Fintech & payments regulation in Finland (2026)

Yes. To provide electronic-money or payment services in Finland you need authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA), under the EU E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA).

Application and supervisory fees that vary by country (often €5,000–€25,000), plus safeguarding and audit costs.

Typically roughly 3–12 months; the regulator has up to 3 months to decide once the application is complete.

The application file centres on programme of operations listing each payment service you will provide; business plan with a three-year budget forecast; evidence of the €350,000 initial capital; governance arrangements and internal-control mechanisms; plus fit-and-proper evidence for directors and qualifying shareholders.

Incorporate in the member state and establish real local substance (registered office and part of the business conducted there). Build the application file: programme of operations, three-year business plan, governance, AML/CFT, safeguarding and security policies. The authority then assesses the file and, once authorised, you can begin operating.

Yes — an EMI authorisation passports across the whole EEA (all 27 EU states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

FIN-FSA (Finanssivalvonta) is the sole competent authority for authorising and supervising payment institutions and e-money institutions under the Act on Payment Institutions (297/2010) and the Payment Services Act (290/2010).

Minimum initial capital is EUR 125,000 for a payment institution and EUR 350,000 for an EMI (with own funds of at least 2% of average e-money in issue); FIN-FSA can register 'small' payment service providers below activity thresholds (approx. EUR 3 million/month for legal persons, EUR 50,000/month for natural persons) without full authorisation.

PSD2 was transposed on 13 January 2018 via amendments to the Payment Services Act and Payment Institutions Act, licensing Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) and Account Information Service Providers (AISPs); FIN-FSA is the National Competent Authority overseeing access to accounts.

Finnish banks operate on the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme; under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, euro-area banks have been required to receive instant payments since January 2025 and to send them since October 2025. Bank of Finland statistics show 79 million instant credit transfers (12.3% of total) in H2 2025.

BNPL products are governed by the Finnish Consumer Protection Act and are being tightened as Finland transposes EU Consumer Credit Directive II (CCD II) — required national transposition by 20 November 2025, taking effect from 20 November 2026 — bringing invoice-style BNPL into scope with mandatory creditworthiness assessments and disclosure duties.

Finnish PSPs are preparing for the forthcoming PSD3 Directive and the directly-applicable Payment Services Regulation (PSR), which are progressing through the EU legislative process in 2026 and will tighten fraud, safeguarding and open-banking rules once adopted.