EMI Licence and EMI Acquisition
Behind most fintech accounts, wallets and cards there is an electronic money institution (EMI). It is the licence that lets you hold client money as e-money, give clients accounts with IBANs, issue cards and move payments, and, in the European Union, passport all of it from one country to the rest of the European Economic Area. There are three ways to get there: apply for your own licence, buy an EMI that already has one, or start under someone else’s licence. We do all three, and we tell you which one makes sense before you spend a franc.
What an EMI can do, and what it cannot
An EMI issues electronic money, runs payment accounts, issues cards and executes payments. It can also issue e-money tokens, the stablecoins regulated under MiCA. What it cannot do is lend your clients’ money or pay interest on it: e-money is not a deposit, and client funds must be safeguarded, separated from the EMI’s own money. The regulator will want at least EUR 350,000 of initial capital, fit and proper managers, a real AML set-up and real people in the country of licence. A website and a nominee director no longer impress anybody.
Apply, buy, or start without your own licence
Apply for a new licence
The country matters: Lithuania, Ireland, France, Liechtenstein and others each have their own pace, demands and reputation with banks. Regulators have become slower and stricter, so count in quarters, not weeks, and often a year or more from the first draft to the licence.
Buy a licensed EMI
Faster in theory, as long as the regulator approves you as the new owner before closing. The real work is the due diligence: safeguarding, agents, banking and card partners, past findings of the regulator. An EMI for sale without a banking partner is a licence without plumbing. We regularly have EMIs for sale in our Marketplace.
Start without your own licence
As an agent or distributor of a licensed EMI, or through a white-label programme, you can launch in weeks. You pay per use and you control less, but you test the market before buying the shop.
What PSD3 changes
The European Union is rewriting its payment rules. The new Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation were politically agreed in November 2025 and are expected to apply from around late 2027. EMIs then become a sub-category of payment institutions and must be re-authorised under the new regime, with transitional periods. If you buy an EMI today, check that it can pass that re-authorisation; we do. The United Kingdom runs its own regime under the FCA, and since Brexit a UK EMI gives you no passport into the European Union, and the reverse is equally true.
What we do for you
Choose the route and the country: apply, buy, or start as agent or white label
Prepare the licence application: business plan, AML and safeguarding framework, governance
Source EMIs for sale, run the due diligence and the change-of-control file up to closing
Set up the card programme: Visa or Mastercard principal membership, or BIN sponsorship
Arrange banking and safeguarding partners, so the licence actually works
Keep crypto in a separate company where needed, with MiCA authorisation on the side
Frequently Asked Questions
How much capital does an EMI need?
At least EUR 350,000 of initial capital in the EU and the same euro amount in the UK, plus own funds that grow with the business. Our fees are quoted on request.
How long does it take?
A new application usually takes a year or more. Buying an EMI depends on the regulator’s approval of the new owner, which takes several months. An agent or white-label launch can be done in weeks.
Can a founder from outside Europe own an EMI?
Yes. The regulator looks at who you are, where your money comes from and whether the business is really run from the country of licence, not at your passport.
EMI or payment institution?
An EMI if you hold client balances as e-money; a payment institution if you only move payments. Under PSD3 the two regimes merge, which is one more reason to check the licence you buy.
Can an EMI do crypto?
An EMI may issue e-money tokens under MiCA. Crypto services such as exchange or custody need a separate MiCA authorisation, and we advise running them in a separate company.
Further reading
- EMI Licence in Europe 2026: Lithuania, Latvia, Ireland, France, Liechtenstein, or Buy One?
- EMI for Sale in Europe: What You Are Really Buying, What It Costs, and What Can Go Wrong
- Buying a Bank or an EMI: How the Regulator’s Approval Really Works
- Your EMI Is Licensed in Sweden. Your 60 Employees Are in Lisbon. Is That Legal?
- The EMD Agent Route: How to Sell Payment Accounts Under Your Brand Without Your Own Licence, and What Nobody Tells You
- Visa or Mastercard Principal Membership, or BIN Sponsorship? How to Issue Cards Without Burning a Year
- Deposit or E-Money? What Happens to Your Money If Your Fintech Fails
- EMI, MiCA and Stablecoin Licences in Europe: Three Regimes, and What PSD3 Changes
Request your EMI roadmap
Tell us what you want to offer and to whom. We will tell you whether to apply, buy or start under someone else’s licence, in which country, and what it really takes. Write to insight@fintechlex.com or WhatsApp +41 787 983 770.
