Tax advisory for payment innovators, neobanks, and blockchain companies.
Transaction fees — exempt financial service or standard-rated tech service? Interchange fees, merchant discount rates, and payment gateway charges. Wallet top-up VAT analysis.
P2P lending platform fees. Interest/profit margin on Islamic lending — exempt. Platform technology fee — standard-rated. Credit scoring service — standard-rated.
Crypto exchange license under CBB. Token classification (utility vs security). Mining/staking rewards tax treatment. NFT marketplace VAT on commissions.
Bahrain's CBB Regulatory Sandbox allows fintech startups to test products with reduced regulatory requirements. Tax implications: sandbox entities are still subject to full VAT compliance from day one. VAT registration required if threshold is met. We help sandbox participants set up compliant tax processes before scaling.
