Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC) Licence

Guidelines for issuance of FFMC Licence:-

A. Eligibility:

The guidelines for issue of new FFMC licence and renewal of FFMC licence,are given below:

(a) The applicant has to be a company registered under the Companies Act,2013 or under any previous Companies Act.

(b) The minimum Net Owned Funds (NOF) required for consideration as FFMC are as follows:

(c) ‘Fit and proper’ criteria for the applicant FFMCs

The Boards of FFMCs / non-bank ADs Category – II should undertake a process of due diligence to determine the suitability of the person (by Constituting Nomination Committee) for appointment / continuing to hold appointment as a director on the Board, based upon qualification, expertise, track record, integrity and other ‘fit and proper’ criteria.

The applicant/s should normally not exceed 70 years of age, should not be a Member of Parliament /Member of Legislative Assembly / Member of Legislative Council. For assessing integrity and suitability, factors like criminal record, if any, financial position, civil action initiated to pursue personal debts, refusal of admission to or expulsion from professional bodies, sanctions imposed by regulators or similar bodies, previous questionable business practices, etc. should be considered.

Note: If, any case by Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or any other law enforcing authorities, is initiated / pending against any company / its directors, the company will not be considered as ‘fit and proper’ and its application will not be considered for licensing as FFMC.

B. Procedure:

(a) Application in the prescribed form should be submitted to the respective Regional Office of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank under whose jurisdiction the registered office of the applicant falls, along with the following documents:

• Copy of the Certificate of Incorporation.
• Memorandum and Articles of Association containing a provision for undertaking money changing business or an appropriate amendment to this effect filed with the Company Law Board.
• Copy of the latest audited accounts with a certificate from the Statutory Auditors certifying the Net Owned Funds as on the date of application. Copies of the audited Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account of the company for the last three years, wherever applicable.
• Confidential Report from the applicant’s banker in a sealed cover.
• A declaration to the effect that no proceedings have been initiated by / are pending with the Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or any other law enforcing authorities, against the applicant company or its directors and that no criminal cases are initiated / pending against the applicant company or its directors.
• A declaration to the effect that proper policy framework on KYC / AML / CFT, in accordance with the guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India, Department of Banking Regulation, Central Office as referred to in their ‘Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016’ and other instructions in this regard so far and from time to time in future, mutatis mutandis, applicable to APs, will be put in place on obtaining the approval of the Reserve Bank and before commencement of operations.
• Details of sister / associated concerns operating in the financial sector, like NBFCs, etc.
• A certified copy of the board resolution for undertaking money changing business.