Digital Payments & Fintech · France
EMI license in France: e-money institution (EMI) requirements (2026)
France shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Fintech and digital payments in France: licensing regime, under EU baseline (PSD2 / e-money Directive, MiCA, SEPA Instant Payments Regulation 2024/886, Consumer Credit Directive 2023/2225) implemented in the French Code monétaire et financier. The ACPR (part of Banque de France) authorises and supervises payment institutions (établissements de paiement) and e-money institutions (établissements de monnaie électronique); the AMF licenses crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, with ACPR competent for asset-referenced/e-money token issuers..
France operates a mature, fully in-force licensing regime for digital payments and fintech, built on EU frameworks transposed into the Code monétaire et financier and administered chiefly by the ACPR. Clear authorisation pathways exist for payment institutions, e-money institutions, account-information/payment-initiation providers under PSD2 open banking, and, via the AMF, crypto-asset service providers under MiCA. Recent reforms tighten BNPL (reclassified as consumer credit from late 2026) and mandate free, verified SEPA instant transfers.
How to get an EMI license in France
To provide electronic-money or payment services in France you need authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), supervised by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), under the EU E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
- Authority
- the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR)
- License required
- authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI)
- Framework / law
- the EU E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- Minimum capital
- €350,000 initial capital for a full (Authorised) EMI; a lighter Small EMI regime exists below an average €5m of outstanding e-money
- Timeline
- roughly 3–12 months; the regulator has up to 3 months to decide once the application is complete
- Cost
- application and supervisory fees that vary by country (often €5,000–€25,000), plus safeguarding and audit costs
- Passporting
- Yes — an EMI authorisation passports across the whole EEA (all 27 EU states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
EMI license in France: FAQ
Yes. To provide electronic-money or payment services in France you need authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), supervised by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), under the EU E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC) and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
The Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR).
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.
Yes — an EMI authorisation passports across the whole EEA (all 27 EU states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
Key points
The ACPR authorises payment institutions (établissements de paiement), verifying legal form, initial/prudential capital, governance and fit-and-proper management; a lighter 'agrément limité' regime exists for domestic firms below EUR 3m monthly payment volume (no EU passport). Statutory decision time is 3 months from a complete file.
Issuance of electronic money requires authorisation as an établissement de monnaie électronique (EMI) from the ACPR, under the EU e-money framework transposed into the Code monétaire et financier, with its own capital and safeguarding requirements.
France applies PSD2 directly: account-information service providers (AISP) and payment-initiation service providers (PISP) are registered/authorised by the ACPR, with mandatory secure access (APIs) to bank accounts. The EU is transitioning toward PSD3/PSR.
Under EU Instant Payments Regulation 2024/886, French banks must offer SEPA instant transfers (virement SEPA instantané) at no higher price than standard transfers since 9 Jan 2025, free across the eurozone since 9 Oct 2025, with mandatory payee/IBAN verification; the ACPR supervises compliance.
MiCA applies to CASPs since 30 Dec 2024, transposed via Ordinance 2024-936 and Decree 2025-169; the AMF licenses CASPs (trading, custody, exchange) while the ACPR oversees ART/EMT (stablecoin) issuers. France's legacy PSAN registrants may operate until the transitional period ends 1 July 2026.
Ordinance of 3 Sept 2025 transposing EU Consumer Credit Directive 2023/2225 reclassifies split/deferred payments as consumer credit from 20 Nov 2026, imposing pre-contractual information, creditworthiness/affordability checks and advertising rules even on short, interest-free instalments.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The AMF reiterated that legacy PSAN-registered/authorised providers may keep operating without MiCA authorisation only until 1 July 2026, after which unauthorised CASPs must cease activity in France. As of January 2026 it listed roughly 90 registered and 79 fully authorised CASPs.
AMF ↗The implementing decree completed France's domestic alignment with the EU MiCA Regulation, fixing supervisory roles between the AMF (CASP authorisation) and ACPR (EMT/ART issuers). It operationalised the shift from the national PSAN regime to the EU-wide CASP licence.
AMF ↗From this date any firm offering crypto-asset services in the EU must be authorised as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider, with the AMF as France's competent authority. Providers active under prior national law get an 18-month transition to 1 July 2026.
AMF ↗Law 2019-486 (PACTE) established France's pioneering national framework for crypto-asset providers (PSAN), with mandatory AMF registration for custody and crypto-fiat exchange from 1 January 2020 plus an optional licence. It was the template later superseded by EU MiCA.
AMF ↗France implemented the EU's second Payment Services Directive, creating the account information service provider (AISP) status, bringing payment-initiation services into the payment-institution regime, and opening accounts to third parties (open banking). It entered into force 13 January 2018 and was ratified by Law 2018-700.
Légifrance ↗France belatedly transposed Directive 2009/110/EC, establishing a standalone electronic-money-institution licence (Art. L.315-1) and ending credit institutions' monopoly on issuing e-money. The ACPR became the licensing and prudential authority for EMIs.
ACPR (Banque de France) ↗France's transposition of the first Payment Services Directive (2007/64/EC) introduced the payment institution status, allowing non-banks to provide payment services under ACPR authorisation and EU passporting. This is the foundation of today's licensed-payments framework.
ACPR (Banque de France) ↗France - other topics
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