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Fintech & payments regulation in Bermuda (2026)

Fintech and digital payments in Bermuda: licensing regime.

Bermuda has clear, in-force licensing regimes administered by the Bermuda Monetary Authority: money service businesses are licensed under the Money Service Business Act 2016, and digital-asset/fintech firms under the pioneering Digital Asset Business Act 2018 (with T/M/F licence tiers) and Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020. The BMA is actively replacing the MSB Act with a modern, tiered Payment Services Act (consulted in 2025, advancing as of December 2025) to better capture digital wallets, e-money and platform-based payments, but that new statute is not yet in force.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Bermuda with other countries

Legal framework

Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) under the Money Service Business Act 2016 (payments/remittance/e-money-type services) and the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 plus Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 (crypto/fintech); a modernising Payment Services Act is proposed.

Key points: digital payments & fintech in Bermuda

  1. Regulator

    The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) is the single integrated supervisor for banking, money service business and digital asset business, and is the licensing/supervisory authority for all payments and fintech activity.

    bma.bm bma.bm

  2. Money service / payments licensing (in force)

    The Money Service Business Act 2016 establishes a licensing regime for any person providing money services (e.g. money transmission, payment services, bureau de change) in or from Bermuda, supported by a BMA Statement of Principles and Code of Practice; deposit-taking banks are exempt.

    bma.bm bma.bm

  3. Digital asset / fintech licensing (in force)

    The Digital Asset Business Act 2018 created one of the world's first dedicated crypto-business regimes, offering Test (T), Modified (M) and Full (F) licences; the Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 regulates token/ICO offerings. The regime remains active, with firms licensed through May 2026.

    bma.bm globallegalinsights.com

  4. Proposed Payment Services Act (not yet in force)

    Following 2025 consultations, the BMA is advancing a Payment Services Act to replace the MSB Act with a tiered, risk-based regime across three categories, Digital Facility Providers, Payment-Handling Providers and Payment Technology Providers, covering digital wallets and back-end technology, with a one-year transition for existing MSBs.

    royalgazette.com walkersglobal.com

  5. Stablecoins and innovation hub

    Stablecoin issuers can elect to be licensed under the proposed Payment Services Act or the Digital Asset Business Act depending on their model, and the new PSA is slated to introduce an Artificial Intelligence Payments Hub to test programmable and AI-driven payments.

    royalgazette.com walkersglobal.com

  6. Open banking, instant rails and BNPL

    Bermuda has no dedicated open-banking mandate, domestic instant-payment rail, or specific buy-now-pay-later statute; such activities are addressed (if at all) through the general MSB/DAB licensing framework rather than bespoke rules, with the proposed PSA aimed at broadening coverage of modern payment models.

    bma.bm walkersglobal.com

Timeline of decisions

  1. Decision
    BMA grants world's first license to a DAO-governed decentralized derivatives exchange

    The Bermuda Monetary Authority issued a Digital Asset Business Act license to DerivaDEX (Deriva Bermuda Ltd), the first formal regulatory approval of a DAO-governed, non-custodial derivatives protocol, signalling Bermuda's willingness to license novel DeFi structures.

    The Royal Gazette

  2. Law · official
    Digital Asset Business (Custody of Client Assets) Rules 2025 come into force

    New rules mandate segregation of client assets, qualified custodians, surety bond/trust/indemnity protections and enhanced reconciliation and reporting, hardening investor protections under DABA following 2024 consultation.

    Bermuda Monetary Authority

  3. Guidance · official
    BMA issues Single Currency Pegged Stablecoin (SCPS) Guidance

    Final guidance set standards for DABA-licensed stablecoin issuers covering governance, asset backing, market-maker due diligence, attestations and stress testing, positioning Bermuda as a regulated stablecoin jurisdiction.

    Bermuda Monetary Authority

  4. Law · official
    Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 replaces the ICO regime

    The DAIA moved oversight of public digital asset issuances from the Minister of Finance to the BMA with ongoing regulation, raising the 'public offering' threshold to 150 persons and requiring BMA-vetted business plans.

    Bermuda Monetary Authority

Sources

  1. bma.bm/money-service-business-licensing
  2. bma.bm/viewPDF/documents/2018-12-29-05-36-47-Guidance-Notes---Money-Service-
  3. bma.bm/digital-asset-business
  4. bma.bm/digital-assets-licensing
  5. globallegalinsights.com/practice-areas/blockchain-cryptocurrency-laws-and-regulations/bermuda
  6. royalgazette.com/local-business/business/article/20251211/bma-moves-ahead-with-overhau
  7. walkersglobal.com/en/Insights/2025/11/Bermudas-proposed-new-Payment-Services-Act

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 25 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026