BCB Group is a London-based group doing for the crypto industry what mainstream banks refused to do: operational fiat accounts, payment rails and settlement for exchanges, funds and market makers. It was launched in June 2017; its founders were Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, who left the boards of BCB Group Holdings and BCB Payments in November 2023, and Oliver Tonkin, who became President when Tim Renew was appointed CEO in January 2026. In January 2020 BCB Payments Limited became the first crypto-focused company to receive Authorised Payment Institution status from the FCA.
The product logic is simple: a crypto business needs fiat — to take client money, pay salaries, settle with counterparties. Banks fear such clients; BCB specialises in them.
Who They Are and the Licence
- UK: BCB Payments Limited (company no. 11313622) — an Authorised Payment Institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, FCA firm reference number 807377.
- France — the group's EU hub: BCB Payments (Europe) SASU is authorised by the ACPR as an electronic money institution (no. 735745). In April 2024 it was also registered with the AMF as a digital asset services provider (DASP), and the group prepared a MiCA CASP application with the AMF. France's MiCA transitional period for registered DASPs ended on 1 July 2026, and ESMA's interim register of authorised CASPs (entries updated to August 2026) lists no BCB entity — check it before relying on crypto services from the French entity.
- Switzerland: BCB Markets (Switzerland) Sàrl (CHE-415.135.958) is a member of VQF, a self-regulatory organisation recognised under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act.
- Elsewhere: since February 2026 BCB Payments Limited and BCB Payments (Europe) SASU are registered with FINTRAC in Canada as foreign money services businesses; BCB Markets FZE is going through VARA licensing in Dubai.
- The perimeter is strictly institutional: no retail clients, no personal accounts.
Products and Rails
- Operational payment accounts in more than 30 currencies: GBP via Faster Payments, CHAPS and SWIFT; EUR via SEPA Instant, SEPA, T2 and SWIFT; USD via Fedwire and international wire; virtual IBANs for client flows.
- BLINC — a proprietary 24/7/365 instant settlement network: transfers between members are free and instant, nights and weekends included; supported currencies — USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, SGD, JPY, AUD, NZD. The directory spans exchanges, market makers, lenders, funds and brokers.
- FX and crypto liquidity: OTC trading, fiat on/off-ramp.
- Digital asset custody.
- Yield: since February 2026 — Stablecoin Earn, institutional returns on USDC, USDT and EURC lent under a master loan agreement to a partner structure that invests in a USD money-market-fund vault; USDT services are not available to EU-based clients. (BCB Yield on fiat and crypto balances was launched in February 2022.)
Who It Suits
Crypto exchanges (BCB's own announcements name Coinbase, Bitstamp and Gemini among its clients, and BLINC users include Bitvavo, B2C2, SwissBorg and BlockFills), market makers and OTC desks, funds and asset managers, brokers, payment firms with crypto flows, and infrastructure players such as Fireblocks and Zodia Markets, whose platforms connect to BLINC. BLINC's value is network-driven: the more counterparties inside, the less reason to push settlement through SWIFT.
Onboarding and Compliance
Institutional KYB: the client's licences and registrations (VASP/CASP/MSB), AML policies, source of funds, token provenance and the business model. BCB knows the industry from the inside, so the dialogue is easier for a regulated crypto business than with a mainstream bank — but the documentation pack is no lighter. Timelines from several weeks; terms individual.
Risks and Limitations
- Not a bank: API/EMI statuses, safeguarding instead of deposit protection.
- Industry concentration: the client base grew out of the crypto market, so a crypto-market stress hits much of it at once — the group went through the 2022–2023 cycle with management changes (co-founder Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie left the boards in November 2023). BCB now also serves remittance firms, iGaming operators and regulated CFD and FX brokers.
- USD rails are the traditional weak spot of crypto providers: BCB payment accounts send and receive US dollars via Fedwire and international wire and USD has settled on BLINC since March 2024, but BCB lists no US licence among its authorisations — check how your dollar flows are routed.
- A private client without a legal entity and regulatory status has nothing to do here.
Q/A
Is BCB Group a bank?
No. It is a group of payment institutions: an Authorised Payment Institution in the UK and an EMI in France. No banking licence, no FSCS — safeguarding applies.
What is BLINC?
BCB's proprietary instant settlement network: members transfer USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, SGD, JPY, AUD and NZD to each other instantly and free of charge, 24/7/365. Effectively the crypto industry's internal clearing layer.
Will they take a company without a crypto licence?
The focus is regulated institutional clients. VASP/CASP/MSB status radically simplifies onboarding. BCB's published risk appetite rules out unregulated or unlicensed money service businesses and shell companies without verifiable economic substance; other businesses without a licence are reviewed case by case and far more strictly.
How does BCB differ from Clear Junction?
Both are FCA-regulated non-banks. Clear Junction is a broad correspondent provider for PSPs and EMIs where crypto is one of several verticals. BCB is a specialised crypto hub: BLINC, OTC liquidity, custody and stablecoin yield.