Latvijas Banka has granted Paybis a combined Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization and a PSD2 payment institution license. The Latvian central bank flagged the approval as the first dual authorization of its kind it has issued, per a CoinMarketCap post on May 14, 2026.
The pairing is the practical headline. A CASP permission alone covers crypto-asset services across the European Economic Area under MiCA passporting. A PSD2 payment institution license alone covers fiat payment services such as account issuance, money remittance, and acquiring. Holding both under one regulator collapses what is usually two separate supervisory relationships, two separate capital regimes, and two separate reporting stacks.
The case for a single regulator
For a crypto firm that wants to settle fiat in and out of crypto positions at scale, the standard EU path has been to acquire a CASP license in one member state and partner with an EMI or PI elsewhere for the fiat leg. That structure works but adds counterparty risk, integration overhead, and two sets of audits.
Bringing both authorizations into one Latvian entity gives Paybis a single rulebook and single supervisor for the full on-ramp and off-ramp pipeline. It also gives Latvia a quiet competitive signal: the central bank is willing to underwrite both sides of the crypto-to-fiat stack at the same desk, something not every EU regulator has been willing to do.
Scope of the combined permission
Under MiCA CASP rules, the firm can offer exchange services between crypto and fiat, exchange between crypto assets, custody and administration of crypto on behalf of clients, and execution of orders. Under PSD2 as a payment institution, it can issue payment accounts, process payment transactions, and act in money remittance corridors.
In plain terms, Paybis can sell you crypto, hold it for you, swap one token for another, and then route the fiat side through its own payment rails rather than handing that step to a third party. Both legs passport into other EU and EEA member states under their respective directives.
Context for the issuance
MiCA's transitional regime closes on July 1, 2026, after which firms operating crypto services in the EU must hold a CASP authorization to keep serving EU customers. License approvals during the first half of 2026 are being watched as a leading indicator of which jurisdictions are running the most credible review process, and which firms cleared a real bar versus relying on transitional grandfathering.
Latvia is not the largest crypto hub in the bloc, but Latvijas Banka has been measured in its public communication around MiCA, framing each approval as a separate decision rather than a rubber stamp. Pairing the CASP grant with a PSD2 license at the same time suggests the regulator reviewed both books simultaneously.
The competitive read
Paybis is not a card vendor, so this does not change the crypto card shelf directly. The relevant audience here is the back-end: firms that issue crypto cards, run crypto exchanges, or operate fiat ramps in the EU now have a clearer template for stacking authorizations in one country.
It also adds to the small group of EU venues that hold both a crypto and a fiat payment license under the same regulator. The list still skews to Ireland, Lithuania, and France for full-stack permissions, with Latvia now joining as a credible alternative.
For users, the practical change is less visible. The firm's product range does not need to change, and existing customers should see no service disruption. The signal is on the supply side: a regulator willing to approve both leashes at once, and a firm willing to absorb the capital and compliance load that comes with running both regimes inside one entity.
Overview
Latvijas Banka issued Paybis a MiCA CASP authorization and a PSD2 payment institution license in a single approval. The central bank flagged it as its first such dual authorization. The combined permission lets Paybis run crypto services and fiat payment rails under one Latvian supervisor and passport both across the EEA, removing the need for a separate payments partner on the fiat leg.
