Currency exchange
Buying and selling foreign currency for customers, in cash or electronically, needs a money transmitter / money services business (MSB) licence, a PI licence or a banking licence, under FATF Recommendation 14. A pure bureau de change in Europe usually only needs national registration; FX tied to a payment account needs a full PI authorisation.
Definition
Buying and selling foreign currency for customers, in cash or electronically, as a bureau de change or FX service.
- FATF, Recommendation 14: money or value transfer services: official text
Which licence you need
Licence families that typically permit this activity:
- MSB · Australia
Registration as a remittance service provider
Registration as a remittance service provider (remittance network provider or independent remittance dealer)AUSTRAC
- MSB · British Virgin Islands
Money Services Business Licence, Class A or Class B
Money Services Business Licence, Class A (money/electronic/mobile money transmission) or Class B (money orders, traveller's cheques, cheque cashing, currency exchange)BVI FSC
- MSB · Canada
Money services business (MSB) registration
Money services business (MSB) registration (covers foreign exchange dealing, money transferring, virtual currency dealing, crowdfunding platforms and related services; a separate foreign-MSB registration applies to businesses without a place of business in Canada that direct services at Canadians)FINTRAC
- MSB · Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Money transmitter licence
Financial Services Permission for Providing Money Services restricted to Money Transmission only (Category 4)DFSA
- MSB · Netherlands
Exchange institution licence
Exchange institution licence (Vergunning wisselinstelling)DNB
- MSB · United States
Registration of Money Services Business (Form 107 / RMSB)
FinCEN
Where it can be licensed
Frequently asked questions
Does a physical bureau de change need a full payment institution licence?
Not usually. Immediate over-the-counter cash exchange, with no payment account involved, sits outside PSD2. The operator still needs a national bureau de change registration and has to run full anti-money-laundering identification on its customers.
When does online currency exchange trigger payment licensing?
It does, once the currency is received, held on account or wired on to a third party. At that point the service becomes payment execution or money remittance, which needs a full PI, EMI or banking authorisation under the European payment directives.
Sources
- FATF Recommendation 14: money or value transfer services · retrieved 2026-09-24
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