Guides, reviews and register scoops
Written by the people who maintain the directory. Fee data from 1,200+ providers, licence changes straight from the registers, and practical guides for choosing a provider.
28 German cooperative banks joined the MiCA register in eight weeks — the Volksbank crypto rollout, counted
Between 21 July and 17 September 2026, 28 Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken were added to ESMA's MiCA CASP register — 39 in total, 41% of Germany's CASPs — each authorised for a single service, order execution, in Germany only. Why DZ Bank's meinKrypto product puts every local bank on the register, the full list with dates, and what the scope column really says.
Deutsche Bank is on the MiCA register — effective 12 October, custody and transfers only, Germany only
Deutsche Bank AG appears on ESMA's MiCA CASP register with an authorisation date of 12 October 2026 — weeks before it takes effect. The register shows two of MiCA's ten services (custody and transfers) and a single host state. The same custody-shaped footprint BNY took in July, and what the future-dated entry means.
FINTRAC has revoked 164 money services business registrations in 2026 — the latest is ALT 5 Sigma Canada
FINTRAC's September 2026 MSB registry export records 164 registrations revoked this year, 125 of them businesses that listed virtual currency dealing. The only September revocation is ALT 5 Sigma Canada, Inc. (M20608365), subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma. Month-by-month numbers, the revocations since June with registration details, and what a revoked registration means for your payment chain.
Amazon has cancelled its UK Payment Institution licence — the e-money migration is complete
Two months after taking a native UK e-money authorisation, Amazon Payments UK Limited's payment institution licence (FRN 799814) shows as 'Cancelled – Authorised PI' on the FCA register, effective 15 September 2026. What the register shows, why the PI licence became redundant, and what changes for merchants' due-diligence files.
Who got a payments licence in Europe this summer — 17 new EBA-register institutions, 2 UK grants, 5 UK cancellations
From the EBA and FCA registers, August–September 2026: 17 newly authorised payment and e-money institutions across nine EU states (Bybit Payments' Austrian EMI, Prosegur's crypto-custody unit as a Spanish PI, NorthCrypto, MUVU Bulgaria), two UK grants including Computershare Advantage Payment Services, and five UK cancellations including Amazon and CFS-ZIPP. Each row cited to the register, with what the licence category permits.
Amazon quietly becomes a UK e-money institution — with two telling restrictions
Amazon Payments UK Limited is an FCA-authorised electronic money institution as of 15 July 2026 (FRN 1041721) — unannounced and unreported. The grant bars agents, distributors and AIS/PIS, and Amazon's Luxembourg EMI now shows as cancelled on the UK register. Spotted by License Watch.
BNY's MiCA licence made headlines — the register says Belgium-only, custody-only
BNY SA/NV was authorised as a MiCA CASP by the National Bank of Belgium on 20 July 2026. The coverage said EU-wide crypto services; ESMA's register lists one member state (Belgium) and two service codes (custody, transfer). What the register shows, and the TradFi pattern behind it.
Brite Payments quietly secures a UK EMI licence from the FCA
Brite Payments is now an FCA-authorised electronic money institution in the UK (FRN 1033237, effective 21 April 2026). No press release, no coverage — the entry surfaced in License Watch, our register-monitoring feed. Here's what the register shows and why it matters.
Cyprus as a Forex Hub: Payment Infrastructure for CySEC Brokers (2026)
Why the world's largest retail forex brokers cluster in Cyprus, what a CFD broker's payment stack actually needs to do, and which Cyprus-based and global providers — including Payabl, Payed, Gamingtec, SPAYZ.io, Skrill, NETELLER, and Currencycloud — serve the industry.
PSD3 & PSR: What Every Payment Provider Needs to Know (2026 Compliance Guide)
The complete guide to PSD3 and PSR for payment providers. Timeline, SCA changes, fraud liability shift, Verification of Payee, open banking APIs, and a practical readiness checklist — based on the November 2025 provisional agreement.