Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin): register, licences and requirements
BaFin (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) is Germany's integrated federal financial supervisory authority. Together with the Deutsche Bundesbank it oversees banking, securities, insurance and crypto-asset markets. As of September 2026, BaFin supervises 3,624 financial institutions in total, including 1,217 credit institutions, 102 payment institutions, 14 electronic money institutions and 81 regulated crypto-asset service providers under EU MiCA.
How to check a firm on the BaFin register
Search the Unternehmensdatenbank by company name, BaFin-ID, BAK number, registration number or supervisory category. Results show entity details and headquarters, plus authorisation status and permitted activities. The ZAG-Instituts-Register has separate searches for domestic payment institutions, e-money institutions and account information service providers, by name or category. Its entries list the authorised payment services, the European passport notifications and the registered agents.16
- BaFin Unternehmensdatenbank (public register for credit institutions, investment firms, KVG fund managers, financial services institutions, crypto custodians, and electronic securities registrars)4
- BaFin ZAG-Instituts-Register (public register for payment institutions, electronic money institutions, and account information service providers under ZAG §§ 43, 44)15
At a glance
| Official name | Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Germany |
| Type | Integrated financial regulator |
| Headquarters | Bonn1 |
| Founded | 20022 |
| Website | bafin.de3 |
| Public register | Official public register4 |
| Licence types in the Atlas | 8 |
What BaFin supervises
BaFin is Germany's unified federal financial supervisor and sits under the Federal Ministry of Finance. It supervises credit institutions, financial service providers, payment and e-money institutions, insurance undertakings, investment funds and crypto-asset markets. It works closely with the Deutsche Bundesbank on financial stability, market integrity and collective consumer protection.3
- Credit institutions and commercial banks under KWG and the EU Single Supervisory Mechanism17
- Payment institutions and electronic money institutions under ZAG15
- Investment firms (Wertpapierinstitute) under WpIG and MiFID II18
- Crypto-asset service providers and crypto custodians under KMAG, KWG, and EU MiCA19
- Investment fund management companies (Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaften) under KAGB and AIFMD20
- Crypto securities registrars (Kryptowertpapierregisterführer) under eWpG and KWG21
Licences BaFin issues
- Bank · Germany
CRR)
- CASP · Germany
Crypto-asset service provider licence
- EMI · Germany
Electronic money institution licence
- FM · Germany
Investment management company licence
- IF · Germany
Investment firm licence
- PI · Germany
Account information service provider registration
- PI · Germany
Payment institution licence
- VASP · Germany
Qualified crypto custody licence
Lesser-known services for applicants
Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment
BaFin holds free preliminary discussions (Erstgespräche) with prospective applicants before formal submission. Staff review the initial business concept and assign a dedicated contact person through the contact form. BaFin is legally barred from offering legal advice.5
Innovation hub
BaFin runs a specialised FinTech Navigator Desk (Lotsenfunktion) within its innovation division. The desk gives guidance on the regulatory perimeter and directs startups through the supervisory pathways, in collaboration with the Deutsche Bundesbank.6
Regulatory sandbox
Germany has no general national regulatory sandbox. BaFin rejects rule exemptions on constitutional equality grounds ('same business, same risks, same rules'). It does operate the EU DLT Pilot Regime (Regulation (EU) 2022/858), a statutory European sandbox for DLT trading and settlement systems.7
Application portal: Melde- und Veröffentlichungsplattform (MVP Portal) at portal.mvp.bafin.de8
Fee schedule: Special Fee Ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Finance for Financial Services Supervision (FinDAGebV)9
Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.
Statistics
- 102 payment institutions authorized under ZAG (register, 2026-09-24)15
- 14 electronic money institutions authorized under ZAG (register, 2026-09-24)15
- 13 account information service providers registered under ZAG (register, 2026-09-24)15
- 1,217 credit institutions authorized under KWG / CRR (register, 2026-09-24)17
- 664 investment firms authorized under WpIG (register, 2026-09-24)18
- 714 capital management companies authorized under KAGB (register, 2026-09-24)20
- 81 crypto-asset service providers registered/authorized under MiCAR (register, 2026-09-24)22
- 15 crypto custodians authorized under KWG (register, 2026-09-24)23
- 8 crypto securities registrars authorized under eWpG/KWG (register, 2026-09-24)21
- 3,624 total financial institutions across all categories in the BaFin institutional register (register, 2026-09-24)24
Fees and timelines
| Licence | Fee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Payment institution licence | application | EUR 13,523 or time spent9 |
| Payment institution licence | annual | Annual cost allocation levy (Umlage) based on transaction volume10 |
| Electronic money institution licence | application | nach Zeitaufwand (billed based on staff time spent)9 |
| Electronic money institution licence | annual | Annual cost allocation levy (Umlage) based on transaction volume10 |
| CRR) | application | nach Zeitaufwand (billed based on staff time spent)9 |
| CRR) | annual | EUR 6,3369 |
| Investment firm licence | application | EUR 6,336 or time spent9 |
| Investment firm licence | annual | Annual cost allocation levy (Umlage) based on gross commission income10 |
| Crypto-asset service provider licence | application | nach Zeitaufwand (billed based on staff time spent)9 |
| Crypto-asset service provider licence | annual | Annual cost allocation levy (Umlage) under FinDAG10 |
| Licence | Statutory deadline | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Payment institution licence | 3 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall11 | not published |
| Electronic money institution licence | 3 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall11 | not published |
| CRR) | 6 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall12 | not published |
| Investment firm licence | 6 months from receipt of a complete application13 | not published |
| Crypto-asset service provider licence | 40 working days from receipt of a complete application14 | not published |
Changing the owner of a licensed firm
Prior notification with an objection period. Anyone who acquires or increases a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30% or 50% of capital or voting rights, or who gains control of a credit institution, payment institution or investment firm, must notify BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank in writing beforehand. BaFin assesses the acquirer's reliability, professional competence, financial soundness and money laundering risks within 60 working days from receipt of a complete filing. It can interrupt that period once, by up to 20 working days (or 30 working days if non-EEA), to request additional information. The basis is Section 2c KWG, applied mutatis mutandis to payment and e-money institutions via Section 14 ZAG and to investment firms via Section 24 WpIG.25
Laws BaFin applies
- Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114
- Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market: Directive (EU) 2015/2366
- Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions: Directive 2009/110/EC
- Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments: Directive 2014/65/EU
- Capital Requirements Regulation: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
- Capital Requirements Directive: Directive 2013/36/EU
- Digital Operational Resilience Act: Regulation (EU) 2022/2554
Recent and upcoming changes
- 2025-01-17: EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) took effect across all German supervised entities, establishing uniform ICT risk management, incident classification and reporting, and third-party oversight.26
- 2024-12-30: EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) Title V commenced, accompanied by Germany's Crypto Markets Supervision Act (Kryptomärkteaufsichtsgesetz - KMAG) under the FinmadiG, designating BaFin as the competent supervisory authority for crypto-asset service providers.14
- 2024-06-30: EU MiCA Titles III and IV took effect for asset-referenced token (ART) and e-money token (EMT) issuers, leading to BaFin licensing regulated stablecoin issuers such as AllUnity GmbH under ZAG and MiCA.15
- 2023-12-15: German Future Financing Act (Zukunftsfinanzierungsgesetz - ZuFinG) entered into force, amending the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) to enable electronic registered shares (elektronische Namensaktien) and modernizing German capital market rules.27
Contacts and public register
Address: Graurheindorfer Str. 108, 53117 Bonn, Germany1
Website: bafin.de3
Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4 · official register15.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank in banking supervision?
BaFin is Germany's federal supervisory authority. It takes the administrative decisions, grants and withdraws licences and enforces the rules. The Deutsche Bundesbank carries out the day-to-day ongoing supervision, on-site inspections and vetting of statistical reports, in cooperation with BaFin. The two share joint oversight under Section 7 of the German Banking Act (KWG).
Does BaFin operate a regulatory sandbox for fintech startups?
Germany has no general national sandbox. BaFin rejects discretionary exemptions on constitutional equality grounds (Grundgesetz Art. 3, 'same business, same risks, same rules'). It supports market entrants through its free FinTech Navigator Desk and takes part in the EU DLT Pilot Regime, a statutory sandbox for financial market infrastructures.
What are the statutory and realistic decision deadlines for BaFin licences?
The statutory deadline for a decision is 3 months from a complete application for payment and e-money institutions (ZAG § 10) and 6 months for credit institutions (KWG § 33), capped at 12 months overall. In practice, reviews take 6 to 12 months for payment institutions and 12 to 18 months for banks.
How does BaFin assess acquisitions under its change of control regime?
A prior notification under KWG § 2c is required from anyone seeking 10%, 20%, 30% or 50% of voting rights or capital, or control of a bank, payment institution or investment firm. BaFin assesses the acquirer's reliability, financial soundness and AML compliance within 60 working days. It can interrupt that period once, by up to 20 working days.
What language must licence applications be submitted in to BaFin?
German is the official administrative language under Section 23 of the German Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG) and FinDAG provisions. Core corporate filings, business plans and formal contracts must be in German or come with certified translations. Initial consultative discussions with BaFin's FinTech Desk can take place in English.
Sources
- bafin.de: impressum node · retrieved 2026-09-24
- en.wikipedia.org: Federal Financial Supervisory Authority · secondary · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: home node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: schritte erlaubnis node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: fintechs node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: betrieb dlt marktinfrastruktur node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: mvpportal node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- gesetze-im-internet.de: anlage · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: finanzierung node · retrieved 2026-09-24
- gesetze-im-internet.de: 10 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- gesetze-im-internet.de: 33 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- gesetze-im-internet.de: 16 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32023R1114 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: register zahlungsinstitute node · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bafin.de: kryptoinstitute node en · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- portal.mvp.bafin.de: sucheForm.do · retrieved 2026-09-24
- gesetze-im-internet.de: 2c · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32022R2554 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- recht.bund.de: VO · secondary · retrieved 2026-09-24
Applying to BaFin, or buying a firm it licenses?
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