Free tool
Payment and e-money licence checker.
Find out whether your firm is likely to need SPI, API, small EMI or EMI authorisation, with the capital, the FCA fee and the timeline for the route your answers indicate.
Find out whether your firm is likely to need SPI, API, small EMI or EMI authorisation, with the capital, the FCA fee and the timeline for the route your answers indicate.
Seven questions on your business model. The result appears on this page.
The rules the tool applies, in full. The result is guidance from your answers; the firm confirms it in a written proposal the same day.
| Your answers | Indicated route | Key figures |
|---|---|---|
| Stored balances; average outstanding e-money up to €5 million; payment services up to €3 million a month | Small EMI registration | No initial capital below €500,000 outstanding; FCA fee £1,130 |
| Stored balances above either limit | Authorised EMI | €350,000 initial capital; FCA fee £5,640 |
| No stored balances; account information is the only service | RAISP registration | Professional indemnity insurance; FCA fee £1,130 |
| Payment services including payment initiation, or above €3 million a month | Authorised payment institution | €20,000 (remittance only), €50,000 (payment initiation) or €125,000 initial capital; FCA fee £2,820 for remittance, payment initiation and account information only, £5,640 otherwise |
| Payment services up to €3 million a month, without payment initiation | Small payment institution registration | No initial capital; FCA fee £1,130 |
| No stored balances and no payment services | No payment or e-money licence indicated | Exclusions or another regime may apply |
“Not sure” on stored balances is treated as the payment route, with the e-money route shown alongside it. The location, cryptoasset and credit answers add the further requirements that apply. Capital and fee figures are the FCA’s and the Payment Services Regulations’ published figures; the statutory decision period for each is three months from a complete application.
No. It is guidance from your answers, applying the thresholds in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The firm confirms the route in a written proposal the same day.
A small payment institution is registered, has no initial capital requirement and is limited to average monthly payment transactions of €3 million. An authorised payment institution holds full authorisation, has no volume limit and holds initial capital of €20,000 to €125,000 depending on its services.
When customers hold a balance they can spend or transfer later, such as a wallet, prepaid card or stored account balance. That balance is electronic money.
£1,130 for a small payment institution, a small EMI or a RAISP; £2,820 or £5,640 for an authorised payment institution, depending on its services; and £5,640 for an authorised EMI.
Yes. A small payment institution or small EMI applies for authorisation when it approaches its limits, and the registration’s record supports the application.
A reply within three business hours and a written proposal on the licence, the requirements, the cost and the timing the same day.