The legal basis for the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment for payment institutions and electronic money institutions within the EEA is Article 28 of PSD2 (Directive (EU) 2015/2366) and Article 3 of EMD2 (Directive 2009/110/EC). The provisions of these Directives were transposed into German law with sections 38, 39 and 42 of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz – ZAG).

Notification procedure

If a payment institution or electronic money institution intends to carry on cross-border activities under the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment, the home supervisor must be notified of this intention ("notification"). German payment institutions and electronic money institutions must notify BaFin of the activities they intend to pursue. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions based in the EEA must contact the supervisory authority in their home country.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2055 provides details on the information to be provided. The relevant forms, which can be found in the Annexes to the Regulation, are available for download further below under “Forms”. For activities that are exclusively conducted on a cross-border basis without using the services of agents and without establishing a branch, please use the fourth form in the list below. This form can also be found in Annex V to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2055.

BaFin accepts notifications that are submitted either in German or English. The notifications can be sent by post or e-mail to the following addresses: