Pin and benchmark
Pin one jurisdiction. Line up to five rivals against it. Deltas show where each peer is better or worse.
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| Dimension |
Pinned 🇱🇻 Latvia partly open Verified 2026-07-03
|
🇪🇸 Spain
partly open
Verified 2026-08-01
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | 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) | Entidad de Dinero Electronico (EDE), authorised under Ley 21/2011, de 26 de julio, de dinero electronico, and Real Decreto 778/2012 (as amended by Real Decreto 736/2019). Spain recognises 'entidades de dinero electronico hibridas' (hybrid EMIs) and an exemption/light regime under art. 14 of Real Decreto-ley 19/2018 for small-scale e-money issuers below activity thresholds, analogous to a 'small EMI' tier. |
| Regulator | Latvijas Banka (Bank of Latvia) - sole licensing/supervisory authority, having absorbed the former FCMC (Finansu un kapitala tirgus komisija) in 2023 | Banco de Espana (Bank of Spain) |
| Capital requirement | Latvia capital requirement is included in the £349 pass. | Spain capital requirement is included in the £349 pass. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Latvia timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass. | Spain timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass. |
| Local substance | Latvia local substance is included in the £349 pass. | Spain local substance is included in the £349 pass. |
| Application cost | Latvia application cost is included in the £349 pass. | Spain application cost is included in the £349 pass. |
| Ongoing cost | Latvia ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass. | Spain ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass. |
| Passporting | Latvia passporting is included in the £349 pass. | Spain passporting is included in the £349 pass. |
| EMIs authorised | Latvia emis authorised is included in the £349 pass. | Spain emis authorised is included in the £349 pass. |
| Key restrictions | Latvia key restrictions is included in the £349 pass. | Spain key restrictions is included in the £349 pass. |
| Safeguarding | Latvia safeguarding is included in the £349 pass. | Spain safeguarding is included in the £349 pass. |
| Recent changes | Latvijas Banka continues actively granting new EMI licences (e.g. NorthernTech SIA, AP Operations SIA, Fibonatix in 2025-2026); Latvia is increasingly featured on fintech shortlists. As of 2025, 3 new companies received EMI licences. PSD3/PSR (final texts April 2026, OJ publication expected mid-to-late 2026) will apply directly (PSR) and require transposition (PSD3) within 18 months. | PSD3/PSR final texts published 23 April 2026, undergoing legal-linguistic review, OJ publication still pending as of 1 August 2026 (indicative Parliament plenary 14 December 2026). Analysis flags that Spain's separate payment-institution and e-money statutes (despite an integrated supervisor) will likely require a more structural legislative overhaul than in peer states to merge into PSD3/PSR's single rulebook. |
| Difficulty rating | Latvia difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass. | Spain 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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