Do you need an FCA or HMRC registration? A plain-English guide for platform owners
By SendPay Business · · Updated · 2 min read
This is the question every founder asks and most providers dodge. Here is the plain version. It is general information, not legal advice, and the specialist we introduce you to gives you the answer for your exact platform.
Money transfer: HMRC
Sending money for customers usually means registering with HMRC as a money service business under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, with a responsible person, a risk assessment and controls. Identity checks at signup are built into every platform; the registration is yours.
Crypto: the FCA
Buying, selling or holding crypto for customers in the UK needs FCA cryptoasset registration before launch, and financial promotions for crypto are restricted. This one takes time and preparation.
Holding customer money: authorisation
An account that holds customer balances is provided by authorised partners on our platforms. If you want to hold funds yourself you need your own authorisation as a payment or e-money institution, which most platforms do not need at the start.
Cards: the partner's approval
Cards are issued by a licensed partner. Your programme needs their approval of you and of what it does.
What you can do before any of it
We tell you which of these applies to your platform in writing before you pay, and we never block a paid platform on licence grounds: we disclose, you decide.
- Build the platform and preview every page.
- Brand it, set your fees, design your cards.
- Register your domain and your company.
- Apply for what applies, with the specialist we introduce.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
Is SendPay Business licensed?
SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners, and their permissions cover what they do, not what you do.
Can I launch first and register later?
You can build, preview and go live with signup on. Taking customer money for a regulated activity needs the registration first.
How much does registration cost?
HMRC registration fees are published on gov.uk; FCA fees depend on the activity. The specialist quotes their own work separately.
Who applies, me or SendPay Business?
You do, in your own name, with the specialist we introduce you to. Their permissions cannot be borrowed and neither can ours.
How can SendPay Business help with registration?
We tell you exactly which registration applies to your platform before you pay, in writing, and introduce a specialist who prepares the application with you. Meanwhile you build, preview and brand the platform so nothing waits on paperwork.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.