United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Prepaid Financial Services Limited
Prepaid Financial Services Limited (PFS) is a private limited company based in London. The FCA authorises it as an electronic money institution under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, with firm reference number 900036. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASX-listed EML Payments Limited, which acquired the PFS group in 2020. It holds the shares through Prepaid Financial Services (Ireland) Limited. PFS issues prepaid Mastercard cards, e-money accounts and wallets in the UK, mainly to local authorities, corporates, SMEs, fintech firms and NGOs that distribute them to cardholders.
Licences and registrations
Held by Prepaid Financial Services Limited (LEI 213800RZSDK2H99RLB55). 2 entries on 2 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA Financial Services Register - E-Money InstitutionsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised E-Money InstitutionE-Money / Stored Value Institution | 900036 | United Kingdom | Active | — | — |
|
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| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 554603 | United Kingdom | Cancelled - Authorised PI (Former 3MLD) | — | Ended 2012-07-17 |
|
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- 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
- PRFVGB2LXXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Connected to SwiftThis BIC is registered as a live address on the Swift network. The institution sends and receives Swift messages under PRFVGB2L directly.
- 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
- 2020-02-15
- Last updated
- 2023-11-26
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Ownership
Group subsidiary
100% Prepaid Financial Services (Ireland) Limited
Firm type
E-money and accounts
Trades as PFS
- Ownership
- EML Payments Limited owns 100% of the firm through Prepaid Financial Services (Ireland) Limited.
- Direct parent
- Prepaid Financial Services (Ireland) Limited, Ireland 100%
- Ultimate owner
- EML Payments Limited, Australia
- Head office
- 4th Floor, 35 Great St Helen's, EC3A 6AP London, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 06337638
- Incorporated
- 8 Aug 2007
Online
- Websites & references
- prepaidfinancialservices.com ↗
- Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 15 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06337638
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06337638/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06337638/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06337638/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06337638/filing-history/MzQ4Nzg2NzIzN2FkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
- prepaidfinancialservices.com/
- prepaidfinancialservices.com/terms-conditions/
- prepaidfinancialservices.com/pfs-safeguarding/
- prepaidfinancialservices.com/privacy-information-notice
- emlpayments-stagingcms.bla.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2924-02798843-2A1519230.pdf
- edisongroup.com/research/growth-cap-lifted-in-the-uk/33514/
- edisongroup.com/research/cutting-the-final-link-to-pfs-vendors/33458/
- onthewight.com/isle-of-wight-personal-assistants-left-unpaid-due-to-direct-payments-system-outage/
- wecil.org.uk/national-pfs-system-failure-leaves-thousands-of-disabled-people-without-acceess-to-their/
- disabilitynewsservice.com/payments-companys-tech-failure-leaves-thousands-of-disabled-people-struggling-to-pay-thei
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an electronic money institution under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (firm reference number 900036) to issue e-money and provide payment services. It issues its prepaid cards itself under a licence from Mastercard.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised E-Money Institution | 900036 | In its own name | Active | register.fca.org.uk ↗ |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution (cancelled 17 July 2012) | 554603 | In its own name | Withdrawn or expired | — |
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 holds customers' relevant funds in segregated safeguarded accounts at Barclays Bank PLC and the Bank of England, separate from its own funds.
- Safeguarding bank
- Barclays Bank PLC United Kingdom
- Safeguarding bank
- Bank of England United Kingdom
- Payment schemes and card networks
- Faster Payments Direct find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗
Mastercard Direct prepaidfinancialservices.com ↗
SEPA Credit Transfer Through a partner prepaidfinancialservices.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
It issues physical and virtual prepaid Mastercard cards, e-money accounts and wallets for uses such as local authority direct payments, expenses, payroll, insurance payouts and rewards.
According to its FY2025 accounts, it operates mainly as a prepaid payment service provider throughout the UK.
- Revenue
- GBP 34.6m
- Payment volume
- GBP 2.2bnamount processed in 2023, as stated on the firm's homepage
- Sells to
- Public sector · Enterprises · Small businesses · Platforms and marketplaces · Consumers · Other
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Michael James Brennan Director
- Executive
- Adam Rhys Olding Director
- Executive
- James Edward Hargreave Fay Director
- Executive
- Philip John Emery Director
- Executive
- Anushka Helene Denning Company Secretary
Recent events 1 enforcement or investigation item
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Leadership
Philip John Emery became a director on 3 August 2026. Lorraine Buhagiar resigned as a director on 14 August 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
James Fay became a director on 19 March 2026. Joseph Jerry Liow Yune Loy resigned as a director on 28 April 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Incident
On 14 July 2025 the firm moved card programmes to its in-house processor Trace, disrupting prepaid cards used by UK councils for direct payments.
onthewight.com ↗ -
Leadership
Adam Olding became a director on 2 April 2025 and Michael Brennan on 30 April 2025. Manoj Kheerbat resigned on 29 April 2025.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Licence
On 23 April 2024 the FCA lifted the voluntary requirement, agreed in October 2022, that had stopped the firm onboarding new customers, agents and distributors.
emlpayments-stagingcms.bla.bio ↗ -
Other
EML Payments agreed to settle the remaining deferred consideration for its 2020 acquisition of the PFS group for GBP 15.0 million.
edisongroup.com ↗ -
Other
The Irish sister company PFS Card Services (Ireland) Limited left the group on 17 January 2024 after going into liquidation.
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
- PRFVGB2LXXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- PRFVBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 2LLocation
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 213800RZSDK2H99RLB55
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-EMI
- 900036
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 554603
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entries: Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives.
- Register-entry ID
- c1877f2bb7f5
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
- 2 entries on 2 registers
- Activities
- Payment services
- E-money / stored value
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Website (register)
- prepaidfinancialservices.com/en ↗
- 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
- Ultimate parent
- Eml Payments Limited · Australia875500XQSV9MFXDDCD17 ↗
Group membership follows the accounting-consolidation relationships reported to GLEIF. It does not show ownership shares or control.
Addresses
- Registered address
- 35 GREAT ST. HELEN'S FLOOR 4 LONDON EC3A 6AP UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- 35 GREAT ST. HELEN'S FLOOR 4 LONDON LONDON EC3A 6AP 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>PRFVGB2LXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800RZSDK2H99RLB55</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>PRFVGB2LXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800RZSDK2H99RLB55</LEI>
<Nm>PREPAID FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>35 GREAT ST. HELEN'S FLOOR 4 LONDON EC3A 6AP</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 - E-Money Institutions—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPs—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Ownership and group—GLEIF Level 2 relationship records (accounting consolidation), matched by LEI.
- 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: prepaidfinancialservices.com (official website) · original.
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