EU Electronic Money Distributor (EMD) –
Maria runs a payment business offering IBANs, Debit Cards, SEPA Instant payments and more, all under her own branding. Maria does not have her own Electronic Money Institution (EMI) or bank license but operates as a so-called Electronic Money Distributor (EMD) under a principal EMI licensed in Lithuania. This is a white-label agent arrangement of sorts.
Maria is using EBANQ as her frontend and has built a live API integration with the Lithuanian EMI backend. The principal EMI license holder is responsible for KYC and AML and all other compliance and payment infrastructure, while Maria can focus on marketing her services under her own branding. She is planning to one day apply for her own principal EMI license in order to increase revenue and control costs. However, starting as an EMD lets her go to market quickly, without having to meet paid up capital requirements (currently EUR 350,000 for EMIs in the EU) and go through lengthy application processes. It allows her to build her brand and customer base without having to come up with substantial upfront funding.