United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Optimal Currency LTD
Legal name in the LEI recordOPTIMAL CURRENCY LIMITED
Optimal Currency Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales, with its office in Thame, Oxfordshire. The FCA authorises it as an Authorised Payment Institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, with Firm Reference Number 830790. Its directors David Worthington and Charlotte Worthington hold its shares, according to Companies House. Through dedicated brokers, it offers currency exchange and international payments to personal and business clients. The firm also places some clients with partner payment institutions, including Ebury Partners UK Limited, Equals Money Plc, GC Partners and Sciopay Ltd.
Licences and registrations
Held by Optimal Currency Limited (LEI 984500E981B17M94BC09). 1 entry on 1 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 830790 | United Kingdom | Active | 2019-08-21 | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
- Licences belong to the legal entity, not to a BIC.
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
- The register entries and their trading names were not matched against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- OPCUGB22XXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Reverse billingThe institution is connected to Swift. Messages sent to it are billed to the institution, not to the sender. The “2” in the eighth character of OPCUGB22 marks reverse billing.
- Swift GPI
- Not on the member list
- Payment schemes and systems
- No entry in the EPC registers, the ECB T2 and TIPS lists or the SIX Bank Master cites this BIC
- Branch codes
- None: head-office BIC only
- BIC first registered
- 2024-10-05
- Last updated
- 2024-10-05
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Ownership
Privately held
Firm type
FX and business payments
Trades as Optimal Currency
- Ownership
- David Worthington holds more than 50% but less than 75% of the shares and Charlotte Jane Worthington holds more than 25% but not more than 50%, according to Companies House.
- Major shareholders
- David Worthington
Charlotte Jane Worthington - Head office
- 13 Upper High Street, OX9 3ER Thame, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 11627191
- Incorporated
- 17 Oct 2018
- Founders
- David Worthington · Charlotte Worthington · Robert Ingleby
Online
- Websites & references
- optimalcurrency.co.uk ↗
portal.optimalcurrency.co.uk ↗ client login portal
new.optimalcurrency.co.uk ↗ online account opening - Official social accounts
- LinkedIn ↗ · Facebook ↗ · Instagram ↗
Sources · 10 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11627191
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11627191/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11627191/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11627191/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11627191/filing-history/MzQ4MjE3MjkyOWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=xhtml&download=1
- optimalcurrency.co.uk/
- optimalcurrency.co.uk/regulatory/
- optimalcurrency.co.uk/contact/
- optimalcurrency.co.uk/about-us/
- optimalcurrency.co.uk/terms-conditions/
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Several models
- Licensed firm it operates under
- Ebury Partners UK Limited, United Kingdom Provides payment and foreign exchange services to clients whom the firm places with it
The FCA authorises the firm as an Authorised Payment Institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and supervises it under the Money Laundering Regulations. The firm says it registers clients under its own authorisation where possible. It places some clients with Ebury Partners UK Limited, Equals Money Plc, Global Currency Exchange Network Ltd (GC Partners) or Sciopay Ltd, which then provide the services. According to the firm, its forward contracts fall outside the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and are not regulated.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 830790 | In its own name | Active | optimalcurrency.co.uk ↗ |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Partners and safeguarding
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Safeguarding
- Segregated safeguarding accountsThe firm states that it keeps relevant funds from its payment services in a segregated account held by Banking Circle. According to the firm, this protection does not extend to its unregulated foreign exchange services or to forward-contract margin deposits.
- Safeguarding bank
- Banking Circle
Banks and regulated firms the firm says hold its customers’ money, issue its cards, sponsor its accounts or settle its payments, as it discloses them in its terms and notices.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
It offers spot trades and forward contracts for international payments, assigning each client a dedicated broker. Its clients include individuals buying property overseas or emigrating and businesses paying suppliers abroad.
The firm serves UK-based personal and business clients under its FCA authorisation. It sends payments to destinations abroad.
- Sells to
- Consumers · Small businesses
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Chief executive
-
David Worthington
Managing Director
- Compliance / MLRO
-
Charlotte Worthington
Head of Compliance
- Compliance / MLRO
-
Robert Ingleby
Money Laundering Reporting Officer
- Executive
- Ian James Taylor Director
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Other
The firm moved its registered office from Market House, Aylesbury to 13 Upper High Street, Thame on 11 September 2025.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Identifiers
Head-office record
- BIC
- OPCUGB22XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- OPCUBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 22Location · reverse billing
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 984500E981B17M94BC09
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 830790
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entry: Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives.
- Register-entry ID
- 5f4ae6ff6302
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-moneyPayment institutions, e-money and stored-value issuers, and account-information providers. Licensed under payment-services law (e.g. PSD2 in the EU and UK, the Payment Services Act in Singapore). Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Register licences
- 1 entry on 1 register
- Activities
- Payment services
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Website (register)
- www.optimalcurrency.co.uk ↗
- Country · region
- United Kingdom · Europe & Central Asia
- Trading venues (MIC)
- No MIC registered under this LEI list of 2026-09-17
- OFAC sanctions
- No listing cites this BIC
- EU sanctions
- No listing matched this BIC or its LEI
- Country sanctions
- No country programme
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
GLEIF’s relationship records name no parent for this LEI, and no group page is published for it.
Addresses
- Registered address
- 4 MARKET HOUSE MARKET SQUARE FLOOR 2ND AYLESBURY HP20 1TN UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- 4 MARKET HOUSE MARKET SQUARE FLOOR 2ND AYLESBURY AYLESBURY HP20 1TN UNITED KINGDOM
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
A CBPR+ message identifies this institution by its BIC, and may add its LEI or a clearing code. CBPR+ does not allow a name and postal address next to a BIC.
- Identified by
- BIC, with its LEI
- Roles in CBPR+
- Any agent, including the instructing and instructed agents
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>OPCUGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>984500E981B17M94BC09</LEI>
</FinInstnId>Full record
Every ISO 20022 element the directory holds. Base ISO 20022 allows them together. CBPR+ does not allow a name and address next to a BIC
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>OPCUGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>984500E981B17M94BC09</LEI>
<Nm>OPTIMAL CURRENCY LTD</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>AYLESBURY</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>4 MARKET HOUSE MARKET SQUARE FLOOR 2ND AYLESBURY HP20 1TN</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>The BIC, name and address are as published in Swift’s BIC directory. The LEI comes from the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI file. Check them against your own records before use.
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Sources & method
Every value comes from a public source, such as Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory, GLEIF or the OFAC and EU sanctions lists. Most sources are matched on a BIC or an LEI, not on a name.
Swift GPI membership is matched on names and is indicative. A missing sanctions match does not mean that no listing applies. Always screen against the official lists.
Register entries are not screened against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Credits for this page
- FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPs—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
- Images—logos and photos from Wikimedia Commons (credited with their author and licence) or from the institution's own website, where Wikimedia has none. Elucidate keeps a copy of each; the links lead to the source and the original image. Logo: optimalcurrency.co.uk (official website) · original; David Worthington: optimalcurrency.co.uk (official website) · original; Charlotte Worthington: optimalcurrency.co.uk (official website) · original; Robert Ingleby: optimalcurrency.co.uk (official website) · original.
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