Argentex granted Dutch electronic money licence

Foreign exchange service provider Argentex announced on Friday that the Dutch National Bank has granted its subsidiary, Argentex BV, an electronic money institution (EMI) licence in the Netherlands.

The AIM-traded firm said the licence would “underpin” its “differentiated and uncompromising” approach to regulation, enabling it to fully operate in all areas of its planned business and access the growing Dutch market, as well as providing a “springboard” to further expand across other European Union territories.

It said the award was a “key milestone” in the delivery of its international growth strategy, making the company one of few holders of such a licence in the Netherlands.

A supervisory and management board would oversee the affairs of Argentex BV, and would be chaired by Eppo Heemstra.

Argentex said Heemstra had “extensive experience” in international financial services and payments, including 25 years at ABN Amro, and several board positions at financial technology companies.

“This is an exciting moment for our business, providing further regulatory validation and creating a proven gateway to Europe via a credible jurisdiction as our internationalisation strategy deepens,” said chief executive officer Harry Adams.

“Eppo's in-depth sector expertise will be an asset to us as we gather momentum in the Netherlands and further build a long-term sustainable growth strategy built around the success in our home UK market and latent demand for our services in the highly regulated markets of Netherlands, Australia and in time across the EU.

“Argentex places regulatory compliance and risk management at the heart of its business strategy and obtaining an EMI licence from a gold standard EU regulator is testament to this unrelenting focus.”

At 1141 BST, shares in Argentex Group were up 1.13% at 82.62p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.