Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the honest assessment, including banking and payment rails.
The real answer on Antigua & Barbuda.
The International Business Corporations Act licenses three international financial services - banking, trust business and insurance. It creates no separate licensable category for securities or investment business. That is the answer, and everything else on this page follows from it.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Antigua & Barbuda in brief
Three licensable services - and investment is not one of them.
The International Business Corporations Act, Cap. 222 is specific about what it regulates. International banking means banking in any currency foreign to every country of the CARICOM region. International trust business means acting as trustee of foreign-currency funds or managing property outside Antigua and Barbuda. International insurance means underwriting risks outside the CARICOM region in foreign currencies. Each of these requires approval and carries stated-capital requirements under its own section of the Act. What the Act does not do is create a separate licensable category for securities dealing, portfolio management or investment advice. General international trading and commercial activities exist as a residual permission, but that is not an investment licence, and no regulator issues one under this Act.
That matters because Antigua has a long history in international financial services and a correspondingly long history of documents being sold in its name. A company licensed here for banking or insurance is licensed for banking or insurance. A company incorporated here and described as holding an 'investment licence' is holding an incorporation. The clean architecture is layered: the regulated investment activity licensed where a securities regulator actually authorises it - the BVI, Cayman, Saint Lucia, Cyprus, the DIFC - with the Antiguan entity doing whatever a company legitimately does inside the group. We build that, we register the IBC properly, and we read any certificate you have already been sold.
The IBC Act, Cap. 222 licenses three international services - banking, trust business and insurance - each with stated-capital requirements. It creates no separate licensable category for securities or investment business.
An Antiguan company is a fine layer inside a licensed group, and the three real licences are real. The investment licence gets built where a securities regulator issues one.
What we actually build
Registration here - the licence where it belongs.
Two concrete deliverables: a properly registered Antiguan company, and real investment authorisation from a regulator that issues one.
Registration here. The investment licence where it exists.
01 - ANTIGUAN REGISTRATION
Registration, done cleanly
An international business corporation incorporated properly, with records and documentation that describe it accurately. A legitimate corporate layer, and nothing more claimed.
An international business corporation incorporated properly, with records and documentation that describe it accurately. A legitimate corporate layer, and nothing more claimed.
- ✓IBC incorporation
- ✓Registered agent engaged
- ✓Records and filings correct
- ✓No 'investment licence' claimed
- ✓Group layer, priced without padding
- ✓Banking / trust / insurance if actually needed
02 - THE REAL LICENCE
The licence, where it belongs
Investment authorisation built where a securities regulator issues one. The BVI or Cayman for funds, Saint Lucia for small fund businesses, Cyprus or the Baltics for the EU, the DIFC for the Gulf.
Authorisation from a securities regulator. BVI or Cayman for funds, St Lucia for fund business, CySEC or Baltic for the EU, DFSA for the Gulf.
- ✓Funds - BVI, Cayman, Bahamas
- ✓Fund business - St Lucia IMFA
- ✓EU mandates - CySEC / Baltic
- ✓Gulf - DFSA in the DIFC
- ✓Migration from paper structures
- ✓One group, one coherent map
Based on the International Business Corporations Act, Cap. 222, which establishes licensing for international banking, trust business and insurance, and no separate securities or investment category.
Why read this page
Six things worth knowing before you buy.
✓
Read the Act's own list
Banking, trust, insurance. Three named services with their own capital sections. Investment business is not among them.Three services, named.
✓
Residual permissions are not licences
'Other international trading or commercial activities' is what a company may do, not an authorisation a regulator grants.Permission, not authorisation.
✓
Banks and counterparties check
A claimed licence that matches no statutory category fails the first review, and the cost is the year spent finding out.First review decides.
✓
The real licences are real
If your business is genuinely international banking, trust or insurance, this Act is the right place and we build those files.Banking, trust, insurance.
✓
History cuts both ways
Antigua's long presence in international finance is why the market is mature, and why paper gets sold in its name.Mature, and targeted.
✓
Rescue is routine
Structures built on a mis-sold certificate can usually be rebuilt around an authorisation that exists. Bring the documents.Bring the documents.
How it compares
How Antigua differs from licensed routes.
Side by side: three genuine financial-services licences. None of which is an investment licence.
Antigua vs licensed jurisdictions
| Feature |  Antigua & Barbuda | Licensed jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory categories | Banking · trust · insurance | Securities and investment |
| Investment business | Not a licensable category | Licensed and supervised |
| Instrument | IBC registration | Supervised licence |
| Right use | Group layer or the three services | The regulated business |
Statutory categories
Antigua & BarbudaBanking · trust · insurance
Licensed jurisdictionsSecurities and investment
Investment business
Antigua & BarbudaNot a licensable category
Licensed jurisdictionsLicensed and supervised
Instrument
Antigua & BarbudaIBC registration
Licensed jurisdictionsSupervised licence
Right use
Antigua & BarbudaGroup layer or the three services
Licensed jurisdictionsThe regulated business
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua & Barbuda | Registration · three services | Entity fees | No investment category |
 St Lucia | Fund manager - IMFA 1999 | Entity + licence fees | Ministerial consent, agent |
 BVI | Approved Manager / Cat 3 | No income tax | US$400M AUM cap, US$1,000 |
 Cayman Islands | Securities manager - CIMA | No income tax | CI$5,000/yr, CI$15k resources |
Antigua & BarbudaLicense typeRegistration · three services
TaxationEntity fees
RequirementsNo investment category
St LuciaLicense typeFund manager - IMFA 1999
TaxationEntity + licence fees
RequirementsMinisterial consent, agent
BVILicense typeApproved Manager / Cat 3
TaxationNo income tax
RequirementsUS$400M AUM cap, US$1,000
Cayman IslandsLicense typeSecurities manager - CIMA
TaxationNo income tax
RequirementsCI$5,000/yr, CI$15k resources
Before you buy anything
Ten questions to ask any provider.Ten questions for any provider.
If a provider offers an Antiguan 'investment' or 'securities' licence, ask these in writing before paying anything.
01
Which statute creates this licence. Name the Act and the section.
02
The IBC Act licenses banking, trust and insurance: which of those is this?
03
Send me a register link showing a current holder of this exact licence.
04
Which clients may I serve under it. EU retail? UK? US?
05
How does it differ from a plain Antiguan IBC?
06
Which banks have opened accounts for holders of this document?
07
What capital, audit and reporting obligations attach to it?
08
Who supervises me after issuance, and what do they inspect?
09
If my business is genuinely banking or insurance, why is this not that licence?
10
Will you put every answer above in writing, on your letterhead?
01
Which Act and section?
02
Which of the three is it?
03
Send the register link.
04
Which clients may I serve?
05
How is it not just an IBC?
06
Which banks accepted it?
07
Capital and audit?
08
Who supervises after?
09
If banking. Why not that?
10
Will you write this down?
We answer all ten for any jurisdiction we build in, in writing, before you engage us. So should anyone else.We answer all ten in writing. So should anyone.
How it works
From first call to a structure that stands.
01
The full map
What your business actually does, and which of the Act's three categories - if any - covers it.What you do.
02
The licence decision
Investment activity routed to a securities regulator; banking, trust or insurance kept here if that is the real business.Routed properly.
03
Registration and build
The Antiguan entity registered cleanly while the licence file is prepared where it belongs.Clean, in parallel.
04
Authorisation
The real application run to grant in the jurisdiction that governs your clients.Run to grant.
05
Group live
Licensed entity operating, Antiguan company in its proper role, banking open on the strength of the register.Register supports it.
Quick facts
AuthorityFSRC
FrameworkIBC Act, Cap. 222
International bankingLicensable
International trustLicensable
International insuranceLicensable
Securities / investmentNo separate category
VehicleIBC
Right useLayer in a licensed group
Stated capital requirements attach to the banking, trust and insurance categories under their own sections of the Act, and are confirmed at filing where those licences are the goal.
On the ground in Antigua
Run from our St John's office.
Prifinance - Antigua & Barbuda
St John's · Antigua
St John's, Antigua and Barbuda
01
Clear-eyed assessment
What the IBC Act can and cannot license for your model. Before any invoice exists.Before the invoice.
02
Clean registration
The Antiguan company incorporated properly, described accurately, with records that survive scrutiny.Described accurately.
03
The three real licences
Where the business genuinely is banking, trust or insurance, those files built under the Act.Built where genuine.
04
The investment licence
Authorisation built where a securities regulator issues one. The regulated part in a regulated place.Where one is issued.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
Dubai
UAE
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Costs and taxation in Antigua & Barbuda.
Entity economics, because there is no investment licence here to price.
Formation and annual fees
Incorporation, registered agent and annual filings. The real cost of an Antiguan company.Modest and predictable.
No investment licence fees
None exist, because the category does not. Anything billed as such is a service fee.No such category.
Real fees for real licences
Banking, trust and insurance carry genuine capital and fee obligations under the Act. Quoted properly where those are the goal.Where they apply.
Planning sits above
With no licensed investment activity here, tax planning happens at group and owner level.Group and owner.
XCD pegged at 2.70
The East Caribbean dollar is pegged to the US dollar - no currency exposure inside the structure.2.70 to the dollar.
Thin treaty map
Cross-border flows are routed through networked jurisdictions, deliberately, at design.Route deliberately.
Cost summary
Entity costsFormation + annual fees
Investment licenceNo such category
Banking / trust / insuranceCapital per the Act
CurrencyXCD pegged 2.70 : US$1
TreatiesThin - route deliberately
*Position as of 2026 per the IBC Act, Cap. 222. Capital and fees for the three licensable services are confirmed at filing.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Antiguan company, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a structure that stands.
Follow Prifinance
Active across our channels.
Antigua & Barbuda · the real route
Build the structure that actually works.
We use Antigua for what its Act actually licenses and build the investment licence where one is issued - with the difference explained first.
Get a consultation →Free legal opinion
What do you actually need?
Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
Antigua & Barbuda, answered plainly.
Is there an investment licence in Antigua and Barbuda?+
Not as a separate category. The International Business Corporations Act, Cap. 222 establishes licensing for international banking, international trust business and international insurance. Securities dealing, portfolio management and investment advice are not licensable categories under it.
What about 'other international trading or commercial activities'?+
That is a residual permission describing what a company may do, not an authorisation a regulator grants and supervises. It is not an investment licence, and it will not read as one to a bank.
So what is being sold as an Antiguan investment licence?+
In nearly every case, an IBC incorporation with confident wording. Ask which section of the Act creates the licence and request a register link - the response settles it.
What can genuinely be licensed here?+
International banking - banking in currencies foreign to every CARICOM country; international trust business - trusteeship of foreign-currency funds or management of property outside Antigua; and international insurance for risks outside CARICOM. Each carries stated-capital requirements under its own section.
Can I still use an Antiguan company?+
Yes - as an operating or holding layer inside a group whose regulated activity is licensed elsewhere. That is legitimate and common, and we describe it accurately in every document.
Where should the investment licence be?+
Where a securities regulator issues one: the BVI or Cayman for funds, Saint Lucia for a small fund business under IMFA 1999, CySEC or a Baltic regulator for the EU, the DFSA for the Gulf.
I already bought an 'Antigua investment licence'. What now?+
Bring the documents. We will read them, tell you exactly what you own, and rebuild the structure around an authorisation that exists.
Is Antigua a bad jurisdiction?+
No - it has a real regulator, a substantial Act and genuine licensing regimes for banking, trust and insurance. The problem is a product sold in its name that the Act does not contain.
Does citizenship by investment help?+
No. The country's investment-migration programme is a personal immigration matter and confers no financial-services authorisation of any kind.
Why does Prifinance publish this?+
Because a structure that fails its first bank review costs far more than the truth. We would rather build one that stands.
Investment licence?+
No separate category.
Residual activities?+
Not an authorisation.
What's sold then?+
An IBC plus wording.
What is licensable?+
Banking, trust, insurance.
Use the company?+
Yes - as a layer.
Where instead?+
A securities regulator.
Already bought?+
Bring it; we rebuild.
Bad jurisdiction?+
No - bad product.
Citizenship?+
No authorisation at all.
Why publish?+
Truth costs less.
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
Google
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
Google
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Google
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Google
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Google
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Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of FSRC or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.