News & Resources

    Safeguarding audit guide for UK payment and e-money firms

    What Do Auditors Look for During a Safeguarding Audit?

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    A safeguarding audit looks at whether a payment or e-money firm’s arrangements are designed and operating effectively to protect relevant
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    FCA crypto authorisation and UK cryptoasset regulation

    FCA Opens Applications for New UK Cryptoasset Regime

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    FCA crypto authorisation applications are now open, marking a significant step towards the introduction of the UK’s new regulatory regime
    Read More >
    FCA financial crime controls and financial crime risk in the UK

    FCA Steps Up Focus on Financial Crime Controls

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has highlighted the importance of effective financial crime controls as it steps up its work
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    AEMI authorisation cost guide for UK electronic money institutions

    How Much Does It Cost to Become an Authorised Electronic Money Institution (AEMI) in the UK?

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    AEMI authorisation costs at a glance The AEMI authorisation cost involves much more than the application fee paid to the
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    SPI registration cost guide for UK Small Payment Institutions

    How much does it cost to register as a Small Payment Institution (SPI) with the FCA?

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    Summary The costs of registering to become an SPI will vary depending on your size and business model, but you
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    Concept image illustrating the FCA Handbook API with digital compliance technology, regulatory data and RegTech solutions.

    FCA Launches Handbook API to Help Simplify Regulatory Compliance

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched its new Handbook API, giving firms and technology providers direct access to FCA
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    Rising compliance costs and regulatory pressures facing UK payment firms.

    Compliance Costs Are Rising, But Is Your Compliance Framework Keeping Pace?

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    The regulatory landscape for payment firms is evolving rapidly. Firms must not only understand regulatory requirements but also demonstrate that
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    Fintech Integrated Managed Service

    Why Risk Assessments Fail in Practice

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    Most regulated firms understand the importance of risk assessments. Business-Wide Risk Assessments (BWRAs) and Customer Risk Assessments (CRAs) are well-established
    Read More >
    Protecting Against Money Mules: Insights from the FCA's Review

    UK Finance Fraud Report 2026: Payment Fraud Losses Reach £1.28 Billion

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    UK Finance has published its Annual Fraud Report 2026, revealing that criminals stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025,
    Read More >

    FCA Sanctions Review: Key Lessons for Firms

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released its latest review of firms’ sanctions systems and controls, identifying common weaknesses across
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    Resources

    The registration process for SEMIs is cheaper and more straightforward than authorisation for Authorised E-Money Institutions (AEMIs), however there are additional restrictions placed on the activities of SEMIs.

    The FCA would require similar information to an AEMI application but in less detail and would pay close attention to the skills and experience of the business’ senior team.

    • A SEMI’s average outstanding e-money must never exceed €5 million.
    • There are no passporting rights. SEMI’s products can only be offered within the UK.
    • SEMIs can provide unrelated payment services but only if the average monthly total of payment transactions does not exceed €3 million, on a rolling 12 month basis.

    To determine their capital requirements, SEMIs are split into two categories. For those whose average outstanding e-money is less than €500,000 and who do not predict their average to reach that point, there is no minimum capital requirement.

    For those whose average falls above that limit, there is a minimum capital requirement of 2% of their average outstanding e-money.

    The FCA charge application fees as well as on-going supervision fees for authorised entities.

    In addition, there are minimum requirements for on-going capital for authorised firms, although not all SEMIs will be required to meet minimum capital requirements (see above).