EMI License & Payment License: E-Money and Payment Institution Licensing

The EMI vs PI fork. A PI moves money; an EMI moves money and issues stored value. If you ever hold a customer balance redeemable on demand, you are an EMI (higher capital, e-money safeguarding, redemption). Getting this wrong is the most common scoping error.

Initial capital & own funds. Every licence sets a minimum initial capital plus an ongoing own-funds requirement that scales with activity. EMIs face a higher bar than PIs; AIS-only firms the lowest. Amounts vary by jurisdiction.

Safeguarding of client funds. Where you hold customer money (e-money balances or funds in transit), you must safeguard it, typically by segregation in a dedicated account at a credit institution or an equivalent insurance/guarantee.

AML / CFT. KYC, ongoing monitoring, sanctions screening, suspicious-activity reporting, and a documented financial-crime framework with an accountable compliance officer.

Governance & conduct. Fit-and-proper directors and key persons, a credible business plan, plus PSD2-style strong customer authentication, fee transparency, incident reporting, and complaint handling.

Passporting / market scope. In the EU/EEA, one authorisation can passport across the bloc. Most other jurisdictions (including the UAE, and the UK post-Brexit) are single-jurisdiction, so multi-market operations need separate licences or a partner.