Estrella facilitates acquisitions of Belgian Payment Institutions (PI) — National Bank of Belgium (NBB) authorised entities with full PSD2 scope and EU-wide passporting from a strategic EU jurisdiction with deep institutional banking infrastructure.
A Belgian Payment Institution license is issued by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) under the country’s Law of 11 March 2018 on the legal status and supervision of payment institutions and electronic money institutions, which implements the EU’s revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
Belgian PIs are authorised to provide all eight categories of payment services under PSD2 including money remittance, payment processing, account information services, payment initiation services, and acquiring of payment transactions. Belgian authorisation provides full EU passporting across all 27 EU member states and the broader EEA.
Belgium combines a strategic European location (Brussels hosts EU institutions and major financial infrastructure), strong banking sector, and the credibility of NBB supervision. Belgian PIs are particularly valuable for operators serving institutional clients and cross-border European payment flows.
Fresh NBB Payment Institution authorisation typically takes 9–15 months, requiring extensive documentation including business plan, capital and own-funds projections, governance and key personnel arrangements, IT and operational risk frameworks, AML/CFT policies, safeguarding arrangements, and demonstrated operational readiness. The NBB maintains rigorous standards reflective of Belgium’s position within the EU financial system.
Acquiring an NBB-authorised PI bypasses this timeline and provides immediate EU operational capability with full passporting. Belgium offers strategic positioning between France, Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg — providing cross-border European market access with strong infrastructure.
Pre-licensed Belgian PIs typically come with established NBB relationships, accepted compliance frameworks, and Belgian or pan-European banking arrangements. Belgium’s position as host of major EU financial infrastructure (including Euroclear, SWIFT, EU Commission DG FISMA) supports robust counterparty access for Belgian-licensed entities.
Belgian PIs are regulated under the Law of 11 March 2018 (as amended) and Belgian AML/CFT legislation, supervised by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB). The framework implements EU PSD2 along with related EBA technical standards.
Key obligations include initial own-funds requirements per PSD2 (€20,000 to €125,000+ depending on services), client fund safeguarding via segregated accounts at qualifying credit institutions, comprehensive AML/CFT compliance under Belgian AML legislation, customer due diligence including PEP screening and enhanced measures for high-risk relationships, ongoing transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting to the Belgian Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF-CFI), regular regulatory reporting to the NBB, governance arrangements meeting NBB expectations including qualified senior management subject to fit-and-proper assessment, and operational and security risk management aligned with EBA technical standards on PSD2 strong customer authentication.
The NBB conducts ongoing supervision through reporting reviews, on-site inspections, and thematic assessments. Belgian PIs benefit from clear NBB guidance documents and an established supervisory dialogue.
Estrella maintains relationships with NBB-authorised Belgian Payment Institutions. Available opportunities include established PIs with active customer books and proven banking relationships, mid-stage PIs with strong infrastructure, and clean PIs with full authorisation suitable for new branding.
Each acquisition is subject to comprehensive due diligence: NBB authorisation status and any historical supervisory matters, capital and own-funds compliance, safeguarding arrangements and reconciliation history, AML/CFT framework, banking and counterparty relationships, and corporate, tax, and financial history. NBB qualifying-shareholder approval is required for ownership changes — Estrella manages this with Belgian regulatory counsel.
For current availability and pricing, please contact our acquisitions team.
Belgian PI acquisitions typically take 4–7 months. The corporate transfer can complete in weeks, but NBB qualifying-shareholder approval is required — typically 60–120 days from a complete notification.
Yes, fully. NBB authorisation provides full EU passporting rights enabling the entity to serve customers across all 27 EU member states and the EEA. Passporting can be exercised on either a freedom of services basis or by establishing local branches.
Licensed Belgian PIs may provide all eight categories of PSD2 payment services including money remittance, payment processing, account information services, payment initiation services, and acquiring of payment transactions.
Belgium offers strategic positioning at the heart of EU institutions and financial infrastructure (Brussels hosts EU Commission DG FISMA, Euroclear, SWIFT). Combined with NBB credibility and a substantial banking sector, Belgium is particularly attractive for operators with institutional client focus or cross-border European business models.
Belgian PIs are priced in the mid-to-high range for EU PIs, reflecting NBB credibility and Belgium’s strategic positioning. Pricing varies based on permissions scope, capital position, banking relationships, and any active customer book.
Contact Estrella to explore available NBB-authorised Payment Institutions in Belgium. Our team coordinates with Belgian regulatory counsel for the full acquisition and NBB approval process.
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