VASP Licensing

What does Sarzif Policy do?

We are a broker. We connect firms that need a virtual asset licence with the consultants who can obtain it. We do not prepare your application ourselves and we do not act as your adviser. Our job is to make sure the person who does is the right one.

The licensing market has a matching problem. Firms hire the adviser they can find rather than the adviser who has done the work. They pay for a learning curve, file something incomplete, and lose six months. We keep a panel of consultants whose completed filings we can verify, and we point you at the ones who fit your case.

How does the matching process work?

1. You complete one form. Country, licence type, where your compliance programme has gaps, your budget and your timeline. It takes about three minutes.
2. We screen the panel. We check who has actually completed that licence type in that country, who has capacity now, and who works at your budget.
3. You receive a shortlist. By email, within two business days, with the reasoning behind every match: what they have filed, how they charge, and when they can start.
4. You appoint directly. You negotiate and contract with the consultant. We are not a party to that agreement.

Request my shortlist

What does it cost?

The shortlist is free. You tell us what you need, we send you matched consultants, and you owe us nothing for that.

Our fee is 20% of the consultant’s fee, and it becomes payable only if you appoint one of the consultants we introduce. If none of them suits you, you pay nothing and you keep the shortlist.

We publish this because it matters to how you read our recommendations:

• Consultants pay us nothing. Not to join the panel, not to be listed, not to rank higher. There is no arrangement they could offer us, because they are not the ones paying.
• Our fee is the same 20% whichever consultant you choose. We earn exactly the same from the cheapest adviser on the panel and the most expensive one, so we have no reason to push you toward either.
• We would rather tell you nobody fits. A bad match costs us the fee anyway when it falls apart, and it costs us your trust permanently.

If a consultant ever offers to pay us for a recommendation, they come off the panel.

What licences do we cover?

What work can the panel take on?

• Licence application — the full submission, from entity structuring to the final filing
• AML and KYC programme — customer due diligence, risk scoring, screening and internal policy
• Travel rule — originator and beneficiary data sharing, and the technical integration behind it
• Audit readiness — preparing for regulator inspection and external audit
• Market surveillance — trade monitoring, manipulation detection and reporting
• Tax and structuring — corporate structure, and how your treatment sits with the tax authority
• Fit and proper submissions — director and shareholder suitability documentation

Which countries do we cover?

Pakistan is our home market and our deepest coverage. Our panel also handles the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we take enquiries for other jurisdictions.

If nobody on the panel is right for your case, we will tell you that instead of sending you a weak match.

Why do we not publish the consultants’ names?

Advisers on our panel work under confidentiality with their own clients. Publishing a public list would expose who works with whom and invite firms to approach them cold, without the screening that makes the introduction useful in the first place.

You get the names, the firm, and their track record in your shortlist, once we understand what you need.

Who is this not for?

We would rather say so now than waste your time.

• You want a guaranteed approval. No adviser can offer that. A regulator decides.
• You want someone to help you avoid the rules. We will not make that introduction.
• You have no budget yet. That is fine, but tell us in the form so we match you to advisers who do a scoping engagement first. Remember our 20% sits on top of the consultant’s fee, so factor that into what you can spend.

What happens after you submit the form?

You get an acknowledgement immediately. Within two business days, Noor Aslam or a member of the research team emails you the shortlist. If we need more detail before we can match you properly, we will ask by email first.

We do not cold call. We do not pass your details to anyone until you tell us which consultant you want to be introduced to.

Start now — request my shortlist

Common questions

What does Sarzif Policy actually do? We are a broker, not a consultancy. We do not file your application. We match you with an independent consultant who has completed that licence type before, and we step back once you appoint them.

How much does matching cost? The shortlist is free. Our fee is 20% of the consultant’s fee, payable only if you appoint someone we introduce. Consultants pay us nothing, so none of them can buy a place on your shortlist.

How many consultants are on the panel? More than 25 worldwide. We do not publish their names, because they work under confidentiality with their own clients. You get names in your shortlist.

How long does the shortlist take? Two business days from submission. If your requirement is unusual and needs longer, we email you rather than leave you waiting.

Can you guarantee approval? No, and nobody honestly can. What we can do is make sure your adviser has already carried a comparable application through to approval.

About this service

Sarzif Policy is based in Islamabad and led by Noor Aslam. The research team behind the matching includes a qualified lawyer, three regulatory researchers with fifteen years of combined experience, and two operations staff. We are independent and not affiliated with any regulator. Read our editorial policy or more about the team.