What opportunities does an EMI license open for businesses?
An EMI license in Latvia provides the opportunity to offer various types of payment services in a broader range compared to financial institutions that work with instant payment processing.
Acquiring this authorization grants the right to provide the following services:
- Withdrawal of funds
- Payment processing, including fund transfers from a user to a payment service provider’s account and vice versa
- Issuance and distribution of payment instruments
- Initiating payments
- Issuing electronic money
- Providing account activity information
Advantages of obtaining an EMI license
Advantages of EMI License in Latvia compared to other EU jurisdictions:
- Regulatory Environment
- Fast application processing: 3-4 months (vs 12-18 months in other EU countries)
- Pre-approval process available, reducing delay risks
- Direct access to regulator through dedicated fintech team
- Possibility of service passporting throughout EU/EEA
- Operational Costs
- Significantly lower than in Western European jurisdictions
- Office space: from 350 EUR per month (vs 1000+ EUR in Amsterdam/Frankfurt)
- Top management salaries: 5-7 thousand EUR per month (vs 10+ thousand in Western Europe)
- Basic accounting: from 100 EUR per month
- Overall reduced operational overhead costs
- Infrastructure and Support
- Direct SEPA connection via Bank of Latvia
- Developed banking ecosystem, favorable for fintech
- Qualified IT specialists at competitive rates
- Modern digital infrastructure
- Support from Investment and Development Agency, including visa programs
- Business Environment
- Government grants for startups
- Strategic location between EU and Eastern markets
- Large pool of finance/banking experienced professionals
- Strong pool of English-speaking IT and fintech specialists
- EU member state using euro currency
Requirements for EMI license applicants
The process of obtaining an EMI license is regulated and supervised by the Bank of Latvia. To get the authorization, a company must meet the following criteria:
- The company must be registered as a limited liability company (SIA) in Latvia
- The company’s management board must be located in Latvia and at least part of the operations must be conducted in Latvia
- Directors and key employees must have a clean criminal record and proven experience in the financial sector
- The company must have a comprehensive business plan for 3 financial years
- The firm must implement effective risk management and internal control systems
- An anti-money laundering (AML) policy and KYC procedures must be in place
- The company must provide documentation on protection measures for e-money service users
- Articles of Association and other company documentation must be submitted
Capital Requirements
- Standard EU minimum capital (350,000 EUR for EMI)
- No additional buffer capital requirements
- Flexible fund protection requirements
- Simple capital verification process
The process includes a unique pre-approval stage and typically takes 3-4 months for completion, significantly faster than in most EU jurisdictions (12-18 months).
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