As an EU-member, Cyprus is covered by European standards and financial regulative provisions in line with MiFID Harmonization Directive. Therefore, getting an STP brokerage license becomes appealing variant to ensure the safeness and trustworthiness of your business-project. Licensing of locally-registered brokerage firms is implemented by the Cyprus Commission (CySEC); it controls and monitors investment-related firms, brokers, funds and other financial establishments operating on the island.
Our team grants advisory and practical assistance and fully-covering support in getting this type of permit in any jurisdiction worldwide. Our experts are aware of all the nuances of regulating investment firms in Cyprus and other market-spaces providing highly-qualified CySEC licensing services for STP brokers. We’ve enormous expertise and extensive specialized knowledge to achieve the most efficient results.
CySEC STP regulation guide
STP-license in Cyprus is intended for firms planning to spread services for their clients. This permit gives possibilities for holders to control clients’ funds and securities, carry out their instructions and orders, and administer investment portfolios. In Cyprus, financially-related services are monitored and controlled by CySEC as we’ve mentioned above. As part of the EU, Cyprus strictly complies with MiFID-directive regulating the markets for financial tools and means.
How to obtain STP broker license in Cyprus
To apply for STP-license, entrepreneurs need to launch a firm and open a locally-registered office, and hire employees. To apply for CySEC STP license online, businesspersons need to submit next-mentioned to regulative authorities.
- Instructions on how operations will be carried out within the firm.
- Business-plan for next few years.
- Projected financial indicators.
- Instructions on how the firm will combat illegal monetary means circulation.
- Banking statements confirming initial capital availability
- Personal details and expertise of directors and shareholders.
- Copies of directors’ diplomas.
- Copies of key employees’ passports certified by a notary.
- Copies of utility bills.
- CySEC STP license application Cyprus.
- Letters of recommendation from lawyers and banking establishments.
Regulative bodies possess rights to ask for other papers and certificates it deems mandatory. Applications will be put on hold until obligatory data is provided. Regulators decide whether to issue an STP-license to a firm within 6-month-period and notify applicants of their decision.
Requirements for CySEC STP license
To get a local STP-license, highly-qualified personnel must be hired for next-mentioned positions and these employees must be approved by regulative authorities based on professional background and reputation criteria.
- Four directors, incl. managing director; 3 must be residents.
- Heads of each department (dealing, sales, back office, etc.).
- Risk monitoring and controlling, and illegal monetary means circulation prevention manager.
- Accountants.
- Internal and external auditors.
- External legal consultants.
1 month before submitting documents to CySEC, the company’s account needs to hold a min capital of 125 thousand EUR.
To successfully pass the process of getting stp license with CySEC, entrepreneurs need to create a full-fledged office and meet substance norms. Office needs to be located locally and be equipped with everything necessary. It should store documentation related to company’s investment-activities, particularly, financial statements, agreements, audit reports and accounting.
Correspondence with these norms isn’t complicated, but it’s essential to bear in mind the performance of substance functions and key personnel qualifications.
Particular attention is paid to directors’ qualifications, who need to be professional investors. Also needed:
- secretary;
- risk manager;
- internal/external auditors;
- certified traders.
Firm’s office should include next-mentioned departments:
- brokerage;
- financial;
- IT;
- accounting.
Responsible persons need to possess appropriate certificates. To reduce costs, some functions may be performed by one of the firm’s employees, but using nominal services is unacceptable.
- Terms: 5-9 months.
- Min initial capital: 125 thousand EUR for STPs.
- Full CySEC STP compliance requirements.
- State fees for permit getting: 4 thousand EUR + 19%-VAT.
- Investor compensation fund: 20-30 thousand EUR (approx.).
- State fees for permit renewal: 4 thousand EUR + 19%-VAT.
CySEC STP license benefits
All CIF-companies have passport rights allowing them to open offices in other EU-countries without the need for an STP-license. Since Cyprus joined the EU, its financial niche has been continuously progressing. Low corporate tax-rate (12.5%) attracts investors from other jurisdictions. It also offers min norms and rules for initial capital, a well-developed infrastructure for FX-brokers and possibilities of remote companies controlling and monitoring.
Possessing a locally-approved brokerage permit is one of the most appealing variants in the EU because of its favorable tax-environment, well-developed ecosystem and efficient legal system. Cyprus licenses for FX-activities allow businesspersons to spread appropriate services in any EU-country.
If you need additional information on getting such permits in Cyprus, professional lawyers, economists, accountants and managers of our team are ready to grant individual consultancy on licensing brokerage organizations. Additionally, our firm grants a package of accompanying services for brokerage establishments. We offer full consultancy for CySEC STP license in Cyprus at all stages. We’re also ready to offer you options for ready-made companies with an STP-license in Cyprus for sale.
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