On June 17^th 2020 a judgment was delivered by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom regarding the Visa and Mastercard Schemes, which will also affect the Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania. Many EMI in Lithuania and payment institutions in Lithuania have used Visa and Mastercard services for their transactions, therefore, they have also been affected by the schemes which have caused increased fees and lost profits.

The Supreme Court heard the Visa and Mastercard Scheme case in two combined cases - Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Visa Europe Services LLC and others, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd and others v Mastercard Inc. before Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Sales and Lord Hamblen [2020] UKSC 24

The court had found that there was a fee placed on payment service providers including Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and other payment institutions in Lithuania. The effect of the may be as high as 90% of the payment service providers such as EMI in Lithuania or other Payment institutions in Lithuania, hence, highly increasing the services prices.

It is a notable fact that after the decision of the Court, the European Union are in talks to make their own system like Visa and Mastercard did, therefore, it would be highly beneficial for the Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and Payment institutions in Lithuania, as their service provision would be considered to be more competitive and also service charges should be reduced.

Generally, in Lithuania there is a great environment for Electronic money institution (EMI) and Payment institution establishment, and the future will bring even better opportunities for Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and Payment institutions in Lithuania.

Visa and Mastercard Scheme had allowed both companies to operate with an agreed price causing non-competitive measures in the European Union as the price was not negotiable also causing effects on the Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and also Payment institutions in Lithuania.

To find out more detailed information regarding the operations of Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and Payment institutions in Lithuania and also the licencing Electronic money institutions (EMI) in Lithuania and also Payment institutions in Lithuania do not hesitate to contact our lawyers in Baltics - valters.gencs@gencs.eu, info@gencs.eu, +371 67240090