# Authorised electronic money institution licence (Latvia)

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/latvia/

The Authorised electronic money institution licence is issued by Latvijas Banka (LB) under Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money. It can be passported to the other EU/EEA states by notification. The official register lists 12 current holders. The legal decision period is 15 working days completeness check, followed by 3 months decision period from receipt of complete application. The application fee is EUR 5,000 (standard) or EUR 450 (innovative PSP).

## At a glance

| Official name | Authorised electronic money institution licence [1] |
| --- | --- |
| Also known as | EMI · Latvian authorised EMI · Latvia e-money institution licence |
| Issued by | [Latvijas Banka](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/latvijas-banka/) |
| Jurisdiction | [Latvia](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/latvia/) |
| Licence family | [Electronic money institution (EMI)](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/) |
| Legal basis | Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money [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 |
| Application fee | EUR 5,000 (standard) or EUR 450 (innovative PSP) [1] |
| Annual fee | EUR 7,000 plus up to 1.4% of gross revenue (or EUR 1,000 fixed for innovative PSPs in first 3 years) [1] |
| Statutory decision time | 15 working days completeness check, followed by 3 months decision period from receipt of complete application [1] |
| Public register | [official register](https://www.bank.lv/en/financial-market-participant-register/market-participants?segments=78-authorized-electronic-money-institutions) [4] |
| Current holders | 12 [4] |

## What it lets you do

| [Issuing electronic money](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/e-money-issuance/) | Issuing monetary value stored electronically against funds received, redeemable at par and accepted by third parties as payment. |
| --- | --- |
| [Execution of payment transactions](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/payment-execution/) | Executing direct debits, card payments and credit transfers, including standing orders, from a payment account. |
| [Money remittance](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/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](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/card-issuing-acquiring/) | Issuing cards or other payment instruments to payers, and acquiring card and other payment transactions for merchants. |
| [Payment initiation services](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/payment-initiation/) | Initiating a payment order at the user's request from an account held with another provider, as in open banking. |
| [Account information services](https://protegra.io/licensing/activities/account-information/) | Providing consolidated online information on one or more payment accounts the user holds with other providers. |

## Where it is valid

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

## Cost

_Regulatory costs from the official sources above. Professional fees, staff, office and audit come on top and depend on the business model._

## How long it takes

Statutory: 15 working days completeness check, followed by 3 months decision period from receipt of complete application [1]. Observed: not published. The statutory clock usually starts only when the regulator treats the application as complete, and pauses while it waits for answers to its questions.

## Buying a company that already holds it

**Prior approval required.** Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 33%, or 50% of capital or voting rights, or causing the entity to become a subsidiary, requires prior notification and approval from Latvijas Banka. Under Latvijas Banka Regulation No. 241 and the Credit Institution Law, the assessment period is 60 working days from receipt of a complete notification, interruptible once by up to 20 or 30 working days to request supplementary documents; Latvijas Banka evaluates reputation, financial soundness, and AML/CFT compliance before issuing approval. [5]

## EMI in other countries

| Country | Licence | Regulator | Min. capital | Application fee | Statutory time |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Czech Republic](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/czech-republic-small-scale/) | Small-scale Electronic Money Issuer authorisation | CNB |: | CZK 10,000 | ~1 mo |
| [Czech Republic](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/czech-republic/) | Electronic Money Institution licence | CNB |: | CZK 50,000 | ~3 mo |
| [Estonia](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/estonia-exception/) | Electronic money institution operating with an exception | FI |: |: |: |
| [Estonia](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/estonia/) | Operating licence as an electronic money institution | FI |: |: | ~3 mo |
| [Germany](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/germany/) | Electronic money institution licence | BaFin |: |: | ~3 mo |
| [Ireland](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/ireland/) | Electronic Money Institution Authorisation | CBI |: |: |: |
| [Latvia](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/latvia-registered/) | Registered electronic money institution | LB |: | EUR 2,500 | ~1.7 mo |
| Latvia | Authorised electronic money institution licence | LB |: | EUR 5,000 | ~3.7 mo |
| [Lithuania](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/lithuania-restricted/) | Electronic money institution licence for restricted activity | LB |: |: |: |
| [Lithuania](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/lithuania/) | Electronic money institution licence for non-limited activity | LB | EUR 350,000 | EUR 1,463 | ~3 mo |
| [Luxembourg](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/luxembourg/) | Electronic money institution authorisation | CSSF |: | EUR 30,000 | ~3 mo |
| [Malta](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/malta/) | Electronic money institution licence | MFSA |: | EUR 15,000 | ~3 mo |
| [Netherlands](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/netherlands/) | Electronic money institution licenceElectronic money institution licence (Vergunning elektronischgeldinstelling) | DNB |: | EUR 6,800 | ~3 mo |
| [Poland](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/poland/) | Electronic Money Institution licence | KNF |: | EUR 1,250 | ~3 mo |
| [Slovakia](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/slovakia/) | Electronic money institution licence | NBS |: |: |: |
| [Spain](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/spain/) | Electronic money institution authorization | BdE |: |: | ~3 mo |
| [United Kingdom](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/united-kingdom-semi/) | Small Electronic Money Institution (SEMI) Registration | FCA |: | GBP 1,130 |: |
| [United Kingdom](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/united-kingdom/) | Authorised Electronic Money Institution (AEMI) | FCA |: | GBP 5,640 | ~3 mo |

Values come from each licence's page, where every figure has its source.

## 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. [bank.lv: licensed electronic money institution](https://www.bank.lv/en/operational-areas/licensing/electronic-money-institutions/licensed-electronic-money-institution): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [Latvian legislation portal (likumi.lv): 206634](https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/206634): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [EUR-Lex: CELEX 32009L0110](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009L0110): retrieved 2026-09-24
4. [bank.lv: market participants](https://www.bank.lv/en/financial-market-participant-register/market-participants?segments=78-authorized-electronic-money-institutions): retrieved 2026-09-24
5. [bank.lv: procedure for the evaluation of qualifying holding](https://www.bank.lv/en/operational-areas/licensing/credit-institution/procedure-for-the-evaluation-of-qualifying-holding): 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.