An Anjouan gaming licence is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to launch a licensed gaming operation, which is exactly why it is popular and exactly why its banking needs careful handling.
Direct Answer
An Anjouan-licensed operator can get banked, but banking almost always runs through gambling-specialist EMIs rather than traditional banks, because the regime is new and low-cost and banks therefore lean on the operator's own compliance file to do more of the work. A strong, well-disclosed file secures banking; a thin one usually will not, even though the licence itself is valid.
This guide covers why banks apply extra caution to an Anjouan licence, whether banking is genuinely achievable, and the specific moves that strengthen an Anjouan operator's application.
Why Do Banks Treat an Anjouan Licence Cautiously?
The Anjouan online gaming regime is recent and inexpensive to enter compared with established jurisdictions. That is its commercial strength, a licensed operation without the cost and timeline of a top-tier regime, but it is also the source of the banking caution.
A low barrier to entry means the licence itself carries less reassurance about the operator behind it, so a bank's risk team compensates by looking harder at everything else.
In practice this means the licence gets an application through the door, but the operator's compliance framework, player-fund segregation, and honest disclosure of the business decide whether the account opens. The weight sits on the file, not the licence.
Can an Anjouan Operator Actually Get Banked?
Yes, and routinely, provided the route matches the licence tier. A gambling-aware EMI that already underwrites offshore gaming is the realistic starting point, and it does not expect an Anjouan operator to arrive with the banking profile of an MGA licensee.
What it does expect is a clean, coherent file that reads as a well-run business rather than a licence bought to look legitimate.
Traditional banking is a harder conversation for an Anjouan-only operator, and it usually comes later, once processing history exists or additional structure is in place. Mapping which institutions will realistically underwrite an Anjouan licence, and in what sequence, is the core of BankMyCapital's iGaming banking work.
Reality Check
Anjouan is a working license, and gambling-specialist EMIs do bank operators who hold one, but do not mistake availability for ease. In December 2025, Comoros's own central bank publicly disputed the licensing authority's power to issue offshore licenses at all, and referred the matter to prosecutors for illegal offshore banking activity. That dispute does not erase the license or the operators banked against it, but it adds to an already cautious banking conversation, and it is one more reason the compliance file, not the badge, has to do the convincing.
How to Strengthen an Anjouan Banking Application
- Build the compliance overlay a top-tier regime would require even though Anjouan does not mandate it, since the file is doing the work the licence cannot.
- Evidence player-fund segregation clearly, because it is the single control that most reassures a reviewer about an offshore-licensed operator.
- Disclose the business accurately and completely, since a discovered misrepresentation is far more damaging to a new-regime operator than to an established one.
- Consider whether a second, more-recognised licence or an EU affiliate genuinely fits your markets before adding one, it can widen banking but carries real cost and substance requirements.
| Factor | Anjouan licence | Top-tier licence (e.g. MGA) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost and speed to obtain | Low cost, fast | Higher cost, longer timeline |
| What carries the banking application | The operator's own compliance file | The licence plus the file |
| Realistic first banking route | Gambling-specialist EMI | Bank or EMI |
| Traditional bank access | Harder, usually later with more structure | Broader, earlier |
Final Takeaway: With an Anjouan licence the file carries the application, not the licence, so invest in the compliance overlay and segregation evidence a stronger regime would demand, and start with a gambling-specialist EMI.
The Documentation Package That Determines Whether an Anjouan File Gets Banked
Because the licence carries limited weight on its own, and given the licensing-authority dispute described above, the compliance file has to do essentially all of the convincing. Expect a gambling-specialist EMI to ask for the licence certificate itself, current confirmation of the licence's status directly from the regulator rather than a reseller's claim, a full beneficial-ownership chain, and a written player-fund segregation policy naming the account structure used.
Add a clear description of target markets and how the operator confirms it is not serving jurisdictions the licence does not cover, source-of-funds evidence for founding capital, and, once trading, transaction history showing volumes and geography consistent with what the application describes. Reviewers now routinely check a licence's standing against the regulator's own public statements before proceeding, given the scrutiny the regime has drawn since December 2025.
Correspondent banking is a further constraint: because the licensing dispute has drawn public attention, some EMIs' own downstream banking partners apply extra scrutiny to any Anjouan-linked settlement flow, which can slow fund availability even after an account is technically open. Operators typically report that even a strong file takes longer to clear than it would under a less scrutinized regime, given the additional verification steps most EMIs now apply.
What to Consider:
- Verify the licence status directly: confirm current standing with the regulator itself rather than relying on a reseller's assurance, especially given the ongoing authority dispute.
- Expect extra scrutiny at settlement, not just onboarding: downstream correspondent checks can add friction after account opening, so do not assume approval means frictionless flow from day one.
- Treat migration planning as prudent, not alarmist: given the unresolved dispute, quietly scoping a move to a jurisdiction with undisputed statutory authority is a reasonable parallel step, not a panic reaction.
Example
An operator holding an Anjouan licence assembled a full beneficial-ownership and segregation file, confirmed its licence status directly with the regulator rather than relying on its original reseller, and reported a working EMI account in roughly six weeks, longer than the two-to-three-week range it had budgeted for based on the licence's advertised speed.
Final Takeaway: Let the compliance file, not the licence, carry the application, verify licence status directly with the regulator given the ongoing authority dispute, and expect settlement itself, not just onboarding, to draw extra scrutiny.
How BankMyCapital Helps
BankMyCapital works with Anjouan-licensed operators as part of its iGaming banking practice: assessing the file, mapping it against EMIs and banks realistically able to underwrite an Anjouan licence, strengthening the compliance and segregation evidence, and making direct introductions. BMC does not hold client funds and is not itself a bank, EMI, or payment provider.
Fees for BMC's own work start from 1,500 EUR, plus any EMI onboarding fee charged separately.