On 08 April 2025, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) updated its Pre-Application Support Service (PASS), to promote regulatory clarity and facilitate business growth within the payments sector, cryptoasset, and wholesale market sectors. PASS offers prospective applicants an opportunity to engage with the UK FCA early in their authorisation or registration journey, improving application quality and reducing approval timelines.
PASS initiative offers the pre-application meeting, available free of charge to cryptoasset firms, payments firms, and wholesale market participants considering applying for registration or authorisation in the United Kingdom. During these meetings, firms meet directly with a designated case officer who outlines regulatory expectations, explains common challenges, and directs firms to critical resources. In many cases, the same case officer who participates in the pre-application meeting will also oversee the formal assessment of the firm’s application, ensuring continuity and deeper contextual understanding throughout the process.
Firms interested in booking a pre-application meeting must submit a request through the UK FCA’s Connect platform. Applicants are asked to provide essential details, including their proposed business model, corporate structure, profiles of key individuals, and specific areas where guidance is sought. This preliminary information allows the UK FCA to tailor its support, identify focus areas, and better prepare the applicant for the formal authorisation stage.
United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority actively collaborates with advisers, trade bodies, and business associations operating within the cryptoasset, payments, and wholesale sectors. The UK FCA offers speaker engagements at industry events, roundtables, and conferences, sharing insights into the authorisation process and providing practical guidance to firms navigating regulatory pathways. Requests for UK FCA speakers can be submitted by email or through the agency’s speaker request form, with further assistance available through direct contact with any UK FCA office.
The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority provides extensive supporting materials to assist firms in understanding sector-specific authorisation or registration requirements. For cryptoasset firms, detailed guidance is available on registering under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), including examples of good and poor-quality applications to enhance success rates. Payment firms receive step-by-step instructions on whether to seek authorisation or registration, with specific resources for payment institutions, electronic money institutions, and registered account information service providers. Wholesale market applicants, including fund managers, benchmark administrators, custodians, investment managers, multilateral trading facilities, and principal trading firms are directed to sector-specific regulatory pathways and preparation guidelines.
By expanding the reach and resources of the Pre-Application Support Service, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority aims to reduce regulatory friction, improving application quality, and accelerating market access for firms contributing to innovation and economic growth. PASS supports a proportionate, agile, and business-friendly regulatory environment for fintech, crypto, and wholesale financial services innovation.
(Source: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/authorisation/pre-application-support-service)
