About
Counsel to regulated finance.
Licences obtained and compliance run for payment, e-money, money transmission, crypto, lending, insurance and investment firms in more than 65 jurisdictions.
Who we are
Regulatory Counsel
Regulatory Counsel obtains licences for firms that move, hold, lend, insure and invest money, then runs the compliance that keeps them authorised. Our practitioners have taken more than 200 licence and registration applications through regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
We act for payment institutions, e-money institutions, money transmitters and MSBs, crypto and stablecoin firms, banks, lenders, insurers, MGAs and brokers, mortgage firms and investment and wealth firms.
Every engagement is led by senior practitioners from the first assessment to approval. Every enquiry is answered the same business day, and the scope, timeline and fees are set out in writing before any work begins.
What we do
Practice areas
Licensing and authorisation
EMI, payment institution, money transmitter, MSB, cryptoasset, banking, consumer credit, insurance, mortgage and investment licences, from the first assessment to approval.
Compliance after approval
Compliance monitoring, regulatory reporting, safeguarding, AML and financial crime, Consumer Duty and board reporting for authorised firms.
Regulator matters and transactions
Information requests, skilled person reviews, remediation, variations of permission and changes of control on acquisitions.
Coverage
Jurisdictions
FinCEN · State regulators · NMLS
United States
FCA · PRA · HMRC
United Kingdom
Central banks and financial regulators
European Union
FINTRAC · Bank of Canada
Canada
AUSTRAC · ASIC
Australia
CBUAE · VARA · DFSA
Middle East
MAS
Singapore
C&ED · SFC · HKMA
Hong Kong
Worldwide
65+ jurisdictions
How we work
A licence is a firm’s most valuable asset. We treat it accordingly.
Firms with sound safeguarding, financial crime and governance frameworks are approved sooner, keep their banking and card scheme relationships and register in new markets with fewer questions.
The right licence, in the right market
Which licence, which jurisdiction and which structure the regulator will accept, settled before drafting begins: small or full authorisation, agent or principal, one market or a programme across several.
An application the regulator approves
Business plan, projections, governance, safeguarding, AML framework and the key people each regulator expects, prepared to the standard its case officers apply, with every question answered by the same senior team.
Compliance for the life of the licence
Monitoring, regulatory returns, safeguarding audits, independent AML reviews, variations of permission and new market registrations, run on a fixed calendar after approval.
Speak to a licensing expert
Every enquiry is answered the same business day, with a written proposal.
Contact us