Fintech Compliance in Georgia: Which Statute Carries the Page
The Georgian carrier of fintech-product compliance is the Organic Law of Georgia on the National Bank: it determines which fintech model falls into which regime — payment system operator or payment service provider, credit or banking activity, microfinance organization, currency exchange point, or virtual asset service provider. European licensing frameworks are not Georgian law and serve only as comparative context — in Georgia these models are governed by the Georgian statute and the acts the National Bank issues on its basis.
The five articles behind this page refresh five fintech segments; in each case the segment is identified first, then the regime of registration, licensing or other requirements.
The National Bank’s Supervisory Perimeter and Powers
Under Article 48, the National Bank has full authority to supervise the activities of commercial banks, microbanks, banking groups, non-bank deposit institutions, microfinance organizations, independent registrars of securities, brokerage companies, the stock exchange, the central and specialized depositories, asset management companies, accountable enterprises, the pension fund, currency exchange points, investment funds, payment system operators, payment service providers, the credit information bureau, loan-granting subjects and virtual asset service providers.
The supervisory toolkit is broad: the National Bank may issue decrees and orders, give written instructions, impose additional requirements and restrictions, and apply supervisory measures or sanctions. It may refuse a person registration, a license, authorization or the acquisition of a significant share where this threatens the stability or sound functioning of the financial sector, or where the group, ownership or governance structure is insufficiently transparent. In the anti-money-laundering sphere, supervision is conducted on a risk-based approach.
Payment Services: Registration and Supervision
Under Article 48-2, the National Bank supervises payment system operators and payment service providers through registration and its cancellation, inspection, additional requirements, initial and ongoing capital rules, restrictions and sanctions. The procedures for registration and deregistration, the applicable sanctions, including the amount of monetary fines and the manner of their imposition, are defined by normative acts of the National Bank.
The National Bank also determines significant-system and significant-provider status and may assign a payment system the status of a systemically or especially important payment system, with criteria towards capital and assets. The fit-and-proper criteria for the administrators of an operator and a provider are likewise defined by a legal act.
Credit and Banking Activity: the Licensing Boundaries
The first paragraph of Article 48-3 is categorical: no one may take deposits and, using them, extend credits without a banking activity license or a microbank activity license issued by the National Bank. A fintech model that involves taking deposits thus falls into a licensable regime and is unlawful without one.
The second paragraph bounds fundraising as well: an entrepreneur or a group of connected persons may not, without registration as a microfinance organization, a non-bank deposit-credit activity license or a banking activity license, attract repayable funds from more than 20 physical persons (including individual entrepreneurs) or advertise such fundraising to a wide public. The restriction does not extend, for example, to a public offering of securities, a private offering to a qualified investor, the activity of a brokerage company, and other cases listed in the law. A microbank may attract repayable funds from a physical person in accordance with the law on microbank activity.
Microfinance, Currency Exchange and Virtual Assets
Under Article 50, the National Bank supervises a microfinance organization through registration and deregistration, inspection, written instructions, requirements and sanctions. It may request information on the sources of the capital’s origin, the direct holders of a significant share and the beneficial owners; suspend or restrict operations; prohibit profit distribution and the payment of dividends; impose a fine on the administrator; and define the norms for asset classification, reserves and the minimum supervisory capital. The activity of a currency exchange point is likewise placed under a registration and supervision regime by the same article.
Article 52-5 governs the crypto segment: a virtual asset service provider must register with the National Bank and satisfy its requirements, and the provision of such services by an unregistered person is impermissible. The provider is prohibited from conducting any activity other than the provision of virtual asset services, the auxiliary activity necessary for them, and the exchange of its own virtual asset. The National Bank regulates the standards for the custody and risk management of virtual assets — including operational and cybersecurity risks — and the minimum supervisory capital, and may restrict a provider’s operations of certain types where they generate risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most frequent questions.
May deposits be taken and credit extended without a license?
No. Only a holder of a banking activity or microbank activity license may do that.
From how many physical persons may funds be attracted without registration?
From no more than 20. Attracting more, or advertising it, requires registration or the relevant license, unless a statutory exception applies.
Does crypto servicing require registration?
Yes. A virtual asset service provider must register with the National Bank; in addition, it is barred from any other activity.
How is the status of a payment operator decided?
The National Bank defines the registration procedures, the status of a significant system and a significant provider, and the corresponding criteria towards capital and assets.
Who regulates the capital of a microfinance organization?
The National Bank — by legal act it sets the minimum supervisory capital, the rules for its formation and the asset classification norms.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge help you qualify your fintech model legally: we determine which regime your product falls into — payments, credit, microfinance or virtual assets — and support you through the registration or licensing procedure. Contact us before the product launches — a wrongly chosen regime is the most expensive mistake.