Under a financial institution license, an Estonian company can operate in a wide range of businesses:
- Central contact point designated by an e-money institution or a payment service provider
- Management company
- Savings and loan association
- Provision of advice to clients
- Borrowing and lending operations
- Leasing transactions
- Money broking
- Guarantees and commitments
- Currency exchange.
General requirements
To be eligible to apply for a financial institution license, the following requirements must be met:
- The shareholders and members of the board must have an impeccable business reputation
- Permanent establishment in Estonia
- Compliance with the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law and regulations
- Compliance with the GDPR
Passporting / Operating abroad
An Estonian financial institution license does not grant the right to offer services in another Member State.
Timeframe
The decision on the application for a financial institution license is made in no more than 60 working days, which can be extended to up to 4 months. In our experience, the decision can be expected in 4/6 weeks.