Previously several similar companies were included in the so-called list of public warnings
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority has added several new companies to its register of small payment institutions. Among them is Poznań-based Tapik, which is planning on opening a cryptocurrency exchange at bitclude.com within two weeks. The company's director Jakub Wierzcholski told Comparic.pl that after lengthy discussions with the regulator they have arrived at a solution that will allow the company to be listed as an SPI.
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Artur Granicki, head of the Financial Supervision Authority's fintech department, announced the news on Twitter. He underlined that it will be the first cryptocurrency exchange with a Polish license. He also reminded his followers that the company participated in the Innovation Hub program, which was launched last year.
The inclusion of Tapik in the small payment institution register should be viewed in the context of the regulator's other actions, which included listing several crypto exchanges on its list of public warnings. It did just that only a few days ago with BitMarket24. The regulator's press office explains that if an exchange offers a so-called online wallet, which customers can use to invest in digital currencies, it needs a payment institution license, and BitMarket24 does not have one.
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It seems that Tapik is trying to meet the Financial Supervision Authority's expectations. We need to remember, however, that an SPI license has its limitations. Those include, among others, a turnover limit - after exceeding one million euro a month, the operator has to inform the regulator of that fact and apply for a so-called major payment institution license.
When it comes to the SPI register, several other new companies have been listed in it along with Tapik. Those businesses included: Bydgoszcz-based Parkmar Inkaso, Warsaw-based Coinquista (it might be a crypto exchange as well, but it's not active yet), Szczecin-based IAI (the company used to have a national payment institution license, but has since lost it), and Warsaw-based Financial Company Korona.
