EBA Issues Opinion on End of MiCAR-PSD2 No-Action Letter Transition, February 2026

On 12 February 2026, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published an Opinion addressed to national competent authorities (NCAs) under the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The Opinion advises NCAs on how to proceed once the nine-month transition period set in the EBA's No-Action Letter of 2 June 2025 (EBA/Op/2025/08) expired on 2 March 2026. That transition period permitted crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) to continue providing electronic money tokens (EMTs) qualifying as payment services without holding a concurrent PSD2 licence, provided the CASPs had submitted or were preparing a PSD2 authorisation application. The Opinion is final and addressed to NCAs; it is not a consultation.

The controlling authority is Article 29(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (EBA Founding Regulation), which empowers the EBA to issue opinions to NCAs to build a common supervisory culture and ensure uniform procedures across the European Union. The Opinion operates alongside Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR) and Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2). The EBA advises NCAs to allow a CASP to continue EMT-related payment services after 2 March 2026 only where: the CASP submitted a complete PSD2 authorisation application before that date; the NCA has not yet decided on the application; and the CASP actively cooperates with the NCA. Where any of these conditions is absent, NCAs are advised to require the CASP to cease the relevant services immediately.

For CASPs that issue or facilitate transactions in fiat-referenced stablecoins qualifying as EMTs — including exchanges, on-and-off ramp operators, and payment-focused protocols — the expiry of the transition period removes the regulatory bridge that allowed continued operation under MiCAR alone. Any CASP that did not lodge a PSD2 application before 2 March 2026 faces an immediate obligation to wind down the EMT payment-services component of its business. NCAs retain discretion on enforcement timelines but are advised to cooperate with the relevant MiCAR NCA and, where necessary, national enforcement bodies to ensure compliance.

More than 100 CASPs approached NCAs informally or submitted PSD2 applications during the transition period. Application volumes vary significantly across Member States, which the EBA cited as the primary reason for issuing the Opinion — to help NCAs prioritise authorisation reviews when the transition period ended. The Opinion does not affect CASPs whose EMT activities fall outside the definition of payment services under PSD2; the EBA reiterated its June 2025 position that only a subset of EMT-related crypto services qualify as payment services requiring dual authorisation.

Source: EBA Opinion on the end of the No-Action Letter transition period on the interplay between PSD2 and MiCA, EBA/Op/2026/02, 12 February 2026. Press release and document available at: https://www.eba.europa.eu/publications-and-media/press-releases/eba-advises-national-authorities-actions-take-end-transition-period-under-its-no-action-letter. Confirmed current as of 9 March 2026.

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