Pin and benchmark
Pin the jurisdiction you are leaning towards, then line up to 5 rivals against it. Every unlocked figure shows where a peer beats it or loses to it on capital, timeline, cost and difficulty, so one screen tells you whether your first choice actually holds up.
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| Dimension |
Pinned 🇨🇾 Cyprus partly open Verified 2026-07-03
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🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Free in full
Verified 2026-07-03
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| Licence type | Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorisation under The Electronic Money Laws of 2012-2018 and The Provision and Use of Payment Services and Access to Payment Systems Laws of 2018 to 2025 (transposing EMD2/PSD2); a Small EMI / exempt tier also exists under the same framework for issuers below EMD2 thresholds | Authorised EMI (AEMI) or Small EMI (SEMI) under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. |
| Regulator | Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) - Licensing Section | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). |
| Capital requirement | Cyprus capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | AEMI GBP 350,000 initial plus own funds 2% of average outstanding e-money. SEMI no initial capital, capped below EUR 5m outstanding. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Cyprus timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | About 6 to 12 months including pre-application (statutory 3 months from a complete application). |
| Local substance | Cyprus local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | UK entity with UK mind and management, MLRO, adequate local staffing. |
| Application cost | Cyprus application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | FCA application fee (order of GBP 5,000 for AEMI) plus roughly GBP 75k to 200k professional. |
| Ongoing cost | Cyprus ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | FCA periodic fees, annual safeguarding audit, compliance headcount. |
| Passporting | Cyprus passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | None after Brexit, no EEA passport. |
| EMIs authorised | Cyprus emis authorised is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Around 338 e-money firms on the FCA register including small EMIs, the largest EMI population in Europe. |
| Key restrictions | Cyprus key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | No interest on e-money, no deposit-taking; a SEMI cannot provide AIS or PIS. |
| Safeguarding | Cyprus safeguarding is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Segregation or insurance or comparable guarantee. FCA Supplementary safeguarding regime (Policy Statement PS25/12, published 7 August 2025) in force from 7 May 2026: daily reconciliations, monthly regulatory reporting, annual safeguarding audit by a qualified auditor, resolution pack, third-party due diligence; audit exemption below GBP 100k. Stage 2 CASS-style statutory trust (Post-Repeal Regime) still under FCA review, not yet confirmed. |
| Recent changes | CBC issued three new directives effective 2025: the Electronic Money Institutions Directive 2025 (authorisation/prudential supervision), a Directive on Internal Organisation and Governance of EMIs, and a Directive on Assessment of Suitability of board/management members, materially tightening governance and fit-and-proper requirements ahead of PSD3/PSR. EU political agreement on PSD3/PSR was reached Nov 2025, texts published April 2026; EMD2 will be repealed and EMIs folded into the payment institution framework as a sub-category, with existing EMD2 licences remaining valid for up to 24 months post-entry-into-force (extendable to 30 months at national regulator discretion). | FCA safeguarding reform live from 7 May 2026; HM Treasury payments-law reform expected later in 2026. |
| Difficulty rating | Cyprus difficulty rating is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | 4. Rigorous on financial crime and safeguarding, very large market. |
Informational only, not legal advice. A delta compares the sortable figure only (capital, timeline, cost, difficulty, passporting, approvals); it is not a judgement on overall suitability. Verify with qualified counsel before acting.