What is a Seychelles PSP licence?

A Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence authorises a Seychelles company to provide regulated payment services - processing transactions, money remittance, issuing electronic money, and running payment gateways or acquiring services. It is granted and supervised by the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) under the National Payment System Act 2014 and the National Payment System (Licensing and Authorisation) Regulations 2014. This is the regulator's own payments framework, separate from the Financial Services Authority that handles our securities and fund licences. In practice the framework splits into a Money Remittance Licence and a broader Other Payment Services Licence, and the right category depends on exactly what you intend to do.

Why this is not the same as a merchant account

This is the distinction most people get wrong, so we'll be blunt about it. A merchant account simply lets your business accept card payments from your customers - you are the merchant. A PSP licence is for businesses that want to be a payment institution: handling other people's funds, onboarding merchants, moving money on their behalf, or issuing e-money. If you only want to accept payments for your own products, you do not need a PSP licence and you should not pay to get one. If you want to operate the rails - that is regulated activity, and the licence is mandatory.

Why choose Seychelles for a payment licence?

• A real, dedicated payments law - the NPS Act 2014 gives the CBS a clear licensing and oversight regime rather than an improvised workaround.

• Lower capital than tier-1 hubs - the published minimum unimpaired capital is typically around SCR 500,000 (roughly US$36,000) for money remittance and around SCR 1,000,000 (roughly US$72,000) for other payment services, well below EU or UK thresholds.

• English-language common-law jurisdiction - documents, contracts and the regulator all operate in English.

• 100% foreign ownership - no requirement for a local shareholder, though you will need genuine local substance.

• A respected mid-tier base - useful for fintechs and remittance operators serving emerging markets who want regulated standing without tier-1 cost.

Who is it for?

Good fit:

• payment processors and gateways

• money transfer and remittance operators

• e-money and wallet issuers

• fintechs onboarding sub-merchants

• crypto-adjacent businesses building a regulated payments arm

Not a fit: anyone who only needs to accept payments for their own goods (that is a merchant account, not a licence); businesses that can't meet the capital, surety-bond and local-substance requirements; and anyone hoping to take customer funds without a licence - the CBS does not allow that, and operating unlicensed is a serious risk. If you're early-stage and unsure whether you even need the licence, talk to us before you spend a cent.

What it actually costs - read this first

Most pages quote a single low number. We won't. Our engagement fee - incorporation, application assembly, review and liaison with the Central Bank of Seychelles - starts at US$15,000. That is a small fraction of the real cost of getting and running a licensed payment institution. You also need to budget for regulatory paid-up capital (typically around US$36,000 to US$72,000 depending on the licence category), a surety bond, a full-time compliance officer physically based in Seychelles, a physical office, an annual audit, and ongoing compliance. A realistic all-in budget for a live, compliant PSP commonly runs from the mid-six figures into seven figures, depending on the permissions you seek and the scale of your operation. If your budget is below that, the licence isn't the right step yet - and we'll tell you so.

What the CBS Requires

• A Seychelles company incorporated first, then applying to the CBS under the company name

• Minimum unimpaired capital appropriate to the licence category - typically around SCR 500,000 (~US$36,000) for money remittance, around SCR 1,000,000 (~US$72,000) for other payment services (confirm the current figure at consultation)

• A surety bond or financial guarantee as required by the regulator

• At least two directors of good character with relevant payments or financial-services experience

• A full-time compliance officer physically based in the Seychelles office during working hours

• A registered office and genuine local presence in Seychelles

• A detailed business plan, financial projections and a complete AML/CFT framework with KYC, transaction monitoring and suspicious-activity reporting

• An approved auditor and audited annual financial statements

• Fit-and-proper documents for each director and shareholder: certified passport, proof of address, CV, bank and professional references, and proof of source of funds

• Typically an arrangement with an acquiring bank or settlement partner for merchant onboarding, depending on the model