Digital Payments & Fintech - Liechtenstein

The FMA is the integrated supervisor. The revised Payment Services Act (based on PSD2) entered into force on 1 October 2019; payment institutions and e-money institutions require FMA authorisation, with licences passportable across the EEA.

PSD2 applies fully in Liechtenstein as an EEA state; payment-initiation (PISP) and account-information (AISP) service providers must be licensed or registered with the FMA, enabling third-party access to payment accounts.

The TVTG ('Blockchain Act') entered into force 1 January 2020 with FMA registration of TT service providers; the EEA-MiCA Implementation Act took effect 1 February 2025. CASPs may rely on a transitional period to obtain Article 63 MiCAR authorisation by 1 July 2026, after which MiCA governs in-scope activities while the TVTG covers out-of-scope areas (e.g. NFTs, civil-law token aspects).

Liechtenstein uses the Swiss franc under a currency union with Switzerland and shares the SIX-operated SIC5 instant-payment infrastructure (live since August 2024); major banks process real-time payments up to CHF 20,000, with full bank onboarding expected by 2026.

Liechtenstein participates in the SEPA zone and reaches pan-European euro payment systems (STEP2) via euroSIC, despite its non-euro domestic currency, supporting cross-border euro transactions.

Consumer credit, including instalment plans, leasing and credit cards, is regulated under the Konsumkreditgesetz (KKG, 2011); short-term (≤3 months) and interest-/fee-free credits are currently exempt, the typical BNPL carve-out that the EU's revised Consumer Credit Directive (CCD II) is set to tighten.