In 2022, the landscape of British e-money institutions bore the impact of the war in Ukraine and continued to grapple with Brexit consequences. International community, responding to the global events, imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus. This compelled e-money institutions to fortify their customer due diligence and transaction monitoring measures, ensuring compliance with the evolving sanctions—a move that significantly elevated operational costs.
Despite these challenges, the United Kingdom retained its status as a leader in European financial innovations. The realm of electronic money institutions (EMIs) and payment services providers (PSPs) flourished, with the British FinTech industry players flourishing and demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity.
EMI Licences in the United Kingdom and the European Union
The following table illustrates historical data on the number of EMIs in the United Kingdom and the European Union, including the dynamics of newly licensed and closed-down EMIs. Figures for the European Union are provided in brackets for easy comparison.
In 2022, eight EMIs in the UK secured licenses from the FCA, including four internal entities operating within larger groups (Booking Holdings, ASOS, Meta, and Uber). Additionally, Silverbird obtained its EMI license after acting as an EMD Agent for approximately two years.
However, the challenges persisted as 16 EMIs lost their licenses in the UK in 2022, and this trend continued into 2023. Notably, this trend has not yet affected the EU, where more EMIs are entering the market than closing down.
Year
# EMIs
# New EMIs
# Closed EMIs
2019
174 (191)
37 (58)
5 (6)
2020
220 (224)
47 (40)
1 (7)
2021
252 (247)
36 (31)
4 (8)
2022
244 (256)
8 (21)
16 (12)
2023
252 (274)
14 (26)
6 (8)
List of Top 50 EMIs in the United Kingdom 2022
In 2022 British EMIs collectively held total assets worth 32,503.13 mln GBP, 155 EMIs reported an increase in total assets. 80 EMIs reported net profit, while 90 reported net loss. Some EMIs either submitted micro-entity accounts without an income statement or didn't submit annual accounts due to their dormant state.
Despite Revolut and Wise Payments maintaining strong leadership in terms of market share, they faced intensified competition as the EMI market matured, resulting in a decline in their market share compared to 2021. Notably, CB Payments, the third-largest EMI in 2021, yielded its position to World First UK due to regulatory pressures on CB Payments' parent entity, Coinbase Global Inc.
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