Payment institution applicants

To become an API, you must:

• hold adequate initial capital
• be a body corporate (eg a limited company or partnership), with a head office and registered office in the UK
• carry on some of your payment services business in the UK
• have robust governance arrangements, internal controls and risk management procedures
• ensure that anyone with a qualifying holding is fit and proper
• have directors and managers of good repute, with appropriate skills to provide payment services
• have a business plan
• take adequate measures to safeguard payment service users' funds
• hold adequate indemnity cover if you provide account information services (AIS) and/or payment initiation services (PIS)
• comply with the money laundering regulations (MLRs)[3]
• not prevent our effective supervision of your business if you have close links to another person (if the links are outside the UK, foreign laws mustn’t prevent our effective supervision of the business)

To become an SPI, you must not:

• have average monthly payment transactions in the preceding 12 months that exceed €3m
  • if you've been providing payment services for less than 12 months, or if you haven't started yet, your projected average monthly payment transactions mustn't exceed €3m
• provide account information services (AIS) or payment initiation services (PIS)
• have managers that have been convicted of money laundering, terrorist financing or other financial crimes

And you must:

• have a head office, registered office or place of residence in the UK
• ensure that anyone with a qualifying holding is fit and proper if your firm is a partnership, an unincorporated association or a corporation
• have directors and managers of good repute, with appropriate skills to provide payment services
• comply with the money laundering regulations (MLRs)[3]
• not prevent our effective supervision of your business if you have close links to another person (if the links are outside the UK, foreign laws mustn’t prevent our effective supervision of the business)

Please provide or explain the details of:

• the payment services business you want to provide, such as your programme of operations and business plan – including your financial information[6]
• the people responsible for payment services and for managing your firm – you'll need to register each individual[7]
• anyone with a qualifying holding[8] in your firm
• the control mechanisms to meet your obligations under the MLRs[4]
• the initial capital at the level required by the regulations to start your business and calculation of ongoing capital requirement
• your measures to safeguard payment service users’ funds
• your governance arrangements, internal controls and risk management procedures (eg the structures you have in place to run a business effectively), including your wind-down plan[8]
• your procedures for:
  • incident reporting
  • managing sensitive payment data
  • business continuity arrangements
  • principles and definitions used when collecting statistical data
• your security policy and security-related customer complaints policy
• your MLR registration details (if applicable) – if your firm is:
  • already MLR-registered with HMRC, provide your registration number
  • currently applying to HMRC, provide your application number
• your arrangements on professional indemnity insurance or comparable guarantee (if you're providing AIS and/or PIS)
• your outsourcing arrangements (if applicable)
• how you intend to use agents and branches, including the off-site and on-site checks that you'll perform on them (if applicable).

Please provide or explain the details of:

• the payment services business you want to provide, such as your programme of operations – including your financial information[7]
• the people responsible for payment services and for managing your firm – you'll need to register each individual[8]
• anyone with a qualifying holding[9] in your firm
• the control mechanisms to meet your obligations under the MLRs[10]
• your measures to safeguard payment service users’ funds (if applicable)
• your procedures for:
  • incident reporting
  • managing sensitive payment data
  • principles and definitions used when collecting statistical data
• your security policy and security-related customer complaints policy
• your MLR registration details (if applicable) – if your firm is:
  • already MLR-registered with HMRC, provide your registration number
  • currently applying to HMRC, provide your application number
• your outsourcing arrangements (if applicable)
• how you intend to use agents and branches, including the off-site and on-site checks that you'll perform on them (if applicable)

Please read:

• Our role in regulating providers of account information services and payment initiation services[7]
• The Open Banking Standard and industry guidelines[8]

Download and complete an individuals form for PIs[10], then submit it as part of your application on Connect[6].

When completing the form, refer to the notes[11] and factsheet[12].

We expect you to assess the fitness and propriety of the directors and persons responsible for the management of your agents.

You're responsible for anything done or omitted by your agents, so you need appropriate systems and controls to oversee them effectively.

You must also tell us if:

• their details change, or
• you cease dealing with an agent