EMIs That Accept Crypto Businesses: What Each Provider’s Own Policy Says
The EMIs that accept crypto businesses are a short list, and which list you are on depends on what your company does with crypto, not on whether it touches crypto at all. Running an exchange or a custodial wallet is refused outright by bunq, Wise and Finom and accepted mainly by specialist providers, only one of which, Clear Junction, says it checks your licence. Investing your own treasury, accepting crypto as payment or selling services to crypto firms is a different case, and some mainstream providers write it down as acceptable.
You open a business account, the onboarding form asks what the company does, and you type the honest answer: something with crypto. A week later the application is declined, or worse, approved and closed three months in. The paperwork may have been fine. The provider’s written policy may simply have said no before you applied.
Read the provider’s acceptable use policy before you apply, find the line that names your activity, and apply where that line says yes. Every policy below was read on 2 October 2026 on the provider’s own site or document store.
Why “crypto business” means several different businesses to an EMI
Most of the policies we read do not treat “crypto” as one category. They split it into activities, and they treat them very differently: exchanging crypto for money, holding crypto for customers (custody and wallets), issuing tokens, mining and staking, investing your own funds, and accepting crypto as a means of payment.
bunq’s help centre shows the split most clearly. It accepts companies that are “Investing in crypto currencies for your own account”, that make “Use of crypto currencies for payments” or that offer “(Investment) Advisory services”, and in the same article refuses exchanges, wallet providers, mining, coin issuers and mixers. Same provider, same word “crypto”, opposite answers.
So the first job is to name your activity the way the policy names it. A software agency with crypto clients, a company holding bitcoin on its balance sheet and a brokerage are three different applications, and an onboarding desk will read them as three different risks.
“When my crypto startup launched, it was nearly impossible to find a bank to give us a checking account. We were literally walking around with a VC check and nowhere to cash it. Just because we had the words “cryptocurrency” in our charter.”A crypto startup founder in the US, on Hacker News, 2021
That founder was describing US banks years ago, but the mechanism is the same one the policies below write down: the description of the business is screened before the business itself.
EMIs that accept crypto businesses, provider by provider
The table is ordered by the last column, from the clearest written yes for exchanges, wallets and trading firms to the clearest written no, because an account whose policy already names your activity is less exposed to a closure over something the provider only notices later. Licence types are as each provider states them on its own site; we did not cross-check the regulator registers in this round.
| Provider | Licence (as stated by the provider) | What the written policy says about crypto businesses | Exchange, wallet or trading firm? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bankera (via Pervesk UAB) | Agent of a Lithuanian EMI | “Use your Bankera account for your cryptocurrency business including exchanges, mining and staking farms” | Yes; Premium plan, 900 EUR application review plus 200 EUR a month |
| Clear Junction | EMI, FCA (UK) | Serves “licensed digital asset businesses” and reviews “your licences (VASP, CASP or equivalent)” | Yes, if licensed |
| Januar | Payment institution, Denmark (not an EMI) | Built for crypto companies; the customer is responsible “for securing the required licences”; EEA customers only | Yes, customer’s own licence required |
| BCB Group | Payment institution (UK), EMI (France) | Serves “digital asset businesses” and VASPs; client licence rules not published on the pages read | Yes for “digital asset businesses” and VASPs; exchanges not named on the pages read |
| Airwallex | EMI, FCA (UK), DNB (Netherlands), Bank of Lithuania | Crypto trading services are “Restricted Activities”: not allowed “Without our approval” | Only with approval and the required licence |
| Payoneer | Not stated on the pages read | Crypto, NFTs and mining are restricted lines of business; Payoneer “may pre-approve” at its “sole discretion” | Only by discretionary pre-approval |
| Qonto | Not stated in the document read (issuer: OLINDA SAS, France) | Prohibits “mining, staking, NFT, wallet development, monetary blockchain creation, STO” | Exchanges and trading not named; wallet development prohibited; help centre not readable (403) |
| Paysera | EMI, Bank of Lithuania | Prohibits dealing in “unregulated and/or unsupervised virtual currency”, including transfers from exchangers | No for trading services on “electronic currency trading systems”; the wider ban covers “unregulated and/or unsupervised” virtual currency, and MiCA-regulated firms are not addressed |
| bunq Business | Not stated on the page read | Accepts own-account investing, crypto payments and advisory after “individual assessments” | No |
| Mercury (US) | US fintech with partner banks (not an EMI) | “We support thousands of crypto and web3 startups, DAOs, and funds” | No: “we do not currently support Money Services Businesses or exchanges” |
| Wise Business | Not stated on the pages read | “We don’t support businesses that are involved in the exchange or trading of cryptocurrencies” | No |
| Finom | EMI, DNB (Netherlands) | “cryptocurrency” listed among Prohibited Activity industries | No |
Read on 2 October 2026 on each provider’s own site or document store. Finom’s agreement was version 1.3, the latest we could find on Finom’s document store; we could not confirm it is the one in force. Policies change without notice: re-read the provider’s page before you apply.
On the policies read, Bankera, Clear Junction, Januar and BCB Group write crypto businesses in, and only Clear Junction says it reviews your licence; Airwallex takes crypto trading firms only with its approval and the required licence, Payoneer only by discretionary pre-approval. Januar makes the licence the customer’s responsibility but can block payments in certain jurisdictions until it sees valid compliance documents, and Bankera’s page does not mention a licence.
Three providers we could not place. Revolut Business returned an access error on every policy page we tried, so we are not reporting its position. Satchel and ZEN.com publish nothing we could find on crypto business clients, beyond ZEN’s general rule against operating a licensable business without the licence.
MiCA licence: which EMIs ask a crypto business for one
Clear Junction and Airwallex make the licence a condition. Clear Junction says it reviews your VASP or CASP licence alongside your business model and fund flows, and Airwallex writes that activities needing a licence “will be considered prohibited” until “such licensing is confirmed”.
The timing matters. MiCA’s rules for crypto service providers (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) have applied since 30 December 2024. Its transitional regime let existing crypto service providers keep operating “until 1 July 2026” at the latest, and member states could shorten it. By October 2026 that window has closed everywhere in the EU, so a crypto service provider without a MiCA authorisation is no longer in a grace period.
The European Banking Authority’s guidelines show why the institution cares. For banks, they say a customer providing crypto services “other than a CASP regulated under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114” may expose the bank to “increased risk”, and that the bank should “determine whether the customer is registered or licensed”. That passage is written for banks, but it is the same question Clear Junction and Airwallex write into their own policies.
If your business needs a CASP licence, apply with the licence, not with the plan to get one.
Crypto-friendly business accounts when your company only touches crypto
If your company is not an exchange, and instead you hold some crypto, accept it from customers, or build software for crypto firms, the mainstream picture is less closed than the exchange case.
- Wise refuses businesses that exchange or trade crypto, but its help centre lists possible exceptions for “Receiving payment for professional services provided to such businesses”. It also says you can’t receive money from crypto platforms “that aren’t licensed in the United Kingdom or a country in the European Union”; that does not make payouts from licensed platforms safe, since the same page bars using the account to buy, sell or trade crypto.
- bunq writes down three accepted activities, including paying and getting paid in crypto, subject to an individual assessment.
- Mercury, a US provider, says it has no “express restrictions on buying crypto through your Mercury account”, though accounts hold fiat only.
A provider’s card rules and account rules can be different documents. Wise’s help centre says its cards can be used “anywhere, as long as it’s a lawful transaction”, including crypto platforms, while its account policy refuses crypto trading. Buying crypto with the card is not the same as running a crypto business through the account. If the card side is what you need, the crypto cards ranked by reliability are compared separately.
“Wise’s unsupported business list is two pages long”A Hacker News commenter, 2025
Long lists are the reason to read them before you apply. If a mainstream EMI has already closed you for a crypto link, the general mechanics of what happens to the balance are in when a fintech closes your business account, and the most common reasons for a refused application are in why Mercury, Wise, Stripe or Airwallex rejected you.
How to apply to an EMI as a crypto business without being closed later
- ✓
Find the sentence in the policy that names your activity. If the only match is a “restricted” or “discretionary” line, plan for a slower review and a written approval, not a form that clears in a day.
- ✓
Describe the business in the provider’s words. “Software development for crypto exchanges” and “crypto exchange” fall under different lines of the same policy at Wise, and bunq accepts crypto “(Investment) Advisory services” while refusing exchanges.
- ✓
Bring the licence, or the reason you do not need one. Specialists such as Clear Junction review VASP or CASP licences up front, and Januar can block payments in certain jurisdictions “until the Customer presents valid compliance documents”.
- ✓
Keep a second account that does not depend on the first. With a specialist for the crypto flows and a mainstream EMI for ordinary operations, one closure does not stop payroll.
If your crypto exposure is on the receiving side, from customers rather than from your own trading, the gateways that sit between you and the EMI are compared in the crypto payment gateway guide ranked by reliability. And if the term EMI itself is fuzzy, neobank, EMI or bank explains what each licence does and does not protect.
FAQ
Which EMIs accept crypto exchanges?+–
On the policies read on 2 October 2026, Clear Junction, Januar (a payment institution, not an EMI), BCB Group and Bankera (agent of a Lithuanian EMI) say they serve crypto exchanges or digital asset businesses. Clear Junction requires a VASP, CASP or equivalent licence, and Januar makes the customer responsible for its own licences. Airwallex treats crypto trading as restricted, needing its approval and the required licence.
Does Wise accept crypto businesses?+–
No for exchanges and trading firms. Wise’s help centre says it does not support businesses “involved in the exchange or trading of cryptocurrencies”. It lists possible exceptions, such as receiving payment for professional services provided to crypto businesses.
Can I hold crypto on my company’s balance sheet and still use a mainstream EMI?+–
Sometimes. bunq accepts companies “Investing in crypto currencies for your own account” after an individual assessment, and Mercury (US) says it has no express restriction on buying crypto through the account. Wise, Finom and Paysera policies are restrictive, so check the wording that fits your case.
Do I need a MiCA licence to open a business account as a crypto company in the EU?+–
If your company provides crypto-asset services in the EU, MiCA’s transitional period ended on 1 July 2026 at the latest, and specialist providers such as Clear Junction review your licence before onboarding. If you only invest your own funds or accept crypto as payment, you may not be providing a licensable service, and providers like bunq assess that case individually.
Does Revolut Business accept crypto businesses?+–
We could not verify it. Every Revolut policy page we tried on 2 October 2026 returned an access error, so this article does not report Revolut’s position. Read its “industries not supported” page directly before applying.
Written by Daniel Hart, who covers neobanks, account freezes and cross-border banking for neobankfit. Based on each provider’s acceptable use policy and terms, the text of the MiCA regulation and EBA guidelines, and founder accounts posted on Hacker News.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules, deadlines and protection limits change and depend on your country, account and provider entity. For your situation, check current terms and consider a qualified adviser.
