.svg)
In its latest payments strategy, Lithuania has followed jurisdictions such as Sweden in emphasising operational resilience and cybersecurity.
The document’s focus on security and consumer protection reflects both geopolitical issues and the digitisation of payments.
As fraud and cyber threats continue to rise, the Bank of Lithuania has used the strategy to call for greater cooperation among financial institutions, businesses and consumers to strengthen the country’s payment infrastructure.
"Payments are the 'bloodstream' of the country's economic and financial system. Advanced technologies and digitalisation provide new, widely applicable opportunities for consumers. Payment service providers must be ready to offer them, not forgetting consumers who find it more difficult to adapt,” said Gediminas Šimkus, chair of the board of the Bank of Lithuania.
In addition, and in a sign of an increasingly uncertain geopolitical situation, the central banker said that “the war against Ukraine and the threat of cyberattacks and the relevance of the problem of fraud have determined the need to pay close attention to security and increasing the resilience of the payment infrastructure”.
Boosting operational resilience
A major focus of the strategy is improving the resilience of payment services during extreme conditions, such as cyberattacks, natural disasters and large-scale power outages.
To address these risks, the Bank of Lithuania has said that it plans to develop and test an emergency payment infrastructure, regulate offline card payments for use during network disruptions and encourage households to use multiple payment service providers (PSPs) so that they reduce reliance on a single system.
This could mean that the central bank turns to solutions such as open banking, which other European jurisdictions such as the UK are promoting as a way to reduce dependency on large card schemes.
Other options could include instant payment solutions via banks or more use of cash.
Public education campaigns will also inform consumers about how to prepare for financial emergencies.
Crime and consumer protection
Fraud also remains a critical issue for the regulator, with more than 13,000 cases recorded in 2024, totalling more than €20m in losses.
The Bank of Lithuania has proposed the creation of a national fraud prevention strategy, urging the government to appoint an authority responsible for coordinating anti-fraud efforts.
The payments strategy also seeks to improve competition and innovation in Lithuania’s payments market.
The central bank plans to simplify the process for consumers to switch PSPs and expand the use of instant payments as an alternative to card transactions at physical stores.
It also intends to implement a SEPA-based payment request service that allows businesses and government agencies to send pre-filled payment orders to consumers for seamless transactions.
The Bank of Lithuania is inviting financial institutions, businesses and consumers to participate in a public consultation on the strategy.
