Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the ACPR decision, including banking and payment rails.
Get a payment license in France.
The EU's second-largest economy licenses payment firms through the ACPR, the supervisor attached to the Banque de France: a payment-institution or e-money agrément under the Code monétaire et financier, PSD2 capital from €20,000, a €40,000 simplified licence for smaller volumes, a three-month decision clock, no application fee - and an EU passport from a market of sixty-eight million people paying by Cartes Bancaires.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
France in brief
A full licence, a simplified one, and no fee at the door.
France's rulebook is the Code monétaire et financier. Payment institutions live in Articles L.522-1 onwards, e-money institutions in L.526-1 onwards, and both are authorised by the ACPR after the opinion of the Banque de France. The capital figures are PSD2's, fixed by ministerial order: €20,000 for money remittance, €50,000 for payment initiation, €125,000 for the account, transfer, card and acquiring services, and €350,000 for an e-money institution. France then adds something most member states did not: a simplified payment-institution licence under Article L.522-11-1 at €40,000 capital for firms whose payment volume stays under a monthly average of €3 million, without remittance, initiation or account-information services and without a passport - and a simplified e-money licence under L.526-19 for issuers below €5 million in circulation with €250 per instrument. Customer funds are protected under L.522-17 by segregation and overnight deposit at a credit institution, or by insurance or a comparable guarantee.
The ACPR decides within three months of a complete file, two months for an extension of an existing authorisation, and charges nothing to apply; supervised firms pay an annual contribution for supervision costs at 0.66 per thousand of their capital requirement, with a €500 floor. What the licence opens is sixty-eight million people paying through Cartes Bancaires, the Paris fintech ecosystem that grew up around Station F, and the EU passport under L.522-13. Tax is 25% corporate, with 15% on the first €42,500 of SME profit and 20% VAT from which most payment services are exempt. The ACPR expects two effective managers, a head office in France and a business plan it can interrogate as a prudential supervisor - and it invites a pre-application meeting with its Direction des autorisations before you file. We prepare that meeting and the file behind it from our EU licensing desk.
The ACPR licenses payment institutions (L.522) and e-money institutions (L.526) after the Banque de France opinion. Capital €20k / €50k / €125k, EMI €350k; simplified PI €40k under €3M a month (L.522-11-1), simplified EMI under €5M outstanding (L.526-19). Safeguarding by segregation or insurance (L.522-17). Three months from a complete file; no application fee.
Sixty-eight million people on Cartes Bancaires, Paris fintech, an EU passport. 25% tax, SME 15%, VAT 20%. We prepare the pre-application meeting and file from our EU desk.
The routes
Payment institution - full or simplified - or e-money institution.
One code, three doors from the same authority: the full payment institution with a passport, the simplified one at €40,000 for the French market, and the e-money institution for issuance. We fix the route first, then build once.
PI - full or simplified - or EMI.
01 - PAYMENT INSTITUTION
PI agrément · L.522-6
The licence for acquiring, transfers, remittance, payment initiation and account information without issuing e-money - capital from €20,000 to €125,000 by service, safeguarding under L.522-17, three months to a decision and the EU passport. Below €3 million a month, the simplified licence at €40,000 for France only.
The licence for acquiring, transfers, remittance, payment initiation and account information without issuing e-money - capital from €20,000 to €125,000 by service, safeguarding under L.522-17, three months to a decision and the EU passport. Below €3 million a month, the simplified licence at €40,000 for France only.
- ✓Services 1-5: €125,000 initial capital
- ✓Money remittance: €20,000
- ✓Payment initiation: €50,000
- ✓Simplified licence: €40,000 · ≤ €3M/month · no passport
- ✓No application fee
- ✓Decision within three months of a complete file
02 - E-MONEY INSTITUTION
Wallets and issuance - ACPREMI agrément · L.526-7
Everything the payment institution does plus e-money issuance - €350,000 initial capital, the same safeguarding rules and clock, and a simplified variant under L.526-19 for issuers below €5 million outstanding.
EMI: issuance plus the full service list; €350,000 capital; simplified variant under €5M; EU passport.
- ✓E-money issuance and redemption
- ✓The full payment-service list
- ✓Initial capital €350,000
- ✓Simplified EMI: ≤ €5M outstanding · €250 per instrument
- ✓No application fee
- ✓EU passport by notification
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. Capital sits in the ministerial orders on the prudential regulation of payment and e-money institutions; the file cost, safeguarding set-up and substance are itemised in your quote.
Why France
The second-largest EU market, with a lighter door for smaller firms.
A supervisor that decides in three months and charges no fee, a simplified licence most member states never wrote, and a passport that starts from sixty-eight million people.
✓
No application fee
The ACPR charges nothing to examine a file. Once licensed, the annual supervision contribution runs at 0.66 per thousand of the capital requirement with a €500 floor - the cheapest ongoing regulatory bill in the large EU markets.0.66‰ annual, €500 floor.
✓
A €40,000 simplified licence
Article L.522-11-1 lets firms under €3 million a month license at €40,000 with lighter internal control and no COREP reporting - a real domestic first step that most member states do not offer.Under €3M/month, France only.
✓
Three months, in the code
The decision period runs three months from a complete file, two months for an extension of scope - with a pre-application meeting at the Direction des autorisations to settle the timetable first.In the code; two for extensions.
✓
Sixty-eight million cardholders
France runs on Cartes Bancaires, one of Europe's oldest domestic schemes, with contactless and instant transfers layered on top - the demand a licence serves is large and settled.Cartes Bancaires, instant transfers.
✓
Paris fintech
Station F, a decade of neobanks and B2B payment companies, and the banks, auditors and law firms that grew with them - the ecosystem a licensed institution plugs into on day one.Station F and a decade of neobanks.
✓
An EU passport
A full ACPR licence notifies into every EU and EEA state under L.522-13 - one authorisation, twenty-nine markets, from a home state whose supervisor everyone recognises.L.522-13, twenty-nine markets.
How it compares
How France differs from other EU routes.
France pairs the weight of a large-market supervisor with a lighter door most rivals lack. The honest comparison is below.
France vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  France | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | None | €3,000-€10,000 or more |
| Simplified licence | €40,000 under €3M/month | Registration only, or none |
| Decision clock | 3 months - in the code | Longer or unpublished |
| Market | 68M on Cartes Bancaires | Smaller home markets |
Application fee
FranceNone
Other jurisdictions€3,000-€10,000 or more
Simplified licence
France€40,000 under €3M/month
Other jurisdictionsRegistration only, or none
Decision clock
France3 months - in the code
Other jurisdictionsLonger or unpublished
Market
France68M on Cartes Bancaires
Other jurisdictionsSmaller home markets
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | PI / EMI (ACPR) | 25% · SME 15% | €125k PI · €350k EMI · simplified €40k |
 Netherlands | PI / EMI (DNB) | 19% / 25.8% | €125k PI · €350k EMI · fee €10,400 |
 Lithuania | PI / EMI (Bank of Lithuania) | 17% CIT | €125k PI · €350k EMI |
 Portugal | PI / EMI (Banco de Portugal) | 20% · SME 16% | €125k PI · €350k EMI |
FranceLicense typePI / EMI (ACPR)
Taxation25% · SME 15%
Requirements€125k PI · €350k EMI · simplified €40k
NetherlandsLicense typePI / EMI (DNB)
Taxation19% / 25.8%
Requirements€125k PI · €350k EMI · fee €10,400
LithuaniaLicense typePI / EMI (Bank of Lithuania)
Taxation17% CIT
Requirements€125k PI · €350k EMI
PortugalLicense typePI / EMI (Banco de Portugal)
Taxation20% · SME 16%
Requirements€125k PI · €350k EMI
Before you apply
Requirements for the ACPR agrément.Requirements for the agrément.
The ACPR publishes its dossier templates for full and simplified licences and expects a meeting before the file lands. The checklist below is what a passing application contains.
01
A French company, normally an SAS or SA, with its head office and effective management in France - filed through the ACPR authorisation portal.
02
Initial capital by service: €20,000, €50,000 or €125,000 for a payment institution, €40,000 for the simplified licence, €350,000 for an e-money institution - paid in and evidenced.
03
Two effective managers of good repute and experience, resident and available, plus a governing body the ACPR can assess for collective competence.
04
Shareholders and qualifying holders identified to the ultimate beneficial owner, with source of funds and a group structure the supervisor can read.
05
Safeguarding under L.522-17: segregation with overnight deposit at a credit institution or the central bank, or an insurance contract or comparable guarantee from an unrelated institution.
06
A programme of operations and a three-year business plan with own-funds projections under method A, B or C - the document the ACPR interrogates as a prudential supervisor.
07
Governance, internal control and risk management to the standard of the ministerial order on internal control, proportionate to size; lighter for the simplified licence.
08
AML/CFT framework under the code: customer due diligence, monitoring, reporting to TRACFIN and a resident compliance function.
09
Professional indemnity insurance where payment initiation or account information services are offered.
10
Security of payment instruments, incident management and business continuity documented - and the pre-application meeting held with the Direction des autorisations.
01
French SAS/SA, head office in France.
02
Capital €20k / €50k / €125k; simplified €40k; EMI €350k.
03
Two effective managers, assessed.
04
Holders identified to UBOs.
05
Safeguarding per L.522-17.
06
Three-year plan, own funds A/B/C.
07
Internal control per ministerial order.
08
AML with resident function (TRACFIN).
09
PII for PIS/AIS.
10
Pre-application meeting held.
Reflects the Code monétaire et financier (Articles L.522-1 to L.522-19, L.526-1 to L.526-40, L.522-11-1, L.526-19, L.525-5) and the ministerial orders on the prudential regulation of payment and e-money institutions, as of 2026.CMF L.522 / L.526, L.522-11-1, L.526-19 + ministerial orders, as of 2026.
How it works
From first call to the ACPR register.
01
Route and strategy
Full or simplified PI, or EMI; service list and safeguarding method - the route and budget fixed in writing.Full PI, simplified or EMI - in writing.
02
French company and people
Incorporation, capital evidence and the two effective managers and holders the ACPR assesses.Incorporation, capital, two managers.
03
Meeting and file
The pre-application meeting held, then every section of the dossier template answered before filing on the portal - the three-month clock starts at completeness.Complete starts the three-month clock.
04
ACPR review
Three months by code from a complete file, after the Banque de France opinion - plan on six to nine months end to end including preparation.Three months by code; 6-9 months total.
05
Agrément and launch
Register entry, safeguarding live, passport notifications filed - and the reporting calendar running.Registered, safeguarded, passported.
Quick facts
RegulatorACPR · Banque de France
LawCMF · L.522 / L.526
Capital PI€20k · €50k · €125k
Simplified PI€40,000 · ≤ €3M/month
Capital EMI€350,000
Application feeNone · 0.66‰ annual
Decision clock3 months · extension 2
Corporate tax25% · VAT 20%
France writes its thresholds into the code and charges nothing at the door. The file that survives a prudential reading - and the meeting before it - is the entire game, and our job.
Your France desk
Run from our EU licensing desk.
Prifinance - EU licensing desk
Tallinn (HQ) · coordinating French mandates
Roseni 13, Tallinn
01
French company formation
SAS incorporation, capital to the ministerial-order figure and the corporate layer the ACPR expects - structured for the agrément from day one.SAS, capital, corporate layer.
02
The ACPR file
Programme of operations, own-funds model, safeguarding design and AML policies on the ACPR's dossier template - drafted by us and defended through the question rounds.Dossier template answered in full.
03
The pre-application meeting
We prepare and attend the meeting with the Direction des autorisations that settles scope and timetable before the file is submitted.Scope and timetable settled first.
04
Substance in France
Two effective managers, a compliance function and premises in France - the head office the code requires, recruited from Paris's payments talent pool.Two managers, compliance, premises.
We also have offices in
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Dubai
UAE
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of payment companies in France.
A 25% headline rate with an SME band, VAT exemption for payment services, a 30% research tax credit and the largest treaty network in the EU.
Corporate tax 25%
The standard rate on a payment institution's fee and margin income, with 15% on the first €42,500 of profit for companies under €10 million turnover.SME 15% on first €42,500.
VAT 20%
The standard rate; payment and e-money services are exempt under the financial-services exemption, so the fee mix is mapped before launch to protect input VAT recovery where it matters.Payments exempt.
Research tax credit
The crédit d'impôt recherche returns 30% of qualifying R&D spend - the platform side of a payments group often qualifies.Qualifying R&D spend.
Young innovative company
JEI status brings social-charge relief for research staff in the early years - relevant to an engineering-heavy launch.Social-charge relief.
Dividends and treaties
More than 120 tax treaties, the EU parent-subsidiary regime and a participation exemption on qualifying dividends and gains for group structures.Directive and treaty relief.
Payroll reality
Employer social charges are the real cost line in France - the operating budget is built around them, not surprised by them.Social charges budgeted, not discovered.
Tax summary
Corporate tax25% · SME 15% band
VAT20% · payments exempt
Research tax credit30% of qualifying R&D
JEI statusSocial-charge relief
Dividend withholdingTreaty- and directive-relieved
Tax treaties120+
*Figures as of 2026 per the Direction générale des Finances publiques. Credit and JEI eligibility are assessed per structure.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: French SAS, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, licensed institution.
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France · ACPR
Launch your payment project in France with expert support.
Full-service assistance - from incorporation to the ACPR agrément, safeguarding design, passporting and ongoing compliance.
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Is France the right fit for your project?
Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
The French payment licence, answered.
What licence does a payment business need in France?+
An agrément from the ACPR under the Code monétaire et financier - as a payment institution under L.522-6 for moving money, or an e-money institution under L.526-7 for also issuing it - granted after the opinion of the Banque de France. Account information providers register with the ACPR rather than license.
How much capital is required?+
The ministerial orders carry PSD2's figures: €20,000 for money remittance only, €50,000 for payment initiation only, €125,000 for the account, transfer, card and acquiring services, and €350,000 for an e-money institution. The simplified payment institution needs €40,000.
What is the simplified licence?+
Article L.522-11-1: a payment-institution licence for firms whose payment volume averages no more than €3 million a month, without remittance, initiation or account-information services. Capital €40,000, lighter internal control, no COREP reporting - and no EU passport. A simplified e-money licence under L.526-19 covers issuers below €5 million outstanding with €250 per instrument.
What does the application cost?+
Nothing - the ACPR charges no application fee. Supervised institutions pay an annual contribution for supervision costs at 0.66 per thousand of their capital requirement, with a €500 minimum.
How long does the ACPR take?+
Three months from a complete file for a licence, two months for an extension of scope. The ACPR asks applicants to present the project to its Direction des autorisations before filing, which settles the timetable. With preparation, plan on six to nine months end to end.
How are customer funds protected?+
Under L.522-17: funds are kept apart from the institution's own and, where still held overnight, deposited at a credit institution or the central bank - or covered by an insurance contract or comparable guarantee from an institution outside your group.
Can I passport across the EU?+
Yes - a full payment-institution or e-money licence notifies into every EU and EEA state under L.522-13 and the e-money equivalent. The simplified licences are for France only.
How are payment companies taxed?+
Corporate tax at 25%, with 15% on the first €42,500 of SME profit; 20% VAT with exemption for payment services; a 30% research tax credit and JEI relief for engineering-heavy launches.
What substance does the ACPR expect?+
A head office and effective management in France: two effective managers who pass the ACPR's assessment, a resident compliance function reporting to TRACFIN, real premises and the licensed activity performed in France rather than described there.
Why France rather than the Netherlands or Lithuania?+
France is the largest home market of the three and the only one with a €40,000 simplified door; the Netherlands is the near-cashless address with a printed fee; Lithuania is the fastest desk. Groups often license where the customers are and passport to the rest - we sequence them.
Which licence?+
ACPR: PI (L.522-6) or EMI (L.526-7).
Capital?+
€20k / €50k / €125k; EMI €350k; simplified €40k.
Simplified?+
≤ €3M/month, no passport, €40k.
Fee?+
None; 0.66‰ annual, €500 floor.
How long?+
3 months from complete; 6-9 months total.
Safeguarding?+
Segregation or insurance (L.522-17).
Passport?+
Yes for full licences (L.522-13).
Taxes?+
25%, SME 15%, VAT 20%, CIR 30%.
Substance?+
Two managers, compliance, premises in France.
vs NL / Lithuania?+
Largest market, lighter door, no fee.
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
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Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.