How to get a payment license

A payment system is a complex of regulations, procedures, and technical infrastructure providing for transferring the value from one economic agent to another. Payment systems are one of the constituent parts of modern monetary systems. They have been developed to transfer payments and provide affiliated services along with the determination and management of payment regulations among the members of such a system. In simple terms, it is the possibility to pay for goods and services with a banking card and/or e-money. An electronic payment system is a payment system sub-type that enables online transactions. These systems can be international and local. 

Examples of payment systems:

• SWIFT (international);
• BACS (the UK);
• SPFS (Russia);
• BIC (international standard);
• IBAN (international standard);
• TARGET (the European Union);
• HiPay (France);
• FPS (Hing Kong);
• Bankgirocentralen (Norway);
• Bankgirot (Sweden);
• BankservAfrica (South Africa);
• UnionPay (China).

Alternative systems:

• CIPS;
• PayPal;
• Venmo.

Card payment systems:

• three-party – Diners Club, American Express, Discover;
• Four-party – VISA, MASTERCARD, Union Pay, Prostir, MIR, JCB.

A Payment license – what it gives you

Suppose you want to have a modern and functional electronic payment service and get hold of a tool that will provide you with a competitive advantage and raise your business to another level. In that case, you need to get a payment system license. It will turn your company into a processing center and allow you to carry out the following operations:

• Execute transactions via various payment systems;
• Issue and offer payment cards to your clients;
• Work with multiple currencies.

Types of payment service licenses

Our company assists with registering payment licenses in Asia, Europe, and offshore countries. Depending on the region, the Asian jurisdictions may include: 

• Singapore – SPI (Standard Payment License) and MPI (Major Payment License);
• Hong Kong – MSO (Money Service Operator);
• The United Arab Emirates – MSB (Money Service Business).

You can get further information on Asian jurisdictions in this article. 

In the EU, we help to apply for the EMI (Electronic Money Institution) and PSP (Payment Service Providers) licenses for legal entities in such countries as the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, etc. You can read more here. 

In offshore countries (Belize), you can apply for a Money Transmission and Payment Processing license, which has also been discussed in this article. Our clients also have the possibility to obtain licenses from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and other offshore territories. 

Requirements for payment service licenses

The requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, they all cover the following:

• Requirements for the directors, founders, and shareholders. These may concern their citizenship, place of residence, reputation (absence of convictions, debts, etc.), qualification, experience, and education.
• Requirements for the company’s place of registration and office. Most often, the legal entity must be registered in the jurisdiction whose license they want to obtain. The same applies to the physical office address.
• Requirements for the company’s and shareholders’ reputation. The authorities may check whether they comply with the KYC and AML regulations, hold proof of their income, implement the customer protection mechanisms, respect confidentiality, and so on.
• Requirements for the company’s documents – availability of corporate documents, a business plan, a financial plan for a certain period, internal procedures and policies, and risk management mechanisms.
• Financial requirements most often concern the amount of the authorized capital and proof of paid taxes and fees.

Our company provides you with a “turn-key” service in the sphere of payment license registration. We deal with all the legal issues (consults, preparation of documents, client support, etc.) and guide our clients throughout the whole process until the license is granted.