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Not a bank until 2018

And they clearly figured that was easier than going through the UK where they had previously been licensed

No, they had a standard bank license, no different than any other bank operating in the country. Of course it was only valid in the EU not Britain.

edit: Comment no longer makes much sense after the one above was edited

They had an emi license before .

my understanding is the full licences was only granted in 2021 in the eea and 2026 in the UK

7-8 years surely qualify as "for years"?

only since 2021, so a few years.

but compare that to their competitors who got a license at the very start