FCA Authorisation Help – Vedanvi

Are you looking for FCA Authorisation Help?

Becoming directly Authorised by the FCA can be hugely beneficial for your business

• You gain credibility,
• Organisations and clients are more comfortable dealing with a regulated firm, and
• You are able to access a much bigger regulated market.

Deliberately so, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other Regulators’ authorisation process is meant to be tough.  This is to ensure that only credible firms with good systems and processes, and a culture of treating customers fairly, successfully get through the process.

Getting it wrong can stop you trading or severely limit your business activities.  You need careful planning and dedicated focus to make sure you get it right.

Importance of FCA License in a World of Cryptocurrency. ICOs and Blockchain

Financial services was one of the most stable sectors not so long ago.  In the last five years, this stable industry has gone through a shockwave of new innovation and ideas such as the emergence of cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings, all powered by blockchain technology.

Regulators around the world are scratching their heads as to how best to regulate this industry.  Some have taken a drastic step of banning all cryptocurrency or ICO activities.  In the UK, the FCA has taken a more pragmatic approach.  Many cryptocurrency ventures may not need regulation.  Utility token based ICO are also outside the regulatory net.

However, the line between regulated and unregulated activity is thin.  Take for example trading Bitcoin based derivative contracts.  Bitcoin is not a regulated instrument, however, the derivative trade is.  So if you are planning to allow crytocurrency derivative trading on your platform, this would need a license.

So before venturing down the ever popular cryptocurrency venture or ICO initiative, talk to us to see if you will be actively or inadvertently carrying out any regulated activity that you will need an FCA license for.

 

FCA Authorisation Process

1. Preparation – the FCA expects that you will be in a position to be able to start the business at the point of submitting the application.  This requires much preparation thinking through how you will run your business on a day to day basis, and documenting these processes.  At best expect between two and three months.
2. Submission – Once you are ready, you submit your application online (or on paper in some cases), and pay a fee.
3. Case Officer – after a few weeks (up to around 8 weeks, depending on the FCA’s workload) a case officer assigned.  They will start their review of your application and write back to you to say whether they think  that you have a “complete application” or an “incomplete application”.  The difference between the two is that an incomplete application gives FCA up to 12 months to review your application, while they are obliged to make a decision within six months for a complete application.  The Case Officer will start asking you questions and perhaps even call you in for an interview.
4. Decision in Principal – After their satisfactory review and internal approval, the Case Officer will come back with a “We are minded to authorise you” of ask you to withdraw the application if they feel you can’t be approved.  In some cases, they may outright reject the application.  Minded to authorise means that they are largely happy to proceed to licensing, provided certain conditions are met – for example, you need to purchase Professional Indemnity insurance.
5. A Launch Date is Set – you will agree a go live date once all conditions are met.

You need to ensure compliance from this point on.

 

Resource Library

You can certainly prepare for and make the application without external help.  If you are choosing the DIY route, then we have put together a really useful resource library to help you successfully get through the process, step-by-step.  Register here to get access to this library.

And we want to wish you the best of luck!.  Do get in touch if you want to bounce something off though.  We won’t charge you for your first consultation, or if you just have a quick question.  So pick up the phone and get in touch today.

 

Need Help?

If on the other hand you feel you can benefit from someone who has helped  your competitors successfully get through the process, then you have come to the right place.

This is our core competence and we’ve helped several innovative financial services firms become authorised.  We’ll let our clients speak about their experience working with Vedanvi.

More testimonials here

Here are some ways in which we can help you:

• Avoid being regulated – We can show you ways in which you can trade without being regulated.
• Helping to accelerate your launch – We can show you ways to take advantage of regulatory exemptions while you go about preparing for authorisation.  You don’t have to wait to earn revenue with such a strategy.
• Complete end to end support for FCA authorisation – working with you throughout the process until you are successfully authorised.
• FCA Application – We can also help you submit an application to change your business strategy if you are already regulated, or to get certain key personnel authorised.
• Advice and support – Whilst you take charge of the application process, we can provide support and guidance along the way.
• Review – Why not let us review your application and get absolute certainty before you press the “Submit” button.
• Preparing documentation – The authorisation process needs certain key documents on which your application can stand or fall.  Let us prepare them for you.
• Preparing for FCA Interviews – We can help to prepare senior personnel who may face a comprehenisve FCA interview, prepare through a simulated mock interview.
• Answer FCA questions – You will need to turn around questions put to you by the FCA.  Let us help you respond positively.

 

Get in touch.  We look forward to being of help – regardless whether you choose to engage with us or not.

Click here or call +44 (0) 203 102 6750