License for financial service company, where to go offshore?

[frank]

Where shall I incorporate my company in order to offer financial services? I understand this will require a license. Is Mauritius, Costa Rica or Seychelles preferable or are there other jurisdictions?


What costs are we looking at?

 

[JohnLocke]

Most are looking in the direction of a New Zealand financial license company.

 

[bretta]

I read a New Zealand FSC company is the right entity for such activity.

 

[frank]

Any information about the license in NZ?

 

[Zqq]

New Zealand FSPs are a huge headache to run if you are non-resident. The government is clamping down on non-compliant FSPs, having performed over 600 deregistration so far this year. Deregistration notice - 11 October 2012 | Companies Office FSP


FSPs can be great vehicles but you should think carefully and seek legal counsel before spending time and money on setting it up.


If you want a legitimate financial services company, I find that Gibraltar, Malta, Hong Kong, Singapore, and UK have some of the most favourable legislation and easy-going FIUs.


No one is going to take a financial services company in Costa Rica or Seychelles seriously, unless you are a known name in the industry and have all the right connections or unless you are into some very shady activities. If you engage in surreptitious activities, it may benefit you to be in such jurisdictions.

 

[JohnLocke]

We do not operate in NZ at all and for that reason don't offer any services there, So out of curiosity I would like to ask why does all these financial service entities have been Deregistered?

 

[Zqq]

They have been deregistered for a wide range of non-compliance issues. The most common, from what I have been told, is that there can only be one FSP per physical address (which cannot be a residential address). A lot of CSPs set up FSPs on the same address.

 

[dwilson]

British Virgin Islands in an option and there maybe options in Belize depending upon what you are looking to do!