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The two primary categories of fintech companies are payment services institutions and e-money issuers. These are both regulated by Decree-Law No. 91/2018 of 12 November 2018, which implements the Payment Services and E-Money Legal Framework (PSEMLF). This transposed Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 (PSD II) into Portuguese law, creating the conditions for third-party providers such as payment initiation service providers (PISP) and account information service providers (AISP) to enter the market. Besides these areas, crowdfunding platforms are covered under Law No. 102/2015 of 24 August 2015 and Law No. 3/2018 of 9 February 2018 as well as CMVM Regulation 1/2016.1
The PSEMLF establishes the rules and conditions for the incorporation and authorisation of payment institutions, e-money issuers, PISPs and AISPs, all of which are subject to BoP supervision. Consequently, certain obligatory legal documents must be presented to the BoP, including by-laws, business plan, share capital commitment, corporate structure and beneficial ownership details, managers' identification and qualification files, as well as management protocols and compliance models. As far as financial aspects go, payment organisations must have a minimum statutory share capital ranging from €20,000 to €125,000 (depending on the type of services they offer), while e-money institutions must meet a minimum amount of €350.000. In addition PISPs need to have at least a €50.000 stake in their business and AISPs must secure an insurance policy or other equivalent guarantee for their activity in Portugal.1
Banks and other financial institutions are required to follow the general rules when marketing and advertising their products and services. As a result, all marketing and advertising materials and products must clearly identify the offering or advertising entity, as well as make sure that targeted consumers can understand the main features and conditions of the marketed products and services.1
The PSEMLF allows for a significant range of services and products that only payment or e-money institutions, PISPs and AISPs may provide. As most fintech companies will likely find that the nature of their business model, together with the services they supply, mean they must become one of these entities under Portuguese law (Gaining an e-money licence lets them offer all services regulated by the PSEMLF once permission is sought from the BoP), necessitating fulfillment of its regulatory framework.1
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