European Banking Authority (EBA): register, licences and requirements
The European Banking Authority (EBA) is the EU agency that sets prudential standards and promotes supervisory convergence for banking, payments and digital finance. Licences are granted by national authorities, not by the EBA, but it keeps the central EUCLID register of credit, payment and electronic money institutions across the EEA, supervises significant asset-referenced and e-money token issuers under MiCA, and takes part in the oversight of critical ICT third-party providers under DORA.
How to check a firm on the EBA register
Users can query the EBA EUCLID register portal by institution name, national reference code, LEI, country of origin, or entity type (payment institution, e-money institution, credit institution). Search results display the entity's authorization status, home competent authority, passported services across EEA host states, and active agent or branch networks.4
- Register of payment and electronic money institutions under PSD24
- Credit institutions register under Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD)10
- Public bulk download of payment and e-money institutions register data4
- Central directory of EBA registers and national competent authority lists13
- List and oversight framework of designated critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs) under DORA5
At a glance
| Official name | European Banking Authority |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
| Type | EU supervisory authority |
| Headquarters | Paris1 |
| Founded | 20112 |
| Website | eba.europa.eu3 |
| Public register | Official public register4 |
What EBA supervises
The European Banking Authority is an independent EU agency that creates the European Single Rulebook for banking and payments, fosters supervisory convergence across national competent authorities, and directly oversees critical ICT third-party service providers under DORA and significant asset-referenced and e-money token issuers under MiCA.6
- Payment institutions and electronic money institutions (Union-wide prudential standards and central register under PSD2 and EMD2)4
- Credit institutions and commercial banks (EU Single Rulebook, stress testing, and central register under CRD/CRR)10
- Issuers of significant asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and significant electronic money tokens (EMTs) under MiCA14
- Critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs) serving the financial sector under DORA Lead Overseer framework15
- Third-party risk management and operational resilience of financial entities16
Lesser-known services for applicants
Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment
For DORA Critical ICT Third-Party Service Provider (CTPP) voluntary opt-in requests under Article 31(11), the ESAs encourage applicants to submit an informal draft application before formal submission so the ESAs can verify requirements free of charge via esa-dora-oversight@eba.europa.eu. However, for credit, payment, and e-money institution licensing, initial pre-application meetings are conducted directly by national competent authorities rather than the EBA.5
Innovation hub
The EBA co-operates the European Forum for Innovation Facilitators (EFIF), an EU-level network connecting innovation hubs and regulatory sandboxes across all 30 EEA countries to facilitate information exchange and develop common supervisory approaches to fintech innovations including AI, DLT, and embedded finance.6
Regulatory sandbox
While the EBA does not run an autonomous national regulatory sandbox, it coordinates cross-border testing across national sandboxes via the EFIF Cross-Border Testing Framework hosted on the EU Digital Finance Platform, allowing firms to test innovative solutions simultaneously under multiple national supervisory authorities.7
Application portal: EBA EUCLID Register portal (https://euclid.eba.europa.eu/register/) and the EU Digital Finance Platform (https://digital-finance-platform.ec.europa.eu/)8
Fee schedule: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1503 on supervisory fees charged by the EBA to issuers of significant ARTs and EMTs, and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1505 on oversight fees for critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs) under DORA.9
Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.
Statistics
- Annual budget of 64.4 million euros and staffing of 270 employees in 2026 (Wikipedia, 2026)2
Fees and timelines
| Licence | Fee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic money institution (PSD2/EMD2 central register) | application | EUR 0 (Levied by national competent authorities in each Member State; EBA charges no application fee to maintain central registry)4 |
| Payment institution (PSD2 central register) | application | EUR 0 (Levied by national competent authorities in each Member State; EBA charges no application fee to maintain central registry)4 |
| Credit institution (CRD central register) | application | EUR 0 (Levied by national competent authorities / ECB; EBA charges no fee to maintain central registry)10 |
| Significant asset-referenced token issuer direct supervision | annual | Annual fee proportionate to the issuer's reserve of assets under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1503 based on full cost recovery of EBA direct supervisory expenditure9 |
| Significant electronic money token issuer direct supervision | annual | Annual fee proportionate to tokens in circulation under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1503 based on full cost recovery of EBA supervisory expenditure9 |
| Licence | Statutory deadline | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic money institution (PSD2/EMD2 central register) | 3 months from receipt of complete application at national NCA level under Article 11 PSD2 / Directive 2009/110/EC; national registers synchronize daily with EBA EUCLID4 | not published |
| Payment institution (PSD2 central register) | 3 months from receipt of complete application at national NCA level under Article 11 PSD2 (Directive (EU) 2015/2366); national registers synchronize daily with EBA EUCLID4 | not published |
| Credit institution (CRD central register) | 6 months from receipt of complete application (maximum 12 months overall) at national NCA/ECB level under Article 15 CRD (Directive 2013/36/EU)11 | not published |
| Significant asset-referenced token issuer direct supervision | The EBA decides whether an asset-referenced token is significant within 60 working days, after giving the issuer and its competent authority 20 working days to comment on a draft decision (MiCA Art. 43)12 | not published |
Changing the owner of a licensed firm
Prior notification with an objection period. Acquisitions or increases of qualifying holdings reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% in credit, payment, or e-money institutions, or becoming parent undertakings, are governed across the EU by the Joint ESAs Guidelines on the Prudential Assessment of Acquisitions (JC/GL/2016/01) under CRD Arts 22-27 and PSD2 Art 6. Acquirers must submit prior notification to the competent NCA; the statutory assessment period is 60 working days, interruptible once by up to 20 working days (or 30 working days for non-EU acquirers) to request supplementary information. For significant ART issuers under MiCA Art 41, equivalent assessment thresholds apply under EBA oversight.17
Laws EBA 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
- Capital Requirements Directive: Directive 2013/36/EU
- Capital Requirements Regulation: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
- Digital Operational Resilience Act: Regulation (EU) 2022/2554
- Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (single rulebook): Regulation (EU) 2024/1624
- Transfer of Funds Regulation (travel rule): Regulation (EU) 2023/1113
Recent and upcoming changes
- 2026-09-23: ESAs (EBA, EIOPA, ESMA) issued Autumn 2026 joint risk update identifying ICT external third-party dependencies, cyber threats, and private credit as key structural vulnerabilities.18
- 2026-09-18: EBA published its final Guidelines on the management of third-party risk, delivering a simplified and proportionate framework aligned with DORA focusing on critical or important functions (CIFs).16
- 2026-09-16: European Parliament plenary confirmed Thomas Gstädtner as the new Executive Director of the EBA for a five-year renewable term.19
- 2025-01-17: EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) entered into application, establishing the ESAs Joint Oversight Department and the Lead Overseer regime for Critical ICT Third-Party Service Providers (CTPPs).20
- 2024-12-30: EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) Title V commenced full application, following Title III and IV stablecoin rules (in effect since 2024-06-30) giving EBA direct supervisory powers over significant ARTs and EMTs.21
Contacts and public register
Address: Tour Europlaza, 20 avenue André Prothin, CS 30154, 92927 Paris La Défense CEDEX, France1
Website: eba.europa.eu3
Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4 · official register10 · official register4 · official register13 · official register5.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EBA directly grant payment institution or banking licences to fintechs?
No. Under Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD) and Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2), the legal power to grant banking, payment, and electronic money institution licences remains exclusively with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) or the ECB. The EBA establishes the unified Single Rulebook and maintains central public registers tracking all authorised entities across the European Economic Area.
What is the EBA EUCLID register and what data does it contain?
EUCLID is the EBA's central public register. It holds the EBA's register of payment and electronic money institutions under Article 15 of PSD2 and its register of credit institutions, both fed by the national authorities. It shows each firm's authorisation status, the countries it passports into, its branches and its registered payment agents.
When does the EBA directly supervise crypto-asset and stablecoin issuers under MiCA?
Under EU Regulation 2023/1114 (MiCA), direct supervision shifts from national regulators to the EBA whenever an asset-referenced token (ART) or e-money token (EMT) is classified as significant. Significance is triggered if a token meets at least three statutory thresholds, such as over 10 million holders, reserve assets exceeding EUR 5 billion, or 2.5 million daily transactions.
What is the EBA's oversight role over tech and cloud providers under DORA?
Under Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 (DORA), the EBA, alongside ESMA and EIOPA, acts as Lead Overseer for Critical ICT Third-Party Service Providers (CTPPs) serving EU financial entities. The ESAs conduct on-site inspections, issue recommendations, and levy oversight fees, while non-critical ICT providers may voluntarily opt in subject to a fixed EUR 50,000 application fee.
What rules govern change of control in EBA-supervised sectors?
Acquisitions reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% in credit, payment, or e-money institutions require prior notification under the Joint ESAs Guidelines (JC/GL/2016/01). National competent authorities evaluate the proposed acquirer's reputation, financial soundness, and AML compliance within a 60 working-day statutory assessment window, which can be interrupted once by up to 20 or 30 working days.
Sources
- eba.europa.eu: contacts · retrieved 2026-09-24
- en.wikipedia.org: European Banking Authority · secondary · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: payment institutions register · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: dora oversight · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: mission values and tasks · retrieved 2026-09-24
- digital-finance-platform.ec.europa.eu · retrieved 2026-09-24
- euclid.eba.europa.eu: disclaimer · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32024R1503) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: credit institutions register · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32013L0036) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eur-lex.europa.eu: TXT (32023R1114) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: registers and other list institutions · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: ebas supervisory role under mica · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: digital operational resilience act · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: eba publishes its final guidelines management third party ri · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: joint guidelines for the prudential assessment of acquisitio · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: esas call vigilance over external dependencies cyber threats · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eba.europa.eu: european parliament confirms thomas gstadtner executive dire · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32022R2554) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- eur-lex.europa.eu: HTML (32023R1114) · retrieved 2026-09-24
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