United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Swapforex Limited
Swapforex Limited is a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales in January 2011, with its office in London. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorises it as an authorised payment institution (reference 920921). HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) supervises it as a money service business for money remittance and currency exchange. Companies House records Steven Barker as its person with significant control, holding 75% or more of the shares. Its accounts for the period to 31 December 2024 state that a group has acquired the company and that all its sales were to a related party under common control.
Licences and registrations
Held by Swapforex Limited (LEI 213800UI2HP3QOZIDO48). 3 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 - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 920921 | United Kingdom | Active | 2020-12-22 | — |
|
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| HMRC MLR Supervised Business RegisterHMRCLinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Money Service BusinessMoney Transmitter / Remittance | XWML00000187443 | United Kingdom | Active | 2023-04-01 | — |
|
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| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Small Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 575102 | United Kingdom | Cancelled - Small PI | — | Ended 2020-12-22 |
|
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Trading names on the register: Certios (FCA-PSD, HMRC-MLR)
- 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
- CTOSGB22XXX 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 CTOSGB22 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
- 2024-06-01
- Last updated
- 2025-11-29
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Ownership
Privately held
Firm type
FX and business payments
- Standing
- The FCA cancelled the firm's small payment institution registration (reference 575102) on 22 December 2020. On the same date it authorised the firm as an authorised payment institution (reference 920921).
- Ownership
- Companies House records Steven Barker as the only person with significant control, holding 75% or more of the shares and voting rights and the right to appoint or remove directors.
- Major shareholder
- Steven Barker
- Head office
- Henry Wood House, 4-5 Langham Place, W1B 3DG London, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 07481403
- Incorporated
- 4 Jan 2011
Sources · 7 pages consulted
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07481403
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07481403/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07481403/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07481403/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07481403/filing-history/MzQ4NDAxMDU3M2FkaXF6a2N4/document?format=xhtml&download=1
- register.fca.org.uk/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015b0000006CXC7
- certios.com/
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an authorised payment institution (reference 920921). HMRC supervises it under the Money Laundering Regulations as a money service business (XWML00000187443).
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 920921 | In its own name | Active | — |
| HM Revenue & Customs United Kingdom | Money Service Business (money remittance, currency exchange) | XWML00000187443 | In its own name | Active | — |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Small Payment Institution | 575102 | 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.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
The HMRC register lists money remittance and currency exchange as its supervised activities. The firm publishes no product or corridor information that could be confirmed.
It is authorised in the United Kingdom. No information on the countries it serves was found in its own publications.
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Steven John Barker Director
- Executive
- Jeremy Gifford Pearce Director
- Executive
- Gregory Finbarr Vincent Director
- Executive
- Babak Motavalli Director
- Executive
- Frederick Richard Leadsom Director
- Executive
- Dominic Richard John Burton Company Secretary
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Leadership
The firm appointed Frederick Richard Leadsom as a director on 6 August 2026, after he stepped down as company secretary in July 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Babak Motavalli as a director and Dominic Richard John Burton as company secretary on 20 July 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Gregory Finbarr Vincent as a director on 3 July 2024.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Merger / acquisition
Shareholders disapplied articles 47 and 48 for a transaction on 21 February 2024. The firm appointed Jeremy Gifford Pearce as a director the same day.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Other
Companies House discontinued compulsory strike-off action against the firm in September 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
- CTOSGB22XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- CTOSBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 22Location · reverse billing
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 213800UI2HP3QOZIDO48
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 920921
- Licence no. · HMRC-MLR
- XWML00000187443
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 575102
- 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
- 64c326774d6b
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-money · Money service businessPayment 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
- 3 entries on 2 registers
- Activities
- Payment services
- Money remittance
- Currency exchange
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Website (register)
- certios.com ↗
- 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
- HENRY WOOD HOUSE OFFICE 2.04 FLOOR 2 3-5 LANGHAM PLACE LONDON W1B 3DG UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- HENRY WOOD HOUSE OFFICE 2.04 FLOOR 2 3-5 LANGHAM PLACE LONDON LONDON W1B 3DG 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>CTOSGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800UI2HP3QOZIDO48</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>CTOSGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>213800UI2HP3QOZIDO48</LEI>
<Nm>SWAPFOREX LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>HENRY WOOD HOUSE OFFICE 2.04 FLOOR 2 3-5 LANGHAM PLACE LONDON W1B 3DG</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
- HMRC MLR Supervised Business Register—HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) · register ↗ as at 24 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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