Electronic money institutions are moving to Lithuania

03/04/2018

The Bank of Lithuania has expanded the list of licensed electronic money institutions at the end of March by 4 companies, of which two – UAB Maneuver LT, Walletto UAB – are clients of ECOVIS ProventusLaw law firm. It is a result of the consistent work of the law firm in the area of licensing of FinTech companies. Licensed companies will be able to create payment platforms, provide payment services, issue payment cards not only in Lithuania, but also throughout the European Union (EU).

After receiving the e-money institution license, Walletto UAB will provide payment services for e-commerce in the EU. In addition to service traders – processing of received payments, execution of payments – the company plans to provide an electronic money service. The company plans to create a powerful financial company in Vilnius, which will provide additional jobs for Lithuania.

Attorney at law of the law firm Ecovis ProventusLaw, Inga Karulaitytė-Kvainauskienė, who advised the company to obtain the license, states that Walletto UAB was established after Edgar Lasmanis, the shareholder and director of Connectum Limited, of the United Kingdom learned about the Lithuanian FinTech strategy.

“At that time, it was decided to set up a FinTech company in Lithuania to issue payment cards in the European Union. Walletto plans to become payment cards issuer who will start issuing its payment cards to consumers and e-commerce traders in the European Union,” – comments Mrs. Karulaityte-Kvainauskiene.

The second company – Maneuver LT UAB – intends to develop an e-commerce platform and offer electronic wallet, payment acceptance and payment card issuance, mobile banking and mass payment services to its customers.

“Although we are a newly established company, but we have more than 10 years of experience in the area of payments, e-commerce and card issuance, we see that we can offer unique financial solutions for both business and private customers. In the near future, we plan to connect directly to worldwide payment schemes, so we will be able to provide competitive services across Europe,” – says Daumantas Barauskas, development manager of Maneuver LT.

In order to make Lithuania as a FinTech center in Europe, the Bank of Lithuania, together with other institutions of the country, creates an environment conducive to the setting up of financial companies and the development of new products in Lithuania. Investors are interested in an opportunity to obtain a license for financial services proving comparatively quick and inexpensive. For example, a decision regarding the issuance of a license for an electronic money institution or payment institution is taken by the Bank of Lithuania within 3 months from the date of submission of all documents. It can take 12 months or more in other EU countries. In addition, financial service companies receive access to the payment system of the Bank of Lithuania CENTROlink, thus avoiding additional intermediaries. Investors in Lithuania are attractive due to highly qualified labour force and well-developed communication and information technology infrastructure.

Last year, the Bank of Lithuania issued licenses to 32 FinTech companies – almost twice as many as in 2016, when 17 licenses were issued. ECOVIS ProventusLaw has licensed more than 10 finance technology companies from around the world annually. Among the major investors to financial institutions in Lithuania are companies from China, Singapore, Great Britain, Israel, Germany.