Cornerstone
A licensing specialist for regulated financial services. A dedicated team prepares and files applications for lending, debt collection, mortgage, and money transmitter licenses, with surety bonds placed through its own surety practice.
Brico
A licensing platform for financial services companies. Software centralizes license applications, renewals, and reporting deadlines, with a focus on money transmitter, lender, and money services licensing.
| Feature | Cornerstone | Brico |
|---|---|---|
| Service model | Specialist team prepares and files for you | Software platform centralizes and automates filings |
| License families | Lending, collections, mortgage, money transmission | Money transmitter, lender, and related financial licenses |
| Surety bonds | Placed in-house alongside the license | Confirm how bonds are handled before filing |
| Business insurance | Available through Cornerstone's insurance practice | Not a stated offering, confirm directly |
| Best fit | Teams that want the filings handled end to end | Teams that want tooling to manage filings themselves |
Best for
Pick Cornerstone
Choose Cornerstone if you want a specialist team to prepare and file the applications, place the surety bonds, and manage renewals end to end.
Best for
Pick Brico
Choose Brico if you have in-house compliance staff and want a software platform to centralize applications, renewals, and deadlines they manage themselves.
Platform versus specialist
Brico approaches licensing as a software problem. Its platform gives a compliance team one place to run applications, track renewal deadlines, and manage the reporting calendar across states, with particular strength in the money transmitter and money services categories. If you have in-house compliance staff who want better tooling, that model has real appeal.
Cornerstone approaches licensing as a service problem. Our team prepares the applications, assembles the control-person disclosures and financial exhibits, files them, and answers examiner questions, so your team does not need to operate licensing software at all. Because nearly every one of these licenses requires a surety bond, we place the bond through our own surety practice and file it with the application instead of sending you to a separate broker.
How to choose
The honest dividing line is who does the work. If you have compliance staff and want them more efficient, a platform like Brico can be the right tool. If you want the licensing program handled for you, filings, bonds, renewals, and regulator follow-up together, that is what Cornerstone is built for. Weighing more than these two providers? Our guide to the best business licensing services covers the wider field. See our money transmitter licensing services, browse the state licensing summaries, or talk with our team about your state footprint.
Frequently asked
- Is Brico a licensing service or software?
- Brico presents itself as a licensing platform: software that centralizes license applications, renewals, and reporting deadlines for financial services companies. Cornerstone is a service provider whose team prepares and files the applications for you.
- Who handles the surety bond each license requires?
- Most money transmitter, lending, and collection licenses require a surety bond. Cornerstone places bonds through its own surety practice and files them with the application. With any platform or provider, confirm how the bond is sourced before you file.