Buying a Bank or an EMI: How the Regulator’s Approval Really Works
Buying a regulated company is not like buying any other company. You can agree the price, sign the contract and transfer the money into…
Category: Insight
Deposit or E-Money? What Happens to Your Money If Your Fintech Fails
Two people open the same app, see the same logo, the same balance, the same card. One has a bank deposit. The other holds…
Bank, EMI or Payment Institution: Which Licence Does Your Fintech Actually Need?
Founders usually ask us “which country?” first. It is the wrong first question. The right one is: what will you do with your clients’…
Revolut Wants to Be Everywhere. Should Your Fintech?
This week, an email from Revolut Business landed in our inbox: “Hire abroad in days, we’ll handle compliance.” Revolut now offers to employ your…
EMI Licence in Europe 2026: Lithuania, Latvia, Ireland, or Buy One?
An electronic money institution (EMI) licence lets you issue e-money, hold client funds, open IBAN accounts, run payments and, with a card scheme membership,…
MiCA: Europe’s Trojan Horse
MiCA was sold as Europe’s answer to crypto: one rulebook, one licence, one market of 450 million people, and a chance to grow European…
Thailand Crypto Exchange Licence 2026: Requirements, Cost and Foreign Ownership
Thailand has regulated crypto businesses since 2018, earlier than almost anyone in Asia. In 2025 it went further. Offshore platforms that target Thai users…
Switzerland’s Fintech Licence Failed. Here Is What Replaces It.
When Switzerland launched the fintech licence in 2019, the idea was elegant: a “banking licence light” for innovative firms that wanted to hold client…
Swiss Crypto Licence 2026: What You Need, What It Costs — and What Changes in 2027
There is no single “Swiss crypto licence”. There is a map: what you can run on an SRO today, what needs a partner or…
Swiss SRO Licence 2026: Requirements, Cost, Timeline — Apply or Buy?
Swiss SRO Licence 2026: Requirements, Cost, Timeline — Apply or Buy? What a Swiss SRO actually is, who needs one, what it really costs,…