LicenSys
International Cooperation
Tax Information ExchangeAutomatic ExchangeExchange of Information on RequestCaribbean Group of Securities RegulatorsInternational Organization of Securities Commissions
FSC Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023
Subscribe to Website

Latest Publications

More

Other Pages

Popular Link

Types of Licenses

The following highlights the types of services that a person licensed by the Financial Services Commission (the ‘Commission’) under the Financial Services Commission Act (‘FSCA’) can provide based on the types of licence they hold.

A Licensee shall not provide or purport to provide services that are outside the scope of the licence they hold.

No. Regulated Service/Activity Definition
1 Accounting Providing services such as the posting of transactions and the preparation of financial statements to reflect the financial condition of the entity.
2 Bill Pay A service offered by a third-party non-bank person contracted by vendors or utility service providers, whereby the third-party company acts as an agent in the collection of payments due to those vendors or utility service providers.
3 Financial Advisory or Consultancy Services The provision of financial advisory or consultative services in private and commercial transactions which are not subject to the Securities Industry Act, 2021 and includes assisting with the creation of financial plans.
4 Financial Leasing The transfer of all risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an asset from a finance company or other lessor to a client or lessee, similar to secured financing, lending, or a loan arrangement.
5 Financial Intermediation The process by which a person facilitates financial transactions as the intermediary between a lender and borrower or borrows money from a non-bank person to lend to a borrower seeking funding, investment, or financial resources.
6 International Asset Protection & Management Providing wealth protection and estate planning advice, including but not limited to investment strategy and portfolio management, management of real estate and tax advice, holding funds on behalf of clients who are conducting business, including real estate transactions, and holding funds and make disbursements for the completion of projects that the client might be working on.
7 Managing Services The business of providing any of the following services to a relevant entity:

  1. Executing the core income-generating activities outsourced to the managing agent by an included entity.
  2. maintaining of principal corporate records and other records prescribed by regulations;
  3. providing assistance in any annual audits of financial statements of the FS practitioner;
  4. ensuring that the operations of the FS practitioner are in compliance with the laws of Belize;
  5. meeting the records and record-keeping requirements;
  6. facilitating the inspection of records by the FS practitioner or by any person authorised for inspection purposes;
  7. employing senior executive officers who meet the prescribed qualifications to undertake duties on behalf of the managing agent; and
  8. any other terms and conditions of service, including remuneration and other consideration, confidentiality, amendment, termination, resignation, and indemnification agreed upon by the FS practitioner and the managing agent.
8 Money Broking Organising money lenders and borrowers to enable them to enter into a contract for a money transaction and includes mortgage broking.
9 Money Exchange The business of operating a Money Exchange House (Casa de Cambio), which includes the conversion of one currency into another currency.
10 Mortgage Lending With respect to non-bank persons means the provision of loans to finance the purchase of real property and includes lease-to-own arrangements which provide the lessor with an option to purchase and apply either a portion of or the total lease payment toward paying down the sums owing on the relevant real property.
11 Payment Processing With respect to a non-bank person, providing a person, directly or indirectly, with the means used to charge or debit accounts through the use of any payment mechanism, including, but not limited to, remotely created payment orders, remotely created checks, ACH debits, or debit, credit, prepaid, or stored value cards, whether accomplished through the use of software or otherwise, and includes, among other things–

  1. reviewing and approving merchant applications for payment processing services.
  2. providing the means to transmit sales transaction data from merchants to acquiring banks or other financial institutions.
  3. clearing, settling, or distributing proceeds of sales transactions from acquiring banks or financial institutions to merchants; or
  4. processing chargebacks or returned remotely created payment orders, remotely created checks, or ACH debits.
12 Registered Agent means any person operating in or from within Belize, who, by way of business–

  1. forms, registers, or manages a Belize Company.
  2. acts, or arranges for another person to act, as a director, nominee director, secretary, officer, shareholder, or nominee shareholder of a Belize Company.
  3. provides registered office services for a Belize Company.
  4. forms, registers, or acts as an agent for an international foundation registered under the International Foundations Act.
  5. forms, registers, or acts as an agent for an international trust or provides trustee services for an international trust registered under the Trusts Act.
  6. forms or registers an international limited liability company under the International Limited Liability Company Act.
  7. appointed as the registered representative of a private trust company established under the Belize Companies Act; and
  8. is the representative of a segregated portfolio company registered under the Belize Companies Act.
13 Registered Agent to provide Company Formation Services only means any person operating in or from within Belize, who, by way of business–

  1. forms, registers or manages a Belize Company;
  2. acts, or arranges for another person to act, as a director, nominee director, secretary, officer, shareholder, or nominee shareholder of a Belize Company;
  3. provides registered office services for a Belize Company; and
  4. forms or registers an international limited liability company under the International Limited Liability Company Act.
14 Safe Custody  With respect to a non-bank person, offering safety deposit boxes or other secure storage suitable for high-value items, including any arrangement under which a person is authorised to hold directly or indirectly a customer’s access keys, smart contracts or other forms of digital assets but does not include–

  1. storage of goods such as luggage, household items or motor vehicles.
  2. storage of non-physical property like computer data.
  3. secure transportation of high-value items.
  4. offering safe custody on an occasional or very limited basis, such as hotels providing a safe for guests; or
  5. legal professionals storing legal documents.

types of licenses FSC, Financial Services Commission Act licenses, FSC license requirements, financial services regulation Belize, license compliance Belize, FSC license categories, licensed financial services Belize, FSC licensing guidelines

Secret Link