Anjouan is an autonomous island within the Union of the Comoros. It has established a dedicated regulatory body for international offshore financial services — the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA), founded in 2001. AOFA is responsible for licensing and supervising financial services provided to non-residents (non-resident business). According to publicly available information from AOFA and relevant service providers, the current regulatory framework covers six main categories of international financial licences, applicable to offshore international business rather than the local resident market.

Key Licence Types in Comoros

1. International Banking Licence

Permitted activities include:

· International Deposit Taking

· International Lending

· International Remittance

· International Trade Finance

· Multi-Currency Accounts

· Offshore Banking

These licences are primarily for providing banking services to overseas clients and do not permit local retail banking operations. Under the International Banks Act 005 of 2005, banking licences are generally divided into Class I (also called Class A) and Class II (also called Class B) categories. Class A licences permit full banking services for global clients, while Class B licences are limited to non-resident clients.

2. Finance Licence

One of the most common licence categories. May cover:

· Lending

· Consumer Finance

· Merchant Finance

· Payment Services

· Financial Services

· Business Financing

Suited to cross-border fintech companies, microloan platforms, payment institutions, and similar businesses.

3. Brokerage / Securities Licence

Applicable to:

· Forex Broker

· CFD Broker

· Securities Brokerage

· Investment Services

· Investment Dealer

· Introducing Broker

Typically covers forex trading, CFDs, precious metals, indices, equity CFDs, commodities, and certain digital asset trading (depending on the business model).

4. Crypto / Virtual Asset Licence

This is currently the most frequently consulted licence category. AOFA and relevant service providers state that its scope may cover:

· Digital Asset Trading / Crypto Exchange

· Spot Trading / OTC

· Wallet Services / Custody Wallet / Hosted Wallet

· Digital Asset Payments / Crypto Payment / Merchant Payment

· Fiat Conversion / Fiat On-Ramp / Fiat Off-Ramp

· Token Issuance / Token Listing

It may also extend to e-commerce, account services, certain payment functions, and related digital financial services. The actual permitted scope remains subject to the specific licence approval and local law.

5. Insurance Licence

Primarily covers:

· International Insurance

· Reinsurance

· Captive Insurance

Serves the international insurance market, not local residents.

6. Gaming Licence

Primarily covers:

· Online Casino

· Sports Betting

· iGaming

This licence falls under the gaming regulation and is entirely separate from the financial licence categories above.