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).