Cuatrecasas | CASPs and EMTs under MiCA: Three Scenarios for Providing Services with EMTs

The European Banking Authority (“EBA”) has published a new opinion EBA/OP/2026/01 of February 12, 2026 (the “Opinion”), establishing the supervisory expectations and scenarios applicable to crypto-assets service providers (“CASPs”) supplying payment services using electronic money tokens (“EMTs”) once the transitional period ends on March 2, 2026, as established in the EBA’s No Action letter to the national authorities in June 2025 (“No Action Letter,” EBA/Op/2025/08).

For more information on the No Action Letter, see our Legal Flash | EBA No Action Letter on the interaction between MiCA and PSD2.

In this Opinion, the EBA identifies three possible scenarios that may arise for CASPs planning to continue providing EMT-related payment services.

The European Banking Authority (“EBA”) has published a new opinion EBA/OP/2026/01 of February 12, 2026 (the “Opinion”), establishing the supervisory expectations and scenarios applicable to crypto-assets service providers (“CASPs”) supplying payment services using electronic money tokens (“EMTs”) once the transitional period ends on March 2, 2026, as established in the EBA’s No Action letter to the national authorities in June 2025 (“No Action Letter,” EBA/Op/2025/08).

For more information on the No Action Letter, see our Legal Flash | EBA No Action Letter on the interaction between MiCA and PSD2.

In this Opinion, the EBA identifies three possible scenarios that may arise for CASPs planning to continue providing EMT-related payment services.

Possible scenarios

• Scenario 1: Authorization obtained: The CASP has successfully obtained authorization as a payment institution or electronic money institution, or it has established a partnership with an authorized payment services provider. In this case, the CASP can continue carrying out EMT-related transactions.

• Scenario 2: Application submitted, pending resolution: The CASP has submitted an authorization application to its national competent authority (“NCA”) to provide payment services, but it has not yet been granted. The EBA recommends that the NCA allow the CASP to continue operating temporarily, under strict conditions. In sum:

• • the application must be duly submitted with the documents required under article 5 of the PSD2 Directive and in the EBA-GL-2017-09 Guidelines;

• • the applicant must thoroughly, transparently and promptly respond to all of the NCA’s queries;
  • the NCA must verify that the applicant has not been subject to supervisory measures nor failed to comply with requirements under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (“MiCA”) or the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations; and
  • the NCA must have reasonable grounds to anticipate that the application will be approved shortly.

During this transitional period, the CASP must cease all marketing activities related to EMT services that qualify as a payment service and cannot provide these services to new clients. This restriction would not apply to Spanish or Portuguese CASPs, as they have a MiCA transitional period that ends on June 30, 2026.

• Scenario 3: No application or non-compliance with conditions: The CASP has not submitted an authorization application or does not meet the conditions in scenario 2. In this case, the NCA must demand that the CASP immediately cease to provide EMT-related payment services and off-board existing clients engaging in these activities from March 2, 2026.

In light of the above, CASPs must act quickly, given the transition period’s upcoming deadline of March 2, 2026. It is essential to assess the situation of each institution and take immediate measures to continue providing services with EMTs or, if applicable, impose restrictions on operations.

Author:
• MIGUEL SÁNCHEZ MONJO, Partner, CUATRECASAS

Compliments of Cuatrecasas – a member of the EACCNY