Global payment licences
Regulators and licence types by jurisdiction, and the institutions that hold them — six regions, from FinCEN and the FCA to MAS, the RBI and the CBUAE.
40 jurisdictions · 105 licence regimes · 57 regulators · 46 institutions
North America
3Federal and state licensing in the US, Canada and Mexico.
- United StatesusA federal registration layered on top of a state-by-state money transmitter patchwork.MSBMTLNational charterState charterRemittance ruleFinCEN · State regulators (NMLS) · OCC · Federal Reserve · CFPB
- CanadacaFederal MSB registration for payments, provincial licences for deposit-taking.MSBBank licenceAMF licenceFINTRAC · OSFI · AMF Québec
- MexicomxThe 2018 Fintech Law created dedicated e-money and crowdfunding licences.IFPEIFCSOFIPOClearingCNBV · Banxico
Europe
5EU/EEA passporting regimes, the UK, Switzerland and the EEA satellites.
- European Union / EEAeuEMD2 and PSD2 licences passport across the whole EEA — one licence, 30 markets.EMIPIAISP / PISPCredit institutionCASPEBA · ECB · ESMA
- United KingdomgbFCA payment and e-money regimes plus a separate cryptoasset registration.APISPIEMIRAISPBankMLR registrationFCA · PRA
- SwitzerlandchA banking-lite 'fintech licence' sits between full banking and no licence at all.Banking licenceFintech licencePSO / DLTFINMA
- GibraltargiA UK-linked financial centre with its own EMI and DLT regimes.EMIDLT providerGFSC
- LiechtensteinliAn EEA member whose EMI licence passports into the whole European Economic Area.EMIBanking licenceFMA
Asia-Pacific
13From MAS and HKMA to the RBI, BI and the mainland payment licence.
- SingaporesgThe Payment Services Act 2019 splits licences by activity and by transaction volume.MPISPIMC / RMODPTMAS
- Hong Kong, ChinahkMoney service operators are licensed by Customs & Excise; stored value facilities by the HKMA; virtual asset platforms by the SFC.MSOSVFBanking licenceVATPCustoms & Excise · HKMA · SFC
- JapanjpFunds transfer, prepaid instruments and crypto exchange are three distinct registrations.Funds transferPrepaidCrypto exchangeBanking licenceFSA Japan
- China (mainland)cnNon-bank payment services need a PBOC Payment Business Licence; the regime was tightened in 2023.Payment Business LicenceCard clearingPBOC
- IndiainThe RBI licenses prepaid issuers and payment aggregators separately, including cross-border.PPIPAPA-CBBBPOURBI
- AustraliaauAn AFSL for the payment facility, AUSTRAC registration for remittance, APRA for deposits.AFSLRemittance / DCEADIASIC · AUSTRAC · APRA
- South KoreakrElectronic financial business registrations cover PG, prepaid e-money and funds transfer.Electronic financial businessBanking licenceFSC Korea
- MalaysiamyBNM licenses money services and e-money issuers under separate statutes.MSBE-moneyPSOBNM
- IndonesiaidBank Indonesia licenses payment service providers by activity and by scale.PJPE-moneyBank Indonesia
- ThailandthThe Payment Systems Act 2017 licenses payment providers and e-money issuers.PSPE-moneyBank of Thailand
- PhilippinesphThe BSP licenses e-money issuers and registers operators of payment systems.EMIOPSMSBBSP
- VietnamvnPayment intermediary services are licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam.Payment intermediarySBV
- New ZealandnzLight registration regime for financial service providers; banking needs RBNZ registration.FSPRFMA
Middle East
6CBUAE, SAMA and the Gulf fintech hubs, plus Israel and Türkiye.
- United Arab EmiratesaeChoose between the onshore CBUAE retail payment licence and the DIFC/ADGM free-zone regimes.RPSSVFDFSAADGMCBUAE · DFSA · FSRA
- Saudi ArabiasaSAMA's Payment Services Regulations licence providers by class and by scale.PSPE-moneyAggregatorSAMA
- QatarqaQCB licenses payment service providers under its fintech framework.PSPQCB
- IsraelilThe Bank of Israel licenses payment service providers and payment initiation services.PSPBank of Israel
- TürkiyetrPayment and electronic money institutions are licensed separately by the BDDK.PIEMIBDDK
- BahrainbhThe CBB has a dedicated PSP rulebook with a lighter ancillary tier.PSPAncillary PSPCBB
Latin America
6Brazil's payment institutions, Mexico's Fintech Law and the Andean regimes.
- BrazilbrThe BCB regulates payment institutions and payment initiators under the Pix framework.IPITPBanking licenceBCB
- ArgentinaarThe BCRA registers payment service providers and payment initiation providers.PSPPSIBCRA
- ColombiacoSEDPE entities and payment service providers are supervised by the Superfinanciera.SEDPEPSPSuperfinanciera
- ChileclThe 2023 Fintech Law brought payment service providers under the CMF.PSPCMF
- PerupeE-money is issued through EEDE entities supervised by the SBS.EEDEPayment serviceSBS
- UruguayuyThe BCU licenses payment institutions and e-money issuers under the financial inclusion law.Payment institutionBCU
Africa
7Mobile money and PSP licensing from Nigeria to Kenya and South Africa.
- NigeriangThe CBN licenses mobile money, switching, processing and payment service banks separately.MMOPSSPSwitchingPSBSuper AgentCBN
- South AfricazaThird-party payment providers sit under the SARB payment system, with conduct oversight by the FSCA.TPPPFSPSARB · FSCA
- KenyakeThe CBK licenses payment service providers and e-money issuers — the home of M-PESA.PSPE-moneyRemittanceCBK
- EgyptegThe CBE licenses payment service providers and e-money issuers under its fintech framework.PSPE-moneyCBE
- GhanaghThe Bank of Ghana licenses PSPs across mobile money, payment systems and aggregation.PSPMobile moneyBoG
- MoroccomaBank Al-Maghrib licenses payment institutions under the 2019 banking law.Payment institutionBank Al-Maghrib
- TanzaniatzThe Bank of Tanzania licenses payment service providers and mobile money operators.PSPBank of Tanzania
Licence abbreviationsThe codes you will see across the directory.
- EMI
- Electronic Money Institution
Issue e-money and hold user funds; passports across the EEA under EMD2. - PI
- Payment Institution
Provide payment services without issuing e-money; passports across the EEA under PSD2. - API / SPI
- Authorised / Small Payment Institution
The UK's full and light payment licences. - AISP / PISP
- Account Information / Payment Initiation Service Provider
Open-banking roles under PSD2. - MSB
- Money Services Business
US and Canadian federal registration for money transmission and currency dealing. - MTL
- Money Transmitter Licence
US state-by-state licence to transmit money. - MPI / SPI
- Major / Standard Payment Institution
Singapore's two payment tiers under the Payment Services Act. - SVF
- Stored Value Facility
Hong Kong's licence for prepaid wallets and stored value. - MSO
- Money Service Operator
Hong Kong Customs & Excise licence for remittance and/or money changing. - PPI
- Prepaid Payment Instrument issuer
India's licence to issue prepaid instruments. - PA / PA-CB
- Payment Aggregator / Cross-border
India's merchant aggregation authorisations. - MMO
- Mobile Money Operator
Nigeria's licence to issue e-money and run wallets. - IFPE
- Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico
Mexico's e-money licence under the Fintech Law. - IP
- Instituição de Pagamento
Brazil's payment institution authorisation. - CASP
- Crypto-Asset Service Provider
MiCA authorisation for crypto-asset services in the EU. - PJP
- Penyelenggara Jasa Pembayaran
Indonesia's payment service provider licence.
A curated reference, not legal advice and not exhaustive. Confirm the scope of any licence with its regulator before relying on it.