How much does an EMI licence application cost in Europe?

Regulator application fees alone range from a few hundred euros to several thousand depending on the jurisdiction - for example United Kingdom: £5,640 (2026/27 fee year); Lithuania: EUR 1,463 state fee. The regulator fee is only a fraction of the true cost: EUR 350,000 initial capital, local staffing, and legal/compliance preparation dominate the budget.

What is the minimum capital for an e-money institution?

EUR 350,000 initial capital for an authorised EMI, set by Article 4 of Directive 2009/110/EC and identical across the EU/EEA. The UK applies the same amount. Ongoing own funds must stay at the higher of that floor or 2% of average outstanding e-money (Method D).

Which European countries license the most EMIs?

Based on this site's live register, cross-checked daily against the FCA and EBA registers: United Kingdom (472 EMIs on the register), Lithuania (102 EMIs on the register), Netherlands (62 EMIs on the register).

How long does EMI authorisation take?

The statutory decision period is 3 months from a complete application in most EU jurisdictions (via the PSD2 procedure that EMD2 borrows). In practice pre-application preparation and regulator questions extend the end-to-end timeline; several regulators publish their own service standards, shown per jurisdiction in the table above.

What is a small EMI and is it cheaper?

Most jurisdictions offer a lighter registration for issuers below a national threshold of average outstanding e-money (capped at EUR 5,000,000 by EMD2 Article 9). It is cheaper and faster but cannot passport - the business stays domestic. Thresholds and fees per jurisdiction are in the comparison table.

EMI licence cost calculator

Compare what it actually costs to get an e-money institution licence in 12European jurisdictions: regulator application fees, the EUR 350,000 initial capital requirement, annual supervision costs, statutory decision timelines and how many EMIs each regulator has actually licensed. Every figure is taken from the regulator's own fee schedule or national legislation - sources linked per jurisdiction below.

Fee data verified: 2026-08-31·Register counts: live, synced daily from FCA + EBA

Compare jurisdictions

Pick 2 to 4 jurisdictions to compare side by side:

Criteria	United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	Malta Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA)	Lithuania Bank of Lithuania
Application fee (authorised EMI)	£5,640 (2026/27 fee year)	EUR 10,000 (e-money only) or EUR 15,000 (e-money + payment services), since 1 Jan 2025	EUR 1,463 state fee
Small / restricted EMI fee	£1,130 (small EMI registration)	No separate regime	EUR 1,235 (restricted-activity EMI)
Initial capital	EUR 350,000 (euro-denominated in Schedule 2, EMRs 2011)	EUR 350,000 (FIR/03 rulebook)	EUR 350,000 (not applicable to restricted-activity EMI)
Annual supervision cost	Periodic fee: minimum £2,063 plus £43.40 per £1m of average outstanding e-money above £5m; small EMIs flat £1,432 (2026/27)	EUR 25,000 (e-money only) or EUR 35,000 (both activities) fixed, plus a variable part on assets / transaction volume / outstanding e-money, capped at EUR 250,000	Supervision levy: 0.65% of annual income related to e-money issuance and/or payment services (2025 rates; a 2026 proposal to raise the cap to 1% is pending, not in force)
Decision timeline	3 months from a complete application; 12 months if incomplete (reg 9, EMRs 2011)	3 months from receipt of the application or of additional information (FIA Cap. 376, art. 5)	3 months from complete documents (2 months for restricted-activity EMI); 5-working-day completeness screen
Small-EMI regime	Small EMI registration if average outstanding e-money stays at or below EUR 5,000,000 (reg 13, EMRs 2011); UK-only	None	Restricted-activity EMI licence: Lithuania-only, no minimum capital, 6-month average outstanding e-money at or below EUR 900,000
EEA passporting	No (UK licence covers the UK only)	Yes - all 30 EEA states	Yes - all 30 EEA states
EMIs on the register today	472 (288 active)	43 (43 active)	102 (102 active)

Own funds calculator (Method D)

Ongoing capital for an authorised EMI: the higher of EUR 350,000 or 2% of your average outstanding e-money over the previous six months.

Average outstanding e-money (EUR, 6-month average)

Enter your average outstanding e-money to see the own-funds requirement.

Own funds may never fall below the higher of the EUR 350,000 initial capital or the Method D amount (2% of average outstanding e-money) - Articles 4 and 5, Directive 2009/110/EC. Method D is the default method for the e-money issuance part of the business; payment services not linked to e-money issuance add a separate PSD2-method amount on top. Indicative only - confirm with your regulator.

Annual supervision cost estimator

What will the regulator bill you every year once you are licensed? Enter your projections and compare the published levy formulas.

Annual income from e-money / payment services (EUR)

Average outstanding e-money (EUR)

Enter your projected annual income to compare regulator bills.

Computed figures use the published formulas verbatim; jurisdictions whose levy depends on unpublished inputs (balance sheet, volume tiers, annual budgets) show the published amounts instead. Indicative only - confirm with the regulator.

Small-EMI eligibility checker

Below a national threshold of average outstanding e-money you can take the lighter small/registered-EMI route - and the thresholds differ far more between countries than most guides admit.

Your projected average outstanding e-money (EUR)

Enter your projected outstanding e-money to see where the lighter small-EMI registration is open to you.

The full dataset

All 12 jurisdictions at a glance. Currencies as published by each regulator.

Jurisdiction	Regulator	Application fee	Small-EMI fee	Annual supervision	Decision timeline	EMIs on register
United Kingdom	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	£5,640 (2026/27 fee year)	£1,130 (small EMI registration)	Periodic fee: minimum £2,063 plus £43.40 per £1m of average outstanding e-money above £5m; small EMIs flat £1,432 (2026/27)	3 months from a complete application; 12 months if incomplete (reg 9, EMRs 2011)	472 (288 active)
Lithuania	Bank of Lithuania	EUR 1,463 state fee	EUR 1,235 (restricted-activity EMI)	Supervision levy: 0.65% of annual income related to e-money issuance and/or payment services (2025 rates; a 2026 proposal to raise the cap to 1% is pending, not in force)	3 months from complete documents (2 months for restricted-activity EMI); 5-working-day completeness screen	102 (102 active)
Netherlands	De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)	EUR 10,400 one-off	Not published for exempt EMIs	Annual levy set yearly; 2026: DNB base EUR 8,250 plus surcharges by permitted payment services and a degressive rate on gross commission income, plus an AFM conduct levy of EUR 1,535-9,536 by income band	13 weeks from receipt of the application (Wft art. 1:102)	62 (62 active)
Malta	Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA)	EUR 10,000 (e-money only) or EUR 15,000 (e-money + payment services), since 1 Jan 2025	-	EUR 25,000 (e-money only) or EUR 35,000 (both activities) fixed, plus a variable part on assets / transaction volume / outstanding e-money, capped at EUR 250,000	3 months from receipt of the application or of additional information (FIA Cap. 376, art. 5)	43 (43 active)
Cyprus	Central Bank of Cyprus	Set by CBC fees directive - not published openly; confirm with the CBC	-	Not published openly - confirm with the CBC	3 months from receipt of a duly completed application (Electronic Money Law of 2012, s. 7)	35 (35 active)
Ireland	Central Bank of Ireland	No application fee	No application fee	Annual Industry Funding Levy (Payment and E-Money Institutions category, 100% recovery), levied on total value of transactions processed; amounts set yearly	3 months from a complete application (Reg 12, SI 183/2011); service standard 90% within 90 business days of assessment	30 (30 active)
France	ACPR (Banque de France)	No filing fee	No filing fee	Annual supervision contribution: 0.66 per mille of the minimum own-funds requirement (statutory range 0.40-0.80), minimum EUR 500	3 months from receipt of a complete file	29 (29 active)
Czech Republic	Czech National Bank	CZK 50,000 administrative fee	CZK 10,000 (small-scale e-money issuer)	No periodic supervision levy is provided for in Czech law - only one-off administrative fees for CNB acts	3 months from commencement of proceedings (Act 370/2017, s. 69)	24 (24 active)
Latvia	Latvijas Banka	EUR 5,000 examination fee	EUR 2,500 (registered EMI)	Licensed EMI: EUR 7,000/year plus up to 1.4% of gross income from e-money services, capped at EUR 100,000/year; registered EMI: EUR 1,000/year plus up to 1.4%	15-working-day completeness check, then decision within 3 months of completeness confirmation	21 (21 active)
Luxembourg	CSSF	EUR 30,000 lump sum	Not published for waived entities	Annual lump sum by transaction volume: EUR 30,000 (up to EUR 1bn) / EUR 40,000 above; EUR 25,000 for EMIs authorised 3 years or less under EUR 1bn	3 months from receipt of complete information, at most 12 months (art. 24-3)	18 (18 active)
Denmark	Danish FSA (Finanstilsynet)	Free - no application fee	Free - no application fee	Annual base fee tiered by outstanding e-money + payment volume: DKK 25,000 / 80,000 / 500,000 (statutory 2016-level bases, indexed up yearly - roughly 1.8x by 2025); restricted authorisation DKK 11,100 base	3 months from a complete application	15 (15 active)
Germany	BaFin	No flat fee - billed by time expended (FinDAGebV no. 11.1.2)	-	Annual BaFin cost-allocation levy apportioned by balance-sheet total; minimum EUR 2,500 for ZAG institutions	3 months from receipt of the complete application (ZAG s. 10)	13 (13 active)

Frequently asked questions

How much does an EMI licence application cost in Europe?: Regulator application fees alone range from a few hundred euros to several thousand depending on the jurisdiction - for example United Kingdom: £5,640 (2026/27 fee year); Lithuania: EUR 1,463 state fee. The regulator fee is only a fraction of the true cost: EUR 350,000 initial capital, local staffing, and legal/compliance preparation dominate the budget.
What is the minimum capital for an e-money institution?: EUR 350,000 initial capital for an authorised EMI, set by Article 4 of Directive 2009/110/EC and identical across the EU/EEA. The UK applies the same amount. Ongoing own funds must stay at the higher of that floor or 2% of average outstanding e-money (Method D).
Which European countries license the most EMIs?: Based on this site's live register, cross-checked daily against the FCA and EBA registers: United Kingdom (472 EMIs on the register), Lithuania (102 EMIs on the register), Netherlands (62 EMIs on the register).
How long does EMI authorisation take?: The statutory decision period is 3 months from a complete application in most EU jurisdictions (via the PSD2 procedure that EMD2 borrows). In practice pre-application preparation and regulator questions extend the end-to-end timeline; several regulators publish their own service standards, shown per jurisdiction in the table above.
What is a small EMI and is it cheaper?: Most jurisdictions offer a lighter registration for issuers below a national threshold of average outstanding e-money (capped at EUR 5,000,000 by EMD2 Article 9). It is cheaper and faster but cannot passport - the business stays domestic. Thresholds and fees per jurisdiction are in the comparison table.

Methodology & sources

Fee figures were checked against each regulator's published fee schedule or the national legislation setting the fee, on 2026-08-31. Where a regulator does not publish a figure, the table says so instead of estimating. Register counts come from this site's directory, which is synced daily against the FCA register and the EBA EUCLID register. EU-wide requirements (EUR 350,000 initial capital, 2% own funds, the small-EMI cap) are set by Directive 2009/110/EC. This page is reference information, not legal advice.