Payment institutions that want the standing of a Luxembourg authorisation, and a regulator used to institutional scale at the centre of the EU, choose the CSSF as their supervisor.
Selected engagements from more than 250 licences obtained since 2013, for payment, e-money, cryptoasset and consumer credit firms.
Volkswagen
Payment InstitutionObtained Nexpay’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Dzing Finance’s FCA Authorised Electronic Money Institution licence.
Obtained Orbital’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
Our realistic timeline from submission, set against the regulator’s own published figures.
Safeguarding, operating and settlement accounts opened alongside the application, so you trade on authorisation.
Candidates introduced for directors based in Luxembourg, each assessed against the regulator’s standard.
A reply within three business hours and a written proposal the same day: the licence, the requirements, the cost and the timing.
You will need directors with the competence and experience to run a payment firm from Luxembourg, plus board and supervisory board members.
One engagement and one timetable, from scoping to launch. Speak to an expert about the people, the banking and the technology for this licence.
The regulator’s requirements, capital, timing, fees and the questions firms ask, from the regulator’s own publications.
A business providing a payment service in Luxembourg or, through passporting, in the EU and EEA needs CSSF authorisation. A business that will also hold customer balances applies for an EMI licence instead.
| Requirement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Account, card and other services (1–5) | €125,000 |
| Payment initiation only | €50,000 |
| Money remittance only | €20,000 |
| Account information only | None; registration |
| Ongoing own funds | Method A, B or C as determined |
Own funds may never fall below the initial capital.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory decision period | 3 months from the application or from missing information; 12 months at most | Law of 10 November 2009 |
| Application preparation | 6 to 8 weeks | From instruction to submission, including banking in parallel |
| Our realistic timeline | 6 to 8 months after submission | The firm’s own figure, from the regulator’s published data and its own applications |
Figures published by the regulator are quoted as published and converted to months. The realistic timeline is the firm’s own, for a complete, well-prepared application.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Examination fee | €30,000 | Single lump sum; €8,000 to extend the authorisation |
| Annual fee | €30,000 | €40,000 above €1 billion of volume; €25,000 for institutions authorised three years or less below that volume |
| Initial capital | €20,000 to €125,000 | By the highest service |
| Professional fees | Fixed, in writing | Quoted after scoping |
A Luxembourg payment institution passports throughout the EU and EEA on notification to the CSSF. A limited-network exclusion requires notification.
The CSSF publishes no list of causes of delay. In the firm’s experience the causes are the same as in every EU regime: incomplete files, insufficient substance in Luxembourg, and flows of funds that are not clearly mapped.
A payment institution needs a safeguarding account that satisfies the regulator’s requirements, an operating account and settlement accounts in the currencies it serves. The firm arranges each through institutions that serve regulated firms in Luxembourg and across the EU, during the application, so the firm trades on authorisation. See banking and payment processing.
Three months from the application or from missing information; twelve months at most. The firm plans for six to eight months after submission.
€125,000 for account, card and most services; €50,000 for payment initiation only; €20,000 for money remittance only.
€30,000 on application and €30,000 a year, with adjustments by volume and for the first three years.
No. The law sets no volume tiers.
The central administration and registered office, with part of the business carried on there and management competent to direct it from Luxembourg.
A regulatory advisory firm to payment, e-money and cryptoasset companies since 2013, with more than 250 licences obtained in more than 60 countries. The firm advises on authorisation, compliance, safeguarding, banking and transactions, and builds the white-label payment and card technology its clients launch on.
A written proposal on cost, timing and requirements, the same day: speak to an expert.
This guide is general information for firms considering authorisation and is reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements. It is not legal advice; requirements and fees change, and the regulator’s current publications take precedence.
The requirements, the cost and the timing for your business, in a written proposal the same day.