MiFid, PSD2 and other directives make it difficult, if not impossible, for financial services providers in Europe to do their daily business in the midst of regulatory madness.
A wave of emigration of European licensed companies across all financial sectors has set in from Portugal to Estonia, from Malta and Cyprus to the far North of Finland; not in the direction of the Caribbean or the South Pacific but in the oil and gas rich Kazakhstan.
Barely observable European regulations, the systematic dismantling of the fintech industry (fueled by PSD2 and the arbitrariness of commercial banks to bring this industry to a standstill), an unprecedented level of compliance and insurmountable hurdles in the payment and processing sectors to master the daily business have triggered a true exodus since 2018.
The much-discussed transparency in the financial market and the connection to international standards as well as the inclusion of the fintech market in the system of European payment providers alongside the commercial banks should make the new PSD2 guideline a success.
However, the advertised strengthening of competitiveness has only been successful for banks; More than ever, they are systematically erasing the fintech industry, capping vital payment facilities for new industries, closing accounts, solving credit card acceptance agreements or ending co-branded debit card programs for their former customers, payment service providers and electronic money issuers The European Union. Fintech companies are also no longer able to officially offer SEPA payment for non-EU companies and are forced to settle business relationships with non-European contractors.
It is hardly surprising that the fintech industry is reorienting itself – out of the European overregulation madness – into jurisdictions offering a simpler regulatory regime, a functioning banking infrastructure and comprehensible compliance requirements to their newcomers to the financial licensing market.
Even more dramatic than in payment processing are changes for the crypto industry. ICO launches, crypto exchange projects or trading with securities tokens are hardly feasible or licensable in Europe.
The forex industry, mainly based in Cyprus and Malta, is already looking for years for “outsourcing” of business units to non-EU companies. Georgia and Kazakhstan are and were the bestsellers; the European license degenerates itself to an empty shell, which calms down only the investor and trader by a regulation number on the initiator”s web page and creates trust. But the providers earning their money already in the Middle East or in the Caucasus.
Pameroy Management Ltd, which has been the licensing leader in the German and English speaking markets for 16 years, is well acquainted with European issues and customer challenges – over the past decade, the company has relocated hundreds of Forex, Fintech and Crypto providers in other countries around the world to be able to continue offering services to the same clientele under other conditions online.
New cooperation alliances with experts in Moscow, Astana and Tbilisi have given new impetus to the struggling, overregulated financial sector in Europe and enable to continue under a more regulation-friendly regime.
Especially in Kazakhstan, where ministry work is fully digitized, start-up companies can be set-up remotely and bank accounts can be easily established at major international banks, PAMEROY and BL Corporate Services consultants currently have their hands full.
The recognition of Europe’s heavily regulated activities (crypto activity, forex and securities dealing and payment processing) by the relevant supervisory authorities in Kazakhstan does not require minimum capitalization or securities deposits and can be implemented within a few days with the right legal support.
The establishment of a financial services provider including accreditation of the National Bank in Kazakhstan also requires no high set-up and start-up costs and is easy to handle for almost all providers financially.
A general processing time of about 6-8 weeks (including company formation, multi-currency account openings, financial provider registration and National Bank accreditation) also guarantees a fast start and the slow mills of Europe, with up to 1.5 years waiting time until licenses are granted, are quickly forgotten and displaced.
In addition, PAMEROY and BL Corporate Services Ltd will be able to establish and set up debit card programs (China Union Pay), SWIFT and LEI code applications, etc. for new Kazakhstan setups.
At www.weltweite-finanzlizenz.com and www.onshore-financial-license.com , all content is available either in German or English. Skype support and licensing team assistance is also provided daily for customers in German, English, Russian, Dutch and Mandarin via Business skype on: financiallicenses