The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued new guidance to national regulators on what to do when a temporary allowance for some crypto firms handling certain tokens as payment services ends on 2 March 2026.
A nine-month transition period — set out in EBA's No-Action Letter of 2 June 2025 — has allowed crypto asset service providers to keep transacting electronic money tokens while they submit an application for authorisation under the EU’s Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and wait for a decision, the Authority said in a statement on Thursday.
Electronic money tokens are a type of crypto-asset designed to maintain a stable value by referencing a single official currency, under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
In its latest Opinion, the EBA advised national competent authorities to allow firms to continue providing electronic money token services that qualify as payment services after 2 March 2026 only if certain conditions are met, while those that do not meet all conditions should be required to stop offering such services.
National regulators were also advised to co-operate with the relevant national authority responsible for MiCA and, where needed, other enforcement bodies to ensure compliance.
More than 100 firms have approached regulators
The EBA said its earlier No-Action Letter responded to a request from the European Commission to clarify how PSD2 and MiCA interact for crypto firms transacting electronic money tokens that qualify as payment services.
That letter delayed the need for a second authorisation under PSD2 until after the nine-month transition period.
It also advised regulators to treat only a subset of crypto-asset services involving electronic money tokens as payment services, and to use a streamlined authorisation process that relies on information already provided in the MiCA authorisation process.
More than 100 crypto asset service providers have approached national regulators informally or submitted an application to be authorised as payment service providers since the No-Action Letter was published.
With the transition period nearing its end and application volumes expected to differ across EU member states, the EBA said the new Opinion sets out how national regulators should prioritise their authorisation work once the temporary allowance expires.
