Minimum initial capital and own funds
Payment institutions holding a licence for unrestricted activity are subject to the following minimum initial capital and own funds requirements:
- not below EUR 20,000 where the payment institution intends to provide money remittance services
- not below EUR 50,000 where the payment institution intends to provide payment initiation services
- not below EUR 125,000 where the payment institution intends to provide cash deposits or withdrawals, credit transfers, etc.
The own funds of a payment institution must not be less than the larger of the two values: own funds calculated in line with a selected method or the minimum initial capital (EUR 20,000, EUR 50,000 or EUR 125,000).
The own funds requirement is calculated using one of the following methods:
- Method A – according to fixed overheads of payment institutions for the preceding 12 months
- Method B – according to the monthly average payment volume
- Method C – according to the sum of interest income, interest expenditure, commissions and fees as well as other operating income
Capital requirements are not applied to payment institutions that have a licence for restricted activity or a licence of a payment institution only providing the account information service.
Requirements for safeguarding client funds
A payment institution that directly receives client funds must safeguard them in accordance with one of the following methods:
- by holding them in a separate account opened with a credit institution of the Republic of Lithuania (including a foreign credit institution’s branch established in the Republic of Lithuania), with a credit institution of another Member State, the Bank of Lithuania or a central bank of another Member State, or investing these funds in secure, liquid low-risk assets
- by covering these funds by an insurance contract or obtaining a guarantee or a surety bond
A payment institution holding a licence of a payment institution only providing the account information service and/or a payment institution holding a licence authorising to provide payment initiation services must hold either professional indemnity insurance or other comparable guarantee against liability.
Operational limitations
The average amount of payment transactions executed over the last 12 months by a payment institution holding a licence for restricted activity, including agents for which they assume full responsibility, must not exceed EUR 3,000,000 per month. Such a licence is valid solely within the Republic of Lithuania and entitles to provide payment services indicated in Article 5(1–6) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Payments.