Malta suits e-money issuers that serve the gaming sector or want a rulebook that sets out governance in full, with one licence covering e-money and every payment service across the EU.
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 two directors in Malta, a chair and an MLRO, 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 two directors based in Malta, a Malta-resident board member, an independent non-executive chair, a compliance officer and an MLRO.
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 issuing stored value to customers in Malta or, through passporting, across the EU and EEA needs an MFSA licence. Malta’s rulebook sets out governance in unusual detail, and its gaming and payments sectors are closely linked. An EMI may provide every payment service under the same licence.
| Requirement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial capital | €350,000 |
| Ongoing own funds | Higher of €350,000 and 2% of average daily outstanding e-money |
| Unrelated payment services | Method A, B or C as the MFSA determines |
The current rulebook contains no small EMI waiver; every e-money issuer holds the full licence.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory decision period | 3 months from receipt; silence is a deemed refusal | Financial Institutions Act, Cap. 376 |
| Regulator’s published figure | Replies to applicant feedback within 20 working days, about 1 month, at each stage | MFSA authorisation process service charter |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | €15,000 | E-money issuance and payment services; €10,000 for one category of activity |
| Annual supervisory fee | €35,000 fixed plus variable | Variable element: the higher of 0.02% of total assets, 0.0003% of payment transactions or 0.01% of average daily outstanding e-money, capped at €250,000 |
| Initial capital | €350,000 | Held before authorisation |
| Professional fees | Fixed, in writing | Quoted after scoping |
A Maltese EMI passports throughout the EU and EEA by branch, agent or distributor, or cross-border services, under the European passport rights regulations.
The MFSA publishes stage-level service targets rather than a list of causes of delay. In the firm’s experience the three causes are the same as in every EU regime: incomplete submissions, insufficient substance in Malta, and business plans whose assumptions and flows of funds are not clear.
An EMI 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 Malta and across the EU, during the application, so the firm trades on authorisation. See banking and payment processing.
Three months from receipt by statute, with silence treated as refusal. Counting the in-principle approval and conditions stages, the firm plans for six to eight months after submission.
At least three directors, including an independent non-executive director as chair and a Malta-resident member, meeting at least quarterly, with two individuals effectively directing the business from Malta.
€15,000 on application for e-money and payment services, and a fixed annual fee of €35,000 plus a variable element capped at €250,000.
Not in the current rulebook. Every e-money issuer holds the full licence.
Yes. Malta licenses gaming operators under the Malta Gaming Authority and many payment firms serving the sector are authorised there; the firm obtains both licences.
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.