Given the possibility of the upcoming UK's withdrawal from the EU, Lithuania has offered an interesting proposal for licensing of payment institution.

The Lithuanian regulator proposes to issue payment licenses under accelerated program to all claiming companies already having similar licenses in the UK. With such kind of insurance in case of Brexit, payment systems will be able to further run their business safely even in case of unfavorable course of events relating to Great Britain's withdrawal from the EU. Also, Lithuania now may be of interest to companies that are only going to receive a payment license. The fact is that one of the advantages of this jurisdiction is the possibility of remote identification of customers, which until now existed in full only in the UK. Lithuania has adopted a law on remote identification at the end of 2016.

Remote identification allows payment institutions to open accounts for their customers without their personal visit to the company's office and conduct AML procedures remotely using the electronic means and in digital format – it is enough to get the client's basic ID scans and have a short interview, for example, via Skype. Certification of papers and their sending by mail is not required. This, of course, greatly facilitates and accelerates the process of the appearance of new customers in the payment institution and is in fact a competitive advantage for the company - new client accounts can be opened in this way literally in 1 hour.

It should also be noted that the Lithuanian regulator is currently ready to issue full API (Authorized Payment Institution) licenses within a period of 3 to 6 months, which distinguishes Lithuania from other jurisdictions where a waiting period for such a license can last for up to a year.