Wirex Ltd., a cryptocurrency services supplier, has been granted an e-money license by the UK’s financial Conduct Authority (FCA), opening up a much broader market and allowing the company to offer services supporting over 25 different sovereign currencies.

Wirex is currently following similar accreditation in different countries and is the method of developing offerings in Asia, including Singapore and Japan, as well as North America, the company said on Thursday.

Wirex co-founder Pavel Matveev said that working closely with regulators round the world was testament to the company’s robust approach to security and compliance.

“Focusing on these vital milestones is key to achieving our ambitious international expansion plans. The FCA e-money license is simply the primary step to making a broad and versa-tile providing that meets the varying desires of consumers worldwide,” Matveev said.

“We are aiming to bring crypto to the mainstream while also providing an innovative, complete solution for managing both crypto and fiat money day-to-day. We’re delighted to be able to take this next step and push forward with these internationally-recognized credentials in place.”


Wirex is developing a “hybrid personal banking solution” that supports each sovereign currencies as well as GBP, USD and EUR, and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, and dash. Today, the company provides a digital platform that enables users to manage and pay their funds hassle-free, in addition to exchange services and payments solutions. The Wirex digital wallet comes with a connected Visa debit card.

The company said in a blog post that the e-money license “will boost trust in Wirex and cement our reputation as a worldwide player.” The license “sets Wirex apart from the unregulated, usually insalubrious world of initial coin offerings (ICOs),” it said in a separate statement.

Dmitry Lazarichev, co-founder of Wirex, noted that acquiring an FCA license had been the company’s ambition since launching the company.

“The license offers us the freedom to optimize our e-money offering, which will result in lower costs and fees for our customers,” Lazarichev said, adding that the allow “assures users that Wirex is trustworthy and committed to maintaining high compliance standards in its business operations.”

Wirex has offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Delaware, Toronto and Kiev, and claims 1.8 million users and US$2 billion in transactions so far.