The payments market in Albania is being reformatted - With EU entry, new rules for licensing payment institutions
With Albania's membership in the European Union, the conditions that entities must meet to be licensed as a payment or electronic money institution in the country are also expected to change.
The Ministry of Finance has published for public consultation a draft law on amendments to the payment services law. When Albania becomes a member state, to be licensed as a payment institution, the entity must have an initial capital of 20,000 euros, 50,000 euros or 125,000 euros depending on the type of payment service.
Also, after EU membership, the right of the Bank of Albania, in the role of the responsible authority of the home member state, is envisaged to grant a license to the entity applying for licensing as a payment institution, only if this entity is registered and has its head office in the territory of Albania and will carry out at least part of the payment services activity within our territory.
The requirement for registration and headquarters in Albania, as well as for carrying out part of the activity within the territory of the country, aims to protect local users, improve transparency and ensure law enforcement within the Albanian jurisdiction. The license granted by our Central Bank will allow the provision of payment services throughout the European Union under the rules of freedom to provide services and the right of establishment (passporting).
The public register maintained by the Bank of Albania shall also include branches of payment and electronic money institutions that provide payment services or electronic money services, in a Member State or in a third country. And also in the register of the European Banking Authority, the Bank of Albania shall report on the licensing or registration of new entities, the revocation of licenses or registrations.
The license granted by the Bank of Albania is valid in all member states and allows the payment institution to provide the payment services specified in the annex to the license, throughout the European Union, in accordance with the freedom to provide services or the right of establishment.
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