Trust Payments (Malta) Ltd holds a Romanian Class II license from the National Gambling Office (ONJN). License no. 2331 of 22 November 2023 covers payment processing for the gambling sector (procesator de plăți) and took effect on 1 January 2024. It allows the company to process deposits and withdrawals for operators licensed in Romania. Szilaghi Consulting supported the application.
Cluj-Napoca, 10 January 2024
The license
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| License holder | Trust Payments (Malta) Ltd, Malta |
| Class | II (B2B supplier) |
| Activity | Payment processing (procesator de plăți) |
| License no. | 2331/22.11.2023 |
| Effective from | 01.01.2024 |
| Validity | 10 years, subject to annual fees |
ONJN’s Class II license is the supplier license under OUG 77/2009. Any business that provides gambling-related products or services to a Romanian Class I operator needs one: game studios, platforms, aggregators, hosting providers, affiliates and payment processors.
For a payment provider, the license is the condition for serving the Romanian regulated market. Romanian Class I operators may contract only Class II-licensed suppliers, so a processor without the license cannot handle player funds for them.
Trust Payments (Malta) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the provision of payment services, with passporting rights across the EU/EEA. The Romanian gambling license sits alongside that authorization; it does not replace it.
What a payment processor’s Class II file involves
ONJN looks at the company, its regulatory standing and the systems through which player funds move:
- Corporate and fit-and-proper documents for the company, its directors and its significant shareholders, with criminal-record certificates, and disclosure of the ownership chain up to the ultimate beneficial owners;
- Evidence of regulatory status as a payment-services provider in its home state;
- Financial evidence, including financial statements;
- Technical documentation for the payment systems: architecture, data flows, security and incident response;
- AML/CFT policies under Law 129/2019;
- Representation: an authorized representative in Romania and a power of attorney before ONJN, with documents translated into Romanian and apostilled where issued abroad.
Once ONJN approves the file, the first-year license fee must be paid by the 25th of the following month. The license then takes effect on the first day of the month after payment, which is why a license approved on 22 November 2023 took effect on 1 January 2024.
Where a Malta company stands
A Class II license does not require a Romanian permanent establishment. A company established in the EU or EEA, such as Trust Payments (Malta) Ltd, holds the license in its own name through an authorized representative in Romania, who receives ONJN correspondence and keeps the license in good standing. A supplier from outside the EU or EEA applies through a Romanian company (SRL).
What Szilaghi Consulting did
For Trust Payments (Malta) Ltd, we:
- supported the preparation and filing of the ONJN application for the payment-processing activity;
- coordinated the supporting documents, translations and apostilles;
- handled the correspondence with ONJN through to the issuance of the license.
What the license holder must do now
Getting the license is the start of the obligations, not the end:
- Annual payments: under the fee annex introduced by OUG 82/2023 in October 2023, the €20,000 license fee and the €15,000 responsible-gambling contribution fall due every year, in advance.
- Who you may serve: process payments for Romanian players only on behalf of operators holding a valid Romanian Class I license.
- Changes: changes to shareholders, directors or the payment systems must be notified to ONJN.
- AML: keep the AML/CFT framework under Law 129/2019 aligned with the gambling-sector risks of the operators served.
Update, October 2026
Two changes since this license was issued matter most to payment processors:
- Reporting: since Law 141/2025, Class II licensees for payment processing must report to ONJN on request the countries and operators through which players reach their system, and file a monthly report by the 10th on players blocked because an operator without a Class I license gave access from Romania. See Class II reporting obligations under Law 141/2025.
- Unlicensed operators: a Class II holder may not serve unlicensed operators targeting Romanian players or domains on the ONJN blacklist, on pain of revocation. For a processor, that means screening merchants against the blacklist. See the ban on Class II suppliers serving unlicensed sites.
The fees set by OUG 82/2023 are unchanged. For what an existing supplier needs to keep in order, see how a Romanian Class II supplier stays operational, compliant and commercially viable.
About Szilaghi Consulting
Szilaghi Consulting, a brand of IGAMING S.R.L., has advised on gambling licensing and compliance since 2004. The firm assists payment providers, suppliers and operators with ONJN applications, corporate services, local representation and ongoing compliance. Our Romania Class II (B2B) license guide sets out the current dossier checklist and fees.
Processing payments for Romanian operators?
If you are a payment institution, e-money institution or payment gateway planning to serve Romanian gambling operators, we can confirm whether you need a Class II license, the right structure and the representation arrangements. Contact us for a pre-screening.