The European Central Bank (ECB) granted its sixth specialised bank license to Crius LT, UAB following the assessment and proposal of the Bank of Lithuania.

The main difference between a specialised and a full-range bank is that the former is not authorised to provide investment services. The opportunity to establish a specialised bank was introduced in 2017 and the authorisation process usually lasts for roughly a year.

Having secured the license, Crius LT, UAB is expected to start its activities as a payment-focused bank and offer financial services to its business customers which includes small and medium-sized enterprises, e-commerce firms and other financial institutions.

The investor behind Crius LT, UAB is Igor Rintel, an entrepreneur from Slovakia. Rintel also controls Trust Pay which is a licensed payment institution specialising in e-commerce payments.

Currently, there are five specialised banks carrying out their activities in Lithuania which are AB Mano bankas, Revolut Bank UAB, UAB GF bankas, AB Fjord Bank and European Merchant Bank UAB. They focus on acceptance of deposits and provision of loans.

Contributing to further fintech development, specialised banks help boost competition as well as attractiveness and accessibility of banking services.

Together with the ECB, the Bank of Lithuania is currently assessing six more applications for a specialised bank license.

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