Cross-border companies rarely fail because of their structure. They fail at the bank. A UK Ltd with a Belarusian director, a UAE freezone trader settling in rare currencies, a holding receiving roubles from Russia — each is a profile that high-street banks and the big neobanks such as Wise or Revolut Business tend to refuse or offboard. neobanks filled that gap: licensed to hold client funds and move money across payment rails without being banks. 3S Money is one of the neobanks built for the awkward cross-border case.
Concept
3S Money is a British fintech founded in 2018, headquartered in London at 45 Folgate Street. It serves cross-border businesses across Britain, the EU, the UAE and Hong Kong, and holds 65+ currencies — EUR, GBP, AED, HKD, CHF, PLN, CZK and others. USD is supported selectively: the focus is European and Middle Eastern rails, not US-dollar clearing.
The group runs on four licences, and each client is allocated to whichever entity fits their jurisdiction. In the UK, 3S Money Club Limited is an FCA-authorised neobank (firm reference 900918). In Luxembourg, 3S Money (Luxembourg) S.A. holds a CSSF neobank authorisation. In Dubai, the DIFC branch is regulated by the DFSA; in Hong Kong, 3S operates as a licensed Money Service Operator under the Customs and Excise Department.
Regulation: neobank status and safeguarding
An neobank is licensed to issue electronic money and run payments; it does not take deposits and does not lend. Client funds are not protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 the way a UK bank deposit is. They are safeguarded instead — held in segregated accounts at a credit institution, or covered by insurance or a comparable guarantee, and kept off the firm's own balance sheet so they survive its insolvency.
The regime is being tightened. In PS25/12 (August 2025) the FCA finalised new safeguarding rules for payments and e-money firms, and the Payment and Electronic Money (Safeguarding) Instrument 2025 came into force on 7 May 2026. This first, supplementary stage hardens record-keeping, reconciliation and audit of safeguarded funds, with a stricter post-repeal regime to follow. For a UK neobank such as 3S Money it means closer scrutiny of how client balances are held.
Private.lawas 3S Money partner
Private.law is an official introducer partner of 3S Money: applications go through a partner channel with a dedicated manager on the 3S side. This matters most for profiles with a Belarusian or Russian connection and a clean source of funds — 3S applies a more flexible KYC policy than Wise or most other neobanks, provided the package holds together.
What 3S Money does
- Multi-currency account in 65+ currencies: EUR, GBP, AED, HKD, CHF, PLN, CZK, CNY, INR, JPY, AUD, CAD, SGD, ZAR and more. USD is supported on a limited basis — incoming USD from the US is typically blocked, outgoing selectively.
- Inbound RUB from Russia — one of the few channels left. 3S Money accepts roubles from Russian counterparties through Raiffeisen Bank International and converts them straight to EUR or GBP. The channel is narrowing: under ECB pressure RBI is winding down cross-border payments out of Russia, so treat it as available today, not guaranteed tomorrow.
- SWIFT and local railsin Britain (Faster Payments), EU (SEPA), UAE (UAE EFT), Hong Kong (FPS).
- Currency exchangevia dealing desk — negotiable rates for large transactions.
- Corporate cardsprovided on request after account approval.
- Pricing — individually quoted. Baseline from £100/month maintenance plus roughly 0.5–1% on outgoing and about 0.5% on incoming payments (tariff effective February 2025); higher for high-risk profiles. An enterprise tier sits above the standard plan.
Application
Cross-border company with RUB revenue from Russia
The most typical 3S Money case. A UK Ltd or UAE company books revenue in RUB from a Russian counterparty with no sanctions exposure and a clean source. The roubles arrive via Raiffeisen, convert to EUR or GBP, and fund settlements in the EU or UK, or a dividend. For a long stretch this was effectively the only working rouble-inbound route into Europe; with RBI under an ECB-mandated wind-down of Russian payments, it is now a shrinking one.
UAE company with Middle Eastern settlements
A freezone company in RAK ICC or DMCC — clients in the EU and GCC, suppliers in India and China. 3S provides AED details, EUR and GBP for Europe, and SWIFT payouts to India and China. Routing through the DFSA-regulated UAE entity also means softer KYC for Middle Eastern clients. See UAE tax residency for the substance side.
EU company with rare currencies
PLN, CZK, HUF, RON — Central and Eastern European currencies that Wise supports selectively and Airwallex barely covers. 3S provides local EUR SEPA details and local PLN/CZK payouts without SWIFT fees.
Mandatory requirements
- UK / EU / UAE / HKcompany jurisdictions.
- Clear business model and a detailed KYC package: website, LinkedIn, CVs, banking history and source-of-funds documents. Expect close questions on beneficial ownership — see UBO registers.
- Clean source of funds.Especially important for clients with Russian or Belarusian connection.
- UBO not on sanctions lists.Sanctioned persons — rejection.
Opening throughprivate.law
- KYC package preparation.Detailed: formation documents, passports, source of funds with documentary evidence, history of bank accounts, business description ½ page.3–5 business days.
- Submission through partner channel.Introducer gets direct contact at 3S, explains profile and use case.
- Compliance review. 2–4 weeksdepending on complexity.
- Approval and individual pricing quote.
- Payment of onboarding fee and account activation.
Total timeline — 3–6 weeks.Longer than other neobanks; in return — more flexible KYC for complex profiles.
Russians and Belarusians: accepted selectively
3S Money is one of the few providers that still works with Russian- or Belarusian-connected profiles — under strict conditions, case by case.
Not suitable for
- Standard SME with simple USD/EUR operations.Wise cheaper and faster.
- Companies with zero USD inbound from US.3S handles this poorly.
- Acquiring.Not an acquirer.
- Crypto, gambling, adult.Prohibited.
- Startups with minimal turnover.Won't pay off.