United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Photon Dance Fintech UK Limited
Photon Dance Fintech UK Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales, with its office in London. The FCA authorises it as an authorised payment institution under firm reference number 801082. It trades as PhotonPay, a brand the PhotonPay Group uses across its entities in Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, Poland and other markets. Companies House names Min Chen as holding 75% or more of its shares, and the firm was called Silk Road Financial Ltd until December 2023.
Licences and registrations
Held by Photon Dance Fintech UK Limited (LEI 213800QABNLB2PWW2W74). 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 | 801082 | United Kingdom | Active | 2018-08-02 | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
Trading names on the register: PhotonPay UK (FCA-PSD)
- 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.
Other register entries with this LEI
Shown for reference: they share the LEI but are not merged into this page
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- PHDFGB22XXX 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 PHDFGB22 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
- 2025-02-01
- Last updated
- 2025-02-01
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Ownership
Privately held
Firm type
FX and business payments
Trades as PhotonPay
- Standing
- The firm was renamed from Silk Road Financial Ltd on 28 December 2023. This followed a change of director and person with significant control on 15 December 2023.
- Ownership
- Companies House records Min Chen as the sole person with significant control since 15 December 2023, holding 75% or more of the shares and voting rights.
- Major shareholder
- Min Chen 75% · 15 Dec 2023
- Head office
- 1st Floor Front, 36 Gerrard Street, W1D 5QA London, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 09833045
- Incorporated
- 20 Oct 2015
- Founder
- Lewison Chen
- Former name
- SILK ROAD FINANCIAL LTD
Online
- Websites & references
- photonpay.com ↗
api-doc.photonpay.com ↗ developer documentation (group)
photonpay.com/en/regulatory-information ↗ group regulatory information page - Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 14 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09833045
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09833045/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09833045/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09833045/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09833045/filing-history/MzQ3NTAxMzgwNWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
- register.fca.org.uk/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015b0000006CXC7
- photonpay.com/uk
- photonpay.com/uk/licenses
- photonpay.com/uk/about-us
- photonpay.com/uk/agreement
- photonpay.com/uk/news/article/photonpay-long-term-growth
- photonpay.com/hk/news/article/photonpay-expands-uk-local-payment-rails-via-new-collaboration-with-clear
- photonpay.com/uk/news/article/photonpay-raises-tens-of-millions-in-series-b-to-pioneer-stablecoin-centr
- pymnts.com/newswire-announcements/stablecoin-centric-infrastructure-photonpay-secures-tens-of-millio
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an authorised payment institution (FRN 801082). The firm states that this authorisation covers only its own UK payment services and that other PhotonPay products may come from group entities.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 801082 | In its own name | Active | photonpay.com ↗ |
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
- Not disclosedThe PhotonPay website states that customer funds are kept in reserve accounts with international clearing banks, but it does not name the UK firm's safeguarding bank.
- Settlement bank
- ClearBank United Kingdom
- Payment schemes and card networks
- Faster Payments Through a partner photonpay.com ↗
Bacs Through a partner photonpay.com ↗
CHAPS Through a partner photonpay.com ↗
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
On its UK site, PhotonPay offers businesses multi-currency accounts, payouts, currency conversion, online payments and corporate cards. It states that some of these products are provided by other PhotonPay Group entities, outside the UK firm's FCA authorisation.
The firm provides payment services in the United Kingdom under its FCA authorisation. It states that it does not provide crypto-asset services.
- Payment volume
- USD 30bnannualised processing volume, as stated by PhotonPay
- Sells to
- Small businesses · Enterprises · Platforms and marketplaces
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
- Latest funding round
- Series B Jan 2026Led by IDG Capital
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Min Chen Director
- Executive
- Shuoguang Wang Director
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Other
PhotonPay announced a collaboration with ClearBank giving its customers indirect access to Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS, plus named GBP virtual accounts.
photonpay.com ↗ -
Funding
The PhotonPay Group announced a Series B round of tens of millions of USD, led by IDG Capital.
photonpay.com ↗ -
Other
The firm allotted shares on 1 July 2025, and its filed statement of capital showed GBP 500,000 afterwards.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Other
The firm changed its name from Silk Road Financial Ltd to Photon Dance Fintech UK Limited on 28 December 2023.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Merger / acquisition
Min Chen replaced Shuoguang Wang as the person with significant control on 15 December 2023, holding 75% or more of the shares.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Min Chen as a director on 15 December 2023.
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
- PHDFGB22XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- PHDFBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 22Location · reverse billing
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 213800QABNLB2PWW2W74
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 801082
- 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
- 2d8749771ffc
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
- 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
- OFFICE 4.29 1 CORNHILL LONDON EC3V 3ND UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- OFFICE 4.29 1 CORNHILL LONDON LONDON EC3V 3ND 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>PHDFGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800QABNLB2PWW2W74</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>PHDFGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800QABNLB2PWW2W74</LEI>
<Nm>PHOTON DANCE FINTECH UK LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>OFFICE 4.29 1 CORNHILL LONDON EC3V 3ND</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.
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