01 · License
What do you want to license?
Choose the type of institution. Each dashboard shows the path to a licence, live capital comparisons across jurisdictions, what the regulator will ask for, and the films and guides to read first.
Bank
Take deposits and grant credit. The most demanding licence, with the deepest reach.
49 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 100k to USD 544.6m Open dashboard
E-money and payments
Accounts, cards, transfers and acquiring, without lending deposits.
45 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 10k to USD 4.1m Open dashboard
Crypto-assets
Trading platforms, custody, exchange and stablecoins under MiCA and local regimes.
47 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 25k to USD 4.1m Open dashboard
Investment and FX
Brokerage, dealing, portfolio management and leveraged FX.
49 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 18k to USD 3.9m Open dashboard
Online gaming
Casino, betting and supplier licences, and the banking that gaming needs.
24 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 45k to USD 121.9m Open dashboard
Trusts, funds and insurance
Fiduciary, fund and insurance licences in the main wealth centres.
4 jurisdictionsstatutory floor USD 250k to USD 488k Open dashboardBefore you start
Capital comes first.
A bank is, by definition, capital. There is no route to a licence or an acquisition without your own liquid funds, and an application filed without them is refused and stays on the record with that regulator.
What a new bank must fund (illustration, not to scale)
- Set by the regulator. The supervisor fixes the capital for your business plan, risk profile and size. The figures on this site are the legal floor only.
- Liquid and your own. Paid in, in cash, by identified shareholders with a documented source of wealth, before or at licensing.
- People as well as money. Directors and managers with real banking experience; regulators interview them.
Not accepted as capital
- Borrowed moneyLoans, including loans secured on the bank you are buying or licensing.
- Seller or vendor financingSellers do not finance the purchase of their bank, and regulators do not approve acquisitions paid for with the target’s own money.
- Paper instrumentsBank guarantees, SBLCs, MTNs, leased or “monetised” instruments, historical bonds, gold or deposit certificates.
- “Proof of funds” lettersComfort letters, screenshots, blocked-funds statements or funds that are not yours to commit.
- Undisclosed backersMoney from investors who are not identified, screened and approved as shareholders.
- Unconverted or untraceable assetsAssets with no documented, lawful source of wealth that a regulator can verify.
We can provide everything a new bank needs, from the business plan and the application to systems and correspondent accounts, except the capital and the people who will run it. Before an engagement we verify identity, ownership and proof of funds held at a regulated bank. Enquiries that cannot show this are not taken further.
The path to a licence
From business plan to licence.
- Business model
Strategy
Business model, target markets and the jurisdictions that fit them.
- Pre-application memo
Pre-application
Early meetings with the regulator to test the model, ownership and capital plan.
- Application pack
Application pack
Business plan, financial projections, capital, governance, risk and AML frameworks, IT and outsourcing.
- Personal questionnaires
Fit and proper
Shareholders, directors and key function holders assessed for reputation, experience and source of funds.
- Contracts and systems
Infrastructure
Core systems, safeguarding or correspondent banks, auditors and outsourcing agreements put in place.
- Licence
Licence
Licence granted, often with conditions; capital paid in and operations begin under supervision.