Payment Services and E-money Business

New Regulation for numerous Firms

By transforming the payment service directive (2007/64/EG) and the second e-money directive (2009/110/EG) into German law in 2009 and 2011 respectively, the German “Law about Payment Services” (henceforth: ZAG) created new regulation for providing payment services and conducting e-money business. The previous regulation in the German Banking Act (KWG) regarding payment services and e-money were replaced.

The revision of supervisory regulation – particularly by introducing payment institutions as a new type of institutions – on the one hand opens up new business opportunities. Any company (i.e. companies organised either as partnership or corporate body) may provide payment services or conduct e-money business, when they have a licence under ZAG. The previously necessary licence under KWG was abolished.

On the other hand the extension of the scope of the money remittance business (§ 1 Abs. 2 Nr. 6 ZAG) had the consequence that many firms unknowingly offered services actually requiring permission by the BaFin. It may already be in the scope of provisions regarding money remittance business, when money is accepted for the purpose of subsequently forwarding it to the recipient. Therefore, online food-ordering companies (homepages such as “just-eat” or “GrubHub”), trustees and all companies, for which accepting and forwarding money is part of their business model, could be affected.

On this Webpage we provide information particularly regarding the supervisory aspects of providing payment services and conducting e-money business. You are interested in further information about payment services or e-money business? Contact us!