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 sober assessment, including banking and payment rails.
The real answer on Dominica.
The Financial Services Unit's own published fee schedule lists five licensable categories - credit unions, insurance, money services businesses, offshore banking and virtual asset businesses. Investment firms, securities dealers and fund managers are not among them. What Dominica offers a manager is a clean corporate layer, not a licence.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Dominica in brief
The fee schedule settles the argument.
The clearest evidence of what a regulator licenses is what it charges for, and Dominica's Financial Services Unit publishes its fee schedule: credit unions under the 2023 cooperatives order, insurance under the Insurance Act 2012, money services businesses across classes A to E, offshore banking under the 2023 order, and virtual asset businesses under Act 1 of 2022 at EC$10,800 to apply and EC$32,400 to register. There is no securities, investment-firm, fund or fund-manager category, not priced, not listed, not issued. A brochure offering a 'Dominica investment licence' is describing a line that does not exist on the regulator's own tariff.
The jurisdiction is still usable, in its real capacity: an international business company formed in Dominica is quick, inexpensive and legitimate as an operating or holding layer inside a group whose regulated activity is licensed elsewhere. If the business is genuinely crypto-facing, the virtual asset regime is a real, priced category worth examining on its own terms. Everything else - managing portfolios, advising investors, running a fund - belongs in a jurisdiction that licenses those activities. We build the layered structure, register the Dominica company as what it is, and read any certificate you have already been sold.
The FSU's published fee schedule prices credit unions, insurance, money services, offshore banking and virtual assets - there is no securities, investment-firm or fund line. Regulators charge for what they license; the absence is the answer.
An IBC is a fine layer inside a licensed group, and the VAB regime is real if crypto is the actual business. Everything else licenses elsewhere.
What we actually build
Registration here - the licence where it belongs.
Two concrete deliverables: a properly registered Dominica entity, and real authorisation where your investors are. Plus the VAB route if the business is genuinely crypto.
Registration here. The real licence where investors are.
01 - DOMINICA REGISTRATION
Registration, done cleanly
An international business company incorporated properly with a registered agent and correct records. A legitimate corporate layer, described as exactly that.
An international business company incorporated properly with a registered agent and correct records. A legitimate corporate layer, described as exactly that.
- ✓IBC incorporation
- ✓Registered agent engaged
- ✓Records and filings correct
- ✓No 'licence' claimed anywhere
- ✓Days to formation
- ✓Region-low running costs
02 - THE REAL LICENCE
The licence, where it belongs
Investment authorisation built where your investors are - or, where the business is genuinely crypto, Dominica's own virtual asset business regime at EC$10,800 to apply.
Authorisation where investors live - or Dominica's own virtual asset regime at EC$10,800 to apply where the business is genuinely crypto.
- ✓Funds - BVI, Cayman, Bahamas
- ✓EU mandates - CySEC / Baltic
- ✓Gulf - DFSA in the DIFC
- ✓Crypto - Dominica VAB regime
- ✓Migration from paper structures
- ✓One group, one coherent map
Based on the FSU's own published fee schedule as of 2026, which lists credit unions, insurance, money services, offshore banking and virtual assets, and no securities or fund category.
Why read this page
Six things worth knowing before you buy.
✓
The tariff is the proof
Regulators price what they license. No investment or fund line appears on the FSU's schedule. That is the whole argument.No line, no licence.
✓
The VAB regime is real
Virtual asset businesses have a priced, published category at EC$10,800 to apply. Genuine, and worth examining if crypto is the actual business.Priced and published.
✓
Banks check categories
A claimed licence that matches no published category fails the first compliance look-up, and the year is lost.Mismatch ends it.
✓
The company is still useful
An IBC works as an operating or holding layer inside a licensed group. Cheap, quick and accurately describable.As a layer, exactly that.
✓
Costs are region-low
Formation and upkeep here are among the lowest in the East Caribbean, which is exactly why paper gets sold from it.Why paper sells here.
✓
Rescue is a real service
If you already hold a certificate, bring it. We will read it and rebuild the structure around something that exists.Bring the certificate.
How it compares
How Dominica differs from licensed routes.
Side by side: a registration against real authorisations. With one genuine crypto category in between.
Dominica vs licensed jurisdictions
| Feature |  Dominica | Licensed jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | Company registration | Supervised licence |
| FSU categories | Banking, insurance, MSB, VAB | Dealers, managers, funds |
| Investment firms | Not listed or priced | Licensed and supervised |
| Right use | Group layer · VAB if crypto | The regulated business |
Instrument
DominicaCompany registration
Licensed jurisdictionsSupervised licence
FSU categories
DominicaBanking, insurance, MSB, VAB
Licensed jurisdictionsDealers, managers, funds
Investment firms
DominicaNot listed or priced
Licensed jurisdictionsLicensed and supervised
Right use
DominicaGroup layer · VAB if crypto
Licensed jurisdictionsThe regulated business
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominica | Registration · VAB only | 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 |
 Bahamas | Funds + SIA - SCB | No income tax | IFA 2019 fund categories |
DominicaLicense typeRegistration · VAB only
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
BahamasLicense typeFunds + SIA - SCB
TaxationNo income tax
RequirementsIFA 2019 fund categories
Before you buy anything
Ten questions to ask any provider.Ten questions for any provider.
If a provider offers a 'Dominica investment licence', ask these in writing. The answers, or their absence, decide it.
01
Which statute creates this licence. Name the Act and section.
02
Where does it appear on the FSU's published fee schedule?
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 Dominica 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 crypto, why is this not the VAB regime?
10
Will you put every answer above in writing, on your letterhead?
01
Which Act creates it?
02
Where on the FSU tariff?
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 crypto. Why not VAB?
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 real map
Investor geography, activity type and whether the VAB regime is actually relevant.Is VAB relevant?
02
The licence decision
The regulated jurisdiction chosen on coverage - or the VAB route where crypto is the real business.Coverage first.
03
Registration and build
The Dominica entity registered cleanly while the licence file is prepared in parallel.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, Dominica company in its proper role, banking open on the strength of the register.Register supports it.
Quick facts
AuthorityFSU Dominica
Investment licenceNot listed or priced
FSU categoriesFive, published
Virtual assetsEC$10,800 application
VAB registrationEC$32,400
VehicleIBC
FormationDays
Right useLayer in a licensed group
The virtual asset regime is the one genuinely priced door here, and only for businesses that are actually virtual asset businesses.
On the ground in Dominica
Run from our Roseau office.
Prifinance - Dominica
Roseau · Dominica
Roseau, Dominica
01
Frank assessment
What Dominica can contribute and what it cannot. Mapped before any invoice exists.Before the invoice.
02
Clean registration
The IBC incorporated properly, with an agent and records that survive scrutiny.Survives scrutiny.
03
VAB where it fits
If the business is genuinely crypto, the virtual asset route examined on its own published terms.On published terms.
04
The real licence
Investment authorisation built where your investors live. The regulated part in a regulated place.Where investors are.
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 Dominica.
Entity economics at the region's low end, because there is no investment licence to price.
Formation and annual fees
Incorporation, registered agent and annual filings. Among the lowest running costs in the East Caribbean.Region's low end.
No investment licence fees
None exist, because the category is not on the schedule. Anything billed as one is a service fee.No such category.
The VAB tariff is published
EC$10,800 to apply and EC$32,400 to register for virtual asset businesses. A real, priced category.EC$10,800 · 32,400.
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.
Planning sits above
With no licensed investment activity here, planning happens at group and owner level.Group and owner.
Thin treaty map
Cross-border flows are routed through networked jurisdictions, deliberately, at design.Route deliberately.
Cost summary
Entity costsFormation + annual fees
Licence feesNone - no such category
VAB regimeEC$10,800 · EC$32,400
CurrencyXCD pegged 2.70 : US$1
TreatiesThin - route deliberately
*Position as of 2026 per the FSU's published fee schedule. Confirm current tariffs before relying on any figure.
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: Dominica 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.
Dominica · the real route
Build the structure that actually works.
We register in Dominica where it helps, use the VAB regime where it fits, and license where it counts - 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
Dominica, answered plainly.
Is there an investment licence in Dominica?+
No. The Financial Services Unit's published fee schedule lists credit unions, insurance, money services businesses, offshore banking and virtual asset businesses. There is no securities, investment-firm or fund category, not listed and not priced.
How can you be sure?+
Because regulators charge for what they license. A category with no line on the tariff is not being issued, and no wording in a brochure changes that.
What is the virtual asset regime?+
A genuine, published category under Act 1 of 2022 - EC$10,800 to apply and EC$32,400 to register. If your business is actually a virtual asset business, it is worth examining on its own terms.
Can I still use a Dominica company?+
Yes - as an operating or holding layer inside a group whose regulated activity is licensed elsewhere. Formation is quick and running costs are among the region's lowest.
I was quoted a 'Dominica securities licence'. What is it?+
An IBC formation with confident wording. Ask where it appears on the FSU schedule and request a register link - the response settles it.
Where should the licence actually be?+
Where your investors are: the BVI or Cayman for funds, CySEC or a Baltic regulator for EU mandates, the DFSA for the Gulf, Saint Lucia for a small fund business under IMFA 1999.
Why do banks refuse these structures?+
Compliance teams compare claimed authorisations against published categories. A mismatch ends the application, and the real cost is the year spent finding out.
Is Dominica a bad jurisdiction?+
No - it has a functioning registry, a published regulatory framework and a real virtual asset regime. The problem is a product sold in its name that the framework does not contain.
What does a clean structure cost?+
The Dominica company costs what a company costs. The licence costs what the licensing jurisdiction charges - from US$1,000 in the BVI upward. We price both openly at the first call.
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.
Licence here?+
Not on the schedule.
How sure?+
Regulators price what they license.
VAB regime?+
Real - EC$10,800 in.
Use the company?+
Yes - as a layer.
Quoted one?+
An IBC plus wording.
Where instead?+
Where investors are.
Why banks refuse?+
Categories compared.
Bad jurisdiction?+
No - bad product.
Cost?+
Priced openly, both parts.
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
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Google
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Google
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Google
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