How to get a license to exchange electronic money in Georgia

If you want to become an electronic services provider, look at the Georgian market. The National Bank (NBG) is interested in obtaining an e-money exchange license in Georgia 2021, so it takes no more than a month to review the application. The country has adapted its laws to meet EU requirements but avoids overregulation. Like most European countries, Georgia has signed an anti-money laundering agreement, so it's safe to do business here.

Georgian license opportunities

A Georgian license allows you to perform such activities:

• Carry out operations related to debiting and transferring money and crediting it to the client's account;
• Make payments related to direct debit;
• Issuing tokens;
• Exchange currencies, including tokens;
• Deal with money via the Internet, smartphones, etc.

The license is valid only in Georgia. If you want to work in other countries, you will have to ask for permission from the regulators of other countries.

How to get permission

An e-money exchange license is issued only to local companies, so you must first register in Georgia as an LLC or AM. Both Georgians and foreigners can own the company.

An e-services provider in Georgia must meet the following requirements:

• Authorized capital - from $106,000 (250,000 GEL). It must be fully paid in before applying for a license to the NBG, and must not be changed until the company is closed;
• The legal office must be in Georgia;
• The organization must keep accounting records, be audited every year, and send papers to the tax office;
• The provider must notify the NBG of any major changes in operations - reorganization, liquidation, the start of bankruptcy proceedings, and a temporary shutdown of operations.

A corporate account can be opened in any jurisdiction, but since the company will be operating in the local market, we recommend doing it in Georgia. The NBG will not suspect that you want to take all the money out of the country, and they will be more willing to give permission.

What kind of documents are necessary for the license

To get a license, you need to gather a package of documents. It should contain the following:

• A client questionnaire;
• A list of the services the company wants to provide, a description of services;
• Description of how the system works - list of hardware, software, encryption algorithm, etc;
• Business plan;
• Information about the founders, including a clean bill of health;
• A document that confirms the ownership of the real estate, where the main office is located;
• Timeframe for obtaining a license.

If you apply for help at IT-OFFSHORE, the preparation of documents will take no more than a month. If you gather the documents by yourself, it might take a longer.

The National Bank of Georgia does not take more than a month to review an application. If the documents do not meet the necessary requirements, you will have a month to correct them. If the director refuses to provide the necessary papers and correct errors when needed, the registration of a license for electronic money exchange in Georgia 2021 will be denied.