Registration as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) with the National Bank of Georgia (Georgia)

At a glance

What it lets you do

• Execution of payment transactions
• Money remittance
• Issuing payment instruments and acquiring payment transactions
• Payment initiation services
• Account information services

• 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

Cost

Buying a company that already holds it

Prior notification with an objection period. For commercial banks, acquiring or crossing 10%, 20%, 30% or 50% of capital or voting shares, or otherwise gaining significant influence, requires notifying the National Bank; anyone holding more than 10% is a significant shareholder subject to the NBG's fit-and-proper assessment (Law on Commercial Bank Activities, Art. 81 and Art. 1(z5)). For payment service providers, changes of significant shareholders and beneficial owners must be notified to the NBG under its PSP registration order (Order No. 77/04 of 1 May 2023).⁴

Ready-made companies holding this licence: see verified positions.

Laws behind it

• Law of Georgia on Payment System and Payment Services: Law of Georgia No 6304-Is of 25 May 2012