SORAINEN Lithuania advised the very first Lithuanian payment initiation service provider, Mistertango, on providing payment initiation services in an unregulated market.
On 8 October 2015 the European Parliament voted to pass the revised Directive on Payment Services (the PSD2). However, the PSD2 has not yet been implemented in Lithuanian legislation so that some legal uncertainty existed as to the legality of providing payment initiation services.
SORAINEN helped Mistertango to prepare legal arguments for Lithuanian commercial banks and the financial supervisory authority, the Bank of Lithuania, with respect to the PSD2 and the legitimacy of payment initiation services during the transitional period pending implementation of the directive. As a result, on 3 February 2016 the Bank of Lithuania confirmed that payment initiation services indicated in the PSD2 are legal in Lithuania so that services provided by Mistertango cannot be restricted.
The SORAINEN Financial Services & Insurance Sector Group contributed to the project and to the finding of legitimacy of payment initiation services in Lithuania. The SORAINEN team was led by partner Tomas Kontautas, with associate Artūras Asakavičius and legal assistant Rimantas Bendorius.
