Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License in Estonia under EU and Finantsinspektsioon Regulation

In addition to an electronic money issue, you can be engaged in the following activities:

• Provision of payment services;
• Provision of loans related to the payment services provision with the following conditions: the provision of credit is an auxiliary service and is provided exclusively for the purpose of payment transactions performing; loans issued in connection with the payment transaction execution must be reimbursed within 12 months; loans should not be provided from funds received or kept for the purpose of payment transaction performance; the own funds of the payment institution should be sufficient to cover the risks associated with the loans issued;
• A provision of additional services directly related to the electronic money issue or their handling or payment services;
• Operation of payment licenses;
• Implementation of other activities not related to the electronic money issue, unless otherwise provided by law.

The license of the payment license in Estonia can be obtained by the Joint Stock Company (JSC) or the Joint-Stock Corporation (JSCo), the authorized capital of which must be at least 350,000 euros.

“Prifinance” company provides services for obtaining an Electronic Money license in Estonia. With the help of our specialists, the process will be carried out correctly and within the agreed timeframe.

Requirements for Joint-Stock Companies

• Availability of an auditor
• A presence of at least 4 individuals, 3 of whom will be in the company’s board of directors and 1 will be the company’s legal representative (member of the management board)
• At least 1 founder (shareholder), maybe both a legal entity and a private entity
• Registration of shares in the securities center

Requirements for Joint-Stock Corporations:

• Availability of an auditor
• At least 1 founder and 1 legal representative (member of the management board), the founder can be both a physical person and a legal entity, the founder – a physical person can be either a legal representative.

Stages of the Company Establishment:

• Appointment of the company’s auditor
• Preparation of a decision on the establishment of a company
• Preparation of the company’s charter
• An opening of a bank account for the founder/shareholder of the company (if it is JSC)
• An opening of the securities account is carried out after the opening of the founder’s account (if it is JSC)
• Registration of documents with a notary
• An opening of a bank account for a company
• A contribution of the company’s share capital
• Registration of the company in the securities center (if it is JSC)

It takes about one month to establish a joint-stock company and about two weeks for a full partnership.

The List of Documents Required to Prepare a License Application for a Payment license in Estonia

• Copy of the Charter, and, in the case of a functioning commercial partnership – a decision of the general meeting on amendments to the charter introduction and the amended text of the Charter
• In case of establishment of a commercial partnership – a notarized copy of the articles of association or a decision on the establishment
• Document confirming the existence of paid or payable share capital or equity capital
• Program of activities with a description, first of all, of the planned payment services
• business plan
• Initial balance sheet and income and expense overview, and in the case of a current business partnership, a balance sheet and income statement as of the end of the month preceding the filing of the application and reports for the last three business years
• Description of the application of general requirements for the storage and protection of client funds
• Internal regulations and internal accounting rules or their drafts
• Data on information and other technological means and systems, security systems, mechanisms and control systems necessary for the provision of planned services
• Description of the internal control system and measures to ensure a compliance with obligations related to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing and relating to information on the payer that accompany the funds transfer
• Description of the organizational structure, including, if necessary, a description of the use of its agents or branches or services outsourcing, as well as its participation in both national and international payment licenses
• List of shareholders with the names of each of them, registration or personal codes, if any, and, in their absence, the dates of birth, and data on the number of shares acquired by each shareholder or on the shares belonging to each of them
• Information on persons with a significant share of participation
• Information on the managers containing names, surnames, personal codes or, in their absence, the date of birth, address of residence, information on education, a full list of places of work and positions, and in the case of members of the management board – descriptions of their responsibilities, and, at  the applicant discretion, – documents confirming the trustworthiness of managers and their compliance with the legislation requirements
• Information on business partnerships in which the participation of the license applicant or its manager exceeds 20 percents and this information should contain the amount of equity capital or share capital, a list of activities, and the size of the share of the applicant and each manager participation
• Information on the auditor and the internal auditor of the applicant, including their names, residences or locations, personal codes, or, in their absence, birth dates or registration codes
• In relation to the existing commercial partnership – documents confirming the amount of own funds, with the report of the sworn auditor
• Technical, economic and legal principles of the payment license functioning previously approved by the Bank of Estonia, as well as draft rules for the system organization, if the applicant wishes to engage in the payment license operation.

The Financial Inspectorate takes from 3 to 6 months for consideration of the application for a license for the payment license in Estonia,

The cost of the services package is 67,000 euros (with Joint-Stock Corporation) and 69,000 euros (with JSC).

The cost of a payment license in Estonia includes:

• Full support for the establishment of the company, including registration of documents for registration with a notary, an appointment of an auditor of the company, assistance in opening a bank account and securities account, registration of documents for registration at the securities center.
• Full support for obtaining a license for electronic money in Estonia, including the processing of all necessary documents and filing an application with the Financial Inspectorate, communication with the Financial Inspectorate in the course of processing the application for the Payment Institution (electronic money Estonia) license.
• Legal address for the company.
• Payment of all state duties.
• Execution of powers of attorney and their translation.
• Legal and accounting advice.