You do not buy the licence in isolation; you acquire the regulated Romanian entity (typically an SRL or SA) that holds the BNR PI authorisation. The transaction is structured as a share acquisition conditioned on BNR’s prior approval of the change of control under Law 209/2019 and Regulation 4/2019. Signing-to-closing covers the BNR qualifying-holding assessment and the safeguarding bank’s confirmation of the continuation. Cadena Brokers presents pre-vetted Romanian PIs, runs buy-side diligence, and prepares the BNR notification in parallel with target diligence so the regulatory clock starts as early as possible.

Law 209/2019 sets the statutory minimum initial capital by service scope. A payment institution authorised for the full PSD2 service catalogue (acquiring, execution of payment transactions, issuance of payment instruments) must hold at least EUR 125,000. A PIS-only authorisation requires EUR 50,000. A money-remittance-only authorisation requires EUR 20,000. Beyond the statutory floor, BNR sets the ongoing own-funds requirement using one of the four PSD2 calculation methods (Method A, B, C, or D), selected at authorisation, and reviews it through ongoing supervision under Regulation 4/2019.

Acquiring a qualifying holding of 10% or more in a Romanian payment institution triggers BNR’s prior approval, with further thresholds at 20%, 33%, and 50%. The acquirer files a notification under Law 209/2019; BNR assesses financial soundness, reputational integrity, governance suitability, AML/CFT integrity, and the impact on the institution’s prudent operation. The assessment runs in line with the EU joint guidelines on prudential assessment of acquisitions of qualifying holdings. Without the approval the change of control is unenforceable and the PI authorisation can be revoked, so the BNR file is the gating-item of any Romanian acquisition timeline.

Yes. A Romanian payment institution authorised by BNR can passport its services across the European Economic Area under Article 28 PSD2, either on a freedom-of-services basis or by establishing a branch in the host state. The acquirer submits the outward passporting notification to BNR, which forwards it to the host-state competent authority. The PI then provides the notified services in the host state under BNR’s prudential supervision and the host authority’s market-conduct oversight. The passport extends only to services BNR specifically authorised at home — expanding scope abroad requires expanding it in Romania first.

The honest answer is that complete files move faster than incomplete files and we do not promise a calendar we do not control. The two moving parts that set the calendar are BNR’s qualifying-holding assessment under Law 209/2019 and the safeguarding bank’s confirmation of continuation under new ownership. Both run in parallel with target diligence in a Cadena mandate, which is why our timelines compress versus a build-from-scratch route. We aim for expedited closings on every file we open; we report supervisory friction as soon as it appears rather than hold a calendar that does not survive contact with the regulator.

A payment institution authorised under Law 209/2019 may execute payment transactions, acquire and issue payment instruments, run money remittance, and offer PIS and AIS — but it cannot issue electronic money. An electronic money institution authorised under the parallel Romanian transposition of the E-Money Directive (Law 210/2019) may do all of the above plus issue, redeem, and manage e-money. The minimum capital for an EMI is EUR 350,000 against EUR 125,000 for a full-scope PI; the supervisory burden scales accordingly. The right choice for the acquirer depends on whether the business model requires storing client value on the institution’s own books (EMI) or only moving it across third-party accounts (PI).