Noah, a stablecoin payments infrastructure provider, has obtained a crypto-asset service provider licence under MiCA and a payment institution licence under PSD2. The approvals let it offer custody, exchange and transfer of stablecoins together with fiat payments across all 27 member states. The company says the payments licence took about one month and the MiCA licence about two. It also aims to gain direct access to the SEPA network.

What it means: Pairing a MiCA licence with a payment institution licence is becoming the template for firms that want to bridge stablecoins and traditional payments in Europe. With both, a provider can accept euros through SEPA, convert them into stablecoins and back, and serve customers across the EU through passporting. That means Greek businesses such as payroll firms, freelancer platforms or remittance providers can rely on an authorised partner instead of seeking their own licences. The speed with which Noah got its approvals is also notable, because it shows some national authorities move quickly. It also raises questions about supervisory convergence, a topic ESMA has already flagged and one that feeds the debate on central supervision of significant providers. For Greek fintechs wanting to work in crypto-assets, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission is the competent authority for MiCA licences. Before partnering with any provider, it is worth checking its licence in ESMA's register and confirming which stablecoins it is allowed to offer. Firms should also ask how client funds are safeguarded and which bank holds the euro balances, because that detail decides how quickly money can be recovered if something goes wrong.

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