Regulation & Security

Regulation and security of our service are extremely important, and we take the safe processing of client funds very seriously. You can check the below credentials on the FCA Register and with HMRC directly.

FCA Regulation

In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates A Place in the Sun Currency as an “Authorised Payment Institution” (API) under Firm Reference Number (FRN) 504353 and the Payment Services Regulations 2009 & 2017.

Being an API means that A Place in the Sun Currency:

  • operates Safeguarded client Accounts, to keep currency bought by clients separate from business assets and bank accounts (Safeguarding means that funds can be returned to clients more quickly and easily if an API were to cease trading).
  • holds sufficient capital in the business to continue trading, should any commercial difficulties arise
  • is answerable to the Financial Ombudsman Service for any complaints about payment services
  • must operate fair terms of business and be clear and transparent in all its dealings with clients

HMRC Anti-Money Laundering Supervision

A Place in the Sun Currency is also a licensed Money Service Business (MSB) (registration number XMML00000167797) under HMRC’s supervision, and fully complies with all relevant Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing rules and regulations. For more information on how we comply with AML rules, please see our compliance page.

Payment Security

Each and every payment we send for our clients is comprehensively checked and verified before it is processed. This means your payment is screened to ensure that you are not making payment to, for example, a person on international sanctions lists.

We also have a strong record of helping customers to avoid fraud. However, once international payments have been instructed by any company or bank, it can be very difficult to recover funds in the case of fraud, and ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure that the payment details you give us are correct. In addition, the “confirmation of payee” service that we are familiar with in the UK, does not operate for international payments.

Because of these risks to the safety of your funds when sending money abroad, we will ask you to independently check and verify bank details that you give us, before we make payments on your behalf, particularly to third parties, in addition to our own checks.

The peace of mind that comes with using an experienced and responsible service like A Place in the Sun Currency for your overseas payments means that your payments are in safe hands.