Financial licensing
Offering remittance or money changing services in Hong Kong takes a Money Service Operator (MSO) Licence.
In Hong Kong, a company that changes money or sends remittances will, as a rule, need an MSO Licence. It is granted by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance.
We help companies get ready for the licence and apply for it. Our work runs from a review of your business model and corporate structure, through the documents the application calls for, to support while the regulator considers it.
With this licence, a business may lawfully run a money service in Hong Kong, limited to the activities the regulator has approved.
Two main kinds of money service fall under the regime:
What exactly you must meet depends on the business: the activities it plans, who owns and manages it, and how it will operate.
As a rule, any business running a money changing or remittance service in Hong Kong needs the licence.
That may include companies that exchange currency, send money abroad, or offer other services that Hong Kong law defines as a money service.
So before you apply, check two things: whether what you plan to do needs an MSO Licence at all, and which licensing requirements your business will face.
When you apply, the regulator looks at the applicant, at the people behind it and at the premises it plans to operate from.
Your structure and business model decide what the application has to include, which may be:
The premises matter too. The Customs and Excise Department may judge whether they are fit for running a money service business, and may inspect them if it needs to.
The regulator in Hong Kong checks that the people linked to the applicant are fit and proper persons to run a money service business.
Who is checked depends on the corporate structure: it can be the directors, the partners, a sole proprietor and the ultimate owners.
Among the things it may weigh are criminal records, financial standing, business experience and anything else that bears on whether the applicant is suitable.
That is why ownership and management should be looked at before you file the application.
We look at the services you plan, your transaction flows, the markets you target and how the business will run as a whole, and decide on the right licensing approach.
We examine the planned company structure, its shareholders, directors and ultimate owners, and point out anything that could affect the application.
We prepare the corporate documents, the business plan and the AML/CFT framework to match what the business intends to do.
We help you put together and file the application, along with the supporting documents the licensing process requires.
After filing, we help with communication and follow-up while the regulator reviews the application, and answer any further requests it makes.
Once the application is approved and the applicable requirements are met, the relevant authority issues the MSO Licence.
How long it takes depends on how the business is structured, how complete the application is, the premises you propose and the regulator’s review.
No one timeline fits every application. Getting the documents and compliance framework right before you file helps you avoid delays from information that is missing or inconsistent.
Once we have reviewed your business model and planned structure, we can give you a more realistic estimate of how long licensing will take.
What you pay in total depends on the project. It can include government fees, costs linked to the company, the premises and professional services.
Professional fees vary with how complex the application is, the corporate structure and how much help you need.
We give you a quotation tailored to your case once we have reviewed the planned business model and the licensing requirements.
The licence starts your regulatory obligations rather than ending them. A licensed Money Service Operator has to keep meeting its AML/CFT duties and its other regulatory obligations.
Among them can be customer due diligence, keeping records, monitoring transactions and internal compliance procedures.
So plan the compliance framework while you prepare the application, not once the business is already running.
Several things have to fit together for an MSO licence: the corporate structure, the business model, the premises, the regulatory documents and the AML/CFT procedures.
We support you from start to finish and help coordinate the main steps in preparing your application in Hong Kong.
It is the licence you need to run a money changing or remittance business in Hong Kong.
The Commissioner of Customs and Excise runs the regime, acting through the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department.
Yes. The Hong Kong regime covers two main kinds of money service, and remittance is one of them.
Yes. Money changing falls under the regime as well.
Ownership and management are examined during licensing, but having a foreign shareholder or ultimate owner does not, on its own, decide whether you can apply. Check the planned structure against the applicable requirements before you file.
As a rule, two years. It can then be renewed, provided the applicable requirements are met.
Yes, Hong Kong companies that already hold an MSO Licence may be available to buy. Acquiring one is not the same as applying for a new licence: the company’s licence, ownership, compliance history and corporate structure each need a review of their own.
Setting up a money changing or remittance business in Hong Kong? We can help you work out the licensing requirements and prepare your application.
Get in touch to talk through your business model, your corporate structure and your options for an MSO licence.