Payment licensing

Licences for payment services

Holding client funds, issuing e-money, acquiring card payments or transmitting money is regulated almost everywhere. The right licence depends on what you do with money and where your customers are. This subsection lists law firms and consultants that prepare applications, build the required policies and liaise with regulators.

Main licence types

• EMI (electronic money institution): e-money issuance plus payment services; used by wallet, card and account providers. Common EU choices include Lithuania, Malta, Cyprus and others; the UK has its own regime.
• PI (payment institution): payment services without e-money — acquiring, money remittance, payment initiation.
• Small EMI / small PI: lighter national regimes with volume caps and usually no passporting.
• MSB (Canada) and money transmitter licences (USA): federal registration in Canada; in the US, state-by-state licensing on top of federal MSB registration.
• Payment aggregator licences: for example RBI authorisation for payment aggregators in India, including the cross-border PA-CB category.

What drives cost and timing

Ask advisers for a full picture rather than a headline price:

• minimum own funds and capital requirements;
• local substance: office, resident directors, MLRO and compliance staff;
• safeguarding arrangements with a bank;
• IT, security and outsourcing documentation;
• regulator review time, which varies by country and by quality of the application.

A "cheapest EMI licence" may be the right fit for a pilot but limit access to banks and card schemes later.

Choosing an adviser

• Track record with the specific regulator, not just the country.
• Scope: application only, or also policies, recruitment of key persons, bank introductions and post-licence compliance.
• Fixed fee vs hourly, and what is excluded.
• Ongoing support for reporting and audits.

Related hubs

Combine with company formation, compliance outsourcing and EMI accounts for safeguarding. Popular jurisdictions: UK, Lithuania, Malta, Canada, USA. Not legal advice — post a request to get proposals from firms.