General principles

The type and scope of the authorisation required are determined by the respective business model and its legal and actual design. As a rule, every business activity that constitutes banking business, financial services, a payment service or e-money business requiring authorisation requires the relevant authorisation under the relevant statutory provisions. If a business model includes several activities requiring authorisation, each activity requires the relevant authorisation. The same applies within one area and across different areas of supervisory legislation: in the case of business models that comprise several forms of banking business requiring authorisation, as well as business models consisting of banking business, financial services, payment services and/or e-money business where such activities require authorisation.

These basic principles apply both when institutions are first established and when institutions already authorised expand their business model. When institutions are first established, the application for authorisation must describe in detail the type and scope of the intended business activities and specify the relevant activities and/or services as defined by law for which authorisation is being requested. An undertaking intending to expand its existing business model requiring authorisation by including activities entailing additional authorisation requirements must also submit a corresponding application for authorisation expansion.

Banking business, payment services and/or e-money business

Where an undertaking wishing to conduct or already conducting banking business as a CRR credit institution also intends to provide payment services or engage in e-money business, the German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz – ZAG) does not require any additional authorisation (section 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 3 in conjunction with section 10 (1) sentence 1 of the ZAG and/or section 1 (2) sentence 1 no. 2 in conjunction with section 11 (1) sentence 1 of the ZAG). However, where an institution already licensed under the ZAG also intends to conduct banking business requiring authorisation as a CRR credit institution within the meaning of section 1 (3d) sentence 1 of the KWG or as a securities trading bank within the meaning of section 1 (3d) sentence 5 of the KWG, the institution requires authorisation to conduct banking business under section 32 of the KWG. If the institution is consequently deemed a CRR credit institution, the European Central Bank (ECB) decides, in cooperation with BaFin as the national competent authority (NCA), on whether to grant authorisation.

Banking business and financial services

If an institution that wishes to conduct or already conducts banking business as a (CRR) credit institution also intends to provide financial services (under section 1 (1a) nos. 1 to 12 of the KWG), the institution must submit an application for authorisation or an application for authorisation expansion under section 32 of the KWG both for the relevant forms of banking business and for the relevant financial services. If the institution is (consequently) deemed a CRR credit institution, the European Central Bank (ECB) decides, in cooperation with BaFin as the national competent authority (NCA), on whether to grant authorisation.

Payment services and/or e-money business and financial services

Where an institution wishing to provide or already providing payment services as an institution within the meaning of section 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 3 of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz – ZAG) – or wishing to conduct or already conducting e-money business – also intends to provide financial services (under section 1 (1a) nos. 1 to 8 and 10 to 12 of the KWG), this requires – in addition to the authorisation under section 10 of the ZAG (payment services) or section 11 of the ZAG (e-money business) – additional authorisation for providing financial services under section 32 of the KWG. This does not apply to factoring (section 1 (1a) no. 9 of the KWG); for factoring, institutions that are already authorised under the ZAG do not need separate authorisation (section 32 (6) of the KWG). BaFin decides on the applications for authorisation as the sole competent supervisory authority.

Payment services and e-money business

Where an institution wishing to provide or already providing payment services as a payment institution within the meaning of section 1 (1) no. 1 of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz – ZAG) also intends to engage in e-money business within the meaning of section 1 (2) sentence 2 of the ZAG, this requires authorisation under section 11 of the ZAG. In this case, BaFin decides on the application as the sole competent supervisory authority.

Conversely, this does not apply to e-money institutions within the meaning of section 1 (2) sentence 1 no. 1 of the ZAG. They are permitted to provide payment services within the meaning of section 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 1 of the ZAG without separate authorisation (section 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 2 of the ZAG).

All companies supervised by BaFin can be found in the databases on BaFin's website.