The update directly addresses licensing requirements, authorization criteria, and the formal permission to operate for electronic money and payment institutions, which are core Authorisation regulatory obligations.
Mandatory inheritance: Authorisation is a child of Supervision, so Supervision must be raised as the secondary tag.
Product
This update concerns regulatory licensing procedures and administrative fees for electronic money and payment institutions rather than a specific retail financial product or service.
While electronic money institutions may issue payment products, this update focuses on institutional licensing requirements and does not address any specific consumer product type.
Obligation
The update introduces a new pre-application exploratory stage requiring entities to submit prescribed information to the CBC for preliminary assessment, which resembles a Reporting obligation, though the exploratory nature and lack of ongoing submission duty create ambiguity warranting human review.
The update establishes a gating mechanism where entities must complete the exploratory stage before formal application submission, functioning as a pre-approval checkpoint, though the administrative and procedural nature of the requirement suggests this may require human review.
Activity
The update describes procedural and administrative changes to the licensing application process for electronic money and payment institutions, which relates to Customer Onboarding as the closest regulatory activity governing initial entity establishment and due diligence requirements.
The introduction of enhanced due diligence requirements and good-repute assessment during the pre-application stage also touches on Safeguarding of Funds principles, though the update is primarily administrative rather than operational.
Themes
The update concerns licensing conditions, application procedures and due diligence requirements specifically for electronic money and payment institutions, which directly falls under Payment Services Regulation.
The enhanced due diligence requirements and good-repute assessment during the exploratory stage reflect financial crime and AML/CFT considerations relevant to Financial Crime oversight, though this is secondary to the licensing-process focus.
Functions
Vendor Management is most directly impacted as the update establishes new pre-application licensing requirements and due-diligence obligations that third-party payment and electronic money institutions must navigate to become approved vendors or partners.
Compliance functions have a secondary role in interpreting the new licensing process requirements and advising the business on the exploratory stage obligations, though this is less direct than vendor oversight and warrants human review given the confidence below 0.75.
Keywords
central bank of cyprus,central bank
2026-08-03 08:24:24·tojuri@vixio.com
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TITLE: Cyprus Central Bank Introduces Pre-Application Exploratory Stage for Electronic Money and Payment Institution Licensing
BODY:
On July 31, 2026, the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) announced changes to its licensing process for electronic money institutions and payment institutions, effective August 3, 2026. The CBC introduced a new pre-application exploratory stage that entities must complete before submitting a formal licensing application.
During the pre-application exploratory stage, interested entities must submit specific information to the CBC for preliminary assessment. The CBC will charge a non-refundable fee of €5,000 for participation in this stage. The exploratory stage serves two primary objectives: enhancing transparency and improving entities' understanding of the CBC's licensing requirements and expectations, and facilitating early identification of issues that may affect subsequent application assessment, particularly regarding the criterion of good repute.
The CBC also implemented additional changes to the overall licensing process. The fee for submitting a licensing application for an institution increased from €5,000 to €10,000. The CBC may require entities during the pre-application exploratory stage or applicants during assessment to submit an enhanced due diligence report prepared by a firm with relevant expertise. Inactive applications will be deemed withdrawn after a predefined period of non-response to comments or requests issued by the CBC.
These changes form part of the CBC's comprehensive licensing and supervisory strategy for the electronic money institution and payment institution sector, as announced on December 20, 2024.
Entities intending to submit licensing applications are encouraged to consult the CBC website for further details or contact the Licensing Section at LicensingSection@centralbank.cy.
Central Bank of Cyprus - New Licensing Process for Electronic Money Institutions and Payment Institutions Home / Announcements / New Licensing Process for Electronic Money Institutions and Payment Institutions Print New Licensing Process for Electronic Money Institutions and Payment Institutions Friday, 31 July 2026 The Central Bank of Cyprus (the “CBC”), as part of the implementation of a comprehensive licensing and supervisory strategy for the Electronic Money Institution and Payment Institution sector (the “Institutions”), as announced on 20 December 2024 ( Announcement ), introduces changes to the licensing process for such Institutions with effect from 3 August 2026. Specifically, a new stage is introduced prior to the submission of a licensing application, namely the “ pre-application exploratory stage ”. At this stage, entities interested in obtaining a licence must submit specific information that the CBC considers important for the preliminary assessment of the interested entity. A non-refundable fee of €5.000 will be payable by interested companies in the pre-application exploratory stage. The objective of the pre-application exploratory stage is twofold: firstly, to enhance transparency and improve interested entities’ understanding of the licensing process, as well as the CBC’s requirements and expectations regarding the operation of Institutions; and secondly, to facilitate the early identification of any issues that may affect the subsequent assessment of a potential licensing application, particularly with regard to the criterion of good repute. It should also be noted that, inter alia and independently of the above, the following changes are also introduced to the overall licensing process: The fee for the submission of a licensing application for an Institution is increased from €5.000 to €10.000. The CBC may, where deemed necessary, require interested entities during the pre-application exploratory stage or applicants during the assessment of an application, to submit an enhanced due diligence report prepared by a firm with relevant expertise. Inactive applications will be deemed withdrawn after a predefined period of non-response to comments or requests issued by the CBC. The new process will apply as of 3 August 2026. Interested entities intending to submit an application for licensing as an Institution are encouraged to consult the relevant sections of the CBC website for further details or contact the CBC by email at LicensingSection@centralbank.cy . 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