Coinspeaker
Clear Skies Ahead for SatchelPay After Clearing Regulatory Hurdle

SatchelPay, one of the leading European electronic money institutions, has been cleared by the Bank of Lithuania to resume all suspended services. This comes after the Bank of Lithuania imposed a temporary hold on selected SatchelPay services, following concerns raised by an audit that took place last spring. SatchelPay was immediately informed of the positive decision by the BoL, which communicated that all suspended services may be resumed.

Issued an electronic money institution (EMI) licence in March of 2018, by the end of the same year SatchelPay was ranked 17th among EMIs in terms of revenue generated. This exponential growth turned out to come at a cost for the firm, which was reflected in the accounting concerns that surfaced in the spring of this year.

By April of 2019, SatchelPay, in accordance with regulations laid out by the Bank of Lithuania, was obliged to provide the Bank with a set of audited financial statements and a profit distribution plan. The Bank was not fully satisfied with the documentation provided and therefore imposed a temporary suspension on the firm’s services, while working with the firm and taking the time to get SatchelPay where it felt it needed to be, structurally and operationally.

Vytautas Valvonis, Director of Supervision Service at the Bank of Lithuania, explained the suspension as a byproduct of Lithuania’s drive to be in the spotlight of European fintech innovation:

“Lithuania is aiming to become a regional fintech hub by creating favourable conditions for financial market participants.”

In order to achieve this, the Bank established strict compliance laws to ensure that the health of the rapidly growing industry is never in jeopardy.

The suspension took effect this August and was followed by a SatchelPay blog post assuring clients that the issues at stake were being addressed and the situation would be resolved shortly. In cooperation with the bank, SatchelPay refined its corporate structure to maximize risk mitigation measures and established a solid framework that can accommodate the anticipated future growth of the platform.

With the regulatory adjustments successfully integrated, SatchelPay looks poised to continue its upward trajectory, boosted by its next gen financial services. The firm built up its formidable base of users with streamlined and comprehensive online banking services that seem to be on the forefront of an industry bringing the capabilities of individuals and corporations up to speed with the pace of the modern world.

Additionally, the company brought in new leadership to provide sure footing moving forward, most notably in new CEO Sergiy Barybin, an experienced professional with an ambitious outlook. On the resumption of all SatchelPay services, Barybin shared the following statement:

“While the suspension of SatchelPay services was unexpected and inconvenient, most of all for our customers, we have been able to use this time to restructure our company to fit the best standards of the industry. We are now ready to continue our growth and in the meantime have put stronger risk mitigation measures in place. We look forward to continuing our expansion and providing our customers with the kind of service that has earned us a reputation in the field.”

SatchelPay is one of the leading European electronic money institutions. Issued an electronic money institution (EMI) licence in March of 2018, by the end of the same year SatchelPay ranked 17th among EMIs in terms of revenue generated for the fiscal period. SatchelPay is based in Lithuania and serves clients all over continental Europe.

Clear Skies Ahead for SatchelPay After Clearing Regulatory Hurdle