Anyone who moves your money in the EU needs permission to do so. That permission has a name — authorisation under PSD2, as a Payment Institution or an Electronic Money Institution — and you can check it yourself in a few minutes, for free. The single most useful thing a sender can learn is how to confirm a provider is properly licensed before trusting it with a transfer. This piece explains the framework in plain terms and shows you exactly what to check.

PSD2: the rulebook for moving money in Europe

PSD2 — the second Payment Services Directive — is the EU law that governs payment services. It replaced an earlier directive and it does a few things that matter to a remittance sender:

• It defines who may provide payment services. You cannot simply set up and start moving other people’s money in the EU. You must be authorised.
• It sets conduct and security rules. Strong customer authentication, clear information on fees and timing, and rules on how quickly funds must be made available.
• It creates supervision. Authorised firms are overseen by a national competent authority — a financial regulator in their home EU country.

PSD2 is why a legitimate European money-transfer service looks and behaves consistently: identity checks at sign-up, itemised fees, defined timelines. Those are not the provider being cautious. They are the law.

The two licences that matter: PI and EMI

Most remittance and money-transfer providers in the EU operate under one of two authorisations.

Payment Institution (PI). A PI is authorised to provide payment services — including money remittance — but does not issue electronic money. Many pure money-transfer companies are PIs. They can take your euros and send a payment, but they are not meant to hold a stored balance for you long term.

Electronic Money Institution (EMI). An EMI can do everything a PI can, and can also issue electronic money — a stored digital balance you can hold, top up and spend, often with a card or wallet attached. Many modern fintech apps and wallet providers are EMIs.

Both are regulated. Both must protect customer funds, typically by safeguarding them — keeping your money separate from the firm’s own money, so that if the firm fails, client funds are ring-fenced. The distinction between PI and EMI is about what the firm is allowed to do, not about which is “safer.” What makes a provider safe is that it holds one of these authorisations at all.

How to check a provider is authorised — step by step

This is the practical core of the article. Before you send:

1. Find the provider’s regulatory status. Legitimate firms state it, usually in the footer or an “About” or “Legal” page: the name of the authorised entity and its home regulator (for example, a national central bank or financial supervisory authority).
2. Go to that regulator’s public register. Every EU regulator maintains a free, searchable register of authorised Payment Institutions and Electronic Money Institutions.
3. Search the entity name. Confirm it is listed, that the authorisation is current (not lapsed or revoked), and that it covers payment services or e-money.
4. Check the name matches. The app’s brand and the authorised legal entity are sometimes different; make sure the entity you found is the one actually handling your money, or is a listed agent of one.
5. Be suspicious of anything that resists the check. A provider that will not name its regulator, or that advertises “no identity checks,” “anonymous transfers,” or operating “outside regulation,” is exactly what the framework exists to protect you from. Walk away.

That five-minute check is worth more than any review score.

Where stablecoin settlement fits the framework

None of the above changes when a transfer settles over a stablecoin rail. A compliant stablecoin remittance still runs through a licensed operator: the euro on-ramp, the required KYC/AML identity checks and the local-currency off-ramp are all handled by an authorised firm. The stablecoin is a settlement instrument between the licensed ends, not a way around them.

Movement is the settlement and yield layer that such licensed operators build on for emerging-market corridors — the global settlement and yield layer for those lanes — running over licensed money-transmission rails in the US, Canada and the EU. It is infrastructure beneath an authorised provider; the sender’s protection still comes from that provider’s PSD2 authorisation, exactly as it should.

A note on yield, since it often confuses people here: a compliant stablecoin issuer does not pay interest to holders, and Movement does not either. Yield, where it exists, is a separate opt-in product for licensed businesses on the float they hold — not a consumer feature, and not part of the regulatory protections that safeguard your transfer.

Related reading

• The corridors this governs: Send money from Europe — every corridor compared.
• How the newer method works: Send money from Europe with stablecoins.
• Why leaving the EU costs more: SEPA vs sending money outside the EU.

For the settlement infrastructure itself, see Movement’s corridor rail.

Frequently asked questions

What is PSD2 in simple terms? It is the EU law that says who is allowed to move money and how they must behave — identity checks, clear fees, defined timelines and supervision by a national regulator. If a firm handles your payments in the EU, PSD2 applies to it.

What is the difference between a PI and an EMI licence? A Payment Institution can provide payment services like money remittance. An Electronic Money Institution can do that and also issue a stored digital balance (e-money) you can hold and spend. Both are regulated and both must safeguard customer funds.

How do I check if my money-transfer provider is authorised? Find the authorised entity name and home regulator on the provider’s site, then search that regulator’s free public register of Payment and Electronic Money Institutions. Confirm the authorisation is current and covers the service you are using.

Is a stablecoin remittance provider regulated? The transfer is, when it runs through a licensed PI or EMI that handles the on-ramp, identity checks and off-ramp. The stablecoin is only the settlement instrument. If a service claims to operate outside regulation or without identity checks, avoid it.

What are the warning signs of an unsafe provider? No named regulator, no verifiable listing on a public register, and any marketing built on “anonymous,” “no KYC,” or “outside regulation.” Legitimate EU providers are proud to show their authorisation.

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By Elena Fischer. Last reviewed 2026-07-24. Corridor figures are World Bank / KNOMAD estimates and may change. This is general information, not financial advice.