2011-05-19
Enterprises providing payment services must immediately legalise their activities
According to the resolution of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, four more enterprises have been granted licences for the payment institutions: UAB "Jonavos paslaugos”, AB “Panevėžio butų ūkis”, UAB “Tauragės butų ūkis” and UAB “Viena sąskaita". UAB “Norfos mažmena” – agent of UAB “Perlo paslaugos” – is also included into the public list of payment institutions. All in all, 11 enterprises are granted licences to provide payment services.
The Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania Vitas Vasiliauskas said: “The list of legal payment institutions is expanding. This is a good news for the whole financial services sector and for the consumers in this sector in the first place.” As the Chairman said, a properly developed net of payment institutions, functioning soundly and effectively, may become an effective alternative of the payment services provided by banks.
Vitas Vasiliauskas commented a resolution of the Board: “More participants mean healthier competitive environment and more chances for a consumer to get an acceptable quality for a reasonable price”. As he says, the Bank of Lithuania is seeking for a faster development of the payment systems’ sector therefore it is ready not just to licence and supervise but also to assist new participants to enter the payment services system.
However, the Bank will not stand the situation when the licensed financial services are provided by the enterprises having no permission to pursue such activities.
Republic of Lithuania Law on Payment Institutions adopted on 2009 provides that legal entities which did not obtain a payment enterprise licence until 30 April 2011 are prohibited to provide payment services. According to the preliminary data of the experts of the Bank, there could be over 100 of economic entities in the country providing such services without a licence. Since the Credit Institutions Supervision Department supervises only those enterprises it has issued licences to, the enterprises without a licence pursue not only illegal but also uncontrollable activity of the provision of financial services what may cause adverse consequences to all counterparties.
In the near future, the Bank of Lithuania will contact in writing the enterprises assumingly providing payment services without a licence as well as business associations, the members of which, to the Bank’s knowledge, could pursue such an activity. Those enterprises will be given a warning and will be urged to legalise a licensed activity. Letters will also be sent also to the companies which, in the opinion of the Bank, might be consumers of the payment services provided illegally.
The Chairman of the Board of the Bank said: “The Bank of Lithuania cares very much about a successful development of payment services. Therefore we will seek to solve the problem expediently, good-willingly and without any losses to the market or its participants. The Chairman emphasised however that other means of enforcement will be taken in case a call of the central bank to properly legalise the activities do not produce the desired results.