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Money transfer software for payment institutions in Germany

In a transfer, customer money often sits with you for only a few hours, and section 17 ZAG governs exactly those hours. Run corridors, exchange rates and payouts on a platform that traces every euro from the sender to the recipient's account.

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Case Studies

See what teams build with Crassula.

Money Transfer · Zahlungsinstitut (PI)

What a German payment institution runs on the platform

Remittances for consumers

Customers send money to relatives abroad and see the fee, the rate and the amount that arrives before they confirm. Repeat payments go to saved recipients.

Payouts for platforms and employers

Upload payout files or send them by API, with an approval step before release. Each line is booked on its own, so a returned payment goes back to the right person.

Payment accounts for regular senders

Accounts with IBANs for senders and business clients who pay often. Balances exist only to execute payments, never as stored value.

Conversion inside the payment order

Spreads and fees per corridor and client group in price lists you change without a release. The customer sees the rate before confirming.

Review before release

Limits by corridor and customer type. Orders above the threshold wait for review in the back office before the money leaves.

What this licence does not cover

  • E-money or top-up balances. That requires a licence as an e-money institution.
  • Taking deposits or paying interest on balances.
  • Lending from customer funds. A payment institution may grant credit only in a narrow scope tied to its payment services.
  • Taking cash through agents before those agents have been notified to and registered by BaFin.
Your market

What the regulator asks about your IT

Each requirement, what the platform gives you for it and who owns it after launch.

1Description of the section 17 ZAG safeguarding measures in the application

Funds in transit per order and per customer, timestamped on receipt, so you can show nothing stays unprotected past the next business day.

Your finance team, on platform data
2Payer and payee information on every transfer

Name, account and address from onboarding attached to outgoing transfers, with checks on incoming data.

Shared
3Money laundering risk analysis for corridors and customer groups (GwG)

Limits per corridor and customer type, onboarding questionnaires and transfer exports for your monitoring and sanctions screening tool.

Your money laundering officer
4Outsourcing arrangements (section 10(2) ZAG) and the DORA register of information

Service description, subcontractors, audit and access rights and an exit plan for your outsourcing documents.

You, with our input
5Business continuity for payment operations

Recovery set-up, backups and our incident process, so a stuck transfer can be found and either completed or refunded.

Shared
6Instant transfers with Verification of Payee

SEPA Instant flows plus the name and IBAN data the check relies on.

You, with your payments provider
7Monthly returns to the Bundesbank (section 29 ZAG)

Exports of transfers, volumes and open amounts as the data base. You prepare and file the return.

You, on platform data
Germany

Payment rails and providers

Rails your customers can use

SEPA Credit TransferSEPA InstantSWIFTBatch payoutsInternal transfers
24/7real-time processing, no batch window
60+payment and provider integrations connected
150+companies run on Crassula
15+languages the platform speaks
Germany

Dates to plan around

Rules that change what you have to build, in the order they apply.

  1. 30 Dec 2024

    The recast Transfer of Funds Regulation applies. Every transfer must carry complete payer and payee details, and you must check what comes in.

  2. 9 Oct 2025

    From this date euro area payment institutions, like banks, match the payee's name against the IBAN on every credit transfer before the payer releases it.

  3. 9 Apr 2027

    Euro area payment institutions that offer credit transfers must be able to send and receive them instantly.

  4. 10 Jul 2027

    The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation applies, with new due diligence rules that also reach occasional transfers.

  5. Pending

    PSD3 and the Payment Services Regulation are agreed but not yet in the Official Journal. Most rules apply about 21 months after entry into force, when existing PIs must have their authorisation confirmed.

Zahlungsinstitut (PI)

Applying to BaFin as a payment institution? Name us in your application.

For a remittance business, BaFin wants to see how an order is controlled and safeguarded from the moment money arrives until it is paid out. We show that on a running platform and write the technical parts of the application with you.

Talk to us about your application

Crassula provides technology and documentation support. We do not provide legal or regulatory advice and cannot guarantee the outcome of an application.

  1. 01

    A platform you can demonstrate

    A configured environment to show the regulator, not slides.

  2. 02

    The technical part of your application, prepared

    Security strategy, payment flows, outsourcing, ICT risk under DORA and continuity sections of your BaFin application.

  3. 03

    Providers lined up

    Banking, safeguarding and KYC providers from our network, matched to your licence.

A business traveller checking a phone before a journey.
Money Transfer

How a launch usually runs

A team in Frankfurt wants to help workers send money to families in South-Eastern Europe and Turkey and applies for a money remittance licence. In our environment it shows BaFin how an order is captured, checked against limits, converted and paid out, and where the money sits at each step.

After authorisation, euro payments go out over SEPA Instant and other currencies over SWIFT through a connected provider. A delivery company joins as a business client and uploads weekly payouts to its riders, which a second person approves before they are sent.

Background reading: our BaFin ZAG licence guide and the overview of payment institutions in the EU.

Guides

Read the licence guides

Explore all guidesLicensing, payments, cards and core banking, explained by our team.
Germany · Zahlungsinstitut (PI)

FAQ

The questions teams ask us before a first call.

Not covered here?Bring your question to a demo with our team.
How much initial capital does a German PI need for remittances?
EUR 20,000 for money remittance alone. Running payment accounts or executing transfers from them takes EUR 125,000. Our BaFin ZAG guide lists the tiers.
By when must received funds be safeguarded?
If the money is still with you at the end of the business day after receipt, section 17 ZAG requires it to sit separately in an account at a credit institution or be covered by insurance or a guarantee. The platform shows which amounts are in transit and for how long.
Can we work with agents in shops?
Yes, many remittance services do. Agents must be notified to and registered by BaFin before they start, and you stay responsible for their anti-money laundering duties.
Which countries can we send to?
Euro payments run over SEPA, other currencies over SWIFT through a connected provider. Which corridors you open is your call, based on your money laundering risk analysis.
Does the platform file our suspicious activity reports?
No. It supplies transfer and customer data to your monitoring and screening tool. Assessing cases and reporting to the FIU stays with your money laundering officer.
What does PSD3 change for German payment institutions?
PSD3 merges payment and e-money institutions into one regime. Existing firms keep operating through the transition but must show BaFin they meet the new requirements. See our PSD3 and PSR guide.
Money Transfer

Explore your launch market

Germany · Zahlungsinstitut (PI)

What a German payment institution runs on the platform

Tell us your licence and country. We will map the rails, providers and documents you need.

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Know what you payOne setup fee and a monthly plan with accounts and transactions included.See pricing → Start with the APIDocumented endpoints for accounts, payments, cards and customers.Explore the API →
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