Connecting a National Payment Institution to Payment Systems: A Comparison of the Offerings of the National Bank of Poland and the Bank of Lithuania
Without a doubt, connecting to payment systems is a key stage in the development of a payment service provider, comparable to obtaining a license to provide services.
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) and the Bank of Lithuania (BL) both offer the possibility for some payment service providers to connect to their managed systems, yet the scope of services offered differs significantly. Below is a comparison of what these two central banks provide.
NBP and the EWIB System – Minimalist Offering
The NBP, through its web-based Financial Institution Number Inventory Database (EWIB 2.0), offers two main functionalities:
- Allows banks to request for a bank number.
- Allows some payment service providers (mainly national payment institutions) to apply for a service provider identifier.
A national payment institution (NPI), after being assigned a provider number and completing the necessary formalities along with document verification by the NBP, can apply for an IBAN number, which it can subsequently assign to its customers.
Importantly, the NBP does not offer any additional services, meaning that NPIs will not have direct access to payment systems such as SEPA, ELIXIR, or TARGET. Due to the unattractiveness of this offering, only one national payment institution has decided to connect to the EWIB system.
More details on the entry into force of the Ministry of Finance’s regulation organizing the process of granting identifiers to payment service providers can be found here:
New rules for assigning identifiers and settlement numbers.
The Bank of Lithuania and the Centrolink System – A Market-Oriented Approach
In contrast to the NBP, the Bank of Lithuania (BL) has adopted a more modern approach. Since 2015, it has been offering payment service providers the opportunity to connect to the Centrolink system. This system not only allows payment service providers to obtain and assign IBAN numbers, but also to connect to SEPA payment services.
Payment service providers using Centrolink can offer their customers SEPA-specific payment services, including credit transfers (SCT), direct debits (SDD Core), and instant payments (SCT Inst). Currently, BL does not offer a connection to the TARGET system, but this option may be considered in the future.
Which Offer is Superior?
The Centrolink system offered by the Bank of Lithuania is growing in popularity among payment service providers, particularly in the Fintech sector. It provides a wide range of services and faces little competition from other central banks, making it a more attractive choice compared to the NBP, which currently does not plan to expand its service offerings beyond assigning IBAN numbers.
A more detailed comparison of the offerings from NBP and BL will be published on our website soon.
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