Payment Institution (PI)
aka PI, PSP, payment service provider, authorised payment institution
A Central Bank of Ireland authorisation that permits a firm to provide one or more payment services under PSD2 - account services, payment execution, card acquiring, money remittance, AISP, PISP - without being an EMI or credit institution.
Last reviewed May 2026
Definition
A Payment Institution (PI) is a firm authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) to provide payment services under the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018, which transposed PSD2 into Irish law. Unlike an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), a PI does not issue e-money: it executes payments on behalf of customers but does not hold a long-term prepaid balance backing a card or wallet. PSD2 lists the payment services a PI authorisation can cover, and a firm must specify which it offers. The categories include operating a payment account, executing credit transfers, executing direct debits, executing card payments, issuing payment instruments, acquiring payment transactions, money remittance, account information services (AISP) and payment initiation services (PISP). A PI authorisation is the right shape for firms that move money but do not want to issue e-money or take deposits - examples on the CBI register include Fire Financial Services Limited (CBI reference C58301), which operates Fire.com business accounts and the Fire Open Payments API. Customer funds held by a PI for the execution of a payment must be safeguarded in the same way as funds at an EMI: typically segregated at a credit institution or covered by an insurance policy. Like EMIs, PIs are not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
Why it matters for software choice
A Payment Institution is the lightest fintech licence that still offers a regulated payment account in Ireland. For SMEs, the practical implication is that a PI account is not a current account in the legal sense, the IBAN may be foreign if the PI is passporting in, and direct debit acceptance can be inconsistent. Read the CBI register entry to confirm exactly which payment services the PI is authorised for before relying on any one of them.
Authority sources
- Central Bank of Ireland: Payment Institutions (www.centralbank.ie)
- Central Bank of Ireland: Registers (registers.centralbank.ie)
- Irish Statute Book: European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 (SI 6/2018) (www.irishstatutebook.ie)
Software categories this affects
Vendors covered by this term
Related terms
Fintech
Software and platforms that deliver financial services - banking, payments, lending, insurance, wealth - through technology rather than branch-based incumbents. In Ireland, fintech firms are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Electronic Money Institution (EMI)
A specific Central Bank of Ireland authorisation that permits a firm to issue electronic money (prepaid balances, e-wallets, cards) and provide payment services. EMIs cannot take deposits and customer funds are safeguarded, not insured.
PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2)
The EU directive governing payment services and payment service providers across the EEA. Transposed into Irish law by SI 6/2018 (European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018). Created the open banking and Strong Customer Authentication regimes.
Open Banking in Ireland
The PSD2-mandated regime under which Irish banks expose regulated APIs that authorised third-party providers (TPPs) can use to read account data (AIS) or initiate payments (PIS) on a customer's consent.
Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)
Ireland's financial regulator and gatekeeper for banks, payment firms, e-money issuers, MiFID investment firms and insurance providers. Maintains the public CBI register and operates the Fitness and Probity regime for senior staff at regulated firms.