Banking Circle competitors for firms that lack their own licence
Banking Circle only takes clients that hold a licence. Unigox, one of the Banking Circle competitors, opens EUR, GBP and USD accounts with stablecoins for companies that need no financial licence. Payment firms holding client money should stay.
When to stay with Banking Circle
You hold client money as a payment firm
Banking Circle offers regulated clients segregated client money accounts that meet local safeguarding rules. It is authorised as a credit institution in Luxembourg and supervised by the CSSF.
You issue accounts to your own users
Banking Circle creates virtual accounts one at a time or in bulk, with your preferred IBAN or account prefix. Its agency banking sponsors you into local clearing so you issue accounts and process payments under your brand.
You move many currencies every day
Banking Circle sends SWIFT payments in a long list of fiat currencies, EUR, GBP and USD among them. Instant schemes such as SEPA Instant and Faster Payments run 24/7. FX can be traded 24/7, with same-day (TOD), next-day (TOM) or spot settlement.
Banking Circle and Unigox for company accounts
| Topic | Banking Circle | Unigox |
|---|---|---|
| Who can apply | Payment businesses, banks and investment funds that have secured their licence; over 900 regulated financial institutions use it. | Companies that pass KYB, with or without a financial licence. A licensable industry sends its licence or registration, or a legal note on why none is needed. Companies from countries the Unigox Terms of Service exclude or that are under sanctions cannot apply. |
| Account details | Physical and virtual accounts in several jurisdictions with your preferred IBAN or account prefix; virtual accounts are created singly or in bulk. | A EUR IBAN for SEPA issued in the Netherlands or Malta, a UK account number and sort code for GBP, and USD accounts whose details are confirmed during setup. |
| Accounts for your customers | Virtual accounts in your users' names, white-labelled, plus agency banking to issue accounts under your own brand. | EUR and GBP accounts in your customers' names on request once your company passes KYB. Each holder passes their own check, and the services are agreed separately. |
| Stablecoins | Its home page counts four stablecoins among its currencies, and it serves exchanges, stablecoin issuers and OTC desks. | Stablecoin balances in the same Business Portal. Swap EUR or GBP into them and back, move them to your Unigox Wallet, or agree a price through OTC deals. |
| How you work | API, Client Portal, SFTP or SWIFT. The API is REST with OAuth2, webhook notifications and a sandbox. | Your finance team pays, swaps and downloads PDF or CSV statements in the Business Portal. |
| Pricing | Not published. Its Client Agreement uses a currency category as the reference point for FX pricing, at pre-agreed margins. | A pricing plan per company for account services, transfers and swaps, confirmed before you commit. |
| Regulation | Authorised as a credit institution in Luxembourg and supervised by the CSSF; its UK branch is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA. | Unigox works through two companies: UNIGOX NETWORK CORP. in Canada handles the local-money side and is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business and with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider; UNIGOX NETWORK CORP. in Panama handles the crypto side, including wallets and escrow. |
UnigoxOpen Unigox company accounts in three steps
Start business onboarding
On the business accounts page, choose Start business onboarding, then Accounts for your business. Your company can be registered outside Europe.
Pass company verification
Send registration, ownership, source-of-funds evidence and intended use. Owners with 25% or more, directors and authorised signatories pass identity checks.
Agree pricing and share your details
We confirm your pricing plan and set up the approved accounts. Then send customers and suppliers your new IBAN, or UK account number and sort code.
Banking Circle competitors: questions
Which Banking Circle competitors work with companies that hold no financial licence?
Banking Circle says it works only with clients that have secured their licence. Unigox reviews companies through KYB instead: a business that needs no licence applies with its registration, ownership and source-of-funds documents, and one in a licensable industry sends its licence or a legal note.
What does the Banking Circle API cover, and how is the Unigox Payments API different?
The Banking Circle API covers its accounts, payments and FX across 10 national clearing schemes, with OAuth2, webhooks and a sandbox. The Unigox Payments API does a different job: it pays people to a bank or mobile money account from USDT or USDC in your company's partner wallet. After KYB and setup, developers test in a sandbox with the same endpoints as production.
See the Payments APICan a payment firm keep Banking Circle and still convert to stablecoins?
Yes. After KYB, Unigox OTC deals convert EUR or GBP to stablecoins and back at a fee agreed before the first deal, while your client money accounts stay at Banking Circle.
See OTC dealsWhich other Banking Circle competitors have you compared?
Modulr, which sells company accounts in EUR and GBP with payments and cards; OpenPayd, which offers accounts and named virtual IBANs; Solaris, which sells banking APIs to platforms; and Thunes, which pays out across borders. Each comparison says where that company fits better than Unigox.
See all business comparisonsOpen accounts with stablecoins
Tell us what your company does and who pays it. We confirm the accounts, the payment methods and your pricing plan before you commit.
Banking Circle and other names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Unigox is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by them. Information about other companies comes from public sources, mainly the companies' own websites, and each company can change its products and fees at any time.