PPRO, a cross-border payment company, has officially been granted an e-money licence by the Ministry of Finance in Luxembourg, in a move that the company described as “securing its long term future in Europe.”
The new local entity ‘PPRO SA’ has been authorised to conduct financial services across the EU under the supervision of the national financial services regulator, the CSSF (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier).
This will permit the payment specialist firm to move its headquarters to Luxembourg.
Jack Ehlers, Director for payment partnerships at PPRO SA, said: “It has been a long three-year process, but we’re delighted to have been granted our e-money licence by the Ministry of Finance in Luxembourg.
“It was essential we secured this licence to continue operating in Europe, regardless of how Brexit now happens”.
PPRO processes cross-border payments for Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and other merchant aggregators.
As a financial institution, a license with permission to operate across the European Union is imperative. Without this licence, the firm may have lost passporting rights (the free movement of services within the European Union) once Brexit has been implemented.
CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, Nicolas Mackel, commented: “We are delighted to welcome PPRO to Luxembourg. This demonstrates the appeal of the financial centre as a leading EU payments hub and constitutes a further addition to the local FinTech ecosystem.”
Luxembourg has developed into a major e-money regulator, with major companies such as Alipay, PayPal, Ebay, Amazon Pay, Rakuten, and PingPong having a presence there. The country is also one of the only few triple A-rated countries in the EU.
Mackel continued: “Luxembourg’s international environment provides FinTechs with a strong base from which to successfully serve their European clients.”
PPRO’s follows a trend of UK fintechs looking at relocating elsewhere in Europe due to the uncertainty of Brexit.
