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Number of payment transactions in Lithuania tripled during 2020

Electronic money institutions and electronic payment institutions comprise a significant share of Lithuania’s fintech sector

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Number of payment transactions in Lithuania tripled during 2020. Source: unsplash.com

Bank of Lithuania has found that in 2020, the number of electronic money institutions (EMIs) and payment institutions (PIs) and their income kept growing, while the number of their payment transactions exceeded €50 billion.

The growth of the electronic money institution and payment institution sector in 2020 was determined not only by higher importance of electronic payments due to the pandemic but also by new participants: a part of the United Kingdom’s enterprises moved their operations to Lithuania due to Brexit. We expect growth this year as well. During this dynamic sector’s supervision in 2021, we will focus on ensuring that electronic money and payment institutions establish appropriate priorities, especially concerning governance, internal control, and compliance with anti-money laundering and other legislative requirements
Ru016bta Merkeviu010diu016btu0117, Director of the Financial Services and Market Supervision Department of the Bank of Lithuania

According to the unaudited data of Q4 2020, the value of payment transactions performed by EMIs and PIs increased more than three times year on year and amounted to €51.1 billion.

Besides, last year, the institutions earned an income of €138.5 million from licensed activities, an increase of €72.4 million, compared to 2019. As to EMIs, their income amounted to €114.5 million and increased 2.6 times over the year, while that of PIs grew moderately, increasing by €1.3 million over the year to €24 million.

At the end of 2020, the public list of e-money institutions and payment institutions included 132 entities: 80 EMIs and 52 PIs (67 EMIs and 48 PIs at the end of 2019).

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