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 BCP authorisation, including banking and payment rails.
Get a payment license in Paraguay.
Paraguay licences electronic money through a central-bank resolution rather than a statute. Under the Reglamento de Medios de Pago Electrónicos of 2014, an Entidad de Medios de Pago Electrónicos is authorised by the Banco Central del Paraguay for that object and nothing else. User funds are guaranteed in full through a patrimonio autónomo or deposits at the central bank, and account balances and monthly credits are capped at three minimum wages. Since December 2025 a second regime registers payment service providers in six roles. No resolution prints a minimum capital.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Paraguay in brief
An exclusive object, a full guarantee on user money, and no capital figure.
Resolución N° 6, Acta N° 18 of 13 March 2014, the Reglamento de Medios de Pago Electrónicos, defines an Entidad de Medios de Pago Electrónicos in Article 2 as an authorised legal person whose exclusive object is to process, administer or provide services connected with electronic payment means. Article 8 gives the authorisation to the Banco Central del Paraguay, and the Superintendencia de Bancos supervises what follows. Exclusive object means what it says: an EMPE does nothing else, and the bylaws have to say so. Article 15, as amended in September 2024, requires the entity to guarantee the funds of every holder, agent and point of sale in full, through a patrimonio autónomo or deposits at the central bank, at an amount equivalent to one hundred per cent of the balance; the 2018 opening rules add that those balances sit in a trust under Ley N° 921/96 and are expressly outside deposit insurance. Article 5, inciso d, caps both the account balance and the monthly conversions or credits into it at three minimum wages for miscellaneous activities. None of the resolutions prints a minimum capital, and none prints a decision deadline for the authorisation itself.
The clocks that do exist are procedural. Resolución N° 1, Acta N° 77 of 20 November 2018 gives an applicant 60 days to complete a file the central bank finds short, then publishes a favourable opinion in two widely circulated newspapers three times over fifteen days and waits 30 days from the last publication for third-party objections before the board sees it; an authorised entity has 180 days to begin operating or loses the authorisation and cannot reapply for a year. A second regime arrived on 18 December 2025. Resolución N° 25, Acta N° 58 requires payment service providers to register with the central bank in any of six roles - acquirer, issuer, payment gateway, payment processor, digital wallet provider and sub-acquirer - and one company may hold several, each carrying its own duties. Article 7 makes segregated accounts compulsory for the roles that hold client money, and Article 8 asks for annual external audits to ISO/IEC 27001 or equivalent. Five EMPEs are supervised today. Instant payments run on the SPI, the low-value subsystem inside SIPAP. Tax is IRE at 10%, IVA at 10% and 5%, and dividend tax at 8% for residents and 15% for non-residents. We run the file from Madeira, in Spanish.
Resolución 6, Acta 18 of 2014: an Entidad de Medios de Pago Electrónicos is authorised by the Banco Central del Paraguay for an exclusive object. Article 15 guarantees 100% of user funds through a patrimonio autónomo or central-bank deposits, held in a Ley 921/96 trust. No resolution prints a minimum capital.
Article 5(d) caps the balance and monthly credits at three minimum wages. Sixty days to complete the file, publication over fifteen days, thirty days for objections, 180 days to launch. Five EMPEs; SPI inside SIPAP. IRE 10%, IVA 10% and 5%. We run it from Madeira.
The routes
The EMPE authorisation, or the payment service provider register.
Two depths since December 2025: the full authorisation for a company whose only business is electronic payment means, and a registration in one or more of six provider roles. We fix the route first, then build once.
The EMPE authorisation, or the payment service provider register opened in December 2025.
01 - E-MONEY ENTITY
Entidad de Medios de Pago Electrónicos
The authorisation of Article 8 of the Reglamento de Medios de Pago Electrónicos, for a legal person whose bylaws state the exclusive object of Article 2. User funds are guaranteed in full under Article 15, and the resolutions print no capital figure.
The authorisation of Article 8 of the Reglamento de Medios de Pago Electrónicos, for a legal person whose bylaws state the exclusive object of Article 2. User funds are guaranteed in full under Article 15, and the resolutions print no capital figure.
- ✓Exclusive object: electronic payment means and nothing else (Article 2)
- ✓Authorised by the central bank; supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos
- ✓100% of user funds guaranteed through a patrimonio autónomo or BCP deposits (Article 15)
- ✓Balances held in a trust under Ley N° 921/96, outside deposit insurance
- ✓Balance and monthly credits capped at three minimum wages (Article 5(d))
- ✓180 days from authorisation to begin operating
02 - PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER
Register - six rolesProveedor de Servicios de Pago
Resolución N° 25, Acta N° 58 of 18 December 2025 created a register rather than a licence. Article 4 obliges providers to register with the central bank, and Article 3 defines six roles; a provider may hold more than one, and each role carries its own obligations.
Six roles: acquirer, issuer, gateway, processor, wallet provider, sub-acquirer. Registration, not a licence; segregated accounts where client money is held; annual ISO/IEC 27001 audits.
- ✓Six roles: acquirer, issuer, gateway, processor, wallet provider, sub-acquirer
- ✓Registration, expressly not a licence (Article 4)
- ✓Segregated, differentiated accounts for roles holding client funds (Article 7)
- ✓Traceability and reconciliation for roles without custody
- ✓Security programme and annual ISO/IEC 27001 audits (Article 8)
- ✓No capital requirement and no registration fee
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. The resolutions publish no licence fee and the provider register carries none under the operating rules of 29 June 2026, so the trust, the state charges and substance are itemised in your quote.
Why Paraguay
No capital to fund, user money guaranteed in full, and the region's lowest rate.
Paraguay asks for an exclusive object and a full guarantee on user balances, and asks for no capital at all. Five entities hold the authorisation and a provider register opened in December 2025.
✓
No capital figure to fund
The 2014 regulation, the 2018 opening rules, the 2024 amendment and the 2025 provider resolution were read end to end. None of them prints a minimum capital.Four resolutions print none.
✓
User money guaranteed at 100%
Article 15 requires a guarantee equal to the whole balance of every holder, agent and point of sale, through a patrimonio autónomo or deposits at the central bank, with the money held in a Ley 921/96 trust.Trust or central-bank deposits.
✓
A register that opened in December 2025
Resolución 25, Acta 58 registers payment service providers in six roles rather than licensing them, and a July 2026 resolution confirmed all six sit under central-bank supervision.Six provider roles.
✓
Agents written into the rulebook
Articles 17 and 19 recognise agents and points of sale, keep the entity fully responsible for them, and bar it from stopping an agent working with a competing system.Entity answers for its agents.
✓
SPI inside SIPAP
Instant payments run on the Sistema de Pagos Instantáneos, a low-value subsystem with wider operating hours than the RTGS leg; SIPAP processed 24,109,344 transactions in April 2025.Instant leg, wider hours.
✓
IRE at 10%
The corporate rate in the general and SIMPLE regimes is 10%, against 25% to 35% elsewhere in the region.Lowest rate in the group.
How it compares
How Paraguay differs from its neighbours.
Paraguay pairs the lowest corporate rate in the group with the strictest guarantee on user money and a hard cap on wallet balances. The honest comparison is below.
Paraguay vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Paraguay | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Not printed in the resolutions | S/ 2.89M in Peru · R$ 2M in Brazil |
| Client funds | 100% guaranteed · trust or BCP deposits | Bank accounts, trusts, central-bank deposits |
| Wallet cap | 3 minimum wages balance and monthly credits | No cap in Uruguay or Argentina |
| Corporate tax | IRE 10% | 25% to 35% across the region |
Capital
ParaguayNot printed in the resolutions
Other jurisdictionsS/ 2.89M in Peru · R$ 2M in Brazil
Client funds
Paraguay100% guaranteed · trust or BCP deposits
Other jurisdictionsBank accounts, trusts, central-bank deposits
Wallet cap
Paraguay3 minimum wages balance and monthly credits
Other jurisdictionsNo cap in Uruguay or Argentina
Corporate tax
ParaguayIRE 10%
Other jurisdictions25% to 35% across the region
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | EMPE + PSP register (BCP) | 10% · IVA 10% | No capital printed · 100% guaranteed |
 Uruguay | IEDE (BCU) | 25% · IVA 22% | No capital printed · funds segregated |
 Argentina | PSP registration (BCRA) | 25/30/35% | No capital · 100% in sight accounts |
 Bolivia | ESPM (ASFI) | IUE 25% · IVA 13% | Trust-backed guarantee · figures from ASFI |
ParaguayLicense typeEMPE + PSP register (BCP)
Taxation10% · IVA 10%
RequirementsNo capital printed · 100% guaranteed
UruguayLicense typeIEDE (BCU)
Taxation25% · IVA 22%
RequirementsNo capital printed · funds segregated
ArgentinaLicense typePSP registration (BCRA)
Taxation25/30/35%
RequirementsNo capital · 100% in sight accounts
BoliviaLicense typeESPM (ASFI)
TaxationIUE 25% · IVA 13%
RequirementsTrust-backed guarantee · figures from ASFI
Before you apply
Requirements for the BCP authorisation.Requirements for the authorisation.
Resolución 1, Acta 77 of 2018 sets the file and the procedure; the 2014 regulation sets the product rules; Resolución 25 of December 2025 adds the provider register. The checklist below is what a passing file contains.
01
A legal person whose bylaws state the exclusive object of Article 2 - processing, administering or providing services connected with electronic payment means, and nothing beyond it.
02
A shareholder roster with percentages, and for every natural-person shareholder a sworn declaration of assets and income, police and judicial records, non-interdiction and tax-compliance certificates.
03
Each shareholder showing consolidated net worth equal to or above the amount committed; corporate shareholders file three years of financial statements.
04
A certificate of no objection from Conatel, the telecommunications regulator.
05
A business plan with a SWOT analysis, an operational and organisational plan, network topology and backup scheme, and a continuity plan.
06
Internal-control manuals and an operational-risk management schedule, with police, judicial and tax records and CVs for the management team.
07
The Article 15 guarantee: 100% of the balances of holders, agents and points of sale, through a patrimonio autónomo or deposits at the central bank, with the money in a Ley 921/96 trust.
08
A product designed inside Article 5, inciso d - three minimum wages as the ceiling on the account balance and on monthly conversions or credits into it.
09
For a provider registration, the Article 8 security programme: a board-approved information-security policy, data classification with explicit consent, least-privilege access control, encryption in transit and at rest, incident response with a notification procedure to the central bank, a continuity plan and annual external audits to ISO/IEC 27001 or equivalent.
10
For the provider roles that hold client money, segregated and differentiated accounts under Article 7, protected from the provider's own creditors.
01
Bylaws with the exclusive object (Article 2).
02
Shareholder roster with percentages.
03
Sworn declarations and police records.
04
Net worth at or above the amount committed.
05
Conatel no-objection certificate.
06
Business plan, SWOT, topology, continuity.
07
Internal-control manuals and risk schedule.
08
Article 15 guarantee at 100% in a trust.
09
Balance and credits capped at 3 minimum wages.
10
ISO/IEC 27001 audits for PSP roles.
Reflects Resolución N° 6, Acta N° 18 (2014) as amended by Resolución N° 9, Acta N° 41 (2024), Resolución N° 1, Acta N° 77 (2018), Resolución N° 25, Acta N° 58 (2025) and Ley N° 7503/2025, as of 2026.Res. N° 6, Acta N° 18 (2014, amended 2024); Res. N° 1, Acta N° 77 (2018); Res. N° 25, Acta N° 58 (2025); Ley N° 7503/2025.
How it works
From first call to the BCP authorisation.
01
Route and roles
EMPE authorisation, provider registration, or both; which of the six roles you hold; the route and budget fixed in writing.EMPE, register, or both.
02
Company and shareholders
Company formed with the exclusive object, sworn declarations, police, judicial and tax certificates and net-worth evidence gathered for every shareholder.Object set; declarations gathered.
03
The application file
Business plan, technical platform, continuity and internal-control documentation, plus the Conatel certificate - complete before filing.Plan, platform, Conatel certificate.
04
Review and publication
Sixty days to complete anything missing, then publication three times over fifteen days and thirty days for objections before the board decides. Plan on six to nine months.60 days, 15-day publication, 30-day objections.
05
Guarantee and launch
Trust or central-bank deposits in place at 100% of balances, systems connected to SIPAP, and operations started inside the 180-day window.Trust funded; 180 days to start.
Quick facts
RegulatorBanco Central del Paraguay
RulesRes. 6, Acta 18 (2014) · Res. 1, Acta 77 (2018)
RoutesEMPE authorisation · PSP register
CapitalNone printed
Client funds100% guaranteed (Article 15)
DecisionNo deadline · 60-day completion period
Timeline6-9 months realistic
Corporate taxIRE 10% · IVA 10%
The resolutions print no decision deadline, only the 60-day completion period, the fifteen-day publication cycle and the thirty-day objection window. A file that needs no completion period is what shortens the whole timetable, and our job.
Your Paraguay desk
Run from our Americas desk.
Prifinance - Americas desk
Madeira · coordinating Paraguayan mandates in Spanish
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F, Madeira
01
Paraguayan company formation
A company whose bylaws carry the exclusive object of Article 2, with the shareholder documentation Resolución 1, Acta 77 asks for gathered before filing.Exclusive object; shareholder papers.
02
The BCP file
Business plan with SWOT, operational and organisational plan, network topology, backup and continuity, internal-control manuals and the risk schedule - drafted by us and defended through the review.Plan, platform, continuity, controls.
03
The guarantee and the trust
The Article 15 guarantee structured as a patrimonio autónomo or central-bank deposits, with the Ley 921/96 trust drafted and the trustee appointed before launch.Ley 921/96 trust before launch.
04
Substance in Paraguay
Management with the records and CVs the file requires, the Conatel no-objection certificate, and the Asunción presence the authorisation is built on.Management records; Conatel; Asunción.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
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
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of payment companies in Paraguay.
IRE at 10%, IVA at 10% and 5%, and a dividend tax of 8% for residents and 15% for non-residents - the lightest tax card in the region.
IRE 10%
The corporate income tax rate in the general and the SIMPLE regimes, under Ley N° 6380/2019 and Decreto N° 3182/2019.General and SIMPLE regimes.
IVA 10% and 5%
Two rates. The tax authority's own page does not say which transactions attract which, so the product mix is mapped against the regulations before you price it.Mix mapped before pricing.
Dividends 8% and 15%
The IDU is 8% on distributions to residents and 15% to non-residents, under Ley N° 6380/2019 and Decreto N° 3110/19.To residents.
The rate difference matters
A 10% corporate rate against 25% to 35% next door changes where a regional group books its processing revenue. The structure is agreed with the licence, not after it.To non-residents.
Payroll
Employer contributions and payroll withholding on Asunción salaries. The operating budget prices them in with the compliance and audit hires.Contributions + withholding.
What is not published
Free-zone and SME rates are not stated on the tax authority's pages we read. If your model depends on one, we confirm it in writing before you commit.Free-zone and SME rates.
Tax summary
Corporate tax (IRE)10%
VAT (IVA)10% and 5%
Dividends to residents8%
Dividends to non-residents15%
PayrollContributions + withholding
Free-zone and SME ratesNot published · confirmed per case
*Figures as of 2026 per DNIT. Treaty and regime positions 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: Paraguayan company with the exclusive object, 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, authorised entity.
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Paraguay · BCP
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The Paraguayan payment authorisation, answered.
What authorisation does an e-money business need in Paraguay?+
Authorisation from the Banco Central del Paraguay as an Entidad de Medios de Pago Electrónicos under Article 8 of the Reglamento de Medios de Pago Electrónicos. The company's bylaws must state the exclusive object of Article 2, and the Superintendencia de Bancos supervises it afterwards.
How much capital is required?+
No figure is printed. The 2014 regulation, the 2018 opening rules, the 2024 amendment and the 2025 provider resolution carry no minimum capital, and the provider roles carry none either. What the rules do require is the full guarantee on user funds under Article 15.
How are user funds protected?+
Article 15 requires the entity to guarantee the funds of every holder, agent and point of sale in full, through a patrimonio autónomo or deposits at the central bank, at an amount equal to 100% of the balance. The 2018 rules put those balances in a trust under Ley N° 921/96 and state that deposit insurance does not cover them.
Are there limits on wallet balances?+
Yes. Article 5, inciso d, caps the maximum account balance and the maximum monthly conversions or credits at three minimum wages for miscellaneous activities. Article 19 adds separate caps on transfers sent from agents and points of sale and on transfers between e-money accounts.
How long does the central bank take?+
No decision deadline is printed for the authorisation itself. The published clocks are 60 days to complete a short file, publication in two newspapers three times over fifteen days, and 30 days from the last publication for objections. Plan on six to nine months end to end.
What happens after the authorisation is granted?+
The entity has 180 days to begin operating. Miss that and the authorisation is revoked and a fresh application is barred for a year. The 2014 regulation separately voids an authorisation where operations do not start within six months.
What is the new payment service provider register?+
Resolución N° 25, Acta N° 58 of 18 December 2025 requires payment service providers to register with the central bank in any of six roles: acquirer, issuer, payment gateway, payment processor, digital wallet provider and sub-acquirer. It is a registration, not a licence, and one provider may hold several roles.
What security does the provider register demand?+
Article 8 asks for a board-approved information-security policy, data classification and minimisation with explicit consent, least-privilege access control, encryption in transit and at rest, vulnerability management, a documented incident-response plan with a notification procedure to the central bank, a continuity plan, and annual external audits to ISO/IEC 27001 or equivalent.
How are payment companies taxed?+
IRE at 10% in the general and SIMPLE regimes, IVA at 10% and 5%, and dividend tax at 8% for residents and 15% for non-residents. Free-zone and SME rates are not stated on the tax authority's pages, so we confirm them for your structure.
Why Paraguay rather than Uruguay or Bolivia?+
Paraguay has the lowest corporate rate of the three and the clearest rule on user money, and it now runs both an authorisation and a register. Uruguay has the deeper register with twelve issuers and no wallet cap at all. Bolivia has one licensed operator and a rulebook we could not read, which makes it slower to scope. Groups building a wallet for a capped, mass-market product start here.
Which authorisation?+
BCP authorisation as an EMPE (Article 8).
Capital?+
None printed in any resolution.
User funds?+
100% guaranteed; Ley 921/96 trust.
Wallet limits?+
Three minimum wages, balance and monthly credits.
How long?+
No deadline; 6-9 months realistic.
After approval?+
180 days to begin operating.
PSP register?+
Six roles since 18 December 2025.
Security?+
ISO/IEC 27001 audits every year.
Taxes?+
IRE 10%, IVA 10% and 5%, dividends 8/15%.
vs Uruguay / Bolivia?+
Lowest rate; capped wallets.
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
Google
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
Google
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Google
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Google
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Google
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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 Banco Central del Paraguay or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.