Currencycloud secures Dutch e-money licence

The licence ensures passporting rights that allow Currencycloud to continue operating across Europe, no matter the outcome of Brexit negotiations. The company will remain headquartered in London

Global payments platform Currencycloud has secured an e-money licence from De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, allowing it to continue operating across the EU.

The licence is one of only seven issued to non-banks by De Nederlandsche Bank and will allow Currencycloud to store money and operate e-wallets on behalf of its clients, as well as process payments and collections.

The licence is part of the company’s strategy to expand its European footprint from its existing Amsterdam office, bringing faster and more transparent cross-border payments to more European financial institutions.

It also ensures passporting rights that allow Currencycloud to continue operating across Europe, no matter the outcome of Brexit negotiations. The company will remain headquartered in London.

Mike Laven, chief executive officer of Currencycloud, commented: “Covid-19 has accelerated the rush towards digital payments and Europe represents a tremendous opportunity for Currencycloud.”

“The Netherlands possesses the perfect blend of factors to support our expansion in the EU. It has a strong fintech sector, access to top talent and a safe regulatory environment, which allows us to keep driving forward our services and product.”

“The licence also ensures we can continue to serve our European clients effectively after the Brexit transition period ends.”

Currencycloud is the cross-border payments engine for fintechs and financial institutions including Fidor Bank, Penta and Lunar and has grown it’s European customer base by 180% since June 2016.

It now has more than 300 customers across the region, and processed close to €10 billion so far this year on their behalf. 

The company enables payments from 180 countries and its latest product, Currencycloud Spark, provides multi-currency accounts for banks and fintechs to collect, store, convert and pay in more than 35 currencies.

Earlier this month, Shift Connect, Canada’s global payments and foreign exchange platform, partnered with Currencycloud to power its expansion into new territories including the US, Europe and UK.

Image: Shutterstock

Mark Dugdale