United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
Thomas Exchange UK LTD
Legal name in the LEI recordTHOMAS EXCHANGE UK LIMITED
Thomas Exchange UK Limited is a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales, with its head office at 48 Bishopsgate in the City of London. The FCA authorises it as an authorised payment institution (reference 579247). HMRC supervises it as a money service business for money laundering purposes. Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited owns the firm. It sells travel money and buys back foreign banknotes through London branches, supplies banknotes to businesses and makes international payments for personal and business customers.
Licences and registrations
Held by Thomas Exchange UK Limited (LEI 984500CZF485DFC10D74). 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 | 579247 | United Kingdom | Active | 2018-07-02 | — |
|
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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 | XDML00000105651 | United Kingdom | Active | 2002-06-01 | — |
|
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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 | 506899 | United Kingdom | Cancelled - Small PI | — | Ended 2012-09-13 |
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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
- THEXGB22XXX 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 THEXGB22 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
- 2019-12-07
- Last updated
- 2021-03-18
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Ownership
Group subsidiary
100% Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited
Firm type
Bureau de change
Trades as Thomas Exchange (TEFX)
- Ownership
- Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited (Companies House 09727729) holds 75% or more of the shares and voting rights, and the firm's 2025 accounts describe it as a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Direct parent
- Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited, United Kingdom 100%
- Head office
- 48 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AJ London, United Kingdom (registered office: Lawford House, Albert Place, London, England, N3 1QA)
- Company register
- Companies House 04237922
- Incorporated
- 20 Jun 2001
Online
- Websites & references
- tefx.co.uk ↗
thomasexchange.co.uk ↗ website listed for the firm on the FCA register - Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 10 pages consulted
- register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000NMhsCAAT
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04237922
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04237922/officers
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04237922/persons-with-significant-control
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04237922/filing-history
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04237922/filing-history/MzUyNjQyNDY4MmFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
- tefx.co.uk/
- tefx.co.uk/international-payments-terms-and-conditions
- tefx.co.uk/international-payments
- tefx.co.uk/about_us.asp
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an authorised payment institution (reference 579247) for its payment services. HMRC supervises it as a money service business under the Money Laundering Regulations. The FCA register also lists a PSD agent status from 28 June 2024, but the source does not name the principal.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution | 579247 | In its own name | Active | register.fca.org.uk ↗ |
| HM Revenue & Customs United Kingdom | Money Service Business (money remittance, currency exchange) | XDML00000105651 | In its own name | Active | — |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | PSD Agent | — | As agent | Status unconfirmed | register.fca.org.uk ↗ |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Small Payment Institution | 506899 | 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 customer funds in segregated accounts at Lloyds Bank in 15 currencies, which it says protects them if the firm becomes insolvent.
- Safeguarding bank · Settlement bank
- Lloyds Bank United Kingdom
- Settlement bank
- Currency Cloud United Kingdom
- Payment schemes and card networks
- Faster Payments Through a partner tefx.co.uk ↗
CHAPS Through a partner tefx.co.uk ↗
SEPA Credit Transfer Through a partner tefx.co.uk ↗
Swift Through a partner tefx.co.uk ↗
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
The firm sells and buys back banknotes in more than 60 currencies, it says, from London branches and by UK delivery. It also makes international payments to more than 160 countries and supplies banknotes to businesses in volume.
It serves customers in the United Kingdom from London branches and by post, and it sends payments abroad for UK customers.
- Sells to
- Consumers · Small businesses · Enterprises
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Isaac Robert Baroukh Director and Company Secretary
- Executive
- Robert William Lawee Director
- Executive
- Alex Solomon Baroukh Director
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Licence
The FCA register recorded the firm as a PSD agent from 28 June 2024, in addition to its own authorisation.
register.fca.org.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
- THEXGB22XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- THEXBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 22Location · reverse billing
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 984500CZF485DFC10D74
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 579247
- Licence no. · HMRC-MLR
- XDML00000105651
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 506899
- 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
- 9e3bdcc3855e
- Companies House no.
- 04237922 ↗
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)
- www.thomasexchange.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.
Persons with significant control
Companies House · company 04237922 ↗ · as at 9 October 2026
Companies House lists 1 person with significant control for Thomas Exchange UK Limited: 1 company.
| Name | Type | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited ↗ | Company · UK | 75–100% of shares · 75–100% of votes | 12 May 2016 |
| Thomas Exchange Holdings Limited: the company states that no person or legal entity has significant control over it. | |||
Companies report persons with significant control to Companies House. Elucidate has not verified them.
A person with significant control holds more than 25% of the shares or votes, can appoint or remove the board, or has significant influence or control. Dates of birth and addresses are not shown.
Matched on the Companies House number that the FCA register gives for this firm.
See the register at Companies House ↗Addresses
- Registered address
- 48 BISHOPSGATE FLOOR GROUND LONDON EC2N 4AJ UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- 48 BISHOPSGATE FLOOR GROUND LONDON LONDON EC2N 4AJ 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>THEXGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>984500CZF485DFC10D74</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>THEXGB22XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>984500CZF485DFC10D74</LEI>
<Nm>THOMAS EXCHANGE UK LTD</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>48 BISHOPSGATE FLOOR GROUND LONDON EC2N 4AJ</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
- Persons with significant control—Companies House · source ↗ as at 9 October 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: tefx.co.uk (official website) · original.
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