What are the payment options for Curacao-licensed online casinos?

Due to the fact that Curacao is “blacklisted” by certain international laws concerning banking, opening a bank account for a Curacao company directly is not always an option. As a result of the general reputation of the jurisdiction, payment service providers are bound by various restrictions from local and international regulators and a lot of them are unable or choose not to start business relationships with Curacao companies.

Currently, Nomad Law solves this inconvenience by establishing a European subsidiary. Opening bank accounts, establishing payment gateways and forming other types of banking relations is incomparably less complicated than trying to secure payment channels for a Curacao company. This model is time-tested and completely compliant since, even though the account is opened on behalf of the EU entity, the payment institution is informed and aware about the legal structure and the fact that it involves a Curacao-licensed online gaming company. Financial service providers are familiar with such business models and, during the AML checks and other related procedures, inspect both the subsidiary (the EU corporation) and the Curacao entity.

From the EU agent’s perspective, ownership information, legal memo on business model and how it corresponds with the EU laws (legal arguments on why the EU company itself does not need a gambling license and/or payment service provider’s license) should be presented. However, from the perspective of the Curacao company, the corporate documents which are initially prepared in order to get the license are usually not enough. For example, the requirements for the AML policies and KYC procedures for obtaining the Curacao i-gaming license are way more relaxed than what the online gambling operator is expected to have in place in order to be considered by a payment institution. For this reason, even though different payment service providers have different risk appetites, it is best to take a more serious approach from the very beginning. Of course, if the respective policies are not adopted at the incorporation stage, it can always be done later, but it will double the amount of work that has to be put in.

Additionally, maintaining payment partners, especially when they are based in different jurisdictions than the company, requires dedicated internal resources or qualified external providers who would be able to understand the big picture, especially when it comes to supervising an international corporate structure. Most issues encountered by Curacao-licensed companies are related to poor legal management and lack of attention to keeping up with the pace of quick-changing regulatory environment.

Nomad Law partners with some of the most trusted payment service providers for online casinos and will find the most suitable option based on your individual circumstances. Our banking solutions are not limited to filling the applications and communicating with financial institutions. Nomad Law will make sure that you will understand why particular questions are being asked, why it is important to provide certain documentation and, if there are deficiencies, solve the issues by improving the legal structure, complementing, preparing a different level, or completely reworking relevant policies and many more.