Pin and benchmark
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| Dimension |
Pinned 🇭🇰 Hong Kong analogue partly open Verified 2026-08-15
|
🇱🇻 Latvia
partly open
Verified 2026-08-15
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | No EMI. Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence under the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 584). | Two tiers: (1) Licensed electronic money institution (full EMI licence) and (2) Registered electronic money institution (lighter-touch registration tier for smaller issuers, restricted to issuing e-money and providing only payment instrument issuance or money remittance) - both under the Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money (transposing EMD2) |
| Regulator | Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Not the SFC, which handles the crypto VATP regime. | Latvijas Banka (Bank of Latvia) - sole licensing/supervisory authority, having absorbed the former FCMC (Finansu un kapitala tirgus komisija) in 2023 |
| Capital requirement | Hong Kong capital requirement is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia capital requirement is included in the £349 pass. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Hong Kong timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass. |
| Local substance | Hong Kong local substance is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia local substance is included in the £349 pass. |
| Application cost | Hong Kong application cost is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia application cost is included in the £349 pass. |
| Ongoing cost | Hong Kong ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass. |
| Passporting | Hong Kong passporting is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia passporting is included in the £349 pass. |
| EMIs authorised | Hong Kong emis authorised is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia emis authorised is included in the £349 pass. |
| Key restrictions | Hong Kong key restrictions is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia key restrictions is included in the £349 pass. |
| Safeguarding | Hong Kong safeguarding is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia safeguarding is included in the £349 pass. |
| Recent changes | The separate Stablecoins Ordinance (Cap. 656) came into force 1 August 2025 and is administered by the HKMA. In April 2026 the HKMA granted the first stablecoin issuer licences, to Anchorpoint and HSBC, both for HKD-referenced stablecoins, requiring at least HK$25m paid-up capital and segregated reserve assets. SVF licensees under the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 584, the analogue regime in this row) are recognised as permitted offerors under the Stablecoins Ordinance and have a clear pathway to stablecoin issuance, but SVF and stablecoin-issuer licences remain two distinct licence types. | Latvijas Banka continued granting new EMI licences during 2025 and 2026. PSD3 and the PSR merge payment-institution and EMI authorisation into one payment-institution category able to issue e-money. The final compromise texts remain awaiting formal adoption and Official Journal publication as of 15 August 2026, with an indicative European Parliament plenary on 14 December 2026. After entry into force, Member States have 21 months to transpose and apply PSD3, and the PSR generally applies after 21 months. Existing EMIs may continue for 27 months, with an exceptional further three-month extension. |
| Difficulty rating | Hong Kong difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass. | Latvia difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass. |
Informational only, not legal advice. A delta compares the sortable figure only (capital, timeline, cost, difficulty, passporting, approvals); it is not a judgement on overall suitability. Verify with qualified counsel before acting.
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