Building an EMI Business Plan That Regulators Take Seriously
Most EMI founders think about the business plan the way investors do. The regulator does not. An investor deck is allowed to be optimistic. A licensing file is not. An investor wants upside. A supervisor wants evidence that the institution can survive stress, stay inside its permissions, fund its controls, and operate without improvisation. That […]
Can a Startup Get an EMI License or Is It Only for Large Fintechs?
The short answer is yes: a startup can get an EMI license. In EU law and in the EBA’s authorization framework, the test is not whether the applicant is already a famous fintech or a large group. The test is whether the applicant can prove that it is properly capitalized, governable, controllable, and ready to […]
AML Compliance for EMI License Applicants
For many EMI founders, AML enters the conversation too late. First comes the commercial model. Then the product. Then the banking discussion. Then the licence pack starts taking shape, and suddenly everyone remembers that the application also needs an AML framework. That sequence is one of the fastest ways to make an EMI file look […]
Governance Structure for an EMI
When founders prepare an EMI licence application, they often focus first on capital, safeguarding, AML documents, and the business plan. All of those matter. But one area regularly decides whether an application looks credible or fragile: the governance structure for an EMI. Regulators do not look at governance as a corporate formality. They look at […]
Safeguarding Requirements for EMI Companies Explained
If you are building or acquiring an electronic money institution, safeguarding is one of the first areas regulators, banking partners, auditors, and serious counterparties will examine. It is not a side topic. It is one of the core prudential disciplines that separates a credible EMI from a weakly structured payments business. In simple terms, safeguarding […]
What Is a PI License?
A Clear Guide for Founders and Fintech Teams When people ask what is a PI license, they often expect a short legal definition. In practice, a PI licence is much more than a label. It is a regulatory permission that allows a non-bank business to provide certain payment services in a supervised market. In the […]
How to Get a PI License
What Regulators Actually Expect From a Payment Institution Founders often ask how to get a PI license as if the answer were a checklist of forms, signatures, and incorporation papers. In reality, a payment institution licence is not granted because a company completed a filing package. It is granted when the regulator is satisfied that […]
PI Initial Capital in the Czech Republic
How Much Is Needed for a Licence and Why One Amount Alone Is Not Enough When a company first starts considering obtaining a payment institution licence (PI) in the Czech Republic, the very first question is almost always about capital. Usually, an entrepreneur quickly finds three figures — EUR 20 000, EUR 50 000 and […]
Change of Ownership of an EMI Company
What Buyers and Sellers Must Prepare A Change of Ownership of an EMI Company Is a Supervisory Event, Not Just a Share Transfer A change of ownership of an EMI company is never just a standard share transfer. An electronic money institution is a regulated business. In the EU the authorisation framework for EMIs applies […]
IT and Personnel for EMI Companies
What an EMI Must Build Before It Can Scale An EMI company is never just a legal entity with a licence and a payments idea. In practice, an electronic money institution is a regulated operating model that must show the regulator two things at the same time: first, that its IT environment is secure, resilient, […]
What Is an EMI Licence in the Czech Republic and Why Does It Matter?
At first glance, the phrase “EMI licence in the Czech Republic” sounds simple. Many founders hear it and assume it is just a formal approval for a fintech product, payment app, digital wallet, or prepaid solution. In practice, it means much more than that. An EMI licence is not just a document that lets a […]
EMI Accounting in Czech Republic
What Founders and Finance Teams Need to Know If you are building or operating an electronic money institution, EMI accounting in the Czech Republic is not just ordinary bookkeeping with a fintech label. A Czech EMI sits at the intersection of the Payment Systems Act, CNB supervision, the Czech Accounting Act, and the sector-specific accounting […]