Senjo Group, a privately held investment firm, has received permission from the Bank of Lithuania to take over Lithuanian payment institution Finolita Unio. It has managed to obtain a Payment Institution (PI) license in Lithuania. This will witness the payments platform operator gain enhanced access to the European payments system via Lithuania.
This announcement comes on the heels of other significant acquisitions by the group. Senjo had revealed the plans to acquire payments innovator Kalixa Group for $30.34 million. It had also partnered with B2B marketplace Tjaara, and invested $1.2 million in the startup.
The Bank of Lithuania provides preliminary advice to financial institution license inquiries within a week. This is touted as one of the fastest turnarounds in the EU, while, post that, full authorisation is issued within 2 to 6 months.
Gavin Lock, Senjo Group’s COO, mentioned in an official release that they decided to enter the Baltic country seeing the Lithuania’s EU-leading regulatory environment for FinTechs. The regulations enable the use of non-face-to-face identification systems for FinTech product development, fostering further growth and development. He added,
Lithuania has made rapid progress in streamlining its regulatory framework for FinTech companies recently. The Bank of Lithuania especially, has a positive attitude towards FinTech, and this was one of the key factors in our decision to choose Lithuania as a gateway for strengthening our presence in the European payments ecosystem.
Lithuania is regarded as one of the fastest emerging global FinTech hub. The payment and electronic money agencies in the country can access the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) through the infrastructure of the Bank of Lithuania. This enables them to avoid the broking services of many commercial banks.
Headquartered in Singapore, Senjo operates leading international electronic payments business that draws on innovative technologies and established expertise. It leverages their payments business to strategically extend the services in relevant and adjacent sectors by investing in FinTech businesses with high-growth potential. It currently has a presence in most major markets across Asia, Europe, North America and Africa, and a network of global offices in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Luxembourg, the UK, the US, UAE, Lithuania and China.
