In 2022, 224 institutions interested in operating or seeking a license in Lithuania have applied to the Bank of Lithuania, which is almost three times more than last year. 305 written consultations and 75 meetings were held. A total of 81 companies applied to the Bank of Lithuania in 2021 and 108 in 2020. Most of the applicants were FinTech companies or start-ups.
Lithuania Is Among Top FinTech Centres In The world
As of 30 November 2022, the Bank of Lithuania issued 56 authorisations during the year (licences or listings) and has remained among the leading countries in Europe. The recent interest in the opportunities to operate in investment service and credit markets is growing faster than the interest in the payment sector, which has the largest number of participants and is already the most competitive.
Lithuania continues to be at the forefront of the European Union in terms of the number of electronic money institutions. In Lithuania, there are as much registered companies as in Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Sweden and Germany combined. The Bank of Lithuania estimates that all financial institutions operating in Lithuania serve about 25 million customers. Preliminary data for the three quarters of this year for individual sectors show growth in different directions. “As Brexit was a shock for the European Union but, for many member states, it was also an opportunity. Lithuania was among them: as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam vied to lure financial businesses away from London, Vilnius made a play for the world’s fintechs”, says one of the most prominent business magazine Financial Times.
“Despite many issues, as economic uncertainty, Lithuania continues to attract international players and it has many to offer. Lithuania has talent, experience, and advanced regulatory institutions. Lithuania continues to strengthen it’s community to be both friendly and competitive, but most importantly, to stay ahead of the curve and keep growing“, says Kestutis Kvainauskas, attorney at law of ECOVIS ProventusLaw, a law firm specialising in FinTech licensing.
Efficient Licensing Solutions for All Kind Of FinTechs
This year the central bank of Lithuania consolidated all functions related to the development of the financial sector into the Financial Market Development Centre. The Centre currently employs 15 experts of the Bank of Lithuania and its main task is to carry out balanced and sustainable development in the credit, capital, insurance and payment sectors, to administer the Newcomer Programme and to support the fintech community already operating in Lithuania.
The Newcomer Programme, which aims to familiarise potential financial market participants with operating conditions in Lithuania, has been running since 2016. Over 750 participants from more than 70 countries have already benefited from the programme and almost one fifth have been granted licences.
Lithuania’s cooperative approach to licensing offers local infrastructure with European reach and efficient licensing solutions to fuel the growth of FinTechs. E-money, payment institution licenses issued in Lithuania and valid across the EU are issued in 6 – 9 months. Lithuania also offers “Lite” bank license for challenger banks. Moreover, AML Centre is in operation and it is dedicated to fighting money laundering and terrorist financing by bringing together the efforts of both state institutions and market participants.
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