The banking licence, explained
The heaviest authorisation in the family — and the only one that unlocks deposits, lending and real credit cards. 23 verified providers in this catalogue operate with a full banking licence; here is what it adds, what it costs, and when a fintech actually needs one.
What only a bank may do
A credit institution — the legal term for a bank — is defined by one combination: taking deposits from the public and granting credit. From that follow the three product doors closed to EMIs and PIs:
- Deposits with a state-backed guarantee — up to EUR 100,000 per depositor under the EU deposit-guarantee schemes; EMI/PI funds are safeguarded, not guaranteed;
- Lending at scale — funded from those deposits, under CRD/CRR prudential rules;
- Real credit cards — which is why only bank-backed programmes offer them: in this catalogue, exactly 3 BIN sponsors are credit-capable.
What it costs to be a bank
The statutory floor is EUR 5 million initial capital under EU law — and the floor is rarely the number. Supervisors size capital to the risks of the intended balance sheet, so lending-heavy business plans need multiples of it, plus the governance, reporting (CoRep/FinRep) and risk apparatus of a prudentially supervised institution. In the euro area the decision is not purely national: applications go to the home regulator, but the European Central Bank grants and withdraws every banking licence under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Expect years of runway, not months.
How fintechs actually use banking licences
Mostly indirectly. The dominant pattern is a fronting or partner bank inside the stack: a licensed institution provides the deposit-taking, credit or scheme access, while the fintech front-end runs on lighter licences or none. The catalogue's built-on graph and licence-type filter make this visible: the 23 verified Bank-licensed providers cluster in BaaS and BIN sponsorship — the roles where a balance sheet is the product.
One honest register note
Our European Fintech Index covers the payment-side registers — 2,579 PIs, EMIs, AISPs and MiCA CASPs from the EBA, ESMA and FCA. Credit institutions sit in separate registers (the ECB's list and the EBA credit-institution register) that publish no bulk data, so bank claims in the catalogue are verified directly at the home regulator instead — method in how we verify.
The licence family
EMI licence — e-money and the safeguarding regime · Payment institution (PI) — payments without stored value · MiCA — crypto-asset services · EMI vs BYOL — whether to hold a licence at all.
FAQ
Why would a fintech need a full banking licence?
Three product doors only a bank can open: taking deposits (with the EUR 100,000 deposit-guarantee scheme behind them), lending at scale from those deposits, and issuing real credit cards. If the product is accounts, payments and prepaid/debit cards, an EMI or PI is usually enough - which is exactly why most fintech infrastructure runs on e-money licences.
How is a bank authorised in the euro area?
The application goes to the national regulator, but the decision is taken together with the European Central Bank - the ECB grants and withdraws all banking licences in the countries under its Single Supervisory Mechanism. Expect a materially deeper process than an EMI: business model viability, capital planning, governance and often years, not months.
Is EUR 5 million enough to start a bank?
EUR 5 million is the statutory minimum initial capital under EU law - the real number is set by your business plan. Supervisors size capital to the risks of the intended balance sheet, so lending-heavy plans need multiples of the floor. Treat EUR 5m as the entry ticket, not the budget.