Multipass is a financial services provider offering global business accounts, multi-currency payments, and cross-border transaction solutions.
Read case study
Digital Banking
Request demo
Malta · Financial institution (e-money)
Digital banking apps for e-money institutions licensed in Malta
In Malta an EMI is a financial institution under the Financial Institutions Act, and the MFSA wants to see it directed from the island. We supply the customer apps and the account engine, so your local board decides on customers and risk with full visibility.
- Web, iOS and Android apps under your brand
- Personal and business e-money accounts
- Cards through the issuer you contract
- English interface plus 15+ languages
Case Studies
Paysend & Crassula - a banking solution for international companies
Read case study
LuxPay is at the forefront of providing advanced financial services, designed to meet the needs of modern businesses and consumers alike.
Read case study
Wickie offers secure and scalable fiat and cryptocurrency payment solutions, providing users with digital wallets and seamless financial services across multiple platforms.
Read case study
What a Maltese EMI can put in customers' hands
E-money accounts with IBANs
Customers sign up from their phone, pass identity checks and receive an account they can top up, spend from and pay out of by SEPA.
Business accounts for EEA companies
Onboarding for companies with directors and beneficial owners, multiple users per account and payment approvals for finance teams.
Multi-currency balances
Separate balances per currency with conversion inside the app, priced through your own price lists.
Branded cards
Virtual cards at onboarding, plastic on request, and in-app controls for limits, freezing and PIN reminders. The issuing contract is yours.
Open banking access
Consent screens that let customers connect third-party apps to their account under PSD2.
What this licence does not cover
- A bank deposit. E-money must be redeemable at par and you cannot pay interest on it.
- Credit funded with customer money.
- Safeguarding with another EMI or payment institution. MFSA rules require a credit institution, secure liquid assets or insurance.
What the regulator asks about your IT
Each requirement, what the platform gives you for it and who owns it after launch.
Back office roles for your Malta-based executives to approve onboarding, limits and exceptions, with a full audit trail.
YouBoard-level reporting from the platform: customer numbers, volumes, limits breached and open reviews.
YouA service description, subcontractor list and audit, access and exit terms to support your outsourcing notification.
You, with our inputArchitecture, hosting, security and continuity documentation for your ICT policy and register of information.
You, with our inputTwo-factor login and payment confirmation built into web and mobile apps.
CrassulaQuestionnaires per client type and identity checks through connected providers, with documents kept against each customer.
Your MLROA production environment, configured and tested, ready while you finish the remaining conditions.
Shared
Payment rails and providers
Rails your customers can use
SEPA Credit TransferSEPA InstantSWIFTCard paymentsInternal transfers
24/7
real-time processing, no batch window
60+
payment and provider integrations connected
150+
companies run on Crassula
15+
languages the platform speaks
Dates to plan around
Rules that change what you have to build, in the order they apply.
1 Jan 2025
New MFSA fees apply: EUR 10,000 to apply for an e-money licence and an annual fee starting at EUR 25,000 plus a variable part.
17 Jan 2025
DORA applies to Maltese EMIs alongside the ICT rules in FIR/03.
9 Oct 2025
Maltese EMIs that send euro credit transfers have had to check the payee name for the payer since this date.
9 Apr 2027
Your customers must be able to receive and send euro payments as SEPA Instant.
Around 2028
PSD3 is expected to apply and merge the e-money and payment institution regimes. The MFSA will update its rules ahead of that.
Starting the MFSA process for an e-money licence? Name us in your file.
The MFSA route starts with a Statement of Intent and a preliminary meeting before the full application. A working app shows the authority what your customers will actually use, and we help you describe it in the terms of the Financial Institutions Rules.
01
A platform you can demonstrate
A configured environment to show the regulator, not slides.
02
The technical part of your application, prepared
IT systems, customer authentication, outsourcing, ICT risk and DORA sections mapped to FIR/03 for your MFSA application.
03
Providers lined up
Banking, safeguarding and KYC providers from our network, matched to your licence.
Crassula provides technology and documentation support. We do not provide legal or regulatory advice and cannot guarantee the outcome of an application.
From Statement of Intent to first customers
Take a founder team planning a multi-currency account for remote workers and small agencies across the EEA. Their Statement of Intent describes the product, and at the preliminary meeting they show a branded app with English and Italian screens, a business account and a virtual card.
After the MFSA's no-objection they file the full application. When in-principle approval arrives, the pre-licensing conditions follow: capital, local key people, a safeguarding account with a credit institution and a tested production system. The platform is ready by then, so the last weeks go on hiring and banking.
More on the licence: the Malta financial institution guide and EMI licensing in the EU.
Read the licence guides
FAQ
As a financial institution under the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta. The MFSA licenses it and the operational rules sit in the Financial Institutions Rules, mainly FIR/03.
Since January 2025 the application fee is EUR 10,000 for an e-money or payment licence, and EUR 15,000 if you apply for both. The annual fee starts at EUR 25,000 plus a variable part based on assets or volumes.
The law gives the MFSA three months from a complete application. In practice, an EBA peer review found Maltese authorisations averaged 10 to 12 months from submission, and the Statement of Intent stage comes before that.
The head office, and at least two individuals who effectively direct the business. The board needs at least three members, including an independent non-executive and one Malta resident. Developers and support can work from elsewhere.
Yes. According to the EBA, Malta granted the most payment and e-money authorisations in the EU for applications filed in 2022 to 2024, 21 in total.
Yes, once you passport through the MFSA to each EEA country. The interface covers more than 15 languages and onboarding can be opened or closed per country.
