Orbital has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to operate as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) and a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Provider.
Orbital has offices in London, Gibraltar, and Tallinn. Gibraltar has long been known as an enabler for digital asset firms.
Orbital will operate two separate entities: Pay Perform Digital Limited (PPDL) as a DLT provider and Pay Perform Gibraltar Limited (PPGL). Orbital is not registered as a cryptoasset service provider by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and their services pertaining to cryptoassets are not available in the UK. Pay Perform Limited in the UK is authorized by the FCA as a payment institution, and Pay Perform OÜ is licensed as a virtual currency service provider by the Financial Intelligence Unit in Estonia.
Orbital will now be able to offer its users e-money issuance, distribution, and redemption services in the jurisdiction of Gibraltar. PPGL will start its operations by offering e-money accounts in GBP. This means that users can exchange e-money within the payments system and store e-money in their wallets.
Orbital provides fiat and crypto services to business accounts to enable firms to integrate stablecoins and traditional currencies into existing payment flows, including an API service.
Orbital CEO Chris Mason predicted that soon, all global firms will need a single solution for both fiat and blockchain payments.
Nigel Feetham, Minister for Financial Services at HM Government of Gibraltar, commented on the regulatory approval:
“Gibraltar has embraced the power of distributed ledger and e-money technology, creating an environment that nurtures innovation, provides regulatory clarity, and upholds market integrity. Orbital, which operates a Gibraltar office, is championing responsible integration of payments and blockchain technologies; firms that offer secure, efficient, and transparent blockchain payments are more than welcome in Gibraltar.”
Orbital recently raised £5 million in a funding round led by Golden Record Ventures. The company reported a “record-breaking month” in August as it processed £250 million of combined payments across the UK and Estonian group entities.