Payment license in Georgia: scope, features and terms of registration

Georgia is turning into an international business center, which in a couple of years will be able to compete with major European and Asian countries. Its undeniable advantages are its advantageous geographical location, flexible taxation system and rapidly developing e-payment services. It is possible to obtain a payment license in Georgia 2020 in three calendar months, and it will be valid for almost any transactions with real or virtual money.

Areas of activity for which a payment license is required in Georgia 2020

• Transactions with electronic money (issue, write off and transfer to payment bank cards);
• Transactions of funds;
• Work with bank cards;
• Electronic money transfers.

The holder of a payment license automatically becomes a Payment Service Provider of electronic money and payment services. He or she does not need additional permissions to carry out new activities - the main thing is to open a limited liability company in the jurisdiction, to obtain the status of PSP, and successfully maintain it.

Payment licenses in Georgia are issued by the local Central Bank. It reviews a package of documents within 30 to 60 calendar days, usually finds defects, and gives the applicant another month to correct them. The list of documents is quite overwhelming: business plan, questionnaires, description of types of services, incorporation documents of the company, information about its beneficiaries, and their reputation.

All of them must necessarily be translated into Georgian and notarized. In this challenging, the help of IT-OFFSHORE specialists will be rendered. We will help with the preparation of the package of documents, registration of the future company and its support.

Obligations of a company with PSP status

• Registered legal address and actual presence of the head office in the jurisdiction;
• Providing a comprehensive report on activities at the first request of regulatory authorities;
• The company director must be a local resident, or be present on the territory of Georgia most of the time;
• Paying taxes on time and preparing financial statements;
• Payment of minimum authorized capital in the amount of 250,000 GEL (approximately 110,000 USD).

There are 29 successful Payment Service Providers registered on the territory of the country, their activities are regulated by the Law "On Payment System and Payment Services" dated 25.05.2012, which is constantly being modernized due to the changing socio-economic situation in the world.

Control of PSP in Georgia is quite serious: the license can be revoked at any time and there are a lot of reasons for that. Break in activity for six months or more, mistakes or inaccurate information in reports and registration documents, delay in providing financial statements, loss of status of a legal entity, fictitious legal address indicated during registration, refusal from the possible unscheduled inspection are only minor reasons to cancel the payment license. The government of the country does not recognize nominal companies engaged in fraud or violating the law.

If, on the contrary, a company is aimed at the development and is created exactly for the mission indicated in its founding documents, Georgia will be an excellent platform for its entry into the world market.