Start with the legal entity, not the brand
Payment firms often trade under a brand that differs from the legal name. Many use a different entity in each region. Wise, for example, serves UK customers through Wise Payments Limited and EU customers through Wise Europe SA.
The entity’s legal name, registration number and regulator are usually given in the footer of its website and in its terms and conditions. Search the register by that number. A name search can return a different entity with a similar name.
Search the register of the country where the service is provided
A firm authorised in one EU or EEA country can provide services in the others under its home licence. This is known as passporting. The home register and the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) register show the countries a firm has passported into.
| Where | Register | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| EU and EEA | EBA payment institutions register | Payment and e-money institutions, account information service providers and their agents, from the national authorities |
| EU and EEA | ESMA interim MiCA register | Crypto-asset service providers authorised under MiCA |
| United Kingdom | FCA Financial Services Register | Authorised and registered payment and e-money institutions, their agents and distributors, and banks |
| United Kingdom | HMRC supervised business register | Money service businesses registered with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision |
| United States | NMLS Consumer Access | State money transmitter licences issued through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System |
| United States | FinCEN MSB Registrant Search | Money services businesses registered with FinCEN for anti-money-laundering purposes |
| Canada | FINTRAC MSB registry | Money services businesses registered with FINTRAC |
| Australia | AUSTRAC Remittance Sector Register | Remittance providers registered with AUSTRAC |
| Singapore | MAS Financial Institutions Directory | Money-changing, standard and major payment institution licences under the Payment Services Act 2019 |
| Hong Kong | HKMA register of SVF licensees | Stored value facility licensees |
Read the status and the permissions
- Status. Authorised or registered, or no longer: cancelled, revoked, withdrawn or lapsed. Some registers keep former entries. Note the date of any change.
- Permissions. The services the entity may provide, such as money remittance, issuing payment instruments, issuing e-money or account information.
- Agent or distributor. A firm can act as the agent of a licensed principal. It then appears under the principal’s entry, without a licence of its own.
- Limits. A registration under a lighter regime, such as a small payment institution, usually caps volumes and does not allow passporting.
A licence is not the same as an AML registration
Register entries differ in what they require of the firm. The directory groups them into three levels.
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Prudential licence | Authorised 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. |
| Small-firm registration | Registered under a lighter regime for small or exempt firms, e.g. a small payment institution or an account-information service provider. |
| AML registration only | Registered with an anti-money-laundering supervisor (FinCEN, FINTRAC, HMRC, AUSTRAC, Hong Kong Customs…) without a prudential licence. |
In the United States, money transmission is licensed by the states. A FinCEN registration is required as well, but it is not a licence.
Check that the contact details match the register
Some fraudsters pose as an authorised firm, using its name and register number with their own website, email or phone number. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls these clone firms. Use the contact details shown on the register and check the regulator’s warning list, such as the FCA Warning List in the UK.
Record what you checked
For a due-diligence file, record the register, the entry’s reference number, the status and permissions shown and the date of the check. Registers change: check again at each periodic review.
Absence is not evidence
A firm that is not found on one register may be licensed by another authority, or under another name. Most banks are licensed by national supervisors. Not finding an entry does not mean that the firm is unregulated.
Search the tracked registers in one place. The directory links each register entry to the institution’s BIC and LEI where they share one.
Search firmsSources
- Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2) and Directive 2009/110/EC (the E-Money Directive). EUR-Lex.
- The registers linked in the table above, as published by each authority.
- Registers tracked by the directory, with the date each was retrieved.
- Directory methodology. Elucidate: how register entries are matched to institutions.
Reviewed 31 October 2026. Standards and registers change: the publisher’s own text is always the authority.