licensing worldwide, compare regulatory requirements and discover the technology and infrastructure needed to launch your business.
Which financial licence do I need?
Choose what you want to establish to start the assessment — no registration required.
Popular guides
Licensing guides
Sourced explanations of how financial authorisation actually works.
Guide · 8 min
What Financial Licence Do I Need?
A structured way to work out which authorisation your business model actually triggers — by activity, not by label.
Guide · 9 min
How to Get an EMI Licence
EU and UK electronic-money licensing: capital, safeguarding, governance and the application file.
Guide · 8 min
How to Get a Payment Institution Licence
PSD2 payment services, capital tiers and when a PI is the right licence.
Guide · 7 min
UAE Financial Licensing
Onshore CBUAE, Dubai VARA, DIFC and ADGM explained.
Switzerland · 9 min
What Is a Swiss SRO?
Self-regulatory organisations supervise Swiss financial intermediaries for AML — here is what affiliation does and does not permit.
Switzerland · 10 min
How to Start a Swiss VASP
Exchange, transfer and custody models for crypto businesses in Switzerland, and which route each one triggers.
By business type
Explore licences
Banking licence
Full authorisation to accept deposits from the public and grant credit.
Swiss FinTech licence
Swiss "banking licence light": public deposits up to CHF 100m, not invested and not interest-bearing.
Electronic money institution (EMI)
Issue e-money and provide payment services; funds must be safeguarded.
Swiss SRO affiliation (AML supervision)
One of the most versatile entry routes in global finance: a single AML affiliation that lets a Swiss company act as a financial intermediary across a wide range of payment, transfer, exchange and crypto services.
Payment institution (PI)
Provide payment services such as transfers, acquiring and money remittance.
Crypto-asset service provider (MiCA CASP)
EU authorisation for crypto-asset services, passportable across the EEA.
Money transmitter / MSB
Money transmission and remittance licensing, often per state or province.
Virtual asset service provider (VASP)
Registration or licensing for virtual-asset businesses outside MiCA (e.g. Switzerland, UAE, UK, Singapore).
Compare jurisdictions
Financial centres side by side
Regulators, capital and substance from a structured, sourced database.
Start a financial business
From licence to launch
A seven-workstream roadmap: licensing, incorporation, compliance, technology, providers, implementation and launch.
- 01Licensing considerations
- 02Incorporation and governance
- 03Compliance requirements
- 04Technology requirements
- 05External provider relationships
- 06Implementation planning
- 07Operational launch preparation
Financial software & infrastructure
The technology behind regulated finance
Every licence implies systems. Understand them before you choose how to build or buy.
What Software Does a Neobank Need?
A capability map of the systems behind a digital banking product — and which parts must come from licensed providers.
Financial Software: Build vs Buy
A transparent framework for comparing in-house development, subscription platforms and licensed software.
Perpetual vs Subscription Financial Software
How licensing models affect five-year ownership cost, control and exit options.
Crypto Exchange and VASP Technology Infrastructure
Wallets, custody, liquidity, travel rule and compliance systems for crypto businesses.
Plan your technology independently
Vendor-neutral tools to define requirements, compare implementation routes and evaluate suppliers.
Regulation & news
Latest regulatory developments
Collected automatically from official regulator and central bank feeds, summarised with source links.
- What does 'fair value' look like in practice? Three years into the Consumer Duty, here’s what we’ve learned.
The FCA discusses findings from its review of how consumer finance firms assess, demonstrate and monitor fair value under the Consumer Duty. Its work also examined fees and charges across credit products and included supervision of consumer hire arrangements.
guidance · · FCA News
- Building the future of finance in the age of AI
FCA official Jessica Rusu outlined an approach to AI focused on industry testing, assurance, monitoring and surveillance following the Mills Review, published in July. The review considered how AI could reshape retail financial services by 2030, while the speech also noted developments beyond retail markets.
other · · FCA News
- ePayments Systems Limited enters special administration
ePayments Systems Limited entered special administration on 15 October 2026, with Mark Boast and Allister Manson appointed as joint special administrators to handle customer claims and return funds where possible. The firm remains FCA-authorised to issue e-money under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
other · · FCA News
- Three arrests in major FCA operation against criminal insider dealing ring
Three individuals were arrested on 13 October in a joint FCA and National Crime Agency operation targeting suspected organised insider dealing and money laundering. Searches at five residential premises in London and Manchester involved more than 100 staff and resulted in the seizure of over 30 electronic devices.
enforcement · · FCA News
- FCA calls on private market firms to manage conflicts of interest in line with rapid growth
An FCA review found differences in how effectively private market firms identify and manage conflicts of interest. The FCA called on firms to manage those conflicts as the sector grows and highlighted the importance of disclosure for investors.
guidance · · FCA News
🇨🇭 Switzerland spotlight
Four distinct Swiss routes — and why they are not interchangeable
Switzerland combines established financial infrastructure with proportionate frameworks. Many payment and crypto exchange models can operate as a financial intermediary affiliated to an SRO; deposit-taking requires a FINMA FinTech or banking licence.
- SRO affiliation
- AML supervision for payment, exchange and many crypto models. Not a banking licence.
- FinTech licence
- Public deposits up to CHF 100m, no interest, no lending. Min. capital 3%, at least CHF 300k.
- Banking licence
- Full deposit-taking and lending. Min. capital CHF 10m.
- Securities firm
- Investment services under FinIA — not covered by SRO affiliation.
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A planned marketplace for regulated banks, EMIs, payment institutions and VASPs — subject to verification and change-of-control approval.
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