Isle of Man – Licensing Update

The Isle of Man is due to go live with its Designated Business Licensing for digital currency business by the end of October 2015 (originally it was due to be launched by September but this has been delayed slightly according to the FSC). Under the licensing framework the following activities will require a registration with the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC):

“issuing, transmitting, transferring, providing safe custody or storage of, administering, managing, lending, buying, selling, exchanging or otherwise trading or intermediating convertible virtual currencies, including crypto-currencies or similar concepts where the concept is accepted by persons as a means of payment for goods or services, a unit of account, a store of value or a commodity”

Existing digital currency businesses will have until April 2016 to have submitted their registration documents. Anyone wanting to establish a digital currency business after 26 October 2015 will need to be registered before commencing business.

The scope of the registration is compliance with AML/CTF legislation. Registered businesses will be required to submit an annual compliance declaration covering any changes or compliance failures in relation to business.  It is expected that all “registered businesses will receive a visit in the first 3 years of the operation of this regime”. This visit will be to assess the standard of the AML procedures found within business.

For any enquiries on the process and on preparation for registration contact info@blog.diacle.com for further information.