Regulated activities
A licence is defined by the activities it permits. The Atlas maps 46 regulated activities from the official EU lists (MiCA, PSD2, the E-Money Directive, MiFID II, AIFMD and UCITS) and the FATF definitions used outside the EU to the licences that allow them, so you can start from what your business does.
MiCA
- Art. 3(1)(16)(a) and 3(1)(17) · 20 licences
Custody and administration of crypto-assets
Safekeeping or controlling crypto-assets, or the means of access to them such as private keys, on behalf of clients.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(b) and 3(1)(18) · 17 licences
Operating a crypto-asset trading platform
Managing a multilateral system that brings together buying and selling interests in crypto-assets so that contracts are concluded.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(c) and 3(1)(19) · 17 licences
Exchange of crypto-assets for funds
Buying or selling crypto-assets against fiat money using the provider's own capital.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(d) and 3(1)(20) · 17 licences
Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets
Concluding contracts with clients to swap one crypto-asset for another using the provider's own capital.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(e) and 3(1)(21) · 17 licences
Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
Concluding agreements to buy or sell crypto-assets on behalf of clients, including subscribing to offers.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(f) and 3(1)(22) · 16 licences
Placing of crypto-assets
Marketing crypto-assets to purchasers on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a related party.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(g) and 3(1)(23) · 16 licences
Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets
Receiving a client's order to buy or sell crypto-assets and passing it to a third party for execution.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(h) and 3(1)(24) · 17 licences
Advice on crypto-assets
Giving personalised recommendations to a client about transactions in crypto-assets or the use of crypto-asset services.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(i) and 3(1)(25) · 17 licences
Portfolio management of crypto-assets
Managing portfolios that include crypto-assets on a discretionary, client-by-client basis under a mandate.
- Art. 3(1)(16)(j) and 3(1)(26) · 17 licences
Transfer services for crypto-assets
Moving crypto-assets on behalf of a client from one distributed-ledger address or account to another.
- Title III, Art. 16 · 5 licences
Issuing asset-referenced tokens
Offering to the public, or seeking admission to trading of, a token that stabilises its value by referencing other assets or a basket of currencies.
- Title IV, Art. 48 · 6 licences
Issuing e-money tokens
Offering to the public, or seeking admission to trading of, a token that references the value of a single official currency.
PSD2
- Annex I (1) · 1 licences
Cash placement on a payment account
Services enabling cash to be placed on a payment account, and the operations required to run that account.
- Annex I (2) · 1 licences
Cash withdrawal from a payment account
Services enabling cash to be withdrawn from a payment account, and the operations required to run that account.
- Annex I (3) · 66 licences
Execution of payment transactions
Executing direct debits, card payments and credit transfers, including standing orders, from a payment account.
- Annex I (4) and Art. 18(4) · 1 licences
Execution of payment transactions covered by a credit line
Executing payment transactions where the funds are covered by a credit line granted to the user, within the limits PSD2 allows.
- Annex I (5) · 44 licences
Issuing payment instruments and acquiring payment transactions
Issuing cards or other payment instruments to payers, and acquiring card and other payment transactions for merchants.
- Annex I (6) · 49 licences
Money remittance
Receiving funds from a payer solely to transfer them to a payee or another provider, without opening payment accounts.
- Annex I (7) · 44 licences
Payment initiation services
Initiating a payment order at the user's request from an account held with another provider, as in open banking.
- Annex I (8) · 50 licences
Account information services
Providing consolidated online information on one or more payment accounts the user holds with other providers.
EMD2
MiFID II
- Annex I, Section A(1) · 31 licences
Reception and transmission of orders
Receiving client orders in financial instruments and passing them to another firm for execution.
- Annex I, Section A(2) · 30 licences
Execution of orders on behalf of clients
Concluding agreements to buy or sell financial instruments on behalf of clients.
- Annex I, Section A(3) · 28 licences
Dealing on own account
Trading financial instruments against proprietary capital, which includes acting as counterparty to client trades.
- Annex I, Section A(4) · 36 licences
Portfolio management
Managing client portfolios that include financial instruments on a discretionary, client-by-client basis.
- Annex I, Section A(5) · 32 licences
Investment advice
Giving personal recommendations to a client about one or more transactions in financial instruments.
- Annex I, Section A(6) · 13 licences
Underwriting or placing on a firm commitment basis
Guaranteeing the sale of an issue of financial instruments by committing to buy what is not sold to investors.
- Annex I, Section A(7) · 14 licences
Placing without a firm commitment
Placing financial instruments with investors on a best-efforts basis, without guaranteeing the sale.
- Annex I, Section A(8) · 16 licences
Operating a multilateral trading facility (MTF)
Running a multilateral system, other than a regulated market, that matches third-party interests in financial instruments under non-discretionary rules.
- Annex I, Section A(9) · 14 licences
Operating an organised trading facility (OTF)
Running a multilateral system for non-equity instruments where the operator exercises discretion over order execution.
- Annex I, Section B(1) · 14 licences
Safekeeping and administration of financial instruments
Holding financial instruments for clients and related services such as cash and collateral management, as an ancillary service.
- Annex I, Section C(4) and C(9) instruments · 14 licences
CFD and forex brokerage
Offering retail and professional clients contracts for difference and rolling spot forex, usually as dealing on own account or order execution.
AIFMD
UCITS
CRD
- Art. 9 and Annex I (1) · 22 licences
Taking deposits from the public
Accepting deposits or other repayable funds from the public, the activity reserved to credit institutions.
- Annex I (2) · 33 licences
Lending
Granting loans, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring and financing of commercial transactions.
CCD2
ECSPR
FATF
- Glossary: virtual asset service provider (i), (ii) · 17 licences
Virtual asset exchange (FATF)
Exchanging virtual assets for fiat currency or for other virtual assets as a business, as defined in the FATF glossary.
- Glossary: virtual asset service provider (iii) · 16 licences
Virtual asset transfer (FATF)
Conducting transactions that move virtual assets between addresses or accounts on behalf of another person.
- Glossary: virtual asset service provider (iv) · 17 licences
Virtual asset safekeeping (FATF)
Safekeeping or administering virtual assets, or instruments enabling control over them, for another person.
- Glossary: virtual asset service provider (v) · 2 licences
Services related to token offerings (FATF)
Participating in and providing financial services related to an issuer's offer or sale of a virtual asset.
- Recommendation 14: money or value transfer services · 5 licences
Currency exchange
Buying and selling foreign currency for customers, in cash or electronically, as a bureau de change or FX service.
- Recommendations 22-23 and Glossary: TCSP · 8 licences
Trust and company services
Forming companies, acting as or arranging directors, nominee shareholders and trustees, and providing a registered office.
Malta Gaming Act
- Cap. 583 · 3 licences
Online gaming and betting for players (B2C)
Offering casino games, sports betting, poker or lotteries directly to players over the internet.
- Cap. 583 · 2 licences
Supplying games and platforms to operators (B2B)
Providing game content, platforms or critical gaming supplies to licensed operators rather than to players.
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