FMA Licensing for Financial Services

No. VCS coordinates the file: it collects the business description and the documents and keeps the timetable with your licensed Liechtenstein trustee or lawyer, named in your engagement letter, who prepares and submits the application to the FMA. VCS does not sign for the applicant and does not act as its agent before the FMA.

No. A firm without a bank licence may not use a name that suggests it is a bank, either in its company name or in its stated purpose. A planned bank waits for the licence before it uses bank wording. The rule sits in the Banking Act of 5 December 2024, LGBl. 2025 Nr. 085.

No, the FMA may not refuse on that ground. That does not make the licence a formality: it is granted only if a complete application was submitted and all conditions of Art. 18 to 23 BankG are met, and the FMA may attach conditions and requirements to it.

The fee comes from the FMAG annex, 2026 state: for example CHF 100 000 for a bank licence and CHF 30 000 for a payment institution. For most items the annex fee applies to a refusal as well as a grant, and a proceeding closed without a ruling can also be charged. The table above lists every type.

The acts set maximums counted from a complete application, not the time the FMA needs: six months for banks and asset managers, three months for payment and e-money institutions, three months for an AIFM and one month for a UCITS management company, both extendable to six. Insurers have no fixed period. No date is promised.

Advice on a licence application is financial and business advice, a trustee activity under TrHG Art. 2(c). Where it applies the law, it is legal advice reserved to lawyers under RAG Art. 8(1)(a). Practising trustee activities without a licence is an offence under TrHG Art. 80(1), so VCS coordinates and the licensed partner advises.

It depends on the activity: bank (BankG), investment firm (WPFG), asset management company (VVG), insurer (VersAG), AIFM (AIFMG), UCITS management company (UCITSG), IUG management company (IUG), payment institution (ZDG) or e-money institution (EGG). The licensed trustee or lawyer decides this with you; this page maps the regimes and does not advise.

It depends on the act. A bank needs at least EUR 10 million, fully paid in before business starts, never below EUR 5 million where the FMA prescribes another amount. An asset manager needs EUR 75 000, an AIFM EUR 125 000 (EUR 300 000 if internally managed), an e-money institution EUR 350 000, each at least.

In defined cases. Unusually large or difficult proceedings can be billed by time at CHF 100 to 400 an hour, urgent work done on request can cost up to 50% more, and expert costs are billed separately. Licensed firms also pay an annual supervisory levy under FMAG Art. 30a; this page states no amount for it.

No source says so. The FMA grants the licence to the applicant only after testing the conditions, and a bank must be an AG or SE with its seat and head office in Liechtenstein. A ready-made company does not replace or shorten the licence; the licensed partner confirms whether it can be the applicant. No licence or date is promised.

The FMA fee is CHF 80 000, or CHF 40 000 for a captive insurer. The insurer must be an AG, SE, cooperative or SCE with its seat and head office in Liechtenstein. The application names the eligible capital, the qualifying shareholders, the management, the external auditor and an activity plan. This page states no capital figure.

An investment firm is licensed under the WPFG and pays an FMA fee of CHF 35 000, plus CHF 10 000 if the licence includes an MTF or OTF. This page states no capital figure and no decision period for it: the licensed trustee or lawyer confirms both against the act before the file is built.

This page names no act, article or licence for forex or CFD business and does not promise that one exists. The licensed trustee or lawyer, named in your engagement letter, assesses which regime the activity falls under. Operating without FMA authorisation is a criminal offence, so that assessment comes before any business starts.

The FMA keeps public registers, updated monthly, of AIFMs, asset management companies, UCITS management companies and IUG management companies, and public registers of payment and e-money institutions. It also publishes a register page of licence holders for the other regimes, where a firm's name can be checked before you deal with it.