Why the United Kingdom
Why an FCA-authorised payment institution
The UK payment institution regime sits in Part 3 of the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/752). Under regulation 6, only an authorised firm may carry on payment services as a regular occupation or business activity in the United Kingdom. The supervisor is the Financial Conduct Authority, and authorisation imports a fit and proper test that runs to the management body and to anyone holding a qualifying stake.
Brexit closed passporting from London into the EEA, and that has shaped the buy-side picture. The firms now in our book are run for the UK domestic market and for inbound flows from non-EEA corridors, not as EU passport carriers. Acquirers using a UK API as a hub typically pair it with an EU EMI or PI for European reach.
Service scope
What an authorised payment institution can do
An authorised PI may operate payment accounts, execute direct debits and credit transfers, issue or acquire payment instruments including cards, and conduct money remittance. Account information services and payment initiation services sit in the same regime, added by variation of permission rather than as standalone licences.
Initial capital depends on which services the firm provides; for the broad service envelope our targets typically hold, the statute sets EUR 125,000 (Schedule 3 PSRs 2017, applied as the GBP equivalent at authorisation). Safeguarding under regulation 23 requires that relevant funds be segregated with a credit institution or covered by an equivalent insurance arrangement. Segregation is operationally cheap; reconciliation discipline is not.
The 2025 policy statement PS25/12 brings new books-and-records, monthly safeguarding returns, and prescribed reconciliation cadences into force on 7 May 2026. Every acquisition in our book is gap-assessed against PS25/12 before it reaches the data room.
Our book
What we present in the United Kingdom
Entities in our book in the United Kingdom typically present at modest payment-services revenue, a domestic UK customer base, one or more live UK clearing or agency arrangements, and a small full-time compliance function whose retention is part of the deal terms. We do not run dormant shells; the firms we broker are operating businesses with an active payments book and a clean Connect register record.
Diligence focus is narrow and consistent. The acquirer’s lawyers will live with three files: the FCA Connect controllers and approved-persons history (with any open Section 165 information notices), the safeguarding ledgers reconciled to the most recent monthly return, and the credit-institution acknowledgement letters covering segregated client money. The contrarian read, and the one most first-time UK acquirers miss, is that bank-onboarding risk on the carved-out target is a bigger gating item than the FCA change-of-control timetable itself.
How it works
From mandate to closing
Our process for UK transactions runs to the same four-step recap as the rest of the book: brief, match, diligence, closing. The change-of-control approval under section 178 FSMA 2000 (as applied by Schedule 6 PSRs 2017) is the long pole. The FCA has 60 working days to assess a qualifying-holding notification once it has been accepted as complete, and acquirers should treat that clock as the binding constraint on any closing schedule. See our process page for the full step-by-step.
Why Cadena
What buy-side mandates get with us
- Single-side mandate. We never act for the seller. Your bid is structured, presented, and defended by the same desk; no split fees, no daylight between adviser and acquirer.
- PS25/12 already on every file. UK targets in our book have been gap-assessed against the 7 May 2026 safeguarding regime. The seller cannot hide a books-and-records defect that the new monthly return would expose six months after closing.
- Banking-continuity tested. Every UK target has had its operating banking line stress-tested against a change-of-control event before reaching the acquirer’s desk; the credit institution holding the safeguarding pool has been pre-sounded.
FAQ
Common questions
Are there UK authorised payment institutions for sale right now?
Yes. Cadena’s UK book is refreshed continuously; the count fluctuates as transactions clear and new mandates land. We confirm current availability under NDA. The firms are operating businesses and we do not publish names.
What is the difference between an authorised PI and a small payment institution?
An authorised PI carries the full FCA permission with EEA passporting historically attached (now closed post-Brexit). A small PI is registered rather than authorised, capped at average monthly payment transactions of EUR 3 million, and cannot provide payment initiation services or account information services. Most acquirer scopes rule out the small-PI route.
Does the FCA approve every change of control?
The acquirer must file a section 178 notification under FSMA 2000 before completing the acquisition; the FCA has 60 working days from a complete filing to object. The assessment looks at financial soundness, fit and proper, and the integrity of the proposed controller. Approval is by non-objection rather than affirmative consent.
How does PS25/12 affect a 2026 acquisition?
The Supplementary Regime takes effect 7 May 2026. Any acquisition completing close to that date inherits the implementation programme: the seller’s gap analysis, the credit-institution acknowledgement letters, the new monthly safeguarding return architecture. Cadena’s pre-vetting confirms the gap analysis is in place; the acquirer should still budget remediation against PS25/12 as a day-one workstream.
Is the FCA’s authorised PI register public?
Yes. The Financial Services Register is open. Confirming a target’s authorisation, controllers, and individual approvals is a free desk-research step. The data behind any UK API in our book is reconciled against the public register at the point of presentation.
What initial capital does an authorised PI need to hold?
Schedule 3 of PSRs 2017 sets the floor at EUR 20,000 for money remittance only, EUR 50,000 for payment initiation only, and EUR 125,000 for the broad payment services bundle most of our targets are authorised for. Ongoing own-funds requirements then run alongside under the same Schedule.
Next step
Brief us on your UK acquisition mandate
Send a one-page acquisition brief covering target service scope, transaction volume bracket, acceptable revenue level, banking constraints, and your timeline window. NDA precedes any reference to a specific firm.
