Central Bank of Ireland Electronic Money Institution Registration and Anti-Fraud Requirements

爱尔兰电子货币机构：CBI授权、资本与反欺诈要求

爱尔兰电子货币机构（EMI）由爱尔兰中央银行（CBI）授权和监督，可在获准范围内发行电子货币并提供相关支付服务。是否选择爱尔兰应按业务、Management、local substance、capital、Customer fund protection、system、银行及目标市场判断；CBI授权不构成品牌背书，也不是无条件进入整个EEA的“通行证”。跨境通知可参阅欧盟EMI护照通行说明。

申请人须建立与业务相称的治理、Customer fund protection、AML/CFT、反欺诈、ICT、外包和运营韧性安排。The "ACAMS special article" in the original text is an editing fragment，不是爱尔兰法律或CBI申请依据；授权结果由CBI按法定标准和个案材料决定。

one、Core regulatory framework for Irish EMI registration

爱尔兰EMI主要受《2011年欧洲共同体（电子货币）条例》规管；提供支付服务时还须核对《2018年欧盟（支付服务）条例》及后续修订。申请人须向CBI证明业务、governance、personnel、capital、Customer fund protection、AML/CFT、ICT和退出安排符合现行要求。

During the application process，Regulators focus on the following areas:：

• Governance and internal controls： Enterprises must have a clear organizational structure，Ensure that the board of directors and senior management can effectively supervise business operations。
• capital requirements：EMI initial capital must not be less than 350,000 euros，并须持续满足至少不低于初始资本及按平均未偿还电子货币和附带支付服务计算的适用自有资金要求。
• Customer fund protection：相关客户资金须按适用规则保障，Isolation or qualifying insurance/guarantee available；Account、assets、对账和返还安排须与实际业务一致。

治理安排应明确董事会、管理层及风险、Compliance、AML/CFT、内部审计和ICT职能的职责、独立性、资源与替补。港汇通人员经验或客户项目须以公司内部证据为准；外部顾问不能确保架构获得CBI认可。

two、Anti-Fraud and AML Compliance：The Bank of Ireland’s regulatory red lines

In the current regulatory environment，Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Anti-Fraud(Fraud Prevention) is no longer a simple background job，It is the core competitiveness of EMI institutions.。The Central Bank of Ireland clearly requires institutions to establish a risk-based approach (Risk-based Approach) prevention system。

1. Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and KYC Practice

机构须按爱尔兰AML/CFT法律识别和核实客户及实益拥有人，并在高风险情形下采取增强尽调。FATF实益所有权材料可提供国际背景，但不能替代爱尔兰法律、CBI要求和具体风险评估。

2. Real-time transaction monitoring and abnormal behavior analysis

交易监测和反欺诈控制须与产品、client、channel、地域和交易风险相称，并经过测试、阈值调整、告警调查和治理监督。CBI没有要求所有EMI必须采用具备“自我学习”能力的特定技术。

3. Reporting mechanism and law enforcement cooperation

Once suspicious transactions are discovered，Institutions must comply with the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010，Prompt submission of suspicious transaction reports (STR) to the Irish Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)。

three、申请准备与责任边界

申请通常涉及业务计划、financial forecast、治理和人员、Customer fund protection、AML/CFT、反欺诈、ICT、outsourcing、业务连续性及退出安排。CBI可要求补件或管理层说明，但问询次数和总周期取决于个案，不能预设“多轮”或保证避免拒绝。

Professional support provided by Hong Kong Huitong：

• Pre-Application Assessment： Assess whether your company’s business model complies with the Bank of Ireland’s business scope definition for EMI licenses。
• 政策文件支持：按实际业务协助准备AML/CFT、Compliance、反欺诈、ICT和数据保护文件，并由申请人管理层审核、批准和负责执行。
• 管理人员准备：协助梳理职责、经验和适当人选材料；爱尔兰EMI不应笼统沿用“RO”称谓，人员资格及投入由CBI按个案审查。
• 管理层说明准备：可协助管理人员理解自身职责并核对材料一致性，但不冒充CBI流程，也不能保证问询、面谈或授权结果。

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Application and Compliance Points：Central Bank of Ireland Electronic Money Institution Registration and Anti-Fraud Requirements

爱尔兰EMI授权应从电子货币发行、payment account、Domestic or cross-border transfers、Merchant Acquirer、Payment initiation and account information services are judged item by item。Digital token services are not automatically approved for obtaining EMI；还须按MiCA及其他适用制度评估。

Things to prepare and keep checking

• When choosing an EU member state，In addition to minimum capital，It is also necessary to compare the expectations of the competent authorities、Local management and staff、Where core systems and accounting books are located、Bank resources and host country supervision after passport notification。
• Start by doing a regulated activity matrix，Differentiate payment accounts、transfer、Acquiring、Electronic currency issuance、Payment initiation、Account information and digital token services。
• Client fund protection should be clearly defined using segregated accounts or insurance/guarantee，When to start protection、How to reconcile daily、How to deal with the difference and how to return it when the institution goes bankrupt。
• The business plan should provide three-year transaction volume and revenue forecasts、Agency and Outsourcing、Banks and Card Organizations、IT architecture、Fraud and AML、Operational resilience and exit planning。
• EEA跨境服务依赖母国通知、服务模式及东道国适用规则；英国不属于EEA护照范围，进入英国或其他EEA以外市场须另行确认许可、登记或豁免。

Costs involved、capital、time limit、When personnel qualifications or cross-border business scope，Please refer to the legislation published by the competent authority at the time of submission、Forms and guidelines are subject to。

Four、Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: After obtaining Irish EMI license，Is it possible to do business in other EU countries?

可以在符合条件时通过跨境服务、Agent or branch notification to enter other EEA countries，Subject to completion of applicable procedures and compliance with host country rules。CBI授权本身不等于可立即在整个EEA无条件经营。

Q2: Does the Central Bank of Ireland have mandatory requirements for the technical selection of anti-fraud systems?

Although no specific software vendor was specified，But regulators require systems to be effective "commensurate with the scale of business risks"。Organizations need to conduct regular system performance assessments，and provide supporting materials to the central bank。

Q3: How does Hong Kong Huitong help us deal with complex offshore structure issues?

可按书面范围协助梳理股权、控制和UBO资料，但控股及税务结构须由申请人、律师和税务顾问按实际情况确定。不存在统一“最合理”架构，也不能保证通过CBI审查。

Summarize

爱尔兰EMI是否适合项目，Should be based on business scope、capital、Management、local substance、Customer fund protection、反欺诈、系统和目标市场判断。外部支持可按书面范围提供，Hong Kong Huitong staff resume、项目经验和保密能力须以可验证资料及合同为准。

References：爱尔兰中央银行：支付及电子货币机构授权（英文）、爱尔兰《2011年欧洲共同体（电子货币）条例》（英文）、爱尔兰《2018年欧盟（支付服务）条例》（英文）、EBA：Payment Services and Electronic Money Information (English)。

learn more：EU EMI License Passport Guide。