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PERG 15.4 Small payment institutions, agents and exempt bodies

Q26. What criteria must we meet to be a "small payment institution"?

The conditions are set out in regulation 13 and include the following:

  • the average of the preceding 12 months' total amount of payment transactions executed by you, including your agents in the UK, does not exceed 3 million euros (or an equivalent amount) per month;
  • none of the individuals responsible for the management or operation of your business has been convicted of offences relating to money laundering or terrorist financing, the Act, the PSD regulations or financial crimes;
  • your head office, registered office or place of residence, as applicable, is in the UK; and
  • you must comply with the registration requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, where they apply to you.

Q27. We satisfy the conditions for registration as a small payment institution - does that mean we have to register as one?

No, there are other options available to you. If you register as a small payment institution, you cannot acquire passport rights under the regulations, so you may wish to become an authorised payment institution if you wish to take advantage of the passport. You may also choose to become an agent of a payment services provider. An overview of the options available to you is set out in PERG 15 Annex 1, Flowcharts 1 and 2.

Q28. We only wish to be an agent of a payment institution. Do we need to apply to the FSA for registration?

No. If your principal is a payment institution, it is its responsibility to apply for registration on your behalf. Assuming your principal is not an EEA firm, you are required to be registered on the FSA register before you provide payment services, subject to any relevant transitional provisions (see PERG 15.7) which may delay or avoid the need for registration. If your principal is an EEA firm, your principal will need to comply with the relevant Home State legislation relating to your appointment.

Q29. We are an agent of a credit institution for the purpose of providing payment services. Do we need to apply to the FSA for registration?

No. If you are such an agent of a credit institution which is permitted to provide payment services in the UK, you are not required to be registered under the PSD regulations. A credit institution will be permitted to provide payment services if it has a Part IVpermission to accept deposits, or if it is an EEA credit institution exercising passport rights under paragraph 4 of the Annex to the Banking Consolidation directive.

Q30. We are an agent of an e-money issuer for the purpose of providing payment services. Do we need to apply to the FSA for registration?

No. If you are such an agent of an e-money issuer which is permitted to provide payment services in the UK, you are not required to be registered under the PSD regulations. An e-money issuer will be permitted to provide payment services if it has a Part IV permission to issue e-money, or if it is either an EEA e-money issuer exercising passport rights or a small e-money issuer.

Q31. We are a credit union. Are we exempt from the regulations?

Yes. You are exempt from the regulations by virtue of regulation 3.

Q32. We are a municipal bank. Are we exempt from the regulations?

Yes. You are exempt from the regulations (together with credit unions and the National Savings Bank), by virtue of regulation 3. Unlike credit unions, you are required to notify us if you wish to provide payment services, although you only need to do this once.