Crowdfunding services
Matching a business project owner with retail and institutional investors, to arrange loans or securities placements, needs authorisation under the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR) Article 2(1)(a), held by an investment firm or a dedicated lending platform. Once authorised, the provider passports fully across every EU member state.
Definition
Matching business funding interests of investors and project owners through a platform, by facilitating loans or placing securities.
- ECSPR, Art. 2(1)(a): official text
Which licence you need
Licence families that typically permit this activity:
- MSB · Canada
Money services business (MSB) registration
Money services business (MSB) registration (covers foreign exchange dealing, money transferring, virtual currency dealing, crowdfunding platforms and related services; a separate foreign-MSB registration applies to businesses without a place of business in Canada that direct services at Canadians)FINTRAC
- Credit · Cyprus
European Crowdfunding Service Provider authorisation
CySEC
- Credit · Czech Republic
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPRCNB
- Credit · Estonia
Authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider
Authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider under ECSPRFI
- Credit · France
European crowdfunding service provider authorization
AMF
- Credit · Ireland
Crowdfunding Service Provider Authorisation (ECSPR)
CBI
- Credit · Italy
European crowdfunding service provider authorization (ECSPR)
CONSOB
- Credit · Latvia
Crowdfunding service provider authorization
LB
- Credit · Lithuania
Crowdfunding service provider authorization
LB
- Credit · Lithuania
Peer-to-peer lending platform operator
LB
- Credit · Luxembourg
Crowdfunding service provider authorisation
CSSF
- Credit · Netherlands
European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSPR) authorisation
European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSPR) authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503AFM
- Credit · Poland
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPRKNF
- Credit · Slovakia
Crowdfunding service provider authorisation
Crowdfunding service provider authorisation under ECSPRNBS
- Credit · Spain
European crowdfunding service provider authorization
CNMV
Where it can be licensed
Frequently asked questions
What individual project fundraising cap applies under ECSPR?
Yes. ECSPR caps how much a single project can raise in a year through crowdfunding. A raise above that cap has to comply with standard prospectus rules and the full MiFID II placement regime instead.
How are retail investors protected on crowdfunding platforms?
The platform has to sort investors into sophisticated and non-sophisticated categories. A non-sophisticated investor must pass an entry knowledge test, go through a loss simulation and get explicit risk warnings before investing, plus a pre-contractual reflection period to reconsider.
Sources
- ECSPR Art. 2(1)(a) · retrieved 2026-09-24
Planning crowdfunding services? Get the licence right first
Tell us your model and target markets. We check which licence it needs, and whether a narrower one will do, before you spend on an application.
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