# Electronic money institution operating with an exception (Estonia)

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/estonia-exception/

The Electronic money institution operating with an exception is issued by Finantsinspektsioon (FI) under Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act. It can be passported to the other EU/EEA states by notification. The official register lists 0 current holders. Ownership changes need the regulator's approval before completion.

## At a glance

| Official name | Electronic money institution operating with an exception [1] |
| --- | --- |
| Issued by | [Finantsinspektsioon](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/finantsinspektsioon-estonia/) |
| Jurisdiction | [Estonia](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/estonia/) |
| Licence family | [Electronic money institution (EMI)](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/) |
| Legal basis | Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act [2]; Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (EMD2) [3] |
| Passporting | EU/EEA passport available |
| Public register | [official register](https://www.fi.ee/en/supervised-entities?closed=1&st[2218]=2218) [1] |
| Current holders | 0 [1] |

## What it lets you do

- [Issuing electronic money](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/e-money-issuance/)
- [Execution of payment transactions](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/payment-execution/)
- [Money remittance](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/money-remittance/)
- [Issuing payment instruments and acquiring payment transactions](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/card-issuing-acquiring/)
- [Payment initiation services](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/payment-initiation/)
- [Account information services](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/account-information/)

- **Issuing electronic money.** Issuing monetary value stored electronically against funds received, redeemable at par and accepted by third parties as payment.
- **Execution of payment transactions.** Executing direct debits, card payments and credit transfers, including standing orders, from a payment account.
- **Money remittance.** Receiving funds from a payer solely to transfer them to a payee or another provider, without opening payment accounts.
- **Issuing payment instruments and acquiring payment transactions.** Issuing cards or other payment instruments to payers, and acquiring card and other payment transactions for merchants.
- **Payment initiation services.** Initiating a payment order at the user's request from an account held with another provider, as in open banking.
- **Account information services.** Providing consolidated online information on one or more payment accounts the user holds with other providers.

## Where it is valid

_Issued in Estonia (gold); can be passported to the other EU/EEA states (blue) by notification._

## Buying a company that already holds it

**Prior approval required.** Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% of share capital or voting rights in an Estonian bank, payment institution, EMI, investment firm, or CASP requires prior notification and approval from Finantsinspektsioon. Filings are submitted electronically through the FI Application Portal (or via the ECB SSM portal for credit institutions). The statutory assessment period is 60 working days from receipt of complete documentation, interruptible once by up to 20 or 30 working days to request additional information, evaluating acquirer reputation, financial solidity, and AML/CFT compliance. [4]

## Laws behind it

- [Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions](https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/eu-emd2-2009-110/): Directive 2009/110/EC

## Sources

1. [fi.ee: supervised entities](https://www.fi.ee/en/supervised-entities?closed=1&st[2218]=2218): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [riigiteataja.ee: 515032024001](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/515032024001): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32009L0110)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009L0110): retrieved 2026-09-24
4. [taotlus.fi.ee](https://taotlus.fi.ee/en): retrieved 2026-09-24

Last verified 2026-09-24 · Author: Danil Marmysh · Reviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova · © Protegra. Data: CC BY 4.0, cite "Protegra Licensing Atlas". Not legal advice.