Solutions

Payment & E-Money Licensing (EMI / PI)

The right payments licence, in the right jurisdiction

EMI vs payment institution licence — which one, in which jurisdiction, and what it takes. Pathway selection plus application-ready documentation for payments and fintech teams.

How we help

Our approach

  1. 1

    Model & activity assessment

    What your product does in regulatory terms, and therefore what licence (if any) it triggers.

  2. 2

    Licence & jurisdiction ranking

    A ranked shortlist (e.g. EMI vs PI; Lithuania vs UK vs Singapore) with capital requirements, timelines, and cost ranges.

  3. 3

    Requirements breakdown

    Governance, safeguarding, fit-and-proper, and substance expectations for your chosen route.

  4. 4

    Application-ready documentation (optional add-on)

    Business plan, governance and safeguarding policies, and the submission pack the regulator wants to see.

Who it's for

Payments startups, wallets, neobanks, marketplaces handling funds, and fintechs expanding into a new market who need to know what licence travels with them.

How it works

1. Tell us your model and target markets.

2. We rank your licensing options with the trade-offs that matter — speed, cost, credibility, passporting.

3. Choose a route, and we prepare the documentation to apply.

FAQ

What's the difference between an EMI and a payment institution licence?

Broadly, an e-money institution can issue and hold electronic money (store value); a payment institution executes payments but generally can't hold e-money. Which you need depends on whether you store customer funds — we confirm this against your actual flows.

Which jurisdiction is best for a fintech licence?

There's no universal answer — it depends on your markets, budget, timeline, and how much regulatory credibility you need. We rank the realistic options for your case rather than pushing a default.

How long does licensing take?

Months, not weeks, and it varies widely by jurisdiction and licence. We give you a realistic timeline up front so you can plan runway around it.

Find your licensing path

Get a Licensing Pathfinder

Ready to launch without the regulatory guesswork?

Book a 30-minute consultation. We'll map your AI or licensing path and tell you exactly what's required, in plain language.