An electronic money institution is a company authorised to issue electronic money: a stored monetary value, held on a customer's account, card or wallet, that the customer has paid for in advance and can spend with third parties. If a customer loads EUR 1,000 into a wallet and keeps a balance that can be spent later or refunded, that balance is e-money.
In Spain the regime is set by Law 21/2011 of 26 July on electronic money, amended by Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 on payment services, and by Royal Decree 778/2012 on the legal regime of electronic money institutions. The Banco de España authorises EMIs, after a report from the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPBLAC) on financial crime matters.
An EMI may not take deposits and may not pay interest or any other benefit linked to the time a customer holds e-money (Law 21/2011, Article 18). Balances held with an EMI are safeguarded rather than covered by the deposit guarantee scheme.
The licence follows the product. If customers hold a balance with the firm that they can spend later, the firm is issuing e-money and needs EMI authorisation. If funds pass straight through from payer to payee, a payment institution licence is usually the right and lower-capital route, as set out in the firm's guide to the Spanish payment institution licence.
| Point | Spanish EMI | Spanish payment institution |
|---|---|---|
| Issue e-money and hold stored balances | Yes | No |
| Payment services | Yes, within its permissions | Yes, within its permissions |
| Minimum initial capital | EUR 350,000 | EUR 20,000 to EUR 125,000, by service |
| Main legislation | Law 21/2011 and Royal Decree 778/2012 | Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 and Royal Decree 736/2019 |
| Authority | Banco de España | Banco de España |
Firms that want to launch before their own licence is granted sometimes start as the agent or programme partner of an existing EMI. This is a valid way to reach the market, and the application can then show live operating data.
Spain is one of the four largest economies in the euro area, and a common base for firms serving Spanish-speaking customers in Europe and building links with Latin America. A Spanish EMI holds a full EU authorisation and can passport its services across the European Economic Area.
The Banco de España publishes a defined procedure, a fixed document list and a statutory decision period. It expects real substance in Spain and a fully built control framework at the point of application. Firms comparing Spain with Lithuania, Ireland or the Netherlands will find the trade-offs in the firm's comparison of EU payment and e-money jurisdictions.
Law 21/2011, Article 6, sets minimum initial capital of EUR 350,000, paid up in full before authorisation. After authorisation the EMI must hold own funds at all times that are at least the higher of that minimum and the amount calculated under Royal Decree 778/2012, Articles 17 and 18.
| Requirement | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial capital | EUR 350,000 | Law 21/2011, Article 6 |
| Own funds for e-money | 2% of average outstanding e-money (daily average over the previous six months) | Royal Decree 778/2012, Article 18 |
| Own funds for unrelated payment services | Calculated under the payment institution methods | Royal Decree 736/2019, Articles 17 and 18 |
The EUR 350,000 is a floor, not a budget. The business plan must also show working capital to cover staff, technology, audit, safeguarding banking and compliance costs for at least the first three years, with a stressed scenario in which growth is slower than planned.
The Banco de España assesses whether the EMI can sustain itself, so the financial model should price every recurring cost from the first month. The main cost lines are below; the amounts depend on the providers chosen and the scale of the business.
A credible plan shows the EMI meeting its own funds requirement and paying these costs in a downside case where volumes arrive later than forecast.
Law 21/2011, Article 4, requires a Spanish EMI to have its head office, its registered office and part of its payment activity in Spain. In practice the Banco de España looks for decisions to be taken in Spain by people who are present and accountable.
Directors and general managers are assessed for good repute, knowledge and experience under the criteria in Royal Decree 84/2015, Articles 29 to 31, and are entered in the Banco de España register of senior officers. The board should combine payments, finance, risk and compliance experience. The law sets no fixed residency rule; what counts is effective management in Spain.
Anyone holding a significant shareholding, directly or through a group, is assessed for reputation and financial soundness, and the source of the capital must be documented. Foreign founders can own a Spanish EMI on the same terms as Spanish founders.
Each document must tell the same story: the same transaction volumes, staff numbers and providers in the business plan, the risk assessment and the financial model. Consistency across the file is what shortens the review.
Royal Decree 778/2012, Article 2, lists the information an application must contain. The main items are below.
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Programme of operations | The e-money and payment services offered, customers, channels and markets |
| Business plan | Forecasts for the first three financial years |
| Evidence of initial capital | EUR 350,000 paid up, with its source |
| Safeguarding arrangements | How customer funds are protected and reconciled |
| Governance and internal control | Board, committees, risk management, compliance and internal audit |
| Operational procedures | Incidents, complaints, business continuity, security and sensitive payment data |
| Anti-money laundering manual | Risk assessment, customer due diligence, monitoring and reporting to SEPBLAC |
| Shareholders, directors and auditors | Identity, fitness and propriety, and the appointed auditor |
| Articles of association | Corporate purpose and registered office in Spain |
Law 21/2011, Article 9, requires an EMI to safeguard the funds received in exchange for e-money, and to do so no later than five business days after issuance. The two methods are to hold the funds in a separate account at a credit institution or invest them in secure, liquid, low-risk assets, or to cover them with an insurance policy or guarantee from an insurer or bank outside the EMI's group.
The Banco de España looks for the full arrangement, not only an account: daily reconciliation, clear segregation from the firm's own money, written procedures, named responsibility and a plan to return funds to customers in an insolvency. The firm's safeguarding and client assets service covers the design and the banking relationships for these accounts.
A Spanish EMI is an obliged entity under Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. SEPBLAC reports to the Banco de España on the applicant's anti-money laundering framework during authorisation and supervises it afterwards.
The application should show a business-wide risk assessment, customer due diligence by customer type, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring rules tuned to the product, suspicious activity reporting and staff training. The new EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1624) applies from 10 July 2027, so frameworks written now should anticipate it.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) has applied since 17 January 2025 and covers EMIs in full. It requires an ICT risk management framework approved by the board, classification and reporting of major ICT incidents, resilience testing, and oversight of ICT third-party providers, including a register of those arrangements and exit plans for critical ones.
Most EMIs rely on outsourced core banking, card processing and identity verification. The Banco de España expects to see due diligence on each provider, contracts that meet DORA's requirements, and staff inside the EMI who understand and control the outsourced service.
Law 21/2011, Article 4, gives the Banco de España three months from receipt of the application to decide. If no decision is notified within that period the application is treated as refused, and Royal Decree 778/2012 allows the period to run from the date the file is complete. A complete, consistent file on submission is therefore the main driver of timing.
| Stage | Typical duration | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation of the application | 2 to 4 months | Firm's planning figure |
| Statutory decision period | 3 months | Law 21/2011, Article 4 |
| Submission to authorisation | 6 to 8 months | Firm's planning figure, including questions |
| Registration and launch | A few weeks | Registration in the Banco de España register |
A Spanish EMI can provide its services in other EEA states under the freedom to provide services or through a branch. The Banco de España sends the notification to the host state's authority, and the firm can begin once the notification process is complete. Host-state rules on consumer protection, anti-money laundering and marketing still apply and should be reviewed country by country.
A staged plan works best: launch in Spain, then add the two or three markets where the firm already has customers or partners, each with its own language, complaints handling and local payment methods in place. Where the firm uses agents or distributors in another state, the host authority may also require a central contact point for anti-money laundering purposes.
Payment services can be provided through agents. E-money itself cannot be issued through agents, but it can be distributed and redeemed through distributors registered with the Banco de España (Royal Decree 778/2012, Article 14).
Under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), only credit institutions and EMIs may issue e-money tokens, which are stablecoins referencing a single official currency such as the euro. A Spanish EMI may issue them once it has notified a crypto-asset white paper to the Banco de España, which is Spain's competent authority for e-money tokens, and it must meet MiCA's reserve and redemption rules on top of the e-money rules. The detail is in the firm's guide to issuing an EMT or ART in Europe.
Custody, exchange or transfer of other crypto-assets is a separate MiCA crypto-asset service and needs its own authorisation from the CNMV.
The EU's proposed third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR) would bring the e-money regime into the payment institution framework. The Council and Parliament reached political agreement in late 2025. At the date of review the texts had not been formally adopted or published in the Official Journal, so Law 21/2011 remains the governing law.
Once adopted, existing EMIs are expected to have a transition period to show compliance with the new rules. Applications prepared in 2026 should be written to meet both regimes, as explained in the firm's PSD3 and PSR briefing.
Buying an existing Spanish EMI is possible, but the acquirer is assessed as a significant shareholder before completion, so the timetable depends on that approval.
The firm's Spain EMI licence service prepares the full application pack to this standard and manages the Banco de España review through to authorisation.
EUR 350,000 of paid-up initial capital under Law 21/2011, Article 6. After authorisation the EMI must also hold own funds of at least 2% of its average outstanding e-money.
The law gives it three months from receipt of the application, and an application not decided in that time is treated as refused. The firm plans 6 to 8 months from submission to authorisation, including questions.
Yes. Significant shareholders of any nationality are assessed for reputation and financial soundness, and the EMI must be managed from Spain.
The law sets no fixed residency rule. The head office, registered office and effective management must be in Spain, and directors must meet the fitness criteria in Royal Decree 84/2015.
Yes, where its permissions cover the services and it has the necessary scheme and banking arrangements. An IBAN is an account identifier, not a separate licence.
It allows the EMI to passport its services to every EEA state after notification through the Banco de España. Local consumer and anti-money laundering rules still apply in each host state.
Yes. Under MiCA an EMI may issue e-money tokens after notifying a crypto-asset white paper to the Banco de España and meeting MiCA's reserve and redemption rules.
Yes, subject to the Banco de España's prior assessment of the new significant shareholders. Thorough due diligence on the target's compliance history is essential.
Buckingham Capital Consulting has obtained e-money authorisations for firms including Dzing Finance, Hryze and Own Solutions since 2013, and prepares Spanish EMI applications to the Banco de España's published requirements. The firm builds the capital plan, safeguarding, anti-money laundering and DORA frameworks alongside the application, and arranges the safeguarding and operating accounts the EMI needs to launch.
Speak to an expert: WhatsApp +44 7563 115980, Telegram @buckinghamcapital or info@buckinghamcapitalconsulting.co.uk.
This article is general information, reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements on the date shown. It is not legal advice; the regulator’s current publications take precedence.