Did you know that intermediation in a simple card payment or in a cross‑border money remittance is a “reserved activity”?
20/11/2025
When you pay for a coffee with your credit card, order a transfer or set up a direct debit for your electricity bill, payment services firms are involved to make sure everything works smoothly.
What are payment services?
The law regulates various types of payment services. The most common are as follows:
- Depositing or withdrawing money from a payment account.
- Making transfers, card payments or direct debits.
- Issuing payment instruments (such as cards) or acquiring money transmission services (i.e. by firms that help businesses in order to accept card payments).
- Sending money (without having an account).
- Payment initiation services (i.e. by firms that help you make online payments from your account but with no need to use a card).
- Account information services (apps that show you information from all of your accounts, even if they are at different institutions).
Who can provide payment services?
In Spain, payment services can be provided only by duly authorised electronic money institutions, credit institutions (banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives) and payment institutions. Account information services, in addition, may be provided by firms specialising only in that activity.
The Banco de España may authorise institutions to provide all payment services or only specific services. For example, an institution could be authorised to send money but not transfers.
You can check our Institutions RegisterAbre en ventana nueva on whether an institution is authorised to provide payment services, what services it may provide and what method it uses to safeguard customer funds. You may also check whether an institution is allowed to operate in Spain with a branch or under the arrangement that affords freedom to provide services without an establishment because it is authorised in another European Union country, either through other Member States’ national registers or through the European Banking Authority registersAbre en ventana nueva.
Why is it necessary to have authorisation to carry out these activities?
When a payment service – other than a payment initiation or account information service – is performed, the money goes through several hands before reaching its final destination. Since these operations involve handling persons’ financial information or money it is important to do business with authorised institutions, given that:
- They are subject to authorisation requirements and the supervision of the Banco de España. To hold customers’ funds, institutions must obtain an authorisation showing that they are financially sound and have minimum capital and adequate internal controls. In addition, through the ongoing supervision of these institutions, we ensure that they will continue to meet these requirements, remain solvent and comply with the rules.
- Payment institutions and electronic money institutions are required to have a separate safeguarding account or other equivalent guarantee (such as a bank guarantee). Customer funds are thus protected from potential errors, malfunctions or cyberattacks at these institutions.
- Account information service providers are required to take out professional indemnity insurance or furnish another, equivalent guarantee, to protect their customers from unauthorised accesses or uses of the data in their payment accounts.
The dangers of trusting unauthorised institutions
When you work with an institution not authorised to provide payment services, you expose yourself to considerable risks:
- Your money is unprotected. If you have an unauthorised institution perform these services, you run the risk that it might lack solvency, expertise or adequate internal controls. In other words, you risk allowing your money to fall into the wrong hands.
- You will not be protected by the separate safeguarding account or an equivalent guarantee (such as a bank guarantee) which payment institutions and electronic money institutions are required to have in place, nor by the transparency rules that apply to payment services. In the event of a problem, you could face many hurdles to get your money back, or you might even never recover it.
- If you do business with an unauthorised or unregistered individual or firm and you later have a dispute, you won’t be able to file a complaint with the Banco de España’s Complaints Service.
For this reason, before requesting that an institution perform a payment service, always verify that it is authorised by the Banco de España. You can report an institution you suspect is not authorised to offer services through our external whistleblowing channelAbre en ventana nueva (link in Spanish).
