# Exempt electronic money institution registration (Vrijstelling elektronischgeldinstelling) (Netherlands)

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/emi/netherlands-exempt/

The Exempt electronic money institution registration (Vrijstelling elektronischgeldinstelling) is issued by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) under Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (EMD2). It is a national licence: it does not give a passport to other EU/EEA states. Ownership changes need the regulator's approval before completion.

## At a glance

| Official name | Exempt electronic money institution registration (Vrijstelling elektronischgeldinstelling) [1] |
| --- | --- |
| Issued by | [De Nederlandsche Bank](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/dnb-netherlands/) |
| Jurisdiction | [Netherlands](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/netherlands/) |
| 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 | Domestic only |

## 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

_Valid in Netherlands._

## Buying a company that already holds it

**Prior approval required.** Under Section 3:95 Wft and MiCA Articles 41 and 83, acquiring, increasing, or disposing of a qualifying holding (direct or indirect holding of 10% or more of voting rights or shares, or exercising significant influence) in a payment institution, EMI, or ART issuer requires a prior Declaration of No-Objection (DNO / VVGB) from DNB (the ECB assesses banks). Threshold bandwidth upper limits are set at 20%, 30/33%, 50%, or 100%. The statutory decision period is 60 working days from receipt of a complete application, extendable once by up to 30 working days for RFIs, governed by lex silencio positivo. [3]

## 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. [dnb.nl: exemption from the authorisation requirement](https://www.dnb.nl/en/sector-information/open-book-supervision/open-book-supervision-sectors/electronic-money-institutions/authorisation-as-an-electronic-money-institution-overview/exemption-from-the-authorisation-requirement/): 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. [dnb.nl: dno application time frame](https://www.dnb.nl/en/sector-information/open-book-supervision/open-book-supervision-themes/declaration-of-no-objection/dno-application-time-frame/): 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.