Antigua and Barbuda Money Service Business License_Guideline

Antigua and Barbuda Money Service Business License

The Financial Services Regulatory Commission (“the Commission”) is authorized to licence and regulate money services businesses within the state of Antigua. No person (legal or natural) is authorized to conduct money services business in Antigua and Barbuda without a license granted by the Commission pursuant to the requirements of the Act.

Money Services Business means:

  1. The business of providing as a primary service any of the following:
  2. Transmission of money or monetary value in any form
  3. Cheque cashing
  4. Currency exchange
  5. The issuance, sale and Redemption of Payment Instruments
  6. Any other services the Minister may specify by Notice published in the gazette
  7. The business of operating as an agent or franchise holder of any of the business mentioned in (a).

Legal Requirements

Sr.

No

 Element Requirement(s)
Entity Requirements The entity making the application is an Antigua and Barbuda n company under the Companies Act (Cap C.65).

Company includes:

  1. A company,
  2. Limited partnerships,
  3. Unit trust or

Other business entity, which is incorporated, registered or otherwise established under the laws of a member territory of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
Director’s Requirements The licensee will need at least 2 (two) natural person Fit and Proper Directors of any jurisdiction.
Shareholder requirements
  • The Money Service business license will need at least one shareholder.
  • Corporate shareholding is allowed and 100% foreign ownership is permitted.
Compliance Officer The management should ensure that the licensee appoints a compliance officer to ensure compliance with applicable laws and with the internal policies of the licensee by its employees, agents, and other contractors.
Antigua and Barbuda Office A licence granted under this Act authorizes the licensee to carry on money services business in Antigua and Barbuda at the place of business designated in the licence and at such other place as the Authority may authorise in writing.

The applicant must have premises acceptable to the Commission. The premises should be able to facilitate confidential interaction between the applicant and its clients, and provide for safe and confidential storage of documents.
Auditor A licensee shall appoint annually an auditor who must be a chartered accountant, a certified public accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern Caribbean or some other professionally qualified accountant, satisfactory to the Authority.
Insurance The applicant must have indemnity insurance coverage or a fidelity bond acceptable to the Commission.
Minimum Capital Requirements A licensee shall maintain adequate capital in such form and based on such formula as the Minister may by regulations prescribe.

Every licensee shall make a statutory deposit of a portion of the prescribed capital with the Authority to be held in trust in an interest bearing account with a bank or other financial institution approved by the Authority for the benefit of holders of outstanding payment instruments, in the event that that licensee becomes bankrupt or for any other reason is unable to meet its contractual obligations to its customers.

Ongoing Requirements

  1. A licensee shall, within 3 months of the end of every financial year, forward to the Authority the audited financial statements referred to in subsection (1) unless prior written approval for an extension has been granted by the Authority.
  2. Maintenance of—

    1. adequate reserves and other capital resources in amounts which may be prescribed by the Minister,
    2. adequate assets in liquid form in amounts which may be prescribed by the Minister,
    3. a system for managing and containing risks to the net worth of the licensee’s business and risks to its net income, whether arising from fluctuations in interest or exchange rates or from other factors,
    4. the requisite accounting records,
    5. systems of internal control and record keeping, and
    6. systems for inspection and report;

About Valsen Fiduciaries

Valsen Fiduciaries is a licensed independent global service provider of a broad range of fiduciary, administrative, legal, corporate secretarial and support services.

    1. Company formations and Administration
    2. Assistance with Bank Account opening
    3. Collective Investment Setup and Administration
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    5. Trusts and Foundations setup and administration
    6. Online Payment Gateway Solutions
    7. Banking Licenses and PSP, E-Money, E- Wallet Licenses
    8. Yacht and aircraft registrations.
    9. Cryptocurrency Solutions (ICO, STO, Crypto Exchanges etc)

The Valsen Advantage

  • We will advise you on the optimal legal structure for your requirements, size, expectations and circumstances. We have extensive knowledge of a wide range of securities dealer licenses in all major jurisdictions.
  • Valsen will assist to complete every form for each process in the best way we know how (Based on our many years’ experience with various regulators and service providers across the world)
  • We are very hands on in the post filing period checking with re regulator and service providers and updating you regularly. Any queries raised by the regulators and service providers during processing will be quickly synthesized by us and we shall craft the right responses to move the process forward fast.
  • We have a full in-house compliance support for all compliance requirements with the regulator and service providers

Our Contact Details

Please visit us on: www.offshorelicense-regulatory.com , www.valsen-corporate.com

OR Contact us on:

  • Tel: +248 4321018
  • WhatsApp: +248 2525217
  • Skype: vf-international.com
  • Email: [email protected]

Telephone:

+248 252 5217

[email protected]

vf-international.com