Overview
Finsei, at a glance.
Finsei is an e-money institution headquartered in the United Kingdom, regulated by FCA, Latvijas Banka. Business accounts cost from €10 a month. Opening an account takes 3–5 days.
Why businesses pick Finsei
- Cheap for a UK company with UK-resident owners: €30 to open and from €10 a month
- Wallets in 38 currencies
- Takes international companies, priced individually
- Visa cards, including single-use virtual cards
- Applications are reviewed within one to three business days
Watch out for
- International companies pay €500 to €3,000 to open, and 0.5% with a €100 minimum on SWIFT payments
- The lower prices apply only when the owners live in the UK or the EEA
- Currency exchange costs 0.85% to 1.25%
- A long list of prohibited activities, including crowdfunding, precious metals and alcohol
- Its statements on how funds are protected are inconsistent
Business fit
Will Finsei accept your business?
Four quick answers. Where your company is registered and what it does rule a provider in or out faster than anything else.
Based on Finsei's published rules
Needs review
Finsei works with SMEs and businesses, but does not publish the countries it accepts companies from.
Finsei does not publish a minimum company age or turnover, so those two answers are not checked here.
This is one provider. Your profile checks all of them.
- Every provider that fits your business
- The reason behind each match
- Company age and turnover checked too
Who it works with
Accepted and not accepted.
What Finsei publishes about the businesses it takes on.
Who Finsei serves
- E-commerce
- Marketplaces
- Startups and SMEs
All 6 industries on Finsei's accepted list
- SMEs and businesses
- Suppliers and contractors
- Employees and team spending
- Cross-border merchants
- Online businesses
- High-volume/marketplace and recurring-payment businesses
Not supported
Industries and countries Finsei does not accept, from its own published lists.
Industries
- Licensed money exchange dealerships
- Authorised trade of prescription drugs and devices
- Trade of Precious Metals
- Timeshares or other property reservation payments
- Adult Content - Online Dating services
- Energy Extraction
- Crowdfunding
- Non-Licensed Crypto Exchanges
- Production or trade in any product or activity deemed illegal under host country laws or regulations or international conventions and agreements
- Production or trade in weapons and ammunitions
- Production or trade in alcoholic beverages (including beer and wine)
- Production or trade in tobacco
- Trade in wildlife or wildlife products regulated under CITES
- Production or trade in radioactive materials
- Commercial logging operations or purchase of logging equipment for use in primary tropical moist forest
- Production or trade in pharmaceuticals subject to international phase outs or bans
- Production or trade in pesticides/herbicides subject to international phase outs or bans
- Drift net fishing in the marine environment using nets in excess of 2.5km. in length
- Production or activities involving harmful or exploitative forms of forced labour/harmful child labour
- Production or trade in ozone depleting substances subject to international phase out
- Production or trade in wood or other forestry products from unmanaged forests
- Production, trade, storage, or transport of significant volumes of hazardous chemicals, or commercial scale usage of hazardous chemicals
- Any business relating to pornography or prostitution
- Quarries, mining, or processing of metal ores or coal
- Giving or receiving gifts that could be interpreted as intending to influence business decisions
- Abusing confidential or material, non-public information
- Trading of Animal Fur, Bones and Ivory
- Diamond trading without Kimberley Certification
- Indecent and Obscene material including child pornography
- Cultural objects like sculptures, statues, antiques, collectors’ items, archaeological pieces especially from Iraq
- Trading of Fireworks, explosives and Nuclear Weapons
- Drug trafficking including chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drug or drugs
- Vessel security
- Human Body Parts and Pathogens
- Non-licensed Gambling/Betting/Casino/Horse Racing/Bingo/Sports Betting
- Bearer shares and bonds
- Trading in Derivatives/Options/Hedging
- Donations/Charities
- Cash Pooling Structure
- Non-licensed Forex/Binary Options
- Groups, legal entities, bodies, and similar covered by UN resolutions and EU acts on financial sanctions
- Groups, legal entities, bodies, and similar which have been sanctioned for major offences irrespective of when the Client was sanctioned and the jurisdictions in which it was sanctioned
- Businesses domiciled or banking in jurisdictions designated non-cooperative by FATF
- Shell companies
- Shell banks
- Holding companies of private individuals
- Entity not holding appropriate licenses under applicable law in the countries or territories where they are established or providing services into
- Private-to-private money remittance involving cash
- Sales involving weapons, ammunition and defence equipment
- Child pornography, escort services, and sale and/or advertising of sexual services
- Bidding fee auctions (penny auctions)
Countries
- Not published
Coverage
Where can you use Finsei?
Coverage is a starting point. It does not confirm that every business in these markets is eligible.
Supported currencies
38 currencies
Every account starts with a euro wallet. The currencies are not listed.
Payment reach
Not published
Who can apply
Company incorporation countries
Not publishedOwner nationality
Not publishedOwner residency
Not publishedCompany types
Not publishedPricing
What does Finsei cost?
Look beyond the monthly fee. Your total cost depends on how many transfers you make, where they go and how much you convert.
Account cost
Opening fee
From €30
depends on plan
Monthly fee
€10
UK companies
Lowest cost€10 per month
€30 setup · €150 in year one
EEA companies
€10 per month
€100 setup · €220 in year one
International companies
€10 per month
€500 setup · €620 in year one
Transaction fees
| Cost | UK companies | EEA companies | International companies | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming | ||||
| SEPA | Free | €3 | 0.05%, min €5 | No charge |
| SWIFT / international | €15 | 0.3%, min €50 | 0.3%, min €50 | Fixed fee |
| Outgoing | ||||
| Faster Payments (GBP) | £2 | £5 | £10 | Fixed fee |
| CHAPS (GBP) | £10 | £20 | £30 | Fixed fee |
| SWIFT / international | €25 | 0.3%, min €50 | 0.5%, min €100 | Fixed fee |
Other fees
Currency exchange (FX)
| Cost | UK companies | EEA companies | International companies | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FX markup | 0.85% | 1% | 1.25% | Percentage of the amount |
Cards
| Cost | UK companies | EEA companies | International companies | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual card issue | €5 | €5 | €10 | Fixed fee |
| Physical card issue | €20 | €20 | €50 | Fixed fee |
| Monthly card fee | €7 | €7 | €20 | Fixed fee |
| Card FX | 2% | 2% | 3% | Percentage of the amount |
Onboarding
From application to live account.
Opening an account typically takes three to five business days.
- 1
Register
Choose your company's country on the registration form; countries not listed cannot be served.
- 2
Company details
Give the company, its owners and authorised representatives.
- 3
Documents
Upload proof of incorporation and active status, and identity documents.
- 4
Review
Finsei reviews applications within one to three business days.
Documents you need
- Recent incorporation extract
- Ownership scheme and multilayer/trust documents
- M&A or notarised POA
- Partner contracts/invoices
- Six-month bank statement/tax declaration/audited financials
- Colour ID for representatives/UBOs
- Proof of address under three months
- Source-of-funds/business-experience evidence
FAQ
Your questions, answered.
Is Finsei a bank?
No. FINSEI LTD, formerly AltPay, is a small e-money institution registered with the UK FCA, reference 900878. Its Latvian company, AP OPERATIONS SIA, holds an e-money licence from the Bank of Latvia. Funds are not covered by a deposit guarantee scheme.
How much does a Finsei account cost?
It depends on where the company and its owners are. UK companies pay €30 to open, EEA companies €100 and international companies €500 to €3,000; the monthly fee starts at €10. A SWIFT payment costs €25 for UK companies and 0.5% with a €100 minimum for international ones.
Does Finsei accept companies outside Europe?
Yes, priced individually, if the company's country is on its registration form.
Which businesses does Finsei not accept?
Its list of 51 prohibited activities includes unlicensed crypto exchanges, crowdfunding, trade in precious metals, weapons, alcohol production, online dating and adult content, and timeshares.
Does Finsei offer cards?
Yes. Physical and virtual Visa business cards, including single-use virtual cards. A physical card costs €20 to issue and €7 a month for UK and EEA companies.
Alternatives
How Finsei compares.
If Finsei is not the right fit, these providers work with similar businesses. Compare their listed licences and services below.
| Provider | Licensed in | Known for |
|---|---|---|
 FinseiThis pageE-money institution |   | 38 currenciesVisa cards |
 BilderlingsE-money institution |  | Direct IBANHigh-risk industries |
 AlteryE-money institution |  | 95 countries acceptedVisa and UnionPay cards |
 ConnectPayE-money institution |  | 80+ currenciesOnline businesses |
 VerifoE-money institution | | Named IBANSole traders |
Not sure which one fits? Your profile ranks them for your business, with the reason behind each.