# Electronic money institution licence (Malta)

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

The Electronic money institution licence is issued by Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) under Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (EMD2). It can be passported to the other EU/EEA states by notification. The official register lists 43 current holders. The legal decision period is 3 months from receipt of a complete application. The application fee is EUR 15,000.

## At a glance

| Official name | Electronic money institution licence [1] |
| --- | --- |
| Issued by | [Malta Financial Services Authority](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/mfsa-malta/) |
| Jurisdiction | [Malta](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/malta/) |
| Licence family | [Electronic money institution (EMI)](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/) |
| Legal basis | Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (EMD2) [2] |
| Passporting | EU/EEA passport available |
| Application fee | EUR 15,000 [3] |
| Annual fee | EUR 35,000 base + higher of 0.02% total assets or aggregate of 0.0003% payment transaction value and 0.01% average daily outstanding electronic money (max EUR 250,000) [3] |
| Statutory decision time | 3 months from receipt of a complete application [1] |
| Public register | [official register](https://euclid.eba.europa.eu/register/downloads/PSDMD/20260924/download-PSDMD-202609240000.zip) [4] |
| Current holders | 43 [4] |

## 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 Malta (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: 3 months from receipt of a 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 needs the MFSA's prior approval. For payment and e-money institutions the Financial Institutions Act sets the thresholds at 20%, 30% and 50%; for banks the Banking Act adds a 60-working-day assessment period that can be extended. [1]

## 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. [legislation.mt: 683418610db9942428cf9d49](https://legislation.mt/getpdf/683418610db9942428cf9d49): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32009L0110)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009L0110): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [legislation.mt: 678e17bf0dba9f09507842db](https://legislation.mt/getpdf/678e17bf0dba9f09507842db): retrieved 2026-09-24
4. [euclid.eba.europa.eu: download PSDMD 202609240000.zip](https://euclid.eba.europa.eu/register/downloads/PSDMD/20260924/download-PSDMD-202609240000.zip): 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.