Lebanon Money Services Business License

Lebanon Money Changer Business License

Institutions other than banks, financial institutions and financial intermediation institutions

registered with the Banque du Liban (BDL) are prohibited from undertaking exchange operations before obtaining a license from the Banque du Liban, in accordance with the provisions of the Law no. 42/87.

Exchange institutions are divided into two categories:

  1. Category A: those whose objective is the purchase and sale of foreign currencies in exchange for other foreign currencies or Lebanese pounds, whether as banknotes or coins, as well as the purchase and sale of metal coins and ingots, transfer transactions, checks, and traveler’s checks.
  2. Category B: those whose objective is the purchase and sale of foreign currencies in exchange for other foreign currencies or Lebanese pounds, as well as the purchase and sale of metal coins, gold bullions weighing less than 1000 grammes, and traveler’s checks, within a ceiling specified by the Banque du Liban.

Legal Requirements

Sr.

No

 Element Requirement(s)
Entity Requirements The Exchange institutions may be established in Lebanon in the form of sole proprietorships or

companies, provided their activities are restricted to exchange operations.

In an exchange institution established as a partnership, or as a limited liability company,

two thirds at least of the partners’ shares must be owned by Lebanese persons

Exchange institutions in the form of sole proprietorships can only be established by

Lebanese natural persons
Director’s Requirements The licensee will need at least 2 (two) natural person Fit and Proper Directors of any jurisdiction.
Shareholder requirements
  • The Exchange Institution Business will need at least two shareholder.
Compliance Officer The Licensee must establish and maintain an appropriate and effective compliance function within the firm which operates independently of all operational and business line functions and senior or supervisory management.
Local Office The applicant must have premises acceptable to the BDL. 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 The licensee shall appoint annually an auditor who shall be a chartered accountant, a certified public accountant or some other professionally qualified accountant, satisfactory to the Authority.
Insurance The applicant will need to have indemnity insurance coverage or a fidelity bond acceptable to the Monetary Authority.
Minimum Capital Requirements According to the categories specified in Article 3 of this Law, the required capital of an

exchange institution is set as follows

  1. Category A: two hundred fifty million Lebanese pounds.
  2. Category B: one hundred million Lebanese pounds

When opening a new branch, an exchange institution must increase its capital by an amount that is, at least, equivalent to the minimum required capital.

Ongoing Obligations

  1. Filing of Audited Accounts: A licensee shall forward the audited financial statements to the BDL, unless prior written approval for an extension has been granted by the Bank of Lebanon.
  2. The Licensee must maintain appropriate policies of insurance for the purpose of indemnifying such licensee against any liability that may be incurred as a result of any act or omission by the licensee or any of its officers or employees in the conduct of the licensee’s exchange business.

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
    4. Intellectual Property Registrations and Maintenance.
    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