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THE LICENSE FOR PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

posted 6 years ago

In order to obtain a payment license,
you must register the company in the jurisdiction whose terms and conditions
are most suitable for your business model.

In this article we will review and compare the
following jurisdictions: Lithuania, Great Britain, Malta and Estonia.

1. PAYMENT LICENSE IN LITHUANIA

With the introduction of the euro since January 2015,
Lithuania has a full set of tools to offer investors of payment and electronic
money to work in the entire market of the European Union.

Lithuania has a lot of indisputable benefits, let’s
consider them below.

Advantages of obtaining a license for electronic money in Lithuania:

  • An experienced and fairly loyal financial
    regulator;
  • Lithuania issued a large number of EMI and PSP
    licenses, which again confirms the experience of the regulator;
  • The term of consideration of documents is
    standard from 3+ months;
  • Requires a local office and management of 3-5
    people, one of whom must be a resident of Lithuania;
  • Mandatory financial and audited accounts.


2. THE LICENSE OF ELECTRONIC MONEY ON MALTA

Malta is a small and successful state, where game
licenses, forex broker licenses and payment licenses are issued. Here are the
advantages of 
obtaining an EMI license in Malta.

  • English is the official language in Malta, which
    simplifies the workflow;
  • The effective income tax rate in Malta is only
    5%;
  • An experienced but strict financial regulator;
  • There is a documental regulation of the crypto
    currency;
  • The possibility of registering a crypto-currency
    fund;
  • Requires a local office and management of at
    least 5 people;
  • Mandatory financial and audited accounts.

3.
LICENSING ON PAYMENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN

Obtaining a license for a payment system is possible
for legal entities that are registered domestically.

The document provides an opportunity to conduct its
activities within the UK, for work in other jurisdictions, passportization is
necessary. The requirements imply a real office, which is subject to
obligations under the Regulations on Money Laundering, there are also a number
of specific requirements for the conduct of this business, for example, a
person who makes a key decision must have experience in such a field, relevant
knowledge and education. More detailed advice you can get from our specialists.

Key conditions for obtaining a payment license in the UK:

  • English is the official language, which
    simplifies the workflow;
  • An experienced and loyal financial regulator;
  • The UK payment license is the prestige and trust
    of customers;
  • A full license will require a local office and
    management;
  • Operations with crypto currency are not regulated
    by the FSA;
  • Mandatory financial and audited accounts.

4. LICENSE OF THE PAYMENT SYSTEM IN ESTONIA

The license for payments can be received by the
company that was registered in Estonia. Cooperation in the territory of other
states is allowed, but the main activity must still be conducted within the
borders of Estonia.

To receive a license for electronic money in Estonia
(EMI license), the applicant must provide a sufficiently large list of
documents in the EFSA (Estonian Financial Supervision Authority).

Advantages of obtaining a license for electronic money
in Estonia:

  • Possibility to obtain a license for the exchange
    of crypto-currencies;
  • Clear regulation of the crypto currency;
  • Low tax burden in the country;
  • Possibility to obtain a residence permit in
    Estonia;
  • The term of consideration of documents is
    standard from 3+ months;
  • Requires a local office and management of 3-5
    people, one of whom must be a resident of Estonia;
  • Mandatory financial and audited accounts.

It should be noted that the requirements for filling
the authorized capital will be almost the same in all the listed above countries,
from 125,000 euros, if it is a PSP license and up to 500,000 euros, if this is
a full EMI license.

Also, in all European countries, as well as in the UK
and Switzerland, a financial company is obliged to audit annually, and, of
course, to keep accounts, report and pay taxes.

When making decisions in the creation of a payment
system, one should take into account all the specifics and subtleties of this
type of activity, take into account the provisions of the legislation of the
chosen jurisdiction, the tax system, since a type of payment license directly
depends on the volume of services provided and the time of receipt can be from
3 to 12 months.

SBSB specialists will help to determine the type of
license and requirements, and will also provide all subsequent support
services; we will obtain the needed license together with you.

Write to us to [email protected] and
we will answer to all of your questions.

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