Italy: fintech & payments regulation

Who regulates

• Bank of Italy

  Primary supervisor for payment institutions, electronic money institutions, and banking intermediaries; implements ECB SSM rules for significant banks.

  ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

• Consob

  Supervisor for investment services, collective investment management, and joint oversight with Bank of Italy for certain intermediaries.

  ^[14]

Core laws & rules

• Consolidated Banking Act (TUB) (1993)

  The primary legislative framework for banking and payment institutions, including provisions on ownership structures, payment accounts, and the Unified Register of intermediaries.

  ^[8][12][15]

• Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF) (1998)

  Regulates investment services, crowdfunding for enterprises, and securities intermediaries, with specific articles governing informational obligations and authorization procedures.

  ^[2][14]

Licensing & registration

• Payment Institutions & Electronic Money Institutions

  Entities must obtain authorization and comply with supervisory provisions on operational requirements, capital, and access to bank accounts. Agents must be reported via the GIAVA-Agenti system.

  ^[1]

• Crowdfunding Service Providers for Enterprises

  Requires authorization under TUF Article 4-sexies.1, with specific reporting timelines for annual data and immediate notifications of events to the Bank of Italy.

  ^[2]

• Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP)

  Regulation under EU MiCA is applicable in Italy, but specific national licensing details and capital floors are not established in the provided source documents.

  Low confidence — verify with the regulator before relying on this.

Restrictions & warnings

• Banks are prohibited from applying generalized exclusions to deny payment accounts to payment institutions. Financial intermediaries must appoint only registered individuals for financial agency activities.

  ^[8][16]

• Acquisition of qualified participations in supervised entities requires prior authorization from the Bank of Italy, with strict suitability assessments for potential acquirers.

  ^[6][3][17]

Direction of travel

• The regulatory framework continues to evolve with updates to supervisory provisions, such as the 2024 updates to Circular No. 288, and alignment with EU guidelines on major incident reporting and AML/CFT standards.

  ^[7][5]

Sources

1. Supervisory Provisions for Payment Institutions and Electronic Money Institutions · 2026-02-05
2. Bank of Italy Measures Implementing Article 4-sexies.1 of the TUF Regarding Crowdfunding Service Providers for Enterprises · 2024-05-08
3. Bank of Italy Regulations on Ownership Structures of Banks and Other Intermediaries · 2022-07-27
4. Regulation on the Methods for Transmitting Applications and Notifications for Certain Supervisory Proceedings under the Single Supervisory Mechanism · 2021-12-23
5. Communication of 29 October 2021: Implementation for Payment Service Providers of the Updated EBA Guidelines on Major Incident Reporting under PSD2 (EBA/GL/2021/03) · 2021-10-29
6. Provisions on Information and Documents to be Submitted to the Bank of Italy · 2021-10-28
7. Supervisory provisions for financial intermediaries - Circular No. 288 of 3 April 2015 · 2021-01-05
8. Provisions on the Opening and Maintenance of Payment Accounts at Banks for Payment Institutions · 2019-07-24
9. Communication of 24 January 2019 - New Reporting of Agents Distributing Payment Services · 2019-01-24
10. Communications - Transfer of Payment Services · 2017-06-22
11. Circular No. 288/2015 Supervisory Provisions for Financial Intermediaries - Reconfiguration of Administrative Proceedings · 2017-04-20
12. Bank of Italy Provision of 3 April 2013: Clarifications on the "Intermediary Type Code" for Intermediaries Registered in the New Register under Article 106 TUB · 2016-02-05
13. Provisions - Entry into Force of the Single Supervisory Mechanism · 2014-11-04
14. Joint Regulation of the Bank of Italy and Consob on the Organization and Procedures of Intermediaries Providing Investment Services or Collective Investment Management · 2015-01-19
15. Deliberation No. 287 of 4 March 2003: Implementation of Title V-bis of Legislative Decree No. 385/93 Concerning Electronic Money Institutes · 2003-03-04
16. Opinion on the necessity of appointing an agency, mandate, or other form of collaboration by financial intermediaries for the exercise of financial agency activities · 2003-08-21
17. Urgent Decree of the Minister of Economy and Finance, President of the CICR, of 27 July 2011, No. 675 · 2011-07-27