Boku

Boku is not one licensed entity but a licence portfolio held by subsidiaries of Boku, Inc. (Delaware no. 4611802, incorporated 21 October 2008 as Vidicom Holdings Inc., renamed Boku, Inc. on 18 February 2009; AIM: BOKU).

Two authorisations are recorded, both read off the registers themselves. The Central Bank of Ireland's firm data page shows Boku Network Services IE Limited as a Payment Institution authorised under Regulation 18 of the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018, reference C433468 — the group's post-Brexit EEA passporting vehicle. The FCA gives FRN 900030 as Boku Account Services UK Ltd, also known as Boku Accounts, currently holding permission, and the FCA's published e-money register gives its status as Authorised Electronic Money Institution.

Other licences in the group are not recorded, because their references could not be resolved at any page that would load. MAS lists Boku Networks Services SG Pte. Ltd as a Major Payment Institution, and the RBI Certificates of Authorisation list shows Boku Network Services IN Private Limited as PA-O and PA-CB-O from 05.04.2024, but neither reference resolved, and nor did two FinCEN registrations or the Hong Kong Customs, Banco Central do Brasil, BSP, METI and Argentine references. Bank Negara Malaysia publishes no reference at all.

Three things a merchant should know. First, the contracting party and the licensed party differ: Boku, Inc.'s Terms of Service are governed by California law and state that Boku "is not a bank, finance company, money transferor or other regulated or unregulated entity in the business of banking" — money sits with the licensed subsidiary, not the topco. Second, safeguarded merchant funds were $51.9m at 31 December 2025, held as restricted cash for "Boku's licensed entities", principal banker Citibank N.A. No Boku entity is a bank. Third, the large direct-carrier-billing business runs through unlicensed Boku Network Services UK Ltd under the PSD2 carrier-billing exemption and telecoms regulation, not a payments licence. Post-Brexit EEA access is via the Irish payment institution, and the German and Estonian companies explicitly do not serve third parties. Head office is London, per the FY25 annual report, with a business office in San Francisco.

Checked against Boku’s own documentation on 21 October 2026. Coverage changes; confirm anything you are about to build on.