Payment institution (PI) · Malta

Payment institution licence (Malta)

The Payment institution licence is issued by Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market (PSD2). It can be passported to the other EU/EEA states by notification. The official register lists 50 current holders. The legal decision period is 3 months from receipt of a complete application. The application fee is EUR 10,000. Ownership changes need the regulator's approval before completion.

Last verified 2026-09-24Regulator MFSAMarkdown · Data (CC BY 4.0)
Payment institution licence: licencePI

At a glance

Official namePayment institution licence1
Issued byMalta Financial Services Authority
JurisdictionMalta
Licence familyPayment institution (PI)
Legal basisDirective (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market (PSD2)2
PassportingEU/EEA passport available
Application feeEUR 10,0003
Annual feeEUR 15,000 + 0.02% of total assets (max EUR 250,000) for payment services only; EUR 25,000 base where e-money-related activity is added3
Statutory decision time3 months from receipt of a complete application1
Public registerofficial register4
Current holders504

What it lets you do

  • 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

Malta licence, passportable across the EU/EEAATBEBGHRCYCZDKEEFIFRDEGRHUIEITLVLTLUNLPLPTROSKSIESSEISNOMTLI
Issued in Malta (gold); can be passported to the other EU/EEA states (blue) by notification.

Cost

Cost components, upper bound total EUR 25,000Application fee: EUR 10,000Annual supervisory fee: EUR 15,000
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

Time to licence: statutory 3-3 monthsStatutory3 months

Statutory: 3 months from receipt of a complete application1. 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

Last verified 2026-09-24Author Danil Marmysh, Founder & CEO, ProtegraReviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova, Head of Licensing, ProtegraReport an errorReference information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. legislation.mt: 683418610db9942428cf9d49 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  2. eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32015L2366) · retrieved 2026-09-24
  3. legislation.mt: 678e17bf0dba9f09507842db · retrieved 2026-09-24
  4. euclid.eba.europa.eu: download PSDMD 202609240000.zip · retrieved 2026-09-24

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