It was predicted by few that Brexit would be frictionless, but predicted by fewer that it would be quite so complex.

At the time of writing it is still very much unknown whether the UK and the EU will agree upon a deal that can be passed through Parliament. This uncertainty can of course be unnerving for companies currently targeting EU/UK markets, and those that plan to in the future.

As such, we feel that it is important to emphasise that no matter the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, we are in an equally strong position to help you grow in Europe.

Paybase has two potential routes for operating within Europe post-Brexit. Which route we take is not entirely dependent on whether a deal is agreed or not, but rather what is included in the deal, should one be made. Therefore, we have outlined our plans as ‘Deal with Passporting’ and ‘No Deal/Deal without passporting’.

Deal with Passporting

‘Passporting’ is the mirroring of our eMoney licence across different countries within the European Economic Area. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority acts as the contact point between us and Europe, facilitating our passporting application and distributing it to its equivalent regulators around the EU. This means that being a member of the EU has allowed financial institutions to operate throughout the EEA needing nothing more than their FCA regulated licence.

This has been an incredibly useful feature of EU membership. To put it in context, US financial services institutions/eMoney firms must become licensed in each individual state they wish to operate in. With each state having its own regulator, firms operating across the US are also subjected to far more active scrutiny, involving higher numbers of regulatory audits and site visits.

The fact that the UK has been able to operate across 31 countries using a single license is testament to the collaborative power of the EU. If a deal is negotiated between the UK and the EU which allows for the passporting of financial services, which is still a possibility, that is how Paybase will continue to take advantage of it.

No Deal/Deal without passporting

However, in the event of No Deal/Deal without passporting, the UK will not be able to passport its licence across the EEA, and passporting is not a certainty of any deal that is agreed either.

In this event, Paybase will apply for a eMoney licence in an EU member state. Being granted a licence within the EU will then allow us to passport once again across the EEA. This process has actually already begun - we have identified the country we wish to apply in and commenced with application stages. This means that should we leave the EU with No Deal or a Deal without passporting, we will still be in a position to operate in Europe without difficulty.

All businesses would agree that the uncertainty of Brexit is far from ideal, but Paybase prides itself on its operational agility. As is our approach to all operational and regulatory change, we have recognised possible outcomes and made sure that we are prepared. Paybase does not expect Brexit to negatively impact its ability to help firms grow in Europe in any way.

If you have any questions relating to how Paybase can help you grow in Europe, please contact us at hello@paybase.io.