News & Resources

    Compliance audits

    Why firms shouldn’t skip a general compliance audit — an interview with Neopay’s Margita Layne

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    As regulatory expectations keep rising, payments and e-money businesses are coming under ever greater scrutiny from the FCA. Yearly financial
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    Fraud

    Fraud in 2024: A Continued Threat to Financial Security

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    Fraud is still one of the biggest challenges to the UK’s financial system, with more than £1 billion being taken
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    EBA Issues ‘No Action Letter’ on EMTs to Avoid Dual Regulation Under PSD2 and MiCA

    The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued a No Action Letter to EU policymakers, advising against dual authorisation requirements for
    Read More >
    FCA

    FCA data updates: what it means for your firm

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is reviewing and updating the requirements, directions, and limitations applied to
    Read More >
    FCA stablecoin regulation

    FCA sets out proposals for stablecoin issuance and crypto custody

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken another significant step towards formal cryptoasset regulation with a new set of proposals
    Read More >
    FCA

    The audits the FCA expects – are you meeting the standard? [infographic]

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    As regulatory expectations continue to rise, many e-money and payments firms are finding themselves under greater scrutiny from the FCA
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    AI

    FCA to launch live AI testing service

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to launch an innovative live AI testing service aimed at helping firms deploy
    Read More >
    Fraud

    Guidance on the failure to prevent fraud offence

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    The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has released updated guidance encouraging companies to promptly self-report suspected fraud or misconduct. This new
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    UK Card Payments and Contactless Transactions Reach New Milestones in 2024

    The UK’s payment landscape in 2024 has seen unprecedented growth, with both card payments and contactless transactions hitting significant milestones.
    Read More >

    UK Strengthens Support for Syrian People by Amending Syria Sanctions

    In a significant move to help the people of Syria rebuild their country and economy after the fall of Assad,
    Read More >
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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).