Portugal is a mid-sized euro area financial market dominated by a handful of domestic banking groups, with Lisbon developing as a fintech and crypto hub. Banco de Portugal supervises banks, payment and e-money institutions, the CMVM oversees securities markets and crypto-asset services, and online gambling is licensed by SRIJ under an open licensing model.
Risk flagStandard
FATFNot listed
EU AML high-risk listNot listed
EU tax listNot listed
Licence regimes6
CurrencyEUR
S&P ratingA+
Next electiondue by 2029
Portugal is not on the FATF grey or black lists (plenary of 19 June 2026); as an EU Member State it is outside the scope of the EU high-risk third-country list (Delegated Reg. 2016/1675, consolidated 29 January 2026) and the EU tax list (Annex I, updated 17 February 2026). Checked 7 October 2026.
Government and politics
Government
Semi-presidential republic
President of the Republic
António José Seguro · since March 2026
Prime Minister
Luís Montenegro (Social Democratic Party (PSD), Democratic Alliance (AD))
Governing parties
Democratic Alliance (AD): Social Democratic Party (PSD) and CDS-People's Party (minority government)
Last election
Presidential (second round), 8 February 2026
Next election
Legislative (Assembly of the Republic), due by 2029. Last legislative election held on 2025-05-18
Legislature
Assembly of the Republic (unicameral, 230 seats)
Legal system
Civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legislative acts
Economy and finance
Population
10.8m (2025)
GDP
USD 346.4bn (2025)
GDP per person
USD 32,166 (2025)
Currency
Euro (EUR), euro
Central bank
Banco de Portugal (part of the Eurosystem)
Credit rating
S&P A+ (positive) · Moody's A3 (stable) · Fitch A+ (stable) (as of September 2026)
A services-led economy driven by tourism, exports of vehicles, textiles and components to the EU, and a fast-falling public debt ratio that has brought a run of rating upgrades.
Bank
Credit institution authorisation
Minimum capitalNot published
TimelineCRD Art. 15: decision within 6 months of a complete application and in any event within 12 months of receipt
AuthorityECB on proposal of Banco de Portugal
Law
Regime Geral das Instituições de Crédito e Sociedades Financeiras (RGICSF, Decree-Law 298/92); Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 (SSM)
Passporting
Yes: EU passport under CRD (Arts. 33 to 39) for branches and cross-border services
Key requirements
Application lodged with Banco de Portugal as entry point; final decision by the ECB
Fit and proper management body and suitable qualifying shareholders
Sound business plan, governance and internal control
TimelinePSD2 Art. 12: decision within 3 months of a complete application
AuthorityBanco de Portugal
EUR 125,000 for payment services 1 to 5 of PSD2 Annex I; EUR 50,000 if only payment initiation; EUR 20,000 if only money remittance (account information services need professional indemnity insurance instead of initial capital)
Law
Regime Jurídico dos Serviços de Pagamento e da Moeda Eletrónica (RJSPME, Decree-Law 91/2018), transposing PSD2
Passporting
Yes: EU passport under PSD2 Art. 28 (branch, agent or free provision of services)
Key requirements
Head office in Portugal
Programme of operations and business plan
Safeguarding of client funds
Professional indemnity insurance for payment initiation and account information services
Crypto-asset service provider (CASP) authorisation under MiCA
Minimum capitalUSD 56k
TimelineMiCA Art. 63: 25 working days to check completeness, then 40 working days to decide on a complete application (clock can be suspended for information requests)
AuthorityCMVM (publishes the list of crypto-asset service providers); the exact national allocation of MiCA powers between CMVM and Banco de Portugal was not verified
MiCA Art. 67 and Annex IV: EUR 50,000 (class 1: order execution, placing, transfer services, reception and transmission, advice, portfolio management), EUR 125,000 (class 2: adds custody and administration, and exchange for funds or other crypto-assets), EUR 150,000 (class 3: adds operating a trading platform); or one quarter of prior-year fixed overheads if higher
Yes: MiCA authorisation can be passported across the EU/EEA by notification (MiCA Art. 65)
Key requirements
Registered office in the Member State where at least part of the services are provided, place of effective management in the EU and at least one director resident in the EU (MiCA Art. 59(2))
Fit and proper management body and suitable qualifying shareholders
Safeguarding and segregation of client crypto-assets and funds, complaints handling, conflicts of interest policy
AML/CFT framework and compliance with the Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 travel rule
AuthorityCMVM (registration of financial intermediaries); allocation of the authorisation decision not verified
IFD Art. 9: EUR 75,000 (reception and transmission, execution, portfolio management, advice, placing without firm commitment, with no client money or securities held); EUR 150,000 (other firms); EUR 750,000 (dealing on own account or underwriting on a firm commitment basis)
Law
Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II) and Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (IFD) as transposed in Portugal; Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (IFR). National act not verified
Passporting
Yes: MiFID II passport (Arts. 34 and 35) for services and branches
Key requirements
Fit and proper management and suitable qualifying shareholders
Ongoing own funds and liquidity under the IFR
Registration with the CMVM as a financial intermediary
AuthorityComissão de Jogos (Turismo de Portugal), supervised by SRIJ
Law
Regime Jurídico dos Jogos e Apostas Online (RJO), Decree-Law 66/2015 of 29 April; fees under Portaria 211/2015
Fees
Licence issue or renewal EUR 14,481.10 for fixed-odds sports betting, horse-race betting or games of chance (EUR 2,413.52 for bingo); technical system approval EUR 21,721.65 plus EUR 2,413.52 per game type; guarantees of EUR 500,000 (player balances and fines) and EUR 100,000 (special online gaming tax)
Passporting
No EU passport for gambling: a Portuguese licence is required
Key requirements
Private company in the form of a sociedade anónima or equivalent with seat in the EU or EEA; foreign companies need a branch in Portugal
Probity, economic, financial and technical capacity
Licence issued for 3 years, renewable for equal periods; no cap on the number of licences
Certification and approval of the technical gaming system
Banco de Portugal (BdP) · websiteBanks, E-money institutions, Payment service providers
Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) · websiteInvestment firms, Virtual asset service providers (VASPs)
European Central Bank (Single Supervisory Mechanism) (ECB) · websiteBanks
Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (Turismo de Portugal) (SRIJ) · websiteOnline gaming
Portugal notified an 18-month MiCA transitional period (ESMA list, May 2026 version), so the grandfathering of existing crypto providers ended no later than 1 July 2026; the national implementing act and any shorter national cut-off were not verified. Banco de Portugal's website blocked automated access on the access date, so national details could not be checked against it: the bank minimum share capital is left null because Portugal sets its own national figure by ministerial order under the RGICSF and it could not be confirmed (the EU floor in CRD art. 12 is EUR 5 million). EMI, PI, CASP and investment firm figures are the harmonised EU amounts from EUR-Lex; the Portuguese transposing texts were not opened.
General information
About Portugal
Natural Earth boundaries. Map is indicative.
Status
Sovereign state
Capital
Lisbon
Area
92,090 km²
Official languages
Portuguese, Mirandese (official locally)
Time zone
UTC+00:00 (UTC+01:00 in summer); Azores UTC-01:00
Main exports
cars
garments
vehicle parts and accessories
unpackaged medicine
refined petroleum
tourism
Main export partners
Spain
France
Germany
United States
United Kingdom
Sources for the country information(10)
Country information checked 9 October 2026. Licensing data updated 7 October 2026. Information only, not legal advice; requirements change. Regulatory notice.
