NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

After clashing with regulators and being blacklisted by many banks and credit unions, many emerging-payments companies are seeking a warmer welcome outside the U.S.

Many of the affected companies provide services for users of the digital currency Bitcoin, which will likely require them to obtain money-transmitter licenses in Washington D.C. and the 47 states that require it. The cost of obtaining these licenses, excluding bonding requirements, is approximately $7 million to $10 million, says Guillaume Babin-Tremblay, executive director of Bitcoin Embassy in Montreal, Canada.

This cost, along with an evolving regulatory landscape, has sparked a “mass exodus of these companies to countries with friendlier legislation regarding Bitcoin in general,” he says.