Payment services that require authorisation
Companies with their registered office in Germany wishing to provide payment services require authorisation from BaFin.
BaFin has published a guidance notice providing further details on the German Payment Services Supervision Act Merkblatt - Hinweise zum Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz (ZAG) - only available in German). It also contains information on the exemptions and the reporting obligations that apply when using the exemptions.
Whether a specific business model requires authorisation or registration as a payment service can only be determined on the basis of the circumstances pertaining to a specific case. To help you make an initial non-binding classification of your business model, BaFin has published basic supervisory information for typical business models.
If you would like us to examine your business model in detail, you can get in touch with the competent BaFin Directorate using the contact form provided.
