# Payment institution licence (Erlaubnis zur Erbringung von Zahlungsdiensten nach § 10 ZAG) (Germany)

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/payment-institution/germany/

The Payment institution licence (Erlaubnis zur Erbringung von Zahlungsdiensten nach § 10 ZAG) is issued by Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) under Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz - ZAG). It can be passported to the other EU/EEA states by notification. The official register lists 102 current holders. The legal decision period is 3 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall. The application fee is EUR 13,523 or time spent.

## At a glance

| Official name | Payment institution licence (Erlaubnis zur Erbringung von Zahlungsdiensten nach § 10 ZAG) [1] |
| --- | --- |
| Issued by | [Federal Financial Supervisory Authority](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/bafin-germany/) |
| Jurisdiction | [Germany](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/germany/) |
| Licence family | [Payment institution (PI)](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/payment-institution/) |
| Legal basis | Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz - ZAG) [2]; Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market (PSD2) [3] |
| Passporting | EU/EEA passport available |
| Application fee | EUR 13,523 or time spent [4] |
| Annual fee | Annual cost allocation levy (Umlage) based on transaction volume [5] |
| Statutory decision time | 3 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall [1] |
| Public register | [official register](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/ZahlInstInfo/) [6] |
| Current holders | 102 [6] |

## What it lets you do

- [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/)

- **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 Germany (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 complete application, maximum 12 months overall [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 notification with an objection period.** Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% of capital or voting rights, or gaining control of a credit institution, payment institution, or investment firm, requires prior written notification to BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. BaFin conducts an assessment of acquirer reliability, professional competence, financial soundness, and money laundering risks within 60 working days from receipt of a complete filing, interruptible once by up to 20 working days (or 30 working days if non-EEA) to request additional information, under Section 2c KWG, applied mutatis mutandis to payment and e-money institutions via Section 14 ZAG and to investment firms via Section 24 WpIG. [7]

## Laws behind it

- [Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market](https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/eu-psd2-2015-2366/): Directive (EU) 2015/2366

## Sources

1. [gesetze-im-internet.de: 10](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/zag_2018/__10.html): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [gesetze-im-internet.de: zag 2018](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/zag_2018/): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32015L2366)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015L2366): retrieved 2026-09-24
4. [gesetze-im-internet.de: anlage](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/findagebv/anlage.html): retrieved 2026-09-24
5. [bafin.de: finanzierung node](https://www.bafin.de/DE/die-bafin/ueber-die-bafin/organisation/finanzierung/finanzierung_node.html): retrieved 2026-09-24
6. [portal.mvp.bafin.de: ZahlInstInfo](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/ZahlInstInfo/): retrieved 2026-09-24
7. [gesetze-im-internet.de: 2c](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/kredwg/__2c.html): 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.