Payment Institution Licence - Lithuania
An EU payment institution licence is granted by a national competent authority. Lithuania is one of the most used routes for passportable EU payments.
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The short answer
A payment institution licence in the European Union is granted under national law implementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2). There is no EU-level payments regulator: the Bank of Lithuania, like every other national competent authority, authorises firms established in its member state, and the licence then passports across the EEA by notification.
Initial capital is EUR 20,000 for money remittance, EUR 50,000 for payment initiation services and EUR 125,000 for the broader execution and acquiring services. Own funds are then maintained on one of the calculation methods set out in PSD2. Account information service providers are registered rather than authorised and hold professional indemnity insurance instead of capital.
The European Commission has proposed replacing PSD2 with a payment services directive and a directly applicable payment services regulation. The proposals are not yet the applicable law and firms should build to PSD2 as implemented while designing for the direction of travel on fraud, authentication and access to payment systems.
Key facts
What the authorisation covers
Issuing electronic money is outside the payment institution perimeter and requires an electronic money institution authorisation. Firms whose customers hold a redeemable stored balance need the e-money permission, not the payments one.
- •Placing and withdrawing cash on a payment account, and the operations required for operating a payment account
- •Execution of payment transactions, including transfers, direct debits and card-based transactions
- •Issuing of payment instruments and acquiring of payment transactions
- •Money remittance
- •Payment initiation services and account information services
Substance and governance
National competent authorities across the Union have converged on a firm position about substance. The head office and central administration must be in the member state of authorisation, key function holders must be locally resident and available to the supervisor, and outsourced functions must remain under genuine control of the licensed entity.
The management body is assessed for collective suitability and individually for fitness and propriety. The compliance and risk functions must be resourced to the volumes forecast in the business plan, and the anti-money laundering officer must be a real appointment with authority.
Safeguarding, AML and operational resilience
- •Safeguarding of user funds by segregation with a credit institution, or an insurance policy or comparable guarantee, with daily reconciliation discipline
- •Anti-money laundering framework under national implementation of the EU AML framework, including transfer of funds information requirements
- •Strong customer authentication and secure communication under the PSD2 regulatory technical standards
- •ICT and third-party risk management under the digital operational resilience framework
- •Incident reporting, fraud reporting and statistical reporting to the competent authority
Passporting and ongoing supervision
Passporting is a notification, not a second application, but it is not automatic in effect: host state conduct rules, local reporting and, in some markets, local representation obligations apply once activity begins. Firms should plan the passport as a market entry project rather than a filing.
Ongoing supervision covers own funds adequacy, safeguarding, reporting timeliness, governance changes, qualifying holdings and outsourcing. Supervisory attention across the Union has increased on safeguarding accuracy and on the substance of firms whose commercial activity is concentrated outside the member state of authorisation.
Definitive guides for this market
EU MiCA CASP authorisation
For crypto-asset services alongside or instead of payment services.
Lithuania CASP authorisation
The Bank of Lithuania crypto-asset service provider route.
UK Authorised Payment Institution licence
The parallel UK permission, which does not passport into the EEA.
Ongoing compliance support
Reporting, safeguarding and supervisory engagement after authorisation.
Primary sources
- Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2)
- Bank of Lithuania: licensing of financial market participants
- European Banking Authority: payment services
Last reviewed by the Regulatory Counsel team on 28 August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
The national competent authority of the member state where the firm is established. There is no single EU payments regulator. Once authorised, the firm passports into other EEA states through a home state notification.
Initial capital is EUR 20,000 for money remittance, EUR 50,000 for payment initiation services and EUR 125,000 for the wider execution and acquiring services, with ongoing own funds calculated under Method A, B or C.
No. The European Commission has proposed a new payment services directive and a directly applicable payment services regulation, but PSD2 as implemented in national law remains the applicable framework. Build to PSD2 and design for the proposed direction on fraud and authentication.
Yes, subject to qualifying holding assessment. What competent authorities will not accept is an authorisation where the head office, central administration and effective management are not genuinely in the member state of authorisation.
No. The United Kingdom is outside the EEA passporting framework, so UK activity requires separate FCA authorisation or registration.