Serbia Payment System License

Serbia, although is not a member of the EU, aspires to become a member thereof, therefore, it adheres strict European rules in relation to e-money, but does not extend the validity of licenses from EU countries to its territory. In the republic, there are national legal norms regulating the issue of electronic funds and payment services in which they are involved.

The law on paid services and other official acts determine the range of financial institutions entitled to carry out transactions for residents’ settlement and create systems where e-money are issued and turn over. Wishing to issue electronic money in Serbia or work with them, it is necessary to obtain a license in the National Bank of the country (NBS). The regulator reviews the documents, issues permits, and controls the payment services operation, including foreign ones, in the territory of Serbia.

Without the licensing, foreign organizations are allowed to perform only cross-border payments for residents of the state. If a company, that issues e-money and carries out transactions with them, will provide services to at least one Serbian citizen without having a permission, it runs the risk of the law violation.

Requirements to payment systems and e-money issuers in Serbia

In the formulation of requirements to licensees, NBS follows the European practice. Companies that issue electronic money in Serbia and offer digital payment services must be registered in the Republic. Most often for work non-residents use DOO, similar to limited liability companies, - an authorized capital of one euro is enough for them and the business is registered quickly. The owners/founders can be private individuals and companies from Serbia or another state. AD with the capital divided into shares occupies the second place in popularity.

For registration, you will need to have identifying documents (passport, certificate or an extract from the trade register), a power of attorney for persons authorized to sign; the entire document package should be translated and apostilled. To gain an access to the national payment market, the company needs:

• to hire a minimum of two directors and provide an evidence to NBS about their profile education (financial, economic), competence, work experience in the field;
• to open a "physical" office in Serbia;
• to have sufficient capital to recover damages that can be inflicted on users;
• make a detailed business model and provide it to the regulator, together with a description of the technical instruments that allow free operation and security policy.

The regulator follows the requirements of European standards and regulations, therefore e-money emitters and payment service operators must meet the requirements of PCI DSS. The use of cryptography in the data exchange, a control of information and payments security, a transparent control of an access to information and so on are among them. If EU residents use the services, the work is carried out in one of the European Union languages, you need to protect personal data according to GDPR regulation- with a written register, special technical means DPO, privacy policy.

"Prifinance" company will undertake the receipt of all permits and a preparation of the documents package. We will provide detailed consultations, help you to choose a jurisdiction and a tax model, undertake the business registration and an opening of a bank account. With our support, the customer will be able to work without violations of national legislation, European regulations, and standards.